From The Editor-In-Chief
The Obama Administration has brought a new sense of urgency and resolve to environmental and climate-change-related problems. Perhaps the most notable indicator of resolve is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) April 17 finding that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare because they contribute to climate change. EPA’s announcement will enable the United States to contribute to an ongoing set of actions by the global community.
Noblis began three initiatives to support and encourage continued learning and action around climate-change challenges. In January, we initiated the Climate Change and Adaptation Distinguished Speaker Series, inviting 11 internationally recognized speakers to provide their unique perspectives. Noblis director David Evans began the series with his call for climate-adaptation action, and David Archer, author of The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth’s Climate, spoke on climate change as a reality for the foreseeable future. V. Ramaswamy, director of Princeton University’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, added that, even given Evans’ call for action and Archer’s assertion, the current climate-modeling science must overcome the problem of scaling global models to a regional one before informed action is possible. Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation and currently a distinguished professor at the University of Maryland, will conclude the series by addressing some of the expected impacts of climate change.
Noblis began the second initiative about a year ago when we recognized that the available carbon calculators were focused on industrial, small business, or residential uses. Since that time, we have developed and piloted—and this month will launch—a new calculator for professional services firms and the service sector of the national economy. Total Emissions Analytics (TEAL), a web-based application that will support green analytics across geographically dispersed enterprises, will be available to professional services organizations who are shouldering the responsibility of becoming green. “Green Analytics to Improve Operations” on p. 20 describes TEAL’s full range of capabilities.
In our third initiative, Noblis will bring together recognized influential leadership from the public and private sectors for a focused exchange of ideas. With thought leaders such as Peter Senge and Joel Makower, we will consider how to make enterprises—including federal government agencies—green. Among the issues we will address is the question, “Can we sustain green business after an initial economic stimulus?” Noblis will host this Green Federal Enterprise micro-summit on May 13 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
In this edition of Sigma, guest editor Mile Corrigan brings together a number of the May 13 micro-summit thought leaders to explore how to best sustain the green federal enterprise, from simple acts, such as awareness raising and training to complex decisions that address the full spectrum of renewable energy sources. Corrigan, Noblis authors, and Senge and Makower also address the policy and operational decisions required to make individual enterprises—whether in the public or the private sector—green and sustainable. This edition also debuts Ongoing, a department dedicated to reviewing and updating previous Sigma reports. Our first Ongoing looks at the state of energy security since the last report in 2007.
For decades the clarion call of environmental responsibility has been to “think globally, act locally.” For our clients and for the public, we continue to think and provide solutions for the complex global problem that climate change represents. We also continue to develop tools such as TEAL and Sigma to help solve pressing problems and educate people at the enterprise level. It is our firm belief that such local- and enterprise-level actions, taken collectively, will yield a global benefit.
H. Gilbert Miller, Ph.D.
Corporate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Noblis
hgmiller@noblis.org