The Nelson Institute organizes and co-sponsors dozens of special events each year, from lectures by visiting speakers to panel discussions and symposia on topics of current interest.
Recordings and PowerPoint presentations from selected events of the past are available below in reverse chronological order. Please note: The audio files are large and may download slowly.
Energy Development and Climate Change: Global Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions
Ashok Sarkar is an alumnus of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently works as a Senior Energy Specialist in the World Bank’s Energy, Transport and Water Department, based in Washington DC. He brings over 18 years of international energy sector development experience and, in recent years, his work has focused on climate change mitigation and energy efficiency development initiatives across many countries. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2005, he had worked in the Sustainable Development department of the Asian Development Bank based in Manila, Philippines; in the US Agency for International Development’s Office of Energy, Environment and Enterprise in India; and in the private sector international energy consulting firm based out Madison in the 1990s, Resource Management Associates. Ashok’s current professional pursuits include working and providing advice on energy and climate change operations in Bangladesh, Mali, Mexico, Pakistan, Rwanda and Turkey. As the thematic leader for energy efficiency, he also coordinates the World Bank’s overall efforts and strategic initiatives for scaling up its energy efficiency portfolio.
Ashok is a mechanical engineer by undergraduate training, and has a master’s degree in Energy Planning and Policy from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. He had received his Ph.D. in Land Resources from the Nelson Institute in 1997.
Ashok had also served as an international member of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Methodologies Panel to the UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, between 2005 and 2007. He started his professional career as a power design engineer in India, where he was involved in project engineering for thermal power plants in the late 1980s. He has over a 150 presentations and publications to his credit, and has also been a regular visiting faculty, over the last 10 years, at the University of Oslo’s annual summer program on Energy Planning and Sustainable Development.
Ashok Sarkar's lecture is funded in part by the Holstrom-Kineke Environmental Studies Fund and is sponsored by:
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Sustainable Urbanism: Designing Sustainable Neighborhoods, Cities and Regions
Doug Farr, Architect, Urbanist, and Author of "Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design with Nature" will discuss the growing movement for sustainable urbanism and how it can be achieved, including ideas for the Madison region. He is Founding Principal of Farr Associates, an award-winning architecture and planning firm widely regarded as one of the most sustainable design practices in the country. The firm is a pioneer in sustainable urban design and its three LEED Platinum buildings, more than any other firm in the world, are models of urban architectural sustainability. Farr is a leader in the creation of the LEED for Neighborhood Development Initiative. For more information about Doug Farr and Sustainable Urbanism visit the Farr Associates website.
Doug Farr's lecture is sponsored by:
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Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility Forum, November 2, 2007, featuring a public lecture on "Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity" by Stuart Hart, Samuel C. Johnson Chair in Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University's Johnson School of Business; and a panel discussion, "Business, Environment, and Social Responsibility: Perspectives on the Triple Bottom Line," by Josh Farley, assistant research professor, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont; Bruce Kahn, second vice president of wealth management, Smith Barney; and Stephen Viederman, past president, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation. Listen to an audio recording of Professor Hart's lecture (mp3) and see his PowerPoint (pdf). Listen to a recording of the panel discussion (mp3).
The Nature of Hope, a public lecture on November 2, 2007, by author and environmentalist Bill KcKibben. Sponsored by UW-Madison's Center for the Humanities, the lecture was the kickoff event of the Nelson Institute's Tales from Planet Earth film festival. Listen to audio recordings of McKibben's talk and of the question-and-answer session (both mp3).
Leading the Way on Climate Change, a public talk on April 25, 2007, by Fran Pavley, three-term member of the California State Assembly and author of California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which has become a model for other states and countries. Listen to an audio recording (mp3) and see her PowerPoint (pdf).
Climate Change and Wisconsin's Future: Issues and Opportunities, a panel discussion at UW-Madison on April 10, 2007, featuring members of the state Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and representatives of other stakeholder groups. Watch a video recording (mov).
Energy Security and Climate Security: A Foreign Policy Challenge for the 21st Century, an address by Sir David Manning, British Ambassador to the United States, at UW-Madison on Sept. 29, 2006. Listen to an audio recording (mp3).
Symposium on Non-Carbon Emitting Energy Sources, a two-day gathering at Madison's Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in May 2006 to consider new technologies and fuel supplies to protect the environment, achieve energy independence, and strengthen Wisconsin's economy. See symposium Web site for video recordings.