{"665639":{"#nid":"665639","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Vice President\u2019s Visit Brings Climate Change Discussion to Forefront","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith the Ferst Center filled to the brim Wednesday, Georgia Tech hosted Vice President Kamala Harris for a discussion about the climate crisis, which she called a transformational moment in America.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESpeaking on the \u201cmoment of great opportunity\u201d in the face of the equally daunting challenge of the climate crisis, Harris participated in a moderated discussion at the Ferst Center for the Arts on the Georgia Tech campus Wednesday afternoon.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe vice president spoke to students, faculty, staff, and community members with the message of creating an equitable clean energy economy and how it will take a true team effort to achieve that goal.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn order for us to truly achieve that, it\u2019s going to require all to be involved \u2026 our scientists, our researchers, our academicians,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also going to be about our students. It\u2019s going to be about our unions. It\u2019s going to be about the private sector. It\u2019s going to be about our teachers. It\u2019s going to be about our youth leaders. It is going to take a whole community.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EContinuing Georgia Tech\u2019s longstanding tradition of hosting elected officials, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:TheodoreRooseveltGeorgiaTech.jpg\u0022\u003Egoing back to 1905 with President Theodore Roosevelt\u003C\/a\u003E, Harris was joined by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/expert\/climate-change-and-coral-reef-researcher-isaiah-bolden\u0022\u003EIsaiah Bolden\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/geography.uga.edu\/directory\/people\/james-marshall-shepherd\u0022\u003EJames Marshall Shepherd\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. Each spoke of how their life experiences led them to their respective career paths.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBolden\u2019s passion for climate science was born out of tragedy as he saw his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, flooded. Seeing the number of people and entire communities that were displaced, Bolden shared that his career choice became clear in that moment.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI had this passion burgeoning right then and there as someone who has this aptitude for science, this aptitude for math, but then seeing that the science is not reaching the public in a way that it should,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat can I then do with my career as an environmental scientist to generate data and get that data into the hands of people who could do something with it?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps the most visible sign of a movement toward the country\u2019s recent commitment to climate change efforts is the increased number of electric vehicles on roadways. With Georgia positioning itself as a leader in that sector by attracting manufacturers such as Hyundai, Rivian, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/01\/23\/23b-qcells-solar-power-investment-holds-major-potential-georgia\u0022\u003EQcells\u003C\/a\u003E to the state, Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera emphasized that the campus in the heart of Atlanta was the \u201cperfect place\u201d to host Wednesday\u2019s discussion.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs one of the nation\u2019s leading research universities, Georgia Tech is committed to making sure that our $1.3 billion research enterprise, our unmatched faculty expertise, and our top students help in this process by producing new solutions and exceptional talent while driving economic opportunity through job creation,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to community resilience policies that focus on removing lead pipes in cities across the country and other funding created through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Harris spoke passionately about the electrification of school buses.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrently, 90% of the buses that carry 25 million children to school daily are diesel-fueled. Along with the public health and environmental impact of electrifying buses, Harris touted the prospect of creating new jobs and new manufacturing opportunities.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the climate conversation continues, Shepherd emphasized that these are \u201ckitchen table issues\u201d that affect everyone. Harris reiterated that point, noting that the discussion serves as an intersection for environmental justice and equity in public health and education before closing with a message to the next generation of leaders.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou are coming out and we\u2019re talking about all kinds of creative, very exciting ways to do this that are going to be about public health, public education, strengthening our economy, investing in jobs, respecting the dignity of work, being a model for the world, and being a good shepherd of resources, both in terms of the responsibility that America has to Americans and that America has to its neighbors,\u201d she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/joe-f-bozeman-iii\u0022\u003EJoe Bozeman III\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ce.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Civil and Environmental Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E whose work as an industrial ecologist highlights the need for equitable climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, left the Ferst Center with a sense that the discussion around climate policy is moving into the forefront.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSeeing the vice president speak so confidently and expansively about the issue of climate justice, equity, and the engineering side of things, I really found myself impressed,\u201d Bozeman said. \u201cI feel more confident about the administration\u2019s intent behind some of the acts they\u2019ve passed, and I\u2019m enthused to continue to do the work as a researcher here at Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe also noted how the vice president\u2019s visit serves as a reminder of Georgia Tech\u2019s important role in the community and how the campus serves as a place for collaboration.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe HBCU representation here, in particular, was exciting for me to see. And my hope is that we can continue to make some of the internal efforts connecting with our HBCUs and our other minority serving institutions and come up with the kind of innovative, inclusive solutions that may have eluded us 10 or 20 years before,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith the Ferst Center filled to the brim Wednesday, Georgia Tech hosted Vice President Kamala Harris for a discussion about the climate crisis, which she called a transformational moment in America.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"With the Ferst Center filled to the brim Wednesday, Georgia Tech hosted Vice President Kamala Harris for a discussion about the climate crisis, which she called a transformational moment in America."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2023-02-09 13:44:19","changed_gmt":"2023-04-05 15:57:04","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"665631":{"id":"665631","type":"image","title":"Vice President Kamala Harris ","body":null,"created":"1675898830","gmt_created":"2023-02-08 23:27:10","changed":"1675950511","gmt_changed":"2023-02-09 13:48:31","alt":"J. Marshall Shepherd, Isaiah Bolden, and Kamala Harris","file":{"fid":"251731","name":"VP-Harris-GT-Visit-012.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-012.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-012.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":586751,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-012.jpg?itok=qzQeEm5N"}},"665633":{"id":"665633","type":"image","title":"Vice President Kamala Harris Climate Change Discussion ","body":null,"created":"1675899075","gmt_created":"2023-02-08 23:31:15","changed":"1675899075","gmt_changed":"2023-02-08 23:31:15","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251733","name":"VP-Harris-GT-Visit-007.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-007.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-007.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1045078,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-007.jpg?itok=GoOTarIn"}},"665632":{"id":"665632","type":"image","title":"Vice President Kamala Harris Walks On Stage","body":null,"created":"1675899014","gmt_created":"2023-02-08 23:30:14","changed":"1675899014","gmt_changed":"2023-02-08 23:30:14","alt":"","file":{"fid":"251732","name":"VP-Harris-GT-Visit-005.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-005.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-005.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":503958,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-005.jpg?itok=Q19VJePj"}},"665640":{"id":"665640","type":"image","title":"President Cabrera Welcomes Attendees at Vice President Visit","body":null,"created":"1675950381","gmt_created":"2023-02-09 13:46:21","changed":"1675950381","gmt_changed":"2023-02-09 13:46:21","alt":"President Cabrera Welcomes Attendees at Vice President Visit","file":{"fid":"251735","name":"VP-Harris-GT-Visit-001-web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-001-web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-001-web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1351869,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-001-web.jpg?itok=c2oPnHhG"}},"665641":{"id":"665641","type":"image","title":"Marshall Shepherd and Isaiah Bolden Speak at Climate Discussion","body":null,"created":"1675950433","gmt_created":"2023-02-09 13:47:13","changed":"1675950433","gmt_changed":"2023-02-09 13:47:13","alt":"Marshall Shepherd and Isaiah Bolden Speak at Climate Discussion","file":{"fid":"251736","name":"VP-Harris-GT-Visit-006-web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-006-web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-006-web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1783154,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/VP-Harris-GT-Visit-006-web.jpg?itok=UTyAfxBR"}}},"media_ids":["665631","665633","665632","665640","665641"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2023\/01\/23\/23b-qcells-solar-power-investment-holds-major-potential-georgia","title":" $2.3B Qcells Solar Power Investment Holds Major Potential for Georgia "},{"url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hOtB_VKH5WU","title":"Video: Vice President Harris Participates in a Moderated Conversation on Climate"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192254","name":"cos-climate"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"192096","name":"Isaiah Bolden"},{"id":"2262","name":"climate"},{"id":"167040","name":"science"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}