Duke Environmental Dean Appointed to National Climate Change Committee

DURHAM, N.C. - -- William L. Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, has been appointed vice chair of America's Climate Choices, a new, multidisciplinary climate-change study by the National Academies.

The study was launched this month at the request of Congress to provide policy-relevant advice, based on scientific evidence, to guide the nation's response to climate change.

Experts representing government, the private sector and research institutions will serve on four panels and on an overarching committee. They will release five consensus reports in 2009 and 2010 that examine and evaluate the actions and strategies available to limit the magnitude of future climate change; help society adapt to climate change impacts; advance climate change science; and inform effective government and industry decisions and actions.

Chameides is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an expert on atmospheric chemistry and climate change. He is the author of the widely cited Green Grok environmental blog.

Albert Carnesale, chancellor emeritus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), will serve as chair of the America's Climate Choices committee.

The National Academies serves as the nation's advisers on science, technology and medicine. The academies are comprised of four organizations: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.