Climate Justice and Vulnerability: Learning from Katrina, Irene, and Sandy
Channel: University of Vermont
Date: 05/01/2016

Hurricanes Katrina, Irene, and Sandy were historic, not only in leading to billion-dollar disasters across the U.S., but also for the vulnerabilities they revealed both culturally and socioeconomically.  Ten years later, are we better equipped to prepare for and respond to climate hazards, especially in the face of a changing climate?

Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Professor in the Geography Department, is the Vermont State Climatologist.  She collaborates with state and federal agencies to plan for and adapt to climate change.  Dr. Dupigny-Giroux is an expert in floods, droughts, and severe weather and the ways these affect Vermont’s landscape and people.  She is the lead editor of Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America, the first monograph to deal with the use of documentary records for analyzing climate variability and change.  Her NSF-funded SWAC project works with K-12 teachers and students to bring the use of satellites and understanding climate to all levels of the pre-university curriculum.  She serves on three national committees, including the NOAA Climate Working Group.

The College of Arts and Sciences Full Professor Lecture Series was designed to give newly promoted faculty an opportunity to share with the university community a single piece of research or overview of research trajectory meant to capture the spark of intellectual excitement that has resulted in their achieving full professor rank.