The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE


Media Contact: Laurie Mellas, (505) 277-5915; e-mail: lmellas@unm.edu

December 14, 2006

UNM’s Scarnecchia, Gutzler to speak at Global Climate Change Conference

UNM School of Law Dean Suellyn Scarnecchia and Earth and Planetary Sciences Professor David Gutzler are speakers at the “Climate Change Impacts, Laws, and Policies Conference” tomorrow in Albuquerque. Congressman Tom S. Udall, Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and New Mexico Public Regulatory Commissioner Jason Marks will also speak.

The conference is open to the public and organized by the Natural Resources Section of the New Mexico State Bar along with the UNM School of Law Utton Center.

The event is being held to raise awareness of the legal and social impacts of global climate change on New Mexico’s natural environment. The meeting comes at the end of a year of scientific studies, press coverage and local, national and international action regarding the global climate change challenge.

A panel of representatives from federal and state government will discuss the response of governments to climate change. Mayor Coss will highlight Santa Fe’s adoption of the 2030 Architecture Challenge that sets standards, benchmarks and timelines for City buildings to be carbon-neutral by the year 2030.

Santa Fe Assistant City Attorney Kyle S. Harwood is the 2006 Chair of the State Bar Natural Resources Section and a member of the Conference Steering Committee.

Attendees will convene at the State Bar Center in Albuquerque. Registration begins at 8 a.m. The Natural Resources Section of the New Mexico State Bar will also have its annual meeting during lunch. The conference will conclude at 5 p.m.

For registration information, contact the Center for Legal Education, 797-6020.

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The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

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