Twelfth Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists

The 2010 Metcalf Fellows will begin the week with an enviable field trip to beautiful Block Island, ten miles off Rhode Island's coast in Rhode Island Sound. Fellows will spend Monday morning in the field studying avian distributions and collecting some of the relevant data needed to determine the optimal site for a proposed wind farm in the Sound. Using Block Island as a case study, Fellows will explore the challenges of transitioning away from fossil fuel-based electricity to a renewable energy approach, and discuss with stakeholders the implications of Rhode Island's goal of being the first state to permit an offshore wind farm.

On Tuesday, fellows will explore Narragansett Bay with researchers from the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography, collecting the samples to assess seafloor habitat quality and, in the lab, studying methods of geological and biological habitat mapping. An afternoon panel discussion on marine spatial planning - a tool for making best use of natural resources by combining environmental, cultural, and economic interests - will tie our research activities together with policy. Fellows will attend Metcalf's Annual Public Lecture Series, beginning with Tuesday's program, Transforming America's Energy Systems.

Following a primer on biofuels on Wednesday, fellows will tour a leading biodiesel company and learn about a refining process for sustainable fuel from waste vegetable oil. Afternoon sessions will include Metcalf's signature science translation exercise that provides tools for reading and summarizing scientific publications and the public lecture, Powering the Future: How Renewables and Efficiency Can Remake the Grid.

On Thursday, fellows will focus on the critical but little-recognized topic of energy efficiency. Fellows will explore the impact of the built environment on energy use, touring LEED certified properties that represent opportunities and challenges for improving both residential efficiency and commercial building retrofits. As the Metcalf week is winding down, the latter part of the day will focus on communication in the public lecture, Telling the Energy Story through Film: the Making of Carbon Nation.

The workshop week will conclude with a journalism clinic on accessing and using databases in reporting. The final lecture, Comprehensive Energy Policy: Planning for a Clean Energy Future, will build upon the week's activities to give Fellows and the public an insider's perspective on the future of energy policy.

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