JOINT CENTER News Room
Joint Center Moves Forward on Climate Change; Seeks Senior Research Associate to Coordinate Initiative
February 1, 2008
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Joint Center Moves Forward on Climate Change; Seeks Senior Research Associate to Coordinate Initiative
WASHINGTON -- The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (Joint Center) is stepping up the pace of the climate change initiative it launched last fall by convening a series of listening sessions on Capitol Hill, with key legislative leaders and with major environmental groups.
The Joint Center’s expanded presence in this policy field has been welcomed by leaders in the fight to stop global warming, and these listening sessions represent a next step in its efforts to establish a strong, independent voice for the African American community on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Joint Center has begun a search for an individual to take the lead on the initiative by conducting research, providing policy analysis and building on the Joint Center’s outreach efforts. The full job description for the senior research associate, African Americans and Global Warming program, along with instructions for applying, can be found at http://www.jointcenter.org/index.php/about_the_joint_center/job_opportunities.
The Joint Center expects to play a leading role in the policy debates around climate change issues that are taking shape as the nation prepares to select a new president and a new Congress. Energy and climate change policies are vital to African Americans since black communities are likely to be disproportionately affected by the health effects of climate change – particularly those related to extreme weather events like Hurricane Katrina and further degradation of air quality. African Americans also are more likely to be harmed by rising energy prices.
The Joint Center is continuing its alliance with the Bipartisan Policy Center, which is providing a $500,000 grant for the Joint Center to expand its capacity to conduct climate change research and outreach. The Joint Center has always tackled issues of concern to African Americans and other communities of color, and this grant will make it possible to build on its work in the environmental, health, education, and governance arenas.
The BPC – led by four former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders (Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell) – was formed to develop and promote solutions that would attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an incubator for policy efforts that engage top political figures, advocates, academics and business leaders in the art of principled compromise.
The Joint Center is one of the nation's premier research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color. The Joint Center’s activities are focused on improving the socioeconomic status of black Americans and other minorities, expanding their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas, and promoting communications and relationships across racial and ethnic lines to strengthen the nation's pluralistic society.
For more information about the Joint Center and its work and for access to Joint Center Journal, the organization’s blog, go to www.jointcenter.org.
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