Climate Change & Global Water Crises

A message to the Class of 1971: To keep us united and excited for our upcoming 50th reunion, this program, co-sponsored by The Water Center at Penn, is the first in a series of programs designed to engage, educate and inspire our class and strengthen support for our alma mater and its institutions.

Climate change induced global water crises are real and growing. As a result of climate change, many parts of the world are experiencing either too little water due to severe drought or too much water due to increasing frequency and intensity of storms. These environmental changes are leading to political instability, mass migration and increased pressure on urban water infrastructure as more people gravitate toward urban areas. This panel will discuss the environmental and socio-political implications of looming water crises as well as what urban water leaders can do to ensure that the cities can provide water as a human right for all.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Brian J. Soden is a professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science. Dr. Soden specializes in the use of satellite observations to test and improve computer simulations of Earth's climate. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Miami, and master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago. Before returning to the University of Miami, Dr. Soden was a visiting scientist and Lecturer at Princeton University, and a physical scientist with NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Soden has authored over 100 peer reviewed-papers on weather and climate change. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and lead author for the 2007 and 2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Other honors include the American Meteorological Society's Henry G. Houghton Award, the National Space Club's David S. Johnson Award, and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency's H.E. Reid Award.

Scott Moore is a political scientist whose work focuses on water politics and policy, especially in China and South Asia. Scott is currently a Senior Fellow at the Penn Water Center as well as Director of China Programs in the Office of the Provost at the University of Pennsylvania. Until 2018, Scott was a Young Professional and Water Resources Management Specialist with the World Bank Water Global Practice, where he co-led a study of China’s water sector with the Development Research Center of the State Council and was a co-author of two flagship reports, High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy, and Uncharted Waters: the New Economics of Water Scarcity and Variability. Previously, Scott served as Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer for China at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked extensively on the Paris Agreement on climate change, and prior to that was Giorgio Ruffolo Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University. He has published widely on the full range of global water issues in leading publications including Nature, Foreign Affairs, and The New York Times. He is also the author of Subnational Hydropolitics: Conflict, Cooperation, and Institution-Building in Shared River Basins, published in 2018 by Oxford University Press. Scott holds a doctorate in Politics and a master’s degree in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton.

Howard Neukrug is The Professor of Practice in Global Water at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder and director of the University’s Water Center at Penn. He has 40 years of experience in the water industry, most recently as Commissioner and CEO of Philadelphia Water. He is a national expert and advisor to cities, water utilities and regulators on topics of integrated urban water systems, green infrastructure, advanced technologies, water science and policy/regulations, and in the financing and operations of utilities. His key area of research interests involves the role water systems play in the creation of sustainable and resilient cities and regions, public health and watershed protection. Mr. Neukrug is the founder of Philadelphia’s Office of Watersheds and the creator its award-winning Green Cities, Clean Waters program. Mr. Neukrug is also a co-founder of the US Water Alliance, the Schuylkill Action Network, the AWWA Water Utility Council, and the Leading Utility of World CEO Network, as well as other non-profit organizations. He is a Professional Engineer, a member of the US National Drinking Water Advisory Council, a board member of the Fund for the Fairmount Water Works, principal of CASE Environmental LLC, and Senior Advisor to the Global Water Leaders Group. At Penn, Professor Neukrug teaches courses concerning the future of water.

About the Moderator:

Albert J. Slap is President and Co-Founder of Coastal Risk Consulting, LLC, a geospatial technology, modeling and data analytics company located in Boca Raton, FL. Coastal Risk’s technology empowers individuals, businesses and governments in the US and globally to accelerate resilience to floods, natural hazards and climate impacts. Prior to launching Coastal Risk, Mr. Slap was a nationally recognized, environmental trial attorney and law professor. Over the years, Mr. Slap used America’s environmental laws to protect public health and the environment by stopping water and air pollution, toxic waste dumping, and by requiring local governments to replace aging and polluting sewer infrastructure. For his outstanding legal work, Mr. Slap was the recipient in 2014 of the prestigious Marjory Stoneman Douglas “Defender of the Everglades Award.”