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April/May 2009
GW Professor Moving the ‘Planet Forward’ with Pioneering Program
A unique viewer-driven project
co-produced by GW is stimulating
a global debate on
climate change and the energy crisis. “Planet Forward” taps into new
media with a Web site and television
program to engage citizens worldwide
on a variety of pressing ecological and
energy issues. Along with GW, Planet Launched in early March, the Web
site, planetforward.org, features news,
surveys, a blog and online discussion.
People from across the globe have
submitted everything from photo
essays and videos to songs and op-ed
pieces on the site. On March 31, GW professor and CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno moderated a live taping at the University’s Jack Morton Auditorium featuring a panel discussion and conversation with Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, as well as selected content from the Planet Forward Web site. The episode, which focused on the use of alternative energy sources and the feasibility of moving away from fossil fuels, broadcast on PBS April 15. President Steven Knapp joined Sesno and the University community for a special viewing of the premiere in Funger Hall. The idea for Planet Forward came
to Sesno in 2006 as a way to combine
the University’s resources and new
media with growing global concern
over energy use and climate change.“By merging these ideas, we could
help facilitate a national discussion
and debate over these issues,” says
Sesno. “I also want to show our Planet Forward illustrates how the
Internet has begun to drive debate,
says Sesno, adding that the online discussion
involves different perspectives
and spans various topics—including
windmills, clean coal and nuclear
plants—that can affect jobs, businesses,
and the traditional way of life. “We are
interested in seeing if we can build At the March 31 taping, Shai
Agassi, founder and CEO of Better
Place; James Connaughton, former
chairman of the White House Council
on Environmental Quality; and
L. Hunter Lovins, president and
founder of Natural Capitalism
Solutions, reviewed online submissions
and discussed alternative energy
sources. After the panel, Browner
spoke with Sesno and the creaters of
selected online submissions and told Sesno said that there is no better
time than now to start moving the “planet forward.” “We are on the verge
of a transformative technological
breakthrough and President Obama
has made this issue a cornerstone of
his agenda,” he said. “We are having a
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu |
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