Shepherd to moderate 'Champions of Change' event at White House

In his Climate Action Plan, President Barack Obama laid out a series of steps to combat carbon pollution, prepare for climate-change impacts and lead global efforts to tackle this shared challenge. The steps range from broad, national policy to recognizing localized efforts and the people behind them. One of these will take place Monday, Feb. 9 at the White House and will be hosted by UGA's Marshall Shepherd:

Shepherd, the University of Georgia Distinguished Athletic Association Professor in the Social Sciences, will moderate the "Champions of Change for Climate Education and Literacy" event Monday, Feb. 9, at the White House. The event will celebrate eight Americans who are doing extraordinary work to enhance climate education and literacy in classrooms and communities across the country.

The event is closed to the press but will be streamed live on the White House website. To watch the event, see www.whitehouse.gov/live at 1 p.m.

Shepherd, director of the atmospheric sciences program at UGA and host of The Weather Channel's "Weather Geeks," has become a respected expert and national media presence on climate and weather-related issues.

"The White House provides a platform like no other for promoting science education, particularly as science is increasingly prevalent in daily life with our smartphones, weather models and new medical procedures," Shepherd said. "Climate science isn't a liberal or conservative issue, it is a human challenge. I am pleased to offer my voice to this event because climate literacy is essential for changing the tone and finding common ground."

We should all be encouraged by the attention paid to science education by the Obama Administration. That Dr. Shepherd continues to play an increasingly national role as an expert, an advocate and a source for clear thinking on climate science is an honor to the Franklin College and the University of Georgia.

Imgae: Marshall Shepherd, credit: UGA.