Oceanographic Center Dean and Professors Participate in Environmental Conference with Al Gore

NSU trustee Mitchell Berger; the Honorable Michael E. Misick, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands; and Richard Dodge, Ph.D., NSU Oceanographic Center dean and NCRI executive director.	Jack Sobel, director, Strategic Conservation Science and Policy, The Ocean Conservancy; Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, His Excellency Richard Tauwhare; Richard Dodge, Ph.D., NSU Oceanographic Center dean and NCRI executive director.

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was the keynote speaker of the first ever environmental conference hosted by the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, in association with the National Coral Reef Institute (NCRI) at Nova Southeastern University and the Ocean Conservancy, to examine the mutual interdependency between local actions and global initiatives. The conference, “Fostering a Green Culture in Small Island Nations”, was held in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Nov. 18-20.

Richard Dodge, Ph.D., dean and professor of the NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) and executive director of NCRI, participated on the panel “Coral Reefs and Climate Change.” Bernhard Riegl, Ph.D., an associate professor at the OC and associate director of NCRI, served as moderator of the panel. Dave Gilliam, Ph.D., an OC assistant professor and NCRI researcher, took part in the panel discussion covering “Climate Change and its Impact on the Sustainability of Fisheries Resources.”

Gore shared his theme of “Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century”, arguing that the physical changes in our planet will eventually influence our global economy. He encouraged business audiences to consider broader issues – environmental, social and political – when planning economic strategy.

“The National Coral Reef Institute at Nova Southeastern University is honored to be able to be a part of this far-thinking environmental related conference” said Dodge. “The coral reefs throughout the Caribbean represent an extraordinary biological, geological, and economic resource. Far-thinking planning is needed for best research, management, and conservation to ensure preservation and persistence of these precious ecosystems.”