Election 2008: Prepping on the Issues
Decisions, decisions — Cal Day offers one-stop shopping for voters looking to learn more about some of the major issues of the 2008 election. Choose from the programs below to brush up in time for November!
The Electoral Process
10 am-noon | Barrows Hall, 8th floor, Lipman Room- Choosing the President in 2008
- Hear a panel discuss the campaign finance system, review the impact of early primaries, offer a retrospective on the outcome of the primaries, and evaluate presidential elections generally, including the potential need for reforms.
Law School Dean Christopher Edley Jr., National Review White House Correspondent Byron York, UCLA Professor John Zaller, Professor and Moderator Goodwin Liu, and Attorney Ken Khachigian
- Political Science and the 2008 Presidential Election
- Learn what political science research can and cannot tell us about the 2008 presidential campaigns. What are the dynamics leading to the nomination in each party? And what are the prospects for candidates looking forward to November?
Professor Eric Schickler
Economics
1-2 pm | 122 Wheeler Hall- Decisions Under Uncertainty: Determining What's Rational
- Economics is all about uncertainty, so modeling decision-making in uncertain conditions is key. But how do economists use experimental evidence to confront their theories of choice under uncertainty? Learn about this work and how it affects economic theory and policy.
Professor Shachar Kariv
Education
2:30-4 pm | 2515 Tolman Hall- Restructuring School Funding
- As California schools brace for severe budget cuts, distinguished panelists discuss alternative ways to put education on sound financial footing.
Professor Bruce Fuller, Professor Goodwin Liu, former California Assemblymember Carol Liu, and local principals and teachers
Energy & Climate Change
11 am-12:30 pm, 3-4:30 pm | 116 Calvin Hall- Voyage for Cleaner Energy
- Learn about this program—a five-year commitment to create an international cohort of leaders to help preserve Antarctica, highlight the importance of renewable energy, and emphasize the significance of climate change for the future. Hosted at Berkeley by the Energy Biosciences Institute, the program involves students and industry leaders working to effect personal change and influence policy.
Polar Explorer Robert Swan
- Achieving the Promise of Sustainable Biofuels
- Corn ethanol and biodiesel are often thought to be "green fuels," but are they? Hear about new developments that will help eliminate the competition among food, fuel, and land. Learn about the role "next generation" biofuels and other solutions play in lowering carbon emissions worldwide.
Professor and Directory Alex Farrell, Transportation Sustainability Research Center
- Anthropology of Things That Matter: Marking Nuclear Waste Sites Forever
- Debate over nuclear waste raises the concern that buried waste might not stay in place forever. How could waste sites be marked clearly for thousands of years to come? An anthropological study suggests we should be skeptical of the proposals for marking such sites, and explains what people think about cultural continuity and the persistence of things we make.
Professor and Chair Rosemary Joyce
- The Science and Economics of Carbon Sequestration: The Climate Change Question
- Where does carbon come from, and what's its role? What are the benefits and drawbacks of planting trees to sequester carbons? How does economics enter into decision-making, and can nations work together to stem carbon emissions? Hear how an economist and a physical scientist use different strategies to approach the challenge of carbon emissions.
Professors Maximilian Auffhammer and Dennis Baldocchi
Immigration
12:30-1:30 pm | 402 Barrows Hall- Aliens, Immigrants, and Citizens: Fact and Fiction of Immigration in the U.S.
- Trying to understand the current controversies and policy debates about immigration? Look through the lens of political cartoons and the "conventional wisdom" presented by the media to explore the fact and fiction of public perceptions of immigration.
Professor Irene Bloemraad
International Development
11 am-noon | 155 Dwinelle Hall- From Berkeley to Tehran: How Young People Are Reshaping Peace, Development, and Poverty
- A former Rotary Peace Fellow discusses how the socioeconomic conditions and growing political power of youth are having a profound effect worldwide.
Lecturer Francesca Giovannini
Science
11 am-noon | 1 Pimentel Hall- Physics for Future Presidents
- Attend one of the most popular classes on campus and walk away knowing what any well-informed President of the United States or world-leader should know. From nukes to global warming, from dirty bombs to the Theory of Relativity, this discussion will give listeners of all ages a conceptual understanding of the most important topics in physics.
Professor Richard Muller