LAS VEGAS - November 23, 2009 - The Brookings Scholars program - a product of the new Brookings Mountain West Initiative - welcomes leading experts from the Brookings Institution to UNLV each month to lend insight on key regional issues through interaction with campus and community leaders, collaborative research and a free public lecture held in conjunction with each scholar's visit to campus.

The following is a list of the Brookings Scholars Lectures for November. For more information on the Brookings Mountain West Initiative, including visiting scholar biographies, please visit the Brookings Mountain West website.

Nov. 30
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Greenspun Hall Auditorium
"Double-Edged Sovereignty: The Politics and Diplomacy of Climate Change"
William Antholis, Brookings Institution Managing Director and Director of the Brookings Mountain West Initiative

In December, Obama Administration envoys will join representatives from 192 countries in Copenhagen, Denmark, to debate and negotiate the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, the U.S. Senate will begin to debate and negotiate comprehensive climate change legislation. These two complicated negotiations demonstrate the challenges of modern global politics. Antholis will discuss how the two political efforts relate to one another on important issues such as solar energy, nuclear energy and coal. He will also discuss how lessons learned from the failed Kyoto experiment will guide negotiators both in Copenhagen and in the Senate.

Previous Lectures

Nov. 12
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; SEB Auditorium
"The Long and Winding Road: Automotive Fuel Economy and American Politics"
Pietro S. Nivola, Senior Fellow and C. Douglas Dillon Chair in Governance Studies for the Brookings Institution

Nivola discussed why for more than 30 years the U.S. government has been trying to reduce the nation's voracious consumption of petroleum by regulating the fuel economy of motor vehicles. What have been the difficulties with this conservation program? And why have other advanced countries obtained better results with a different mix of policies? Nivola assessed these important questions and the lessons to learn from them.

Nov. 17
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Greenspun Hall Auditorium
"Climate Change Economics 101"
Adele Morris, Fellow and Policy Director for Climate and Energy Economics at the Brookings Institution

Diplomats will soon convene in Copenhagen to seek international agreement on climate protection, and Congress is considering major U.S. legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Morris introduced an economic approach to thinking about climate change policy, offered an overview of measures in the draft legislation and treaty discussions, and explained what they might mean for the U.S. economy.

The Brookings Mountain West Initiative is a partnership between UNLV and the Brookings Institution. The initiative combines the renowned public policy research of Brookings scholars with the expertise and insight of UNLV faculty to make real improvements in infrastructure, policy and quality of life challenges that face Las Vegas and the region.