Our Keynote speaker...

Climate, Grapes, & Wine:

Structure, Suitability, & Sustainability In A Changing Climate

Wine production evokes a strong sense of place, embodied in the notion of terroir.  Terroir, being the  special set of characteristics of geology, geography, and climate that interact with a plant's genetics, such as those of the grape. 

History has shown that the narrow climatic zones for growing wine grapes are especially prone to variations in climate and long-term climate change.  The observed warming over the last fifty years in wine regions worldwide has benefited some by creating more suitable conditions while others have been challenged by increased heat and water stress. 

This presentation summarizes a series of global to regional studies that examine observed climate structure, variability, and trends, along with climate model projections in relation to the notion of terroir and viticultural viability and quality issues.

biography

Gregory V. Jones is the Director of the Division of Business, Communication and the Environment and a professor and research climatologist in the Environmental Science and Policy Program at Southern Oregon University. He specializes in the study of climate structure and suitability for viticulture, and how climate variability and change influence grapevine growth, wine production and quality. He holds a BA and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in Environmental Sciences with a concentration in the Atmospheric Sciences. His dissertation was on the climatology of viticulture in Bordeaux, France with a focus on the spatial differences in grapevine phenology, grape composition and yield, and the resulting wine quality. He conducts applied research for the grape and wine industry in Oregon and has given hundreds of international, national, and regional presentations on climate and wine-related research. He is the author of numerous book chapters and other reports and articles on wine economics, grapevine phenology, site assessment methods for viticulture, climatological assessments of viticultural potential, and climate change. He was named to Decanter Magazine’s 2009 Power List representing the top 50 most influential people in the world of wine, named the Oregon Wine Press’s 2009 Wine Person of the Year, and has been in the top 100 most influential people in the US wine industry in 2012 and 2013 (intowine.com).

Our Banquet Speaker...

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History & Status of the Hanford Site:  Implications for the Future 

In 1944, the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactors and chemical reprocessing plants used to recover weapon-grade plutonium from irradiated uranium fuel began operating on a 600 square mile track of desert land in southeastern Washington State through which the Columbia River flows. Today, this area is known as the Hanford Site. Hanford produced most of the plutonium used in the United Sates for making nuclear weapons.  In so doing, the site amassed the largest amount of radioactive waste found in the Western Hemisphere and was also the first site to release large amounts of radiation into the environment exposing people who lived downwind and downstream. 

This presentation will focus on the contamination, establishment of the Monument, and the clean-up efforts that are to be completed by 2060.  

There is significant uncertainty in how long Hanford cleanup will take, how much it will cost, what environmental risks will remain for future generations, and whether the correct knowledge and capabilities are being pursued to ensure the viability of proposed remediation strategies.

biography

Roy Gephart is a recently retired Chief Environmental Scientist from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and an award-winning author with 40 years experience in the radioactive waste industry. He is a nationally recognized expert about Hanford issues and is writing his third book on the subject.  Roy has a B.A. in geology from Miami University and a M.S. in geohydrology from Wright State University.