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Researcher was lead author of Nobel Peace Prize-winning U.N. report in 2007

Las Vegas, NV — Jonathan Overpeck, coordinating lead author for the United Nations' Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment, will be the keynote luncheon speaker at the inaugural WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition, Oct. 8-10, 2008, in Las Vegas.

Presented by the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WaterSense Program, WaterSmart Innovations will serve to broaden the knowledge of innovations in urban water efficiency and water conservation including products, programs and outreach. It is anticipated to be the largest and most comprehensive conference of its kind. More information is available at http://www.WaterSmartInnovations.com.

Overpeck, slated to speak at the conference's keynote luncheon Oct. 9, is the director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he also is a professor of Geosciences and a professor of Atmospheric Sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Hamilton College and a Master of Science and a doctorate from Brown University. He has published more than 120 papers on climate and the environmental sciences.

"The West is warming up and drying out, and humans are likely involved in causing this change," said Overpeck. "More warming is inevitable for the West, and this means we have to be more proactive in adapting to climate change and its likely impacts, including a tightening water supply."

"With climate change, there will be winners and losers," he added. "The people of the West need to start acting soon and aggressively if we don't want to end up on the short end of climate change."

In addition to his work with the IPCC's "Climate Change 2007" report, Overpeck also has earned the U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze and Gold Medals and the Walter Orr Roberts award of the American Meteorological Society for his interdisciplinary research. He is a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient and was the 2005 American Geophysical Union Bjerknes Lecturer. He serves on the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science Magazine.

SOURCE: Southern Nevada Water Authority