New center will focus environmental debate and produce solutions for action

PHILADELPHIA—The Academy of Natural Sciences today announced a new Center for Environmental Policy that will bring together disparate parties in the wide-ranging environmental debate and offer practical solutions for managing the region's natural resources.

The center will be funded by an $82,500 start-up grant from the William Penn Foundation. It will evaluate key issues of environmental policy affecting Philadelphia and surrounding communities and provide a forum for discussion among citizens, industries, government officials and organizations. The center will build public awareness on critical environmental topics—including climate change, water pollution, and the role of religion—and recommend official policies based on science and inclusive dialogue.

"The center will answer the long-standing need for a non-partisan, science-based organization that is capable of engaging and guiding disparate public and private environmental stakeholders," said Academy President and CEO Dr. William Y. Brown. "The Philadelphia region is fortunate to have a large number of active organizations—from grass-roots to the top echelons of government—that want to work toward sound and sustainable solutions to better our communities. The Academy is uniquely placed to help coordinate that effort."

The center will build on the Academy's decades-long work in developing the science to understand and protect the environment and how it is affected by people. It is also the outgrowth of the popular 4-year-old Town Square program, including the Urban Sustainability Forums. Founded in 1812, the Academy is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas.

"Like many natural history museums, the Academy in recent years has assumed new roles beyond the traditional activities of exploring, collecting, classifying and exhibiting," Brown said. "The Academy is a comprehensive institution, generating and transmitting new knowledge and facilitating positive public action."

The center has four general functions.

• Public Communications. The Academy will draw on its scientific expertise to play a key role in informing public debate on science-related policy questions.
• Public Science. The Academy will bring together experts and the public for broad-ranging discussions on environmental and scientific issues.
• Decision-Making Support. The Academy will invite groups of policymakers and scientists to work hand in hand to develop practical recommendations to complex issues.
• Formal Academic Research. Academy scientists will expand their work on environmental policy.