Energy efficiency is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to curb carbon emissions, not to mention beneficial for businesses and consumers alike in terms of cost reduction. But behaviors are hard to change. Leveraging the internet and connected smart devices may be the key to incorporating energy efficient technologies and practices into everyday life, and significantly curbing carbon emissions. In developing countries, where the biggest opportunities to elevate energy productivity exist, energy efficient technologies are poised to make huge inroads. What does the future hold for the internet of things and its impact on energy usage and ultimately reducing carbon emissions?

Speaker Dora Hsu, Chief Platform Officer, SmartThings, is in discussion with Michael Soucie, Head of Consumer Product Partnerships, Nest Labs.

Adam Satariano, Technology Reporter, Bloomberg News, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1541

Upward mobility and the resulting growth of the middle class have long been the promise of the American dream, inspiring many to come to our shores. But technology-driven globalization, while creating great wealth and lifting many from poverty, has also left many behind. High growth economies like China, India and Nigeria are experiencing disparities that have implications for stability. And, in the US, inequality in income is the highest it has been since 1928. How can technology innovation be matched by social innovation? What will be the future of work in high and low growth economies? And how can the current and future workforce prepare for the jobs that await? These are the questions that are on the minds of some of our country’s leading technologists, including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. The World Affairs Council has invited Hoffman and fellow innovators to explore these questions and report out to those gathering here at WorldAffairs 2015.

Speakers

Reid Hoffman, Founder of LinkedIn and Greylock Partners
James Manyika, McKinsey Global Institute
Byron Auguste, Co-founder, Opportunity@Work
Zoe Baird, President, Markle Foundation
Moderator: Jane Wales, CEO, World Affairs Council and Global Philanthropy Forum; Vice President, The Aspen Institute

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1540

Experts say the next epidemic will not be a question of 'if' it will happen, but rather 'when.' With that in mind and looking at the recent catastrophic Ebola outbreak in West Africa, what are the lessons learned from this tragedy and what needs to be done to ensure it does not happen again? Governments in the affected countries played key roles in both stopping the spread of Ebola and failing to respond properly. How can troubled governments best react to epidemics? What role do the business and philanthropic communities have in the prevention of – or reaction to – an outbreak?

Julie Gerberding, Executive Vice President, Population Health, Merck & Co., Inc., is in discussion with Joia Mukherjee, Chief Medical Officer, Partners in Health.

The conversation is moderated by Eva Harris, Faculty Director, Center for Global Public Health; Professor of Infectious Disease, University of California, Berkeley.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1538

The world is growing smaller in more ways than one – while the global population increases, covering more and more of the planet, the amount of livable, arable land diminishes in the face of a changing climate. How can we meet the needs of nine billion people while protecting the natural resources necessary for growth and prosperity? We will focus on this delicate balance and discuss ways to ensure a sustainable future, starting with our own backyard, in California.

Speaker Jonathan Foley is Executive Director and William R. and Gretchen B. Kimball Chair of the California Academy of Sciences.

Scott Shafer, Host and Reporter, The California Report; Senior Correspondent, KQED NEWSROOM, KQED, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1537

This week’s episode focuses on US foreign policy and national security.

The United States is currently facing many foreign policy and national security challenges: ISIS continues to threaten security and regional stability, the Syrian civil war looks no closer to resolution and is now creating a refugee crisis that extends well into the European Union; and the United States’ nascent nuclear deal with Iran still faces many hurdles. Amidst all of this, the candidates are gearing up for the US presidential election next year.

World Affairs' CEO Jane Wales sat down with former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to get his take on this complex situation. After speaking with Secretary Gates, she continued the discussion of US foreign policy and national security with Michele Flournoy, co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security.

Whether it be drawing down from two foreign wars, the advancement of ISIS in the Middle East or the recent nuclear deal with Iran, the United States is facing numerous foreign policy challenges. As a Congressman representing California for eight terms, Adam Schiff has worked closely on many of the top security issues facing the United States. He has been a leader on national security and foreign policy efforts in Congress while serving as the ranking member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and as a member of the Benghazi Select Committee. Schiff will discuss his work in Congress to strengthen American diplomacy and reform intelligence efforts along with his thoughts on the Iran deal and what the United States needs to do to meet future foreign policy objectives.

Speaker Adam Schiff is the Representative of the 28th Congressional District of California of the United States House of Representatives.

Anja Manuel, Partner at RiceHadleyGates LLC, will moderate the discussion.

For more information please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1505

Many see China’s economic rise and growing middle class as precursors to democratization, as was the case for its neighbors in South Korea and Taiwan. This transition has not yet materialized, and some would argue that it won’t – and shouldn’t.

Is Chinese democracy inevitable? Professor Daniel Bell believes it is not, and supports many aspects of the Chinese political system, in which top leaders are selected based on merit and electoral democracy functions at the local level. While a transition to full democracy may not be necessary, many problems remain, including corruption, lack of transparency and repression of freedoms of speech and the press. Can these issues be addressed within China’s current political structure? How can reforms be instituted in certain areas without the system collapsing entirely? And what can other nations learn from the strengths of Chinese political meritocracy?

Speaker Daniel A. Bell is the Chair Professor of the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University.

The discussion will be moderated by Dale R. Walker,
Member of the Board of Directors for Beneficial State Bank, and Trustee of the World Affairs Council.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1501

Around the world, the Internet is a tool that enables economic development, government accountability and personal freedoms; the free flow of information is at the Internet’s core. But despite its rapid growth, approximately five billion people lack access to the internet, and the protections when it comes to surveillance and privacy are inadequate. As the great connecting infrastructure of the day, the Internet is also vulnerable to exploitation and the undermining of the very positive advancements it makes possible.

This special episode features "Leveraging the Disruptive Power of the Internet", a plenary discussion from the Global Philanthropy Forum Conference 2015. The conversation explores issues of equity, of access, of safety and security when it comes to the Internet and information and communication technology more broadly.

We also bring you an exclusive interview with Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the US Department of State. Under Secretary Novelli discusses cybersecurity, trade, Internet governance and freedom and data privacy.

Access to water has been declared an international human right, but it may be increasingly difficult to enforce. This episode explores how countries around the world are coping with the growing demand and greater environmental challenges that impact water supply. What happens when systems put into place to protect the environment obstruct our ability to access a basic human necessity? What does it mean when you have to choose between drinking, planting, or washing?

Innovation and entrepreneurship often conjure images of Silicon Valley and startups growing out of garages. But this sort of creativity is found all over the world, with innovators operating in black markets and informal economies and developing original solutions to many and diverse challenges.

What does innovation look like at the margins of business and society? What lessons can we learn from the practices of hackers, pirates, gang members and dissidents, and how can we apply these ideas to formal markets? Alexa Clay will share stories of the underground innovators that make up what she calls the Misfit Economy.

Speaker Alexa Clay is Co-founder of the League of Intrapreneurs.

Jason Rissman, Managing Director of OpenIDEO, moderates the discussion.

For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1486