Are you writing about major droughts or trying to explain the science behind rapidly melting glaciers? Do you want to better understand climate change, its impact on your community and how governments plan to respond?

If so, you can join a select group of journalists from across the country for this all-expenses-paid Climate Change conference. This cutting-edge environmental conference is October 12-14 at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

During the conference, you will learn from experts and insiders what kind of energy, economic and environmental policies to expect from a McCain or Obama administration. You will find out more about carbon issues just before the U.N. Climate Change conference, which is aimed at developing a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions. And you will be able to more fully delve into the impact of climate change at local, national and international levels.

This is your opportunity to meet Dr. Lonnie Thompson, who pioneered ice core studies and won the 2005 National Medal of Science, and take a tour of the Byrd Polar Research Center with Dr. Ellen Mosley-Thompson, head of OSU’s ice core paleoclimatology group. You will meet Dr. Laurence Smith, vice-chair, UCLA Department of Geography and author of the forthcoming book, The New North: Our World in 2050. And you will have a chance to hear from Fred Pearce, leading environmental journalist and author of When the Rivers Run Dry: Water—The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century.

You also will meet with Dr. Andy Keeler, a Glenn School economist and former member of the White House Climate Change Policy Team, as well as a host of other scientists, policy experts and journalists who can help you better inform your readers about the most pressing environmental issues of our time.

Due to the generous support of The McCormick Foundation (McCormickTribune.org) one of the nation’s largest public charities and a major journalism supporter, the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism will provide meals, lodging and a travel stipend for journalists selected to attend.

Applications are due by September 8th.