University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
For Immediate Release:	October 22, 1997
Contact: C. Barry Raleigh, 808 956-6182 Cheryl Ernst, 808 956-5941,

Japanese, American Science Advisers Meet to Mark New Global Warming Study Center at the University of Hawai'i The top science advisers to the White House and Diet met in Honolulu this week to celebrate the establishment of a cooperative research center on global change research and prediction, including global warming and climate change. The International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) at the University of Hawai'i, along with sister centers in Fairbanks and Tokyo, represent the realization of one of five initiatives on the Common Agenda discussed by Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton last June. Noting that the center evolved more quickly than most academic or political events, Assistant to the U.S. President for Science and Technology John H. Gibbons said: "The president thinks a series of prudent actions should be taken. We need to deepen the scientific understanding of global warming and its relationship to other environmental stresses-here IPRC will play an important and central role-so that we make wiser choices. Without scientific understanding, we could make foolish choices." The president also intends to remain engaged in the international discussion and support development and use of cost-effective technologies to reduce greenhouse gasses, Gibbons added. "There are no national boundaries in global climate change," Parliamentary Vice Minister of Japan for Science and Technology Norifumi Kato responded through an interpreter. He pointed to this year's exceptionally strong El Niño event and its contribution to the recent forest fires in Indonesia as an example. Mr. Kato invited scientists from around the world to join the center "to find answers to create a sustainable future for all mankind." Also participating in the ceremony was Takuya Hirano, president of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center. Other agencies involved in IPRC include the National Space Development Agency and the Science and Technology Agency from Japan and NASA, NOAA and the National Science Foundation. Kyoto University, Hokkaido University, University of Tokyo, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Pennsylvania State University and University of Washington are participated in planning for IPRC, which will employ 30 scientists and support personnel when fully staffed.   Slide 1, from left: Gibbons, Kato, University of Hawai'i President Kenneth P. Mortimer, UH School of Ocean and Earth Science Dean C. Barry Raleigh, Hawai'i Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono Slides 2 and 3, from left: Hirano, Kato, Gibbons, Hirono, Mortimer

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