Speaking & Media
Rod Schoonover speaks and writes publicly on ecological security, polycrisis, and the intersection of Earth system science with national security and policy. Below are recent highlights followed by a record of earlier public engagements.
Recent Highlights
- 2023. Guest on The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens — a wide-ranging conversation on ecological security, polycrisis, and the limits of conventional risk frameworks.
- 2023. Plenary address at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Portland. Title: “Ecological Security as a 21st Century Framework.” Invited plenary to the flagship gathering of North American ecologists.
- 2023. Understanding the Polycrisis — contributed chapter in the Cambridge University Press volume edited by Adam Tooze and Thomas Hale, situating ecological disruption within the polycrisis framework.
- February 2026. Deny, Delay, Downplay — Feature essay in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on how governments suppress and distort ecological and climate security intelligence. Widely shared across security and policy communities.
- June 2019. Testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on climate change and national security — the first open hearing on this topic in the committee’s history.
Archive: 2016–2020
The following record covers public speaking from Rod’s time as a senior official at the National Intelligence Council and State Department, when he helped bring ecological and climate-related risks into U.S. national security institutions.
October 2016. Invited speaker at the prestigious Borlaug Dialogue at the annual World Food Prize ceremony. Topic: Global food security and national security.
October 2016. Invited panelist at a Wilson Center event on Water and Security in an Uncertain World. Topic: Water security.
January 2017. Moderator for panel at the Global Trends: Paradox of Progress report roll-out at the Newseum. Topic: Environmental trends.
November 2017. Invited speaker at the Summit on Global Food Security and Health at George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government. Topic: Global food security and national security.
October 2018. Keynote speaker at the Society of Conservation Biology Consmark2018 conference at George Mason University. Topic: Ecological disruption and national security.
June 2019. Congressional hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Topic: National security implications of climate change.
June 2019. Washington Post article and New York Times article about White House suppression of State Department written testimony to House intelligence committee hearing on the national security implications of climate change.
June 2019. CNN article about Rep. Adam Schiff’s letter to State Department requesting information about suppressed written testimony to House intelligence committee.
July 2019. Wall Street Journal article about Dr. Schoonover’s resignation from the State Department.
July 2019. New York Times Opinion Editorial by Dr. Schoonover about his resignation from the Trump administration.
July 2019. Public discussion with World Resource Institute’s Andrew Light on climate change and national security.
September 2019. Interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper about White House suppression of science and leaving government.
September 2019. Interview with CBS’s Margaret Brennan about White House suppression of science and leaving government.
September 2019. Public remarks at Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania. Topic: Climate change and national security.
October 2019. Interview with The Nation’s Liza Featherstone about climate change and the Trump Administration’s war on science.
November 2019. Public remarks at The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Topic: Climate change diplomacy.
December 2019. Invited panelist at Brookings Institution’s Asia Transnational Threats Forum. Topic: Climate change in Asia.
January 2020. Invited panelist at launch of The Center for Climate & Security‘s report A Security Threat Assessment of Global Climate Change. Topic: Climate change and national security. Coverage of report and event in USA Today and Reuters.