Frank Sesno
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Frank Sesno is Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, an Emmy-award winning journalist, and host and creator of Planet Forward, a ground-breaking web-to-television show seen on PBS.

Sesno’s diverse career spans over 30 years of experience, including 21 years at CNN where Sesno served as White House correspondent, anchor, and Washington Bureau Chief. He is currently hosting a ten-part series for public television that explores news and communication in the digital age titled, “The Future of News with Frank Sesno,” at the Newseum in Washington D.C.

As a journalist, Sesno has interviewed business and government leaders including U.S. Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan and former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He covered stories ranging from the Iraq War, the disputed U.S. presidential election of 2000, and the historic series of superpower summits during the 1980s.

Before joining CNN in 1984, Sesno worked as a radio correspondent at the White House and in London for the Associated Press. He has won several prestigious journalistic awards, including an Emmy, several cable ACE awards, and an Overseas Press Club Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Sesno holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College and serves on the Washington Advisory Board of the Posse Foundation, on the Board of Trustees of the Potomac School in McLean, VA, and on the Educational Advisory Board of CINE 2009.

Blog Entries by Frank Sesno

Communities Skip Washington for Green Action Locally

2 Comments | Posted November 22, 2011 | 18:29:42 (EST)

With political gridlock preventing politicians in Washington, D.C. from reaching agreements on, well, anything, it's easy to imagine the entire country is suffering from a similar political lockdown. However, municipalities across the country are coming together and moving ahead in America's clean energy discussion. One way they're doing it: building...

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Using Sustainable Water to Plan for the Next Billion

3 Comments | Posted November 9, 2011 | 17:45:36 (EST)

Last week, Danica May Camacho of the Philippines became the world's symbolic seven billionth person. The occasion drew mixed feelings in the policy world -- what does a booming global population mean for climate risks? To cite one issue, leaders are worried about the declining supply of water in...

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#ThinkFWD on Campus Sustainability

Posted October 26, 2011 | 21:02:28 (EST)

To think forward is to take a good look at the present and then apply all of your ingenuity towards cultivating a better future. With the population rushing towards 7 billion and no magical cure to global warming on the horizon, we need ideas. And who better to ask...
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Bugging Out: Could Climate Change Make the Insect Instinct Go Haywire?

Posted September 16, 2011 | 12:09:00 (EST)

Gardening in a suburban area is more difficult than most people imagine. There are problems with soil quality and plot space, water and weather. But nothing is more menacing than the docile deer. Decades of development left the deer virtually unthreatened by natural predators, and the arrival of humans and...

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For the U.S. Military, Fuel Security Means Going Renewable

Posted March 29, 2011 | 20:07:20 (EST)

The military is the single largest consumer of oil in the United States, using over 400,000 barrels per day to power a fleet of tanks, helicopters and armored personnel carriers. Needless to say, many of America's oil suppliers aren't the most reliable nations in the world. That's why...

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At Ole Miss, Improved Busing Cut Carbon and Costs

Posted January 24, 2011 | 16:30:16 (EST)

There is one truth about college: buying a parking pass is a painful rite of adulthood. Every year, tens of thousands of American students shell out up around $900 per year to park their cars on strained campus lots. Now students at Ole Miss are working with local...

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Energy Innovations at a Big Apple Icon

Posted January 20, 2011 | 17:09:46 (EST)

Who thought America's most iconic skyscraper could change the way engineers thought about green building? A recently completed plan to replace all of the Empire State Building's windows with energy-efficient upgrades is proving the iconic can also be innovative. Now Planet Forward and Nightly Business Report...

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Can Eben Bayer's Waste-Based Packing Material Create a Sustainable Shipping Industry?

Posted January 6, 2011 | 15:51:34 (EST)

Would you pack up a family heirloom in a box lined with seed husks and mushroom spores? Eben Bayer, the 26-year-old CEO and chief innovator at Ecovative Design, thinks so. Bayer's biodegradable packing materials are tough, cheap and renewable, putting Ecovative on a collision course with Styrofoam, the...

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Will the US Go Rogue if Cancún's Climate Talks Fail?

Posted December 2, 2010 | 15:57:40 (EST)

One thing's certain about the international climate negotiations happening right now in Cancún: no one's expecting big things. After last year's failure in Copenhagen to broker a legally-binding, international agreement to reduce carbon emissions, the media, negotiators pundits and activists pretty much all agree that if anything comes of Cancun...

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Ecovative Design and the Magic Packing Mushroom

Posted November 16, 2010 | 14:47:31 (EST)

What can be said about the noble packing peanut? For decades, shipping companies have filled boxes with these fluffy petroleum nuggets in order to keep our plates unbroken and our books cushioned. For a culture of consumers, the packing peanut is iconic.

Digging through packing peanuts is a...

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Considering the Climate Cost of Homeownership

Posted October 29, 2010 | 12:22:29 (EST)

Washington State's Congressman Brian Baird likes information. As Rep. Baird told Planet Forward, simply providing enough information to consumers can help lessen our environmental footprint. How? By helping us understand the true climate cost of our biggest decisions.

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Can Government Lead by Example on Climate Change?

Posted October 21, 2010 | 16:11:36 (EST)

350.org's Bill McKibben thinks government can be the answer after all. Riding off his recent 10/10/10 event, McKibben argues that governments can affect incremental change on the climate debate by publicly adopting small-scale climate solutions. Watch McKibben's interview below:

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Nissan's Leaf: Electrifying the Auto Market?

Posted October 21, 2010 | 15:25:12 (EST)

With the Nissan Leaf's 2011 model year sold out, it may be a while before you can get your hands on one. To bring you closer to the action, Nissan gave Planet Forward the opportunity to take the Leaf for a spin. We're premiering our test drive on...

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Energy and Inquiry at the White House GreenGov 2010 Symposium

Posted October 13, 2010 | 01:19:28 (EST)

If last week's White House GreenGov 2010 Symposium was any indication, working towards environmental sustainability is a team effort. GreenGov makes clear that sometimes the best means of reducing your environmental impact are the simplest: putting lights on timers and recycling old electronics.

Of course, if you really...

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Secretary Chu Announces Solar Panels on White House at GreenGov Symposium (VIDEO)

Posted October 5, 2010 | 15:39:44 (EST)

At the GreenGov Symposium, hosted by The George Washington University, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announces the installation of solar panels on the White House roof. (October 5th, 2010)

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Better than TV (or that work email)! Live Stream of the GreenGov Conference

Posted October 5, 2010 | 09:58:33 (EST)

Today we launch the first day of the Green Gov Conference held at George Washington University in Washington DC. Administration officials Steven Chu, Tom Vilsack, and Nancy Sutley will be offering their vision of a more energy efficient and sustainable government.

Watch the conference and participate in the panel discussions...

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Fast Food, Sustainably

Posted September 23, 2010 | 14:49:45 (EST)

The Wagyu beef filets served up daily at New York's Kobe Club were some globetrotting bovines. Most of the Wagyu served at ritzy steakhouses like the Kobe Club begin their journey in Japan, where the cows are fed on beer and frequently massaged. From there, the...

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Can Climate Change Survive the 112th Congress?

Posted September 10, 2010 | 17:10:48 (EST)

The political climate is more polarized than at any point in recent memory, and hopes for comprehensive climate change legislation during the waning days of the 11n1th Congress now appear dashed.

With Republicans likely to make large inroads into Democratic majorities this November, many climate change advocates are left...

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Building a Sustainable Model for Solar Small Business

Posted September 7, 2010 | 18:10:15 (EST)

Whether the industry is called clean tech, green-collar or eco-chic, the job creation potential of new renewable technologies has some pioneering companies singing "Here Comes the Sun."

As increasing numbers of Americans express interest in transitioning from fossil fuels, government agencies, entrepreneurs, academics and engineers are collaborating to harness...

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The Most Reliable Energy Source in the World? (video)

Posted August 23, 2010 | 17:43:32 (EST)

Fickle weather can make for inconsistent power supply from wind and solar. Weak winds will render a turbine useless -- strong winds can damage it. Cloudy days and, well, night-time, interrupt solar generation. But, the tides keep rolling in... and out. Unless we lose the Moon or the Earth stops...

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