Venue/Location: Bagdad Theater, 3702 Southeast Hawthorne Blvd, Phone: (503) 467-7521
Date: Monday, November 7, 2011 - 7:00 PM
OMSI Science Pub - Adventures of a Climate Scientist in the Age of Politics and Punditry
Presented by Dr. Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and Associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at The Pennsylvania State University
Admission: $5 suggested cover charge
Science Pub is open to ages 21+, or minor with adult.
Doors open at 5:00pm. Most Science Pubs fill quickly, so come early to get a seat!
Despite reports to the contrary, overwhelming evidence shows that our weird weather averages out to a warming climate, and pundits and politicians cannot change the fundamental physics that the human-caused rise of CO2 and other greenhouse gases has a warming effect. But arguing about physics turns attention away from constructive responses to a changing climate.
What is it like to study climate and see the signs of global change, yet fight an uphill battle to have people believe the science? How do you convince US Senators for whom you are acting as tour guide on a glacier in Greenland that the melting they're seeing has accelerated?
At this Science Pub, well-known geoscientist Richard Alley will talk about the science of climate change and his work with entities such as the US government and the UN/IPCC, and just how one navigates this hotbed of scientific research in a politically charged environment.
Dr. Richard Alley is Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and Associate of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Alley teaches and conducts research on the climatic records, flow behavior, and sedimentary deposits of large ice sheets to aid in prediction of future changes in climate and sea level. He has served on a variety of advisory panels and steering committees, including chairing the National Research Council’s Panel on Abrupt Climate Change and participating in the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which was co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize). His experience includes three field seasons in Antarctica, eight in Greenland, and three in Alaska. Most recently, Dr. Alley is starring in a three-part PBS series, EARTH: The Operators' Manual, that dispenses with politics, polemics, or punditry to present the notion that if we approach Earth as if we have an Operators’ Manual, we can avoid climate catastrophes, improve energy security, and make millions of good jobs. He's also author of the Norton trade book of the same name, now in a second printing.
EARTH: The Operators’ Manual books and DVDs will be available for purchase and signing by the author at this Science Pub.