Guy
McPherson in Auckland, 22 October, 2014
Public lecture: Abrupt climate change - evidence and options for the future
Professor Guy McPherson. Image: Robin Westenra
Event date and time:
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 - 17:30 - 19:30
Abrupt climate change: Evidence and options for the future
Public lecture by Professor Emeritus Guy McPherson
Abrupt climate change is under way. Earth has warmed only 0.85 C since the Industrial Revolution began, but considerable evidence points toward increasingly rapid warming in the near future. For example, industrial civilisation has produced about twice as much atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1970 as before that time. There is about a 40-year lag between carbon dioxide emissions and warming, suggesting abundant warming is already locked into the planetary system. In addition, atmospheric methane has joined carbon dioxide as a major contributor to planetary warming. It appears the much-dreaded “clathrate gun” has been fired in the Arctic Ocean.
This presentation presents evidence regarding abrupt climate change and poses a few questions for consideration: Shall we respond to anthropogenic climate change? If so, how? What tools can be employed by society and the media to positively alter the future? What role do individuals play? How shall we live in light of this information?
This presentation presents evidence regarding abrupt climate change and poses a few questions for consideration: Shall we respond to anthropogenic climate change? If so, how? What tools can be employed by society and the media to positively alter the future? What role do individuals play? How shall we live in light of this information?
Humbled by the natural world since his early years, McPherson now occupies a straw-bale home on a shared homestead in New Mexico. From within a few kilometres of the first designated wilderness area in the world, he gardens, tends an orchard and a flock of domesticated ducks, and writes and speaks about a diverse array of topics.
More than 10 years into a career in the academic ivory tower, McPherson began focusing his efforts on social criticism, with topics ranging from education and evolution to the twin sides of the fossil-fuel coin: (1) global climate change and (2) net energy decline and the attendant economic consequences.
Organised by AUT's School of Social Sciences and Public Policy and the Pacific Media Centre.
Contact: Cristina Parra
When: Wednesday, 22 October, 5.30 pm
Where: WG126, Sir Paul Reeves Building, AUT University City Campus, Mayoral Drive
ALL WELCOME
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