Time: 3:30pm
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Location: Boardroom, St. Joseph's College
Presenter: Dr. Richard Peltier
As the warming of the planet continues, and although the year 2016 was the warmest recorded instrumentally and perhaps the warmest that has occurred over at least the past million years of Earth history, humanity prevaricates. Will we encounter a "tipping point" beyond which the recovery of natural systems upon which we continue to rely will be difficult/impossible? Alternative futures are accessible through complex model projections based upon the assumption of "scenarios" of future greenhouse gas increase. Which scenario the planet will follow will be determined politically. What is the current greenhouse gas trajectory we are on and what does it imply for different Canadian regions? Are the model projections of these futures believable? What is the basis of our scientific faith?
Dr. Richard Peltier is a University Professor and Professor of Physics at the University of Toronto. He is the Director of the Centre for Global Change Science, PI of the Polar Climate Stability Network and Scientific Director of SciNet.
This presentation is co-sponsored by the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta and is a capstone to the SJC Speaker Series on Laudato Si'.
Everyone is welcome; an RSVP is requested but not required to Sara at: sara.mckeon@ualberta.ca
Light refreshments will be available.