NHM Lecture Series on Climate Change in October

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has teamed up with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability to present a version of “everything you’ve always wanted to know about climate change, so you could sort through the conflicting arguments,” at the La Brea Tarpits in October.

“We are delighted to be working with UCLA to create a series for people who want to expand their vocabulary and understanding so they are confident in their understanding of this existential crisis facing our planet,” said Su Oh, NHM Vice President of Education and Public Programs

Climate change is the existential crisis of the 21st century. How it plays out, how we can curb it, and how we adjust to the changes already underway will define our generation, explained Oh, who, along with other museum staff and experts at UCLA created the series.

The lectures will take place at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, where the vast fossil record illustrates climate change in this region over the past 30,000 years.

“This is a new kind of climate series,” explained Oh, “There will be a four-night conversation between the L.A. community and some of the world’s experts on all things climate change. We can’t cover all the details on this vast subject but we hope it will give people a solid understanding of the science.”

Below is the schedule of dates and topics planned in the series, there’s more information on NHM’s website, which is now open for reservations.

October 5 – Climate Change Cliff Notes – There are so many questions about climate change and climate science. Is climate change right now really worse than climate change in the past? Isn’t it true that there has been a pause in warming in the ten years? Will the ice caps melt? Can we really blame heat waves, hurricanes, and droughts on global warming? With The Madhouse Effect author Michael Mann; creator of the California Weather Blog, Daniel Swain; and USC Associate Professor of Earth Science, Sarah Feakins with moderator Bob Lalasz, founder and principal consultant of Science+Story Communications.

October 19 – Earth and Human Climate – We can get hints about what climate change could mean for our planet and the things that live on it by looking at climate change in the past. With Assistant Curator at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, Emily Lindsey and University of Notre Dame Professor and Department Chair of Anthropology, Agustín Fuentes, with moderator Michelle Bezanson, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Santa Clarita University.

November 2 – A Tale of Two Cities in a Hotter World: Los Angeles and Beijing – It is tough to feel urgency when climate change seems like something happening to future generations, in faraway lands. The reality is, it is and will affect all of us, in every city on the planet. And it’s not all bad, by the way—some cities and people could benefit from global warming. To make climate change personal, local, and real, let’s talk about how it will affect two of the greatest cities in the world, Los Angeles and Beijing. We’ll compare notes on each city’s infrastructure and governance, actual on-the-ground impacts, and how residents might react. With UCLA Professor of Atmospheric & Ocean Sciences and Director, IoES Center for Climate Science, Alex Hall; UCLA Evolutionary Biologist Ecologist and Conservation Biologist, Brad Shaffer; and the founding Director of Natural Resources Defense Council’s China Environmental program, Alex Wang with moderator Stephanie Wear, Senior Scientist and Strategy Advisor at The Nature Conservancy.

November 16 – Imagined Futures for a Hotter Planet – Artists, writers and media organizations are playing vital roles in conveying the science and ethics of global warming. This conversation will explore how experiments in environmental storytelling and media imagine possible futures for different communities and ecosystems in the context of planetary climate change. With poet-scholar Rita Wong; Media artist and NYU professor Marina Zurkow; KCET Chief Creative Officer, Juan Devis; and Whittier College associate professor and Nadine Austin Wood Chair in American History, Natale Zappia, with moderator Allison Carruth, UCLA professor and director of LENS.

COST: 
Free admission with online reservation.

SCHEDULE:
6 pm: Doors open
7 pm: Discussion/Lecture followed by Q&A
8:30 pm: Program concludes

LOCATION:
La Brea Tarpits Museum
5801 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036