Register now for a breakfast session on climate change on February 20

The February 20 session is entitled, The "Fierce urgency of now": Lessons for Canada from the ghosts of climate past and features Dr. John P. Smol, Queen's University

By many measures, the greatest challenge facing humanity today is anthropogenic climate change. Recent opinion polls, however, suggest that a significant portion of the general public believe that there remains scientific controversy regarding global warming. This is untrue, as very strong scientific consensus exists on the reality of human-related climate change. One of the biggest misconceptions is that current warming may simply be part of a natural, longer-term cycle. This arises partly from the assumption that little is known about natural climate cycles beyond what can be determined from relatively short-term meteorological records. Fortunately, the ecosystems around us have been recording long-term environmental conditions for millennia in a wide spectrum of natural archives, including the wealth of long-term environmental information that I have been tracking in lake sediments. This presentation examines the importance of using data acquired over appropriate time scales to inform evidence-based policy decisions, using examples of marked ecosystem changes as well as episodic events, such as recent flooding, which we can link to recent climate change.

This breakfast is organized by the Partnership Group for Science and Engineering, an umbrella organization of 20 national science and engineering societies, supported by the Canadian Museum of Nature, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), CANARIE Inc. and many other organizations.

This discussion will be in English - Simultaneous interpretation available.

Date: Thursday, Feb 20, 2020

Time: 7:30 am - 8:45 am (buffet breakfast is ready beginning at 7:15 am and the talk begins at 7:45 am)

Location: Sir John A. Macdonald (SJAM) Building - Room 100

Cost: $25.00 - Limited Space - Payment must be made in advance by credit card. No charge for Members of the House of Commons, Senators, Parliamentary Staff, and Media. Contact baconandeggheads@gmail.com or 613-266-4330.

Registration deadline: Monday, Feb 17, 2020.  Due to security measures, pre-registration is required. No refunds or cancellations after the deadline.

To register, please click here.