The Penn Stater Magazine

Dean Talks Climate Change

April 26, 2010 at 9:12 pm Lori Shontz Leave a comment

One of the great parts of the Campaign Kick-Off Celebration over the weekend was the educational sessions, which are designed to give attendees a sense of what kind of research and programs are happening on campus. I went to several over the weekend and learned a lot, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was the first one: Understanding Climate Change.

It wasn’t the science that grabbed me. It was that even though climate change has become a contentious issue, with Penn State professor Michael Mann at the heart of the recent Climategate episode, it wasn’t glossed over. William Easterling, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences and a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, addressed a room full of guests that included Penn State President Graham Spanier and at least a handful of self-identified climate change skeptics.

“I am not a political person,” Easterling said. “I try not to stray into what the press is saying about climate change at any given time. I imagine the vast majority of research scientists are of the same ilk.”

That didn’t stop Easterling from giving a 45-minute lecture on climate change, explaining both the non-contested facts (there are some, he said, including that the greenhouse effect is real and that several lines of evidence show that the planet’s average temperature has been rising) and the areas where controversy has arisen (whether it’s man’s fault, and whether the temperature change is out of the ordinary).

Among the tidbits I picked up: Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant, Easterling has a lilac bush that he is monitoring, looking to determine whether flowers are blooming earlier; much of today’s science depends on high-end computer simulations that are used to test hypotheses, a process that has become an accepted part of the scientific method only in the past 15 years or so; and the BBC’s website has, in Easterling’s opinion, excellent explainers on climate and weather.

More important, I think, Easterling took questions from the audience, and he engaged directly with those climate change skeptics.

I’m not going to pretend I understand enough science to be able to follow all of the details of the arguments. (And I’m not alone; Andrew Revkin, who is widely respected for his coverage of the environment for the New York Times, said he has to wait for the peer-reviewed journals to weigh in—on this On The Media podcast.) But I do respect that the skeptics asked questions, and that Easterling answered.

Regrettably, time ran out as the discussion was really getting started. Easterling wrapped up by saying, “It wasn’t my intent to try to change your mind.” And he offered to continue the conversation via e-mail, too.

Lori Shontz, senior editor

Entry filed under: Campus events, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Controversy, Faculty research, Penn State faculty. Tags: BBC, climate change, Graham Spanier, Michael Mann, National Science Foundation, On the Media, William Easterling.