TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Renowned author and science reporter Chris Mooney will present a lecture entitled “Science at High Wind Speeds: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle over Global Warming” on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. in 127 Biology Building Auditorium on the UA campus.
Mooney’s lecture is the second in the Alabama Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change lecture series, known as APSACC, sponsored by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and its department of physics and astronomy and New College program. Details about future lectures will be posted on the APSACC web site at http://www.as.ua.edu/apsacc.
Mooney is the author of two widely read books on global warming. “The Republican War on Science,” published in 2005, proposes how the Republican Party and its allies found ways to refute the government’s scientific endeavors regarding the causes of global warming. “Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics, and the Battle Over Global Warming,” published in July 2007, details the ongoing debate between scientists who strongly believe global warming affects hurricane severity and those who do not.
Mooney serves as the Washington correspondent for Seed, a bimonthly science magazine that looks at issues at the crossroads of science and society, In his lecture, Mooney will discuss global warming’s relationship to storms and hurricanes from a political and scientific perspective.
Mooney, who grew up in New Orleans, witnessed the destruction of his mother’s home during Hurricane Katrina and began investigating whether global warming will affect the strength and severity of hurricanes in the future. He has followed the ongoing debate in the area of storm research between experts who believe in data and observation and those who believe in theory-based conclusions drawn from the laws of physics. He has also studied how the government, media, business and politics influence the way society views weather patterns.
Prior to the lecture, Mooney will participate in an interdisciplinary panel discussion of his book, “Storm World,” with six other UA faculty members that include Dr. Lynne Adrian, professor of American studies; Dr. Fred Andrus, assistant professor of geological sciences; Dr. Walter Misiolek, professor of economics and Dwight Harrigan Fellow of Natural Resources Economics; Dr. Utz McKnight, assistant professor of political science; and Dr. Jason Senkbeil, geography instructor.
The panel discussion, which will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Theatre, will highlight the various perspectives on this complex issue and will include a detailed question-answer session.
Immediately following the lecture, Mooney will be available to sign copies of “Storm World.” The lecture and panel discussion are free and open to the public.
Mooney received his bachelor’s degree in English from Yale University in 1999. His writings have been nominated for a National Magazine Award and have been included in the volume of “Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006.” He has lectured widely, including at Harvard Medical School, MIT, Yale and Princeton, and he has been featured on television programs such as “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” CSPAN’s “Book TV,” “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” and NPR’s “Science Friday.” Mooney’s blog, “The Intersection,” was a recipient of Scientific American’s 2005 Science and Technology Web Award.
Contact
Carmen Brown, College of Arts and Sciences, College Relations, 205/348-8539, brown109@bama.ua.edu