Oct 16, 2017
Peter Wadhams, one of the world’s most experienced sea ice scientists, brings a report from the frontline of planetary change in his new book A Farewell to Ice. Wadhams shows how sea ice is the ‘canary in the mine’ of planetary climate change. He describes how it forms and the vital role it plays in reflecting solar heat back into space and providing an ‘air conditioning’ system for the planet. He shows how a series of rapid feedbacks in the Arctic region are accelerating change there more rapidly than almost all scientists (and political authorities) have previously realized, and the dangers of further acceleration are very real. Wadhams will be joined onstage by interviewer Brady Piñero Walkinshaw, CEO of Seattle-based environmental media organization Grist. Together the two will explore Wadhams’ observations and the latest scientific research, revealing how dramatically sea ice has diminished over the past three decades, to the point at which, by the time of this event, the Arctic may be free of ice for the first time in 10,000 years.
Wadhams will be joined onstage by Brady Piñero Walkinshaw. Walkinshaw is a former state representative and, currently, the CEO of Grist, a Seattle-based online magazine focusing on environmental news.
Presented by Town Hall Seattle and PATH as part of the Science & Town Green series.
The views and opinions expressed by speakers are entirely their own. PATH nor Town Hall Seattle take no position on event content.
Recorded live at PATH by Town Hall Seattle Wednesday, October 4, 2017