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This past weekends storm took some of us by surprise, but Dr. David Downie saw it coming.
Among the many and largely negative impacts of a warmer world are changes in weather patterns and more extreme events, says Downie, the Director of Environmental Studies and Professor of Politics at Fairfield University.
This includes intense droughts in many areas, longer heat waves in some, and stronger storms and flooding in others. The storms this year on the east coast are consistent with climate models as we expect more precipitation in that region.
Its the opposite of flood conditions, however, that David will focus on in his April 5th lecture at the Darien Library, Weathering the Storm: Climate Change, Science and Policy. Hell use the Dust Bowl widely acknowledged as the most prolonged natural disaster of all time to explain how the greenhouse effect could bring about a similar catastrophe.
Many argue, on the basis of significant data, that we are already seeing this happen in some areas - for example, the severe drought in Australia, he says.
A significant rise in global temperatures would very likely produce very, very negative economic, environmental and human health impacts.
Its this concern that drew David, a Fairfield resident and father of two, from his original focus of international policy to environmental issues.
For his part, Downie does seem to walk the walk. He left Columbia University, where he served as Director of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, for Fairfield University to shorten his commute (his wife is an MD at Yale). Some of his favorite activities are outdoorsy pursuits like scuba diving and skiing. To hear more of his thoughts on the saving the planet, head to the Darien Library on the 5th at 7 p.m.; if that gets you hooked, go back the next night for a discussion of the book The Worst Hard Time, the award-winning Dust Bowl tale by Timothy Egan. 203-655-1234.
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