May You Live In Exciting Times

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May You Live In Exciting Times

• Climate Change,Public Understanding, and
  Lessons From The Harriman Expedition Retraced
• Tom LitwinSmith CollegeNorthampton, MA
• Tlitwin_at_smith.edu

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The 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced A
Century of Change
Two expeditions separated by a century
A century as momentous as any 100-year period
in human history
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Technical Advances, Environmental Implications
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Globalization of Environmental Issues
1899
Credit www.duiops.net
Credit wallpapers.diq.ru
Local/regional driver Local/regional impact
Local/regional response
Credit Kim Heacox
Credit National Park Service
Credit NOAA
Credit NOAA
Credit Kim Heacox
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Globalization of Environmental Issues
2007
Credit www.duiops.net
Credit wallpapers.diq.ru
Local/regional driver Local/regional
impact Global driver Local/regional impact
Local/regional response Global response

Credit Kim Heacox
Credit National Park Service
Credit NOAA
Credit NOAA
Credit Kim Heacox
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Public Understanding Public Confusion
Global warming is the greatest hoax ever
perpetrated on the American people. US Senator
James Inhofe, July 28, 2003 Ancient Ice Shelf
Snaps and Breaks Free From Canadian
Arctic. Associated Press, December 28, 2006
False Alarm Atlantic Conveyor Belt Hasnt
Slowed Down. Science, November 2006 The
climate crisis is, indeed, extremely dangerous.
In Fact, is a true planetary emergency. Al Gore,
An Inconvenient Truth, May 2006
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IPY 2007-2008 Concept
ICSU and WMO are co-sponsoring
An intensive burst of internationally
coordinated, interdisciplinary, scientific
research and observations focussed on the
Earths Polar regions starting in 2007
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IPY Themes

• Current Status of Polar Regions
• Change in the Polar Regions
• Global Linkages
• New Frontiers
• Polar Regions as Vantage Points
• The Human Dimension
• The Human Dimension also runs through the first
  five Themes.
• Data Management and Education, Outreach
  Communication are present in all six themes

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IPY and Societal Benefits

• IPY can bring societal benefits to the polar
  regions in the form of new knowledge, in
  enhancements to the systems observing change and
  in understanding of natural and human processes
  there
• Improving weather information, forecasting, and
  warnings
• Improving predictions of climate variability and
  change
• Reducing loss of life and property from natural
  and human- induced disasters
• Establishing how to mitigate or adapt to
  environmental factors affecting human health
  and well being

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IPY and Societal Benefits

• Improving the sustainable management of
  fisheries/ agriculture
• Improving the management of resources of water
  and energy
• Improving the management and protection of
  terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems
• Understanding, monitoring, and conserving
  biodiversity
• Providing indigenous people with the tools and
  capabilities to tackle these societal issues
  and build capacity

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IPY Objectives

• Seek major advances in knowledge and
  understanding
• Obtain a snapshot of the current state of the
  Polar regions
• Establish a legacy of new or enhanced
  observational systems, facilities, infrastructure
  and research networks
• Ensure unprecedented access to the data generated
• Attract and develop the next generation of polar
  scientists and engineers
• Capture the interest and involvement of polar
  residents and of schoolchildren, the public and
  decision-makers worldwide

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Ideas Challenges for Outreach Education for
IPY
Photo credit British Antarctic Survey
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Why Outreach?

• Outreach makes connections with people, who may
  think or act differently as a result of learning
  about your work.
• Outreach can influence the future!

Jane Beitler (NSIDC), at Fall 2004 AGU
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The IPY Target Audience
Photo credit DCJ, US Outreach Workshop, July 2005
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Photo credit Paul Tate
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Map credit World Wildlife Fund
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Themes

• Humans as integral and powerful players within
  the ecosystems and earth systems that sustain
  them.
• The Bering Sea as one of the Earths most
  interesting and productive ecosystems.
• The cultures, religions, lifestyles, and economic
  models that depend on Bering Sea resources.
• The Bering Sea as a laboratory for understanding
  the science and social science of climate and
  environmental change.
• The Bering Sea as an interdisciplinary,
  educational gateway for helping the public tease
  apart and understand the increasingly complex
  issues at the interface of society and the
  environment.

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Educational Outcomes

• Following the successful Harriman Retraced model
  (www.pbs.org/harriman),Thin Ice educational
  products and outcomes will include

• A two-hour PBS documentary film co-produced by
  Florentine Films/Hot Productions.
• An extensive educational web site targeted to PBS
  Online, including real-time ships log postings.
• Ship-based radio expedition intended to bring the
  public onboard in real-time.
• A book that celebrates the Bering Sea and its
  people, and integrates our science and social
  science knowledge into the global conversation
  about climate change.

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2008
Thank You!