aquarium

The League of Women Voters of Long Beach Area and the Aquarium of the Pacific will present a free symposium on Saturday, January 20 during which experts will discuss the latest assessment of climate change and sea-level rise and their impact locally, regionally and globally.

“The New Challenges of Climate Change” will take place in the aquarium’s Ocean Theatre from 10:00AM to 12:30PM. It is open to the public but RSVPs must be made by January 18. The first 190 guests to respond will be admitted.

Oceanographer and aquarium CEO Dr. Jerry R. Schubel will be one of the featured experts who will host a panel discussion and deliver a keynote address.

Other experts include UCLA Center for Climate Science Associate Director Dr. Neil Berg, U.S. Geological Survey co-project leader Dr. Juliette Finzi Hart, Port of Long Beach Planning and Environmental Affairs Managing Director Richard Cameron, and Dr. Bill Patzert, a climatologist and oceanographer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

They will present the most current data on sea-level rise worldwide, but especially as it affects the Long Beach area and region, according to a release.

Speakers will address how scientists know that climate change influenced the extreme-weather events of 2017, including hurricanes and wildfires, what the sea-level rise will do in the Long Beach area and what will happen to the 7.6 billion people on Earth confronted by accelerating effects of climate change, the release stated.

The symposium will be livestreamed on the League of Women Voters of Long Beach website here. It will begin promptly at 10:00AM. RSVP to Lisa Swanson at (562) 243-7301 or [email protected]. A check-in table will be located outside the aquarium entrance.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way.

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.