Climate change, coastal impact focus of seminar

Climate change, coastal impact focus of seminar

Intense storms battering the California coast cause flooding and mud slides. Floods and gale-force winds devastate Britain. The intense hurricane season of 2004 racks up an estimated $42 billion in damage. A killer tsunami strikes Southeast Asia.

The freak weather and other extreme events that have captured headlines are fueling discussions about global climate change and the threat it poses to survival for coastal city citizens. After all, more than one-third of the world’s population now lives within 100 miles of a shoreline. Thirteen of the world’s 20 largest cities are located on a coast.

Climate change, extreme events and coastal cities will be the topic of discussion at a Feb. 9 gathering of academic, business, governmental and nongovernmental organizations sponsored by Rice’s Shell Center for Sustainability, Environmental and Energy Systems Institute and the University College London.

Experts will discuss the causes of climate change and its impact on coastal cities, specifically Houston and London; identify the critical research and practical issues needed to mitigate climate change; and identify possible collaborative projects between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Among the speakers scheduled are:

• Houston Mayor Bill White
• Lord Julian Hunt, University College London
• Rice President David Leebron
• British Counsel General in Houston Judith Slater
• Mark Wiesner, Rice University
• Phil Bedient, Rice University
• Lars Lerup, Rice University
• David Fisk, Imperial College U.K.
• Daewon Byun, University of Houston
• Paul Wilkinson, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
• Geoff Jenkins, U.K. Meteorological Office
• David Crighton, University College London
• Tim Killeen, National Center for Atmospheric Research

The conference, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Shell Oil Foundation Auditorium in the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. Registration at <www.ruf.rice.edu/~eesi/scs> is requested.