What is a Christian response to climate change?, Research Matters, Monash University

Date:	18 August 2009
Time:	5:00-7:00 pm
Venue:	Eastern Science Lecture Theatre (Building 25) S3 Clayton campus

For

The talk is intended for a general audience interested in the intersection of religion and science on the issue of global climate change. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome.

The topic of global warming has become a divisive force in American politics and in American life, a division which extends to the evangelical Christian community. Within the evangelical community, there are individuals and organisations that are strong proponents of the need for action to mitigate a warming world and for Christians to take a leading role on the issue. There are other individuals and organisations that are equally strong proponents of the position that human activity is not impacting climate and Christians should be adamantly opposed to any actions taken in response to a warming world. Other segments of the Christian community see no reason to be involved in the debate. While this talk begins with a brief perspective on the current science of climate change, its primary focus is on the spectrum of evangelical Christian responses to the science. These responses are strongly linked to differing views on eschatology (the Christian doctrine of the end times); the relationship between God, humanity, and the natural world; and responsibility for social action or change. These views and their consequences will be explored.

Professor Christian Jakob, Monash Weather and Climate, School of Mathematical Sciences.

Dr Thomas Ackerman is Director of the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean (JISAO) and Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington. From 1999 through 2005, he served as the Chief Scientist of DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program and was a Battelle Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA. The ARM Program is the largest ground-based atmospheric observing program in the world. He was Professor of Meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University from 1988 to 1999, as well as Associate Director of the Earth System Science Center. Earlier, he was a staff research scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA.

Dr Ackerman is the recipient of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal and the Leo Szilard Award for Science in the Public Interest, awarded by the American Physical Society. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Geophysical Union. In addition, he has received several awards for his research papers, including one from the World Meteorological Association.

Dr Ackerman has extensive and distinguished experience in climate research including both observational and modeling studies. He has authored or co-authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed journal articles on a wide range of topics. These include studies of the climate influence of volcanic eruptions and asteroid collisions, the impact of clouds on earth climate, and the use of ground-based and satellite observations to study clouds and climate. He pioneered the use of millimeter wavelength radar for cloud studies and serves on the science teams of two different NASA satellite observing systems.