Aquarium Focuses On Climate Change With Art Exhibit, Classes, Film

Heatwaves, rising sea levels and extreme weather-related natural disasters may become more frequent if climate change isn’t addressed by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, according to leading scientists contributing to a new educational series at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Last month, the Aquarium officially debuted a new film called “The Time is Now, The Future Is Here,” along with a new art exhibit and a series of classes as part of a new focus on climate change and its future implications.

During a premiere event on Oct. 24, Richard Somerville, a theoretical meteorologist and distinguished professor emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who helped with the art exhibit, stated that the “biggest unknown” for predicting negative impacts climate change will have on communities is how humans will address rising global temperatures.

“People and governments need to decide just how much man-made climate change is tolerable and then the whole world must act decisively to meet that goal,” he said. “Science itself cannot say what amount of climate change is dangerous. That involves risk, tolerance, values, priorities and other subjective concerns, but, as warming increases, all the risks increase.”

The Aquarium’s new lecture series titled the Aquatic Academy includes experts, such as Jerry Schubel, president and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific, and William Patzert, a scientist and climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), discussing the role oceans play in modulating the earth’s climate and how ocean ecosystems are responding to climate change.

While the classes that run through Nov. 15 are already sold out, according to the Aquarium’s website, visitors may still see the Aquarium’s new film that plays daily in the Ocean Theater and is included with general admission.

The film, produced by the Aquarium, shows examples of how people of all ages and various backgrounds around the world are developing solutions to climate change, from high school students learning how to make biodiesel from algae to farmers in Bangladesh growing different crops to adapt to sea-level rise.

The Aquarium also features a new art exhibit called Weather on Steroids: The Art of Climate Change Science, which runs through Feb. 26 and was organized in partnership with the La Jolla Historical Society. The art exhibit showcases “unusual and unique” art created by artists who worked with scientists to explore ways that climate change will impact communities.

For more information on the Aquarium’s classes and exhibits, visit www.aquariumofpacific.org or call (562) 590-3100.

sean@beachcomber.news