Osher Summer Lecture Series: Global Warming

August 17: Global Warming The talk will begin with a broad overview of climate science, including the history of the science itself and what we have learned about the Earth's climate system. Projections of future climates will be discussed, including the greenhouse effect, with an emphasis on sources of uncertainty together with an assessment of whether and to what extent the level of uncertainty can be reduced. He will frame the problem of global warming as a problem of risk-assessment and management, including the difficulties of dealing with low probability but very high impact events. He will describe various technical and policy options for dealing with climate change, including important and exciting opportunities in carbon-free energy sources. Kerry Emanuel MIT professor and Director of the Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate at MIT Named in 2006 by Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World." Dr. Kerry Emanuel is professor of atmospheric science at MIT and co-director of MIT's Lorenz Center, a climate think tank devoted to basic climate research. His research focus is on tropical meteorology and climate. He is the author or co-author of over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and three books, including What We Know About Climate Change. He is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and, in 2006, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He will be available to sign books after the lecture.