12:00 - 2:30
Sala de Reuniones Latino/Hispana B - Planta Baja
100 Larkin St.
Earth occupies a unique position as the third planet orbiting our sun. Its orbit occurs in the “Goldilocks Zone” -- a location among the planets of our solar system that is neither too hot nor too cold, but “just right” for water to be liquid most of the time in most places. Earth’s temperature, for several billion years, has been “just right” for life to evolve and persist. But this happenstance appears to be changing. Over the past 200 years or so, the Earth’s surface and atmosphere have been heating up; this rise in temperature (less than 1 degree Celsius so far) is already having noticeable effects on our planet. Will the temperature continue to rise? How hot will it get? Has it risen this high in the past? How do we know? What other effects are known or predicted to occur as Earth gets hotter? What is causing Earth’s surface temperature to rise? Can the rise be stopped? The basic science and scientific methods necessary to determine the answers to these and other questions regarding climate change will be discussed, including topics of uncertainty.
Instructor: Barbara-Ann G. Lewis.
Ms. Lewis is Associate Professor Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering, at Northwestern University and a former Environmental Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
When: Sun, 2/10/2013, 12:15 - 2:30 p.m.
Where: Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room B, Main Library
100 Larkin St.
This free program is co-sponsored by the Business, Science & Technology Center of San Francisco Public Library and the University of the Commons.
Check uotc.org for a complete list of free University of the Commons classes.
List of book titles related to this event that are available at the Library