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CLIMATE CHANGE:

CLIMATE CHANGE:. AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR. CONNECTING THE PUBLIC. WITH GEOLOGY & THE GEOLOGIC RECORD. Ellen Morris Bishop OREGON PALEOLANDS INSTITUTE Fossil, Oregon www.paleolands.org. OREGON PALEO LANDS INSTITUTE. A new, educational non-profit in Oregon,

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CLIMATE CHANGE:

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  1. CLIMATE CHANGE: AN EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR CONNECTING THE PUBLIC WITH GEOLOGY & THE GEOLOGIC RECORD Ellen Morris Bishop OREGON PALEOLANDS INSTITUTE Fossil, Oregon www.paleolands.org

  2. OREGON PALEO LANDS INSTITUTE A new, educational non-profit in Oregon, dedicated to connecting the public with Oregon’s natural and geologic history.

  3. One strategy for making geology compelling: Connect an issue of great concern to the public with geologic process and geologic history. In the John Day Basin, that subject is climate change.

  4. PROBLEM: PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF GEOLOGY: • “It’s just about rocks” • “I don’t have to worry about __ (volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides…)” • “It happened a LONG time ago.” • “It’s not relevant to my life.”

  5. PROBLEM: PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF CLIMATE CHANGE: • “It’s just about melting glaciers.” • “I don’t have to worry about ___ (polar bears, sea level, forest fires…)” • “It’s never happened before/Scientist’s can’t agree. • “It’s not relevant to my life”

  6. THE REALITY: WHAT THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND: • It’s about extinctions, resources, and water. • Yes, we DO have to worry about it. • Yes, it happened a LONG time ago, too. • Yes, it IS relevant to your life. • The past is a guide to the present--and future.

  7. THE GEOLOGIC RECORD PROVIDES VALUABLE INSIGHT TO • Past Climates • Greenhouse gas--climate linkages • Oceanic-climate linkages • Climate change--extinction coupling • How bad it can really get.

  8. The public is hungry for information to validate climate change predictions.

  9. The geologic record provides • exceptional insight • and verifies • the reality of climate change • the history of today’s climate change processes.

  10. CLIMATE CHANGE GIVES THE GEOLOGIC RECORD • CONTEXT • RELEVANCE LOCAL LANDSCAPES ARE OFTEN THE MOST MEANINGFUL!

  11. By emphasizing the geologic record of past global warming and global cooling, we can demonstrate that: • It’s about rocks: Geologic information provides lessons for today. • IT is VERY relevant to your life today. • It happened a LONG time ago--AND it’s happening today. • Few sciences are MORE relevant to your life. AND, FINALLY: • Geologic history --and time periods more than just “Jurassic”--- should be part of your working knowledge and vocabulary.

  12. SOME EXAMPLES: CONNECTING THE PUBLIC WITH GEOLOGY & GEOLOGIC HISTORY THRU CLIMATE CHANGE: • Snowball earth--Late Proterozoic cold-warm cycles: carbon sequestration/greenhouse gases. • End-Permian Event: extreme CO2, temperatures, extinctions. • PETM: Global warming spike due to greenhouse gas. • Eocene-Oligocene boundary: Changes due to oceanic circulation. After Leeman, 1999,

  13. An example from the John Day Fossil Beds: The Eocene-Oligocene climate transition • Locally accessible for field trips. • Familiar ground. • Visually stunning record of tropical laterite to humid-temperate soils. • Multiple lines of evidence: documented fossil record, paleo-botany paleosols isotopes/geochronology Some Lessons Learned: Eocene, Oligocene, Antarctic snows, oceanic circulation, ecological effects of climate change……..

  14. A BOTTOM LINE: To ascend to higher public awareness, geology and geologic history must be perceived as relevant to public interests. • The CLIMATE CHANGE RECORD • provides a framework of pragmatic outcomes • supports social discourse as well as positive, economically and environmentally beneficial actions.

  15. Providing insight to ongoing climate change • Empowers geology’s role in public affairs. • Increases public acceptance of geology as a • meaningful and useful knowledge base. Past climate changes demonstrate the relevance of the geologic record to public concerns.

  16. THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION !!!

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