Talk by climate expert
Talk by climate expert
08•01•2007Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and Wiltshire Ornithological Society (WOS) are hosting their first ever joint meeting – a talk by international climate expert Professor John Lawton - at the Corn Exchange, Devizes, starting at 7pm on January 17th. Everyone is welcome. Admission is £2, payable on the night.
Rowena Quantrill of WOS explains: “This landmark meeting is concerned with climate change - surely the greatest challenge facing the planet today. It is now indisputable that climate change is real; and it will affect the world in so many ways. But how is it affecting birds? There could be no-one better qualified to explain than the speaker for the evening - John Lawton.”
Professor Sir John Hartley Lawton, CBE, FRS, is Chair of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and former Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). His scientific interests have focused on the population dynamics and biodiversity of birds and insects, with emphasis over the last decade on the impacts of global environmental change on wild plants and animals. He has made major contributions to environmental NGOs, including a five-year period as Chairman of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; he is currently a Vice President of both RSPB and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and a trustee of WWF UK.
Professor Lawton has been outspoken on the issue of global warming and is reported as saying, in the context of Hurricane Katrina: “The increased intensity of these kinds of extreme storms is very likely to be due to global warming... If this makes the climate loonies in the States realise we've got a problem, some good will come out of a truly awful situation".
Professor Lawton's talk will be followed by a refreshment break and then a Q&A session in which members of the audience can ask about any aspect of climate change, its impacts on wildlife and people and what we can all do about it.
Please note: doors will be open at 6.45pm for a 7.30 start. Refreshments will be available in the bar before the start of the talk as well as in the interval. The meeting will be open to the general public as well as all members of WOS and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Please arrive in good time to ensure a place. To cover the cost of hiring the venue, admission will be £2.
