Aquarium of the Pacific

Aquarium Event

Rising Seas and Shifting Shores: The Global Impact of Sea level Rise

Orrin H. Pilkey

In The Rising Sea, Orrin Pilkey and Rob Young argue that "the world is poised on the edge of a cliff (of its own making). We must act now by responding to the challenges of sea level rise in a planned and rational way, taking a long-term view. If we don't start planning now, a huge 'natural disaster' is facing us."

Opposed to coastal development for reasons he will share with us, this internationally cited expert on the geology of barrier islands and beaches will discuss the risks of not heeding Katrina’s warning and rebuilding the Crescent City and low-lying areas in southern Louisiana and Mississippi where disaster struck; the risk of similar watery calamities in other coastal areas as climate change raises sea levels across the planet the interesting problems ports facility will face as the seas rise over the next century, bringing larger ships to docks that will be inundated; and why planners should assume a worse case scenario that the sea level, which is already rising, could climb seven feet by 2010.

Dr. Pilkey, the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Geology at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, directs the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Duke.

Book signing

Dr. Pilkey's book, The Rising Sea, will be available for purchase at the Pacific Collections Gift Store following his lecture.

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