Busalacchi Talks Climate Change on NewsChannel8

In a live interview broadcast November 13, 2012, ESSIC Director and Professor Antonio Busalacchi spoke with Newschannel8 “NewsTalk” host Bruce DePuyt, about climate change, rising sea levels, and the recent increase in wild weather.

Busalacchi also discussed the recent opening of NOAA’s National Weather and Climate Prediction Center (NWCPC) and how its research will both support more accurate forecasting and prediction, as well as how the public perceives and responds to the information.  “I think the bottom line is this is a “win-win” for the entire nation,” he said, on the NWCPC’s close proximity to the University of Maryland and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, establishing a previously unprecedented localized network of earth and climate scientists.

The interview additionally touched on whether the earth is truly experiencing a period of climate change and what must happen to both generate more social awareness and combat the changes locally and internationally.

“If we look at observations of temperature records around the world, we see twice as many record warm events being broken every year versus cold events. If there was no climate change it would be one to one,” Said Busalacchi. “The observations clearly show climate is changing. There is no doubt about that.”

According to Busalacchi, the unfortunate occurrence of more tragic severe events like Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina will help to dramatically shift society’s awareness regarding global warming and the need for world governments to collectively respond to man-made elements effecting the earth’s climate.

The interview concluded with Professor Busalacchi’s responses to call-in questions from the program’s audience.