Release Date: January 18, 2008
Media Contact: Stephen King, External Relations
E-mail: Stephen.King@uregina.ca
Phone: 306-585-5439
Mobile: 306-536-4312
Fax: 306-585-4997
Global warming: a hot topic at the U of R
Climate change researcher Elaine Wheaton isn’t surprised that Regina saw snow melt early this month. She says the Prairie Provinces and the north are experiencing the greatest climate changes in Canada and these will likely accelerate.

Wheaton will explore the rapidly changing climates in the prairies and beyond at the annual Woodrow Lloyd Lecture on Thurs. Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Classroom Building, room 110 at the University of Regina.

“Impacts of global warming are evident in every region of Canada and on all continents,” says Wheaton. “Climate change poses considerable challenges and possibly some benefits, especially if we can effectively adapt to the changes.”

Wheaton’s talk will emphasize the effect of climate change on sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry and health. She will also suggest some strategic responses, including adaptation, which involves adjusting to the changes, and mitigation, which entails reducing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. She will focus on adaptation as an approach, since some climate change is now unavoidable and adaptation provides current opportunities.

An Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Wheaton is also a Principal Research Scientist at the Saskatchewan Research Council, with about 200 publications in refereed scientific journals, books, technical reports, and conference proceedings. She is the author of the 1998 award-winning book, But It’s a Dry Cold! Weathering the Canadian Prairies, and is an author at the Saskatchewan Research Council. Her research interests are climate change impacts, adaptations, hazards and vulnerability. Wheaton is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In addition, she worked with the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a collaborating author and Review Editor. Wheaton has received numerous awards for her work including the 2007 Wolbeer Award for contributions to water resources and the YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award for Science and Technology.

Co-sponsored by the Canadian Plains Research Center (CPRC) and the Faculty of Arts at the U of R, the Woodrow Lloyd Lecture is supported by the Woodrow Lloyd Trust Fund. The annual lecture features a nationally or internationally recognized scholar, writer, thinker, and/or activist who speaks about an issue or issues of direct relevance to Saskatchewan. Recent speakers include Dr. David Suzuki, the well-known environmentalist, author and broadcaster; Dr. David Schindler, Killam Memorial professor of ecology at the University of Alberta; Thomas Molloy, Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan and an accomplished treaty negotiator; and Dr. Roy Romanow, former Saskatchewan Premier.

Free parking will be provided in the ‘M’ area in Lot 3. For more information, call 585-4226.