Realities, engineering challenges and opportunities of climate change

Document type: Recorded lecture | Last updated: 11 JULY 2011

Professor Jorg Imberger, University of Western Australia
ICE Dugald Clerk Lecture 2009

In this lecture, Jorg Imberger claims that humans have interfered with the aquatic and terrestrial feedback mechanisms to such an extent that the climate cycle has been sent off into a completely new rhythm with different seasonal variations both geographically and temporally.

He argues that huge engineering initiatives will be required to mitigate for changing rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and shifting disease patterns.  But these initiatives should not repeat the two major mistakes made by engineers in the past:

- the failure to clean up after themselves when moving infrastructure and to restore new ecosystems compatible with the new climate
- paying no adherence to the interconnectivity between carbon, water and people

In this stimulating lecture and debate, Jorg Imberger challenges engineers to build a multi-objective infrastructure where people can be accommodated in a healthy environment where energy is generated, water harnessed and carbon sequestered - all in a biodiverse environment.

For more information, please contact (recordedlectures@ice.org.uk)

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