About 100 people snacked on brownies Tuesday night as they listened to not-so-sweet predictions about the future of climate change.
“The word ‘catastrophic’ is in fact what we’re talking about today,” Unity College President Stephen Mulkey told the audience in Smathers Library East.
Mulkey, who was a botany professor at UF from 1996 to 2008, presented scientific evidence of climate change.
His presentation, “Losing Control of the Global Thermostat — Implications for Florida, the U.S. and the World,” focused on issues of greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change.
Mulkey said oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear fuel account for 90 percent of America’s energy.
The proportion of carbon dioxide emissions is climbing, he said, which is believed to be causing more frequent extreme weather events.
Jessica Steele, a UF doctoral student of geography, said she took home some knowledge on the climate situation.
“There were a lot of statistics and figures in there that I was unaware of,” she said. “I learned a lot.”
Mulkey proposed sustainability science as the climate-change solution. This applies science from multiple disciplines to solve environmental problems.
He said UF students can combat climate change in a simple way: Get involved.
“Get active. Get politically active,” he said. “Get engaged in the political process.”
Former UF professor Stephen Mulkey speaks about climate change in the Smathers Library East on Tuesday night.
