Climate Emergency Film Club

Everyone has heard about global warming, but few understand how environmental feedback loops amplify the warming even further. With captivating illustrations and interviews with leading climate scientists, this 5-part science documentary and panel discussion series explores how human activity is setting off Earth’s own warming loops that are pushing the climate to a point of no return—from the melting ice and snow in the Arctic to the atmospheric jet stream to the thawing of permafrost—and what we can do to stop them.  

1 CME credit for physicians, 1 CEU for pharmacists, 1 CE for nurses and social workers. See accreditation statements below.

Join Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania for five intriguing panel discussions over the next six months as we delve into the Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops.  Attend one or all of these sessions on the following dates:

May 19, 2022: Introduction Fossil fuel emissions from human activity are driving up Earth’s temperature—yet something else is at work. The warming has set in motion nature’s own feedback loops which are raising temperatures even higher. The urgent question is: Are we approaching a point of no return, leading to an uninhabitable Earth, or do we have the vision and will to slow, halt, and reverse them?

Speakers:  

Bill Moomaw (Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy at the Fletcher School, Tufts University)

Nichola Minott (Visiting Scholar in the International Studies Program, Boston College)

Adrienne Hollis (https://www.climateone.org/people/adrienne-hollis)

Moderator: Julie Becker, PhD, MPH

July 21, 2022: Permafrost Permafrost, an icy expanse of frozen ground covering one-quarter of the Northern Hemisphere, is thawing. As it does, microscopic animals are waking up and feeding on the previously frozen carbon stored in plant and animal remains, releasing heat-trapping gases as a byproduct. These gases warm the atmosphere further, melting more permafrost in a dangerous feedback loop. With permafrost containing twice as much carbon as the atmosphere, its thaw could release 150 billion tons of carbon by the end of the century.

September 15, 2022: Atmosphere Global warming is altering Earth’s weather patterns dramatically. A warmer atmosphere absorbs more water vapor, which in turn traps more heat and warms the planet further in an accelerating feedback loop. Climate change is also disrupting the jet stream, triggering a feedback loop that brings warm air northward, and causes weather patterns to stall in place for longer.

October 20, 2022: Albedo The reflectivity of snow and ice at the poles, known as the albedo effect, is one of Earth’s most important cooling mechanisms. But global warming has reduced this reflectivity drastically, setting off a dangerous warming loop: as more Arctic ice and snow melt, the albedo effect decreases, warming the Arctic further, and melting more ice and snow. The volume of Arctic ice has already shrunk 75% In the past 40 years, and scientists predict that the Arctic Ocean will be completely ice-free during the summer months by the end of the century.

November 17, 2022: Forests The world’s forests are responsible for removing a quarter of all human carbon emissions from the atmosphere and are essential for cooling the planet. But that fraction is shrinking as the three major forests of the world—tropical, boreal, and temperate—succumb to the effects of climate feedback loops. The resulting tree dieback threatens to tip forests from net carbon absorbers to net carbon emitters, heating rather than cooling the planet.

Please note that all sessions will take place from 6 - 7 PM Eastern.

Physicians: The Pennsylvania Medical Society designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the educational activity.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and Physicians for Social Responsibility. The Pennsylvania Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Nesbitt School of Pharmacy at Wilkes University is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Participants who attend the full program and complete an evaluation form for this knowledge-based activity will be awarded a statement of credit at the conclusion of the program for .4 CEUs (4  hours).  ACPE # 0097-9999-21-023-H04-P.

Wilkes University is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association Approver Unit, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Nurses who attend will receive a certificate for 6 hours at the conclusion of the program.

Social Workers: Wilkes University is a pre approved provider of continuing education for programs for social workers and clinical social workers as an accredited university. Social Workers who attend will receive a certificate for 6 hours at the conclusion of the program.