In this illustrated talk that draws upon fifty years of research in the Caribbean, James W. Porter addresses global climate change as the defining challenge of the twenty-first century. He discusses sea level rise and its effects on sovereign nations and Caribbean languages; rising temperatures and coral bleaching; and resource resilience with examples from Jamaica and Florida.
This presentation was recorded in Athens, Georgia, on January 9, 2017, in collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Emory University.
Presentation
About the Speaker
James W. Porter is the Meigs Distinguished Professor of Ecology at the University of Georgia and a faculty member in School of Marine Programs, Water Resources and Conservation Ecology. Porter has worked extensively on coral reef ecology, especially the biology, ecology, and assessment of Floridian and Caribbean coral reefs. His research and expertise has brought him to testify before Congress five times on environmental concerns, most recently on the effects of global warming on coral reefs.
Recommended Resources
Text
Heileman, Sherry, and Leslie John Walling. Caribbean Environment Outlook. Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme, 2005.
Hughes, T. P. et al. "Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs."Science 301, no. 5635 (2003): 929–933.
Porter, James W. "Autotrophy, Heterotrophy, and Resource Partitioning in Caribbean Reef-Building Corals."The American Naturalist 110, no. 975 (1976): 731–742.
Porter, James W. and Karen G. Porter, eds. The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: An Ecosystem Sourcebook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002.
Nurse, Leonard et al. "Small Islands."Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Edited by V. R. Barros et al., 1613–1654. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Sherzer, Joel. Verbal Art in San Blas: Kuna Culture through its Discourse. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Web
Collins, William et al. "The Physical Science behind Climate Change."Scientific American. October 6, 2008. www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-behind-climate-change.
Lafforgue, Eric. "The Kuna: The Endangered Last Tribe of the Caribbean—In Pictures."The Guardian, June 26, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/jun/26/the-kuna-the-endangered-last-tribe-of-the-caribbean-in-pictures.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Sea Level Rise Viewer."Digital Coast. Last updated December 14, 2016. https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Climate, Reefs and Resilience: Locally-Based Strategies to Address a Global Issue."NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. Last updated December 22, 2016. http://coralreef.noaa.gov/aboutcrcp/news/featuredstories/may15/climatechange.html.
The Nature Conservancy. Reef Resilience. 2016. http://www.reefresilience.org.