Climate Change Lecture

Cape Arago State Park. | Photo courtesy from Oregon's Adventure Coast

As demonstrated so tragically in the recent wildfire season, climate change is resulting in significant impact across the country and the world. Bill Kucha and Evan Hayduk bring a unique perspective to the conversation in their presentation, “Shedding a Scientific and Humanitarian Light on Climate Change,” as part of the Oregon Coast Community College Foundation’s Williams Lecture Series. The session will be held on January 17, at 7p.m. in the Community Room at OCCC’s central county campus (400 SE College Way, Newport).

Bill’s talk will focus on the problems we face as climate change progresses.  He will describe what specifically is being done in our county to address it and what more there is to be done as individuals and as a community.  Bill is the founder of 350 Oregon Central Coast, an environmental group focusing on climate change. Bill has been a resident of Lincoln County since 1976.  He has worked as an artist and as an art educator during that time.  He taught at OCCC from its inception and continuing for 20 more years.

Evan’s talk will focus on tidal wetlands. “Tidal wetlands are important habitats for salmon and a diversity of other fish and wildlife species,” he said. “They also trap sediment, buffer coastal communities from flooding and erosion, and perform other valued ecosystem services.”

Tidal wetlands currently exist just at and above sea level, and healthy tidal wetlands are able to adapt to slow sea level changes. But if sea level rises too fast, tidal wetland plant communities may not be able to persist at their current locations. To survive, these plants may have to move to areas of higher elevation. These higher areas are called “landward migration zones”; they are potential future tidal wetlands under sea level rise. This project modeled and prioritized these LMZs, and this presentation shares the results of the project, with local implications.  It was sponsored and supported by the MidCoast Watersheds Council and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Coastal Program.

This presentation will be the 32nd in the Williams Lecture Series since its inception in the spring of 1993. Wendy Williams created the Williams Lecture Series in honor of her husband, William Appleman Williams, a noted historian. Williams was known as the “Father of Revisionist History.” He taught American diplomatic history and foreign policy for over 30 years at OSU. His last teaching assignment was at OCCC, where he taught maritime history. Wendy Williams made a donation to the OCCC Foundation to create a fund for the lectures.

For more information about the January 17 lecture, call 541-994-4166 or visit this website.