7 November 2007

Associate Professor William Grey may be a self-confessed skeptic, but when it comes to the issue of climate change he doesn’t challenge the scientific consensus.

The UQ Reader in Philosophy was one of 162 Australians recently trained by Al Gore to become a “climate change messenger”.

He will present his own climate change slideshow on Monday November 19, 6-8pm, at The University of Queensland.

“I have been interested in environmental issues for about the last 30 years,” Dr Grey said.

“As an Environmental Philosopher I’m interested in looking at ways of promoting sustainability, and building it into our ethical systems.”

In September Dr Grey attended Al Gore’s training session in Melbourne, and is now equipped to present climate change slideshows based on the Oscar winning film, An Inconvenient Truth.

“Al Gore is an impressive guy and someone I learned a lot from,” Dr Grey said.

“I was very privileged to be a part of the project.”

Currently the presentation includes a selection of slides taken from Al Gore’s session as well as some originals.

“Al Gore gives you a general outline, and then you tell the story your own way,” Dr Grey said.

“Climate change is a hot topic and new reports are being published all the time.

“The slide show is changing rapidly as more material is released which expands the alarm bells.”

Dr Grey’s presentation details the drivers and evidence of global warming, and offers that the situation is controllable.

“The 10 hottest years on record all occurred within the last 16,” he said.

“There is a broad and deep consensus within the informed scientific community that climate change is real.

“The problem is not too big - we have the fundamental technical means to solve the problem and can survive without pumping fossil fuels into the environment.”

Australians are interested in, and care strongly about, climate change, according to Dr Grey.

“In Australia 92 percent of the population want action on climate change and it is viewed as more important than combating global terrorism,” he said.

Dr Grey’s free presentation is scheduled for 6pm, Monday November 19 at The University of Queensland (Steele Building, room 206).

Media: Further information, Dr Grey (3365 2099, wgrey@uq.edu.au) or Penny Robinson at UQ Communications (3365 9723, penny.robinson@uq.edu.au)