Local Environmental Advocate to Share Stories and Insight from Arctic Expedition and on Climate Change
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Gloucester, MA (March 9, 2020) - - Antarctica, one of the coldest places on Earth, recently experienced its hottest day on record peaking at 64.9 degrees Fahrenheit, measuring the same temperature that same day as Los Angeles. According to experts, the Antarctic region is heating up rapidly due to heat-trapping gas pollution from humans and the warming observed here has serious global consequences especially to the millions living on the world’s coasts.
As a coastal community, Gloucester is hugely vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather events and the sea level rising happening near and far. To discuss the developments in Antarctica, the critical issue of the Rising Ocean, and its impact locally, the Sawyer Free Library will be hosting a lecture for the public on Thursday, March 19, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm by environmental Attorney and Diver Michael Carvalho. He will share his experiences from a 2018 Expedition to Antarctica. The lecture, "Antarctica; Lessons from the Bottom of the World," will cover the history of Antarctic exploration, scuba diving with icebergs, seals, sea birds, whales, and penguins. It will also discuss the role of climate change and its impacts from pole to pole, including on Cape Ann and the Gulf of Maine.
This lecture is a part of Sawyer Free Library's initiative, "The Civic Hub"which aims to create opportunities that foster civic engagement and discussion on issues facing our community locally and beyond. Through the hundreds of free programs it offers each year, the Library strives to present itself as a center for ideas and exploration that supports personal advancement, provide opportunities for civic engagement and strengthen the community they serve. In its first year, “The Civic Hub" is addressing three specific issues that are important to Gloucester and it's future: Immigration, Journalism and the Public Trust, and The Rising Ocean. This initiative has been made possible through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
Manchester-by-the-Sea resident, Michael Carvalho has been practicing Environmental law nationally and internationally for over 25 years, representing clients in transactional, regulatory and litigation matters. Carvalho is the former Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). In 2019, he represented the United Nations Environment Program for North America as a Delegate at the UNEA-4 Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Carvalho is currently a Member of the Board of Directors for Salem Sound Coastwatch and a Trustee with the Manchester-Essex Conservation Trust. An avid scuba diver with over 2,500 dives on six continents, he obtained his Open Water SCUBA certification in 1978 in Rockport, MA, and currently holds a PADI Divemaster rating.
"Antarctica; Lessons from the Bottom of the World," will be on Thursday, March 19, from 7–8:30 pm at the Sawyer Free Library, located at 2 Dale Avenue in Gloucester. The evening is open and free to the public to attend.
For more information about the lecture or the Sawyer Free Library, visit sawyerfreelibrary.org.
