FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The University of South Alabama Baldwin County will present two perspectives on climate change Saturday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m., as its Distinguished Lecture Series continues. The discussion will take place in the USABC Performance Center, on the corner of St. James Avenue and Summit Street in Fairhope.

Two environmental scientists, Dr. James Conners and Dr. Miriam Fearn, will discuss Earth’s climatic history and the ongoing climate-change debate from both short-term and long-term perspectives.

“We’re not debating whether global warming is occurring,” Fearn said. “We agree the world is warming up.”

Instead, she said, the pair are going to look at the geological evidence that shows trends in climate change over the years, as well as geographic indicators that puts it into a present day context.

Fearn is an associate professor of geography and the chair of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of South Alabama. The veteran researcher said, “There’s plenty of proof (warming) is happening such as the polar ice. Jim is going to look at the geological reasons this happens. I’ll talk about the spatial distribution of where these things are happening.”

She added Conners will discuss rock and fossil research, and explore the possibility of similar warming episodes in the past.

“We’re in a cold phase right now and there are variables in the cold phase,” Fearn said. “We’re not going to debate whether people are a contributing factor. If you look at climate conditions when they settled Greenland, they were similar. It had nothing to do with the Industrial Revolution and greenhouse gases. For the last two million years, we have been fluctuating between glacial and interglacial periods. We’re in an interglacial period now.”

Although there is much evidence to suggest the current warming trend seen around the globe is a natural occurrence, she stressed this isn’t necessarily a time to sit on one’s hands.

“It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be doing something,” Fearn said. “We need to be cutting fossil fuels and deforestation. I hope with this lecture, they’ll take away a bigger picture — a broader look — at what global warming could be.”

Global warming is often used as a political scare tactic, she said, and its real impact could be lost in the fray.

Fearn said, “Don’t just jump on a bandwagon without considering it seriously. You can access climate data online. Don’t just take anything you read at 100 percent face value.”

Asked about the relevance of former Vice President Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary about global warming, “An Inconvenient Truth,” she said, “What he’s saying is wonderful because it makes people think. We want people to look at both sides.”

She continued, saying, “I’m troubled that carbon levels are so high. But, it’s more complicated than people are making it right now. Our population explosion and our insidious spread across the world is more responsible (for climate change) than greenhouse gases.”

While her primary research interest is paleobotany, Fearn has taught numerous geography courses including Atmospheric Processes and Patterns, Landscape Processes and Patterns, Map Interpretation and Design, Environmental Earth Science, Alabama Geography, Biogeography, Aerial Photo Interpretation, Environmental Geography and Coastal Geomorphology.

Conners is an assistant professor of geology at the USA and founding partner of Eco-Systems Inc., a multi-practice environmental consulting firm with offices located across the Southeast.

His work as a hydrogeologist and environmental consultant spans over two decades, and includes projects related to natural resource, contaminated site remediation and redevelopment, storm water management, sustainable development and water supply.

The lecture series is free. Reservations are requested, however. Call (251) 928-8133 to reserve your seat.