There’s something fascinating about a smart person who defies stereotype.
That’s what makes my friend Katharine Hayhoe — a Texas Tech climatologist and an evangelical Christian — so interesting.
“It’s hard to be a good steward of the planet if you don’t accept the hard science behind what’s harming it, and it can be just as hard to take action to protect our world if you don’t love it as the rare gift it is.”
So wrote Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle (who plays Colonel James Rhodes in the Ironman movies), describing Hayhoe as one of Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in 2014.
One other factoid Cheadle didn’t include is that Hayhoe is Canadian.
She grew up in Toronto where she began her training as a climatologist, taking a B.Sc. in physics and astronomy at U of T before completing her graduate work in atmospheric science at the University of Illinois.
Her career at Texas Tech has been productive and eventful. Having published more than 100 research contributions, she is almost better known for the chapter that didn’t get published.
A chapter she had put together for a book edited by Newt Gingrich was rejected, apparently because of her stance that climate change is human-caused.
Taking a stand on climate change can be difficult, especially in conservative, Republican strongholds like Texas. Yet Texas is in the midst of a record-breaking drought, as documented in the recent Showtime series “Years of Living Dangerously.”
The widely acclaimed documentary series includes an episode which highlights Hayhoe’s efforts to explain why climate change matters to Texans who share her evangelical faith.
The science of climate change that Hayhoe discusses is readily available to all of us on the internet. More and more information appears every year as researchers analyze the data and the trends.
I myself do research on how climate change impacts invasive plants.
What is unique about Hayhoe is her ability to communicate the science of climate change in a way that is both challenging and inviting. I saw her give an inspiring talk at an international conference this past summer. And you have a chance to hear her speak at Trinity Western University.
Her free public talk entitled “Climate Change: Facts, Fictions, and our Faith” is Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Northwest Auditorium at Trinity Western University.
She is this year’s Distinguished Lecturer at TWU.
Hope to see you there.
David Clements is a professor of biology and environmental studies at Trinity Western University.