RCLA speaker warns climate change is 'in your back yard'

With an unexpected prop, James Balog took the stage for the fourth lecture in the Ringling College Library Association Town Hall Lecture Series. 

The award-winning photojournalist bounced a multi-colored volleyball as he casually began his talk March 6 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. 

"What would happen if I took this ball and threw it out into the audience," Balog asked. 

Audience members mumbled their collective reply: the ball would fall into the audience.

"Basic," Balog agreed with them. "That's science."

Balog has spent the last two decades of his career documenting the science of climate change.

He began an Extreme Ice Survey in 2007 to capture the shrinking size of some of the world's largest glaciers, some of which have since disappeared. 

By stationing time-lapse cameras around the world, Balog and his team have been able to take more than 1.4 million photos since the project began. 

"Without the memory of those cameras, without the memory of photography, you would forget any of that existed," Balog said after showing the audience the extent to which some of the glaciers he has been watching have shrunk. "But through the magic of photography, we can turn back time ... and put Humpty Dumpty back together again."

Balog also introduced RCLA patrons to his current work, which analyzes the relationship between forest fires, melting ice caps and the temperature of air. 

For Balog the science is simple — when the temperature of the air increases, ice melts and vegetation becomes more susceptible to large-scale fires. However, he noted the tendency for climate change conversations to become partisan. 

"Climate change is a universal issue," Balog said. "It's in our lives ... and frankly I think it's a tragedy the issue has been politicized. It never should have been a political football."

While the realities of melting ice caps and forest fires may seem distant, Balog cautioned audience members to remain vigilant in their awareness of the issue, particularly in terms of increases in sea level.  

"This is not an abstraction," he said. "This is not something far, far away, my friends in Sarasota. This is something in your back yard."

He encouraged listeners to exercise their voices and make choices for clean,  alternative energy sources while addressing the overwhelming nature of the subject matter. 

"There is no silver bullet," he said. "So take one step and then take another step."