In the next five years, Earthwatch will support $40 million in climate change research, education, and engagement programs involving 100,000 volunteers.

"Earthwatch provides a vital opportunity for scientists from many disciplines to work towards an understanding of how global climate change impacts upon our environment and its delicate ecosystems," said Dr. James Crabbe, principal investigator of Earthwatch-supported research on coral reefs in Jamaica and Belize.

Dr. Crabbe received the Aviva Award for Climate Change Research, given by the world's fifth largest insurance company. Dr. Crabbe will be one of the panelists at the March 21 Forum, "Climate of Concern: Addressing Global Climate Change" at National Geographic Society's Grosvenor Auditorium. Details on the event below.

Since 2000, Crabbe has been working, with support from Earthwatch, on monitoring the effects of warming sea temperatures on coral reefs in Jamaica and Belize. Travelers can join Professor Crabbe in Belize this summer to help protect the second largest reef in the world.

Crabbe sees more cause for optimism here than he has in other places. In Indonesia, notes Crabbe, the sea gypsies who live off the reefs don't even have a word for "future." In recent years, Crabbe has traveled around the world consulting on various reef issues, including visits in 2006 to Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing, where he is now a visiting professor at Beijing Normal University. The University of Bedfordshire researcher acquired a new tool for exploring the depths of Belize's coral reefs: a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mounted with twin lasers and a camera. Having tested his "Pal Explorer" in Jamaica this January, Crabbe found he was able to take coral measurements using image analysis underwater in places otherwise difficult or impossible to reach. With this new technology, Crabbe hopes to find out how corals growing in deeper water develop and grow in low light conditions and to monitor coral changes at greater depths than ever before.

Crabbe's research shows that corals can handle change, possibly by changing their symbiotic algae, as long as it's not too much change, too fast. "If you want to see corals, go now," he half jokes, "because things are changing."

Other Earthwatch volunteer teams can help research climate change in the Canadian Arctic, Australian rainforest, the western Atlantic, and forests of Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the United States. Teams in Samburu, Kenya are mapping water resources subject to variability from global warming, and teams in Madagascar are identifying how rare lemurs are vulnerable to changing climates. The opportunity to get involved and do something about global warming is increasingly appealing following confirmation that human impact is a key factor for rising temperatures over the past 50 years.  

"If people are indeed part of the problem, they can also be part of the solution," said Ed Wilson, President and CEO of Earthwatch.

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Paula S. Apsell joined NOVA in 1975, and helped shape it into the standard for science programming on television. Executive producer since 1984, Apsell has received numerous awards for her achievements. NOVA has won every major broadcasting award, including numerous Emmy Awards for excellence in television.

Edward Wilson, President and CEO of Earthwatch Institute, joined the organization in 1993 as a volunteer. A veteran of several Earthwatch expeditions and member of the Royal Geographical Society, Ed Wilson will introduce the film and present the award, as well as moderate the forum "Climate of Concern: Addressing Global Climate Change"  

2007 EARTHWATCH FILM AWARD
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Grosvenor Auditorium, National Geographic Society
Washington, DC 
Part of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/

Dimming the Sun www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/ Director Duncan Copp and producer David Sington will discuss their award-winning work after the screening. They will be joined by Paula S. Apsell, senior executive producer, NOVA/WBGH.

MEMBERS: $14 / NONMEMBERS:$17
TICKETS WILL GO ON SALE IN MARCH - PLEASE CHECK BACK
or email events@earthwatch.org to be put on the waiting list.

To arrange an interview with Dr. Crabbe or Ed Wilson, contact

Public Relations Director   
prdirector@earthwatch.org
Earthwatch Institute
(800) 776-0188