May 28, 2009
UW prof provides commentary on ‘Sea Change’ film
“I have to be able to look my granddaughter in the eye. We are putting the burden of action on her generation by our failure to act aggressively.”
So says Edward Miles, UW professor of marine affairs, about ocean acidification in the film A Sea Change, which will have its Seattle premiere June 1 and 2 as part of the Seattle International Film Festival.
June 1 the documentary will air at 7 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill. Miles will be part of a panel answering audience questions after the show. Also on the panel will be UW affiliate faculty members Richard Feely and Christopher Sabine, both of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle; the film makers Barbara Ettinger and Sven Huseby; and Brad Warren of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
The film also will show June 2 at 4 p.m. at the Kirkland Performance Center.
The effects of excess carbon dioxide on global climate are better known by the general public than the effects on ocean chemistry. Human-made carbon dioxide gas that dissolves into seawater makes it more difficult for certain organisms to get substances that they require to build and maintain their shells, protective coatings and skeletons. Many tiny marine plants and animals on which larger organism depend are being affected.
The result is “creating a profound threat to the food chain, starting with the tiny creatures at its bottom,” says a release about the film.
See more about the film at aseachange.net.
