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Facebook Live event to feature climate scientist Michael Mann on July 15

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Last month was the hottest June on record in the U.S., and more than a year's worth of global monthly temperatures broke known records. These all-time highs and other aspects of climate change will be the focus of an upcoming Facebook Live event featuring Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science.

The real-time, online talk, which is being hosted by Penn State, will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, July 15. Anyone interested can join the event by logging on to Facebook and visiting the Penn State Facebook page at 1 p.m. EST.

During the open discussion, audience members can pose questions in the comments section about the pressing issue of climate change — how scientists identify the effects of climate change, what effects climate change is having today and could have in the future, whether 2016 will be hotter than 2015, and more.

“I want people to feel empowered to engage in this discussion about one of the greatest challenges we face as a civilization,” said Mann, who also holds joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.

The University is using Live, Facebook's new video streaming feature, to connect faculty experts with the public. Penn State researchers will be shedding light on their work and helping the audience make better sense of current issues.

About Michael Mann:

The director of Penn State’s Earth System Science Center (ESSC), Mann is a renowned scientist whose research involves the use of theoretical models and observational data to better understand Earth's climate system.

Mann was a lead author on the “Observed Climate Variability and Change” chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report in 2001. He contributed, with other IPCC authors, to IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, "Climate Change 2007," for which the IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore.

He has received many honors and awards, including selection by Scientific American as one of the 50 leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002 and Bloomberg News' list of 50 most influential people in 2013. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications and has also published two books, "Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change" and "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines," with a third — "The Madhouse Effect," co-authored with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles — due out this fall. He is also a co-founder of the award-winning science website RealClimate.org.

For more about Michael Mann, visit www.michaelmann.net

Last Updated July 13, 2016

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