ABOUT THE TOPIC:
Climate change is arguably the most urgent and complex issue of our generation. With so much at stake, how do we tell the story of climate in a way that is authentic, but not simplistic? Fact-based, but not fear-based?

In this talk, award-winning LA Times environment reporter Rosanna Xia will break down how journalists today are writing about climate change, with lessons learned on how to turn complex issues into memorable stories. Xia will also introduce her new book, California Against the Sea, and share insights from her award-winning reporting on sea level rise.

Reception and book signing will follow the talk.

The excerpt below from California Against the Sea expresses the challenges of talking about climate change:

“It can take tens of thousands of years to cycle through a geological epoch, just a couple of hundred for industrialization to make a mess of the planet, and only a decade or two to delude people into making decisions based on flawed time frames — whether it’s a 30-year mortgage or a political term that resets every four years. And in this moment when inconvenient realities like climate change have become so politicized, shortsighted individualism has further clouded our ability to plan ahead. We seem to have both no time and too much time to act, and so we spiral into paralyzing battles over the why, who, when and how.”

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Rosanna Xia is an environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting, and her work has been anthologized in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series. Her first book, California Against the Sea, has been praised as a beautiful and revelatory exploration of how we relate to the natural world.

EVENT ITINERARY:
6:00pm: Doors open
6:30pm: Author Talk & Audience Questions
7:30pm: Reception and book signing (light refreshments will be served)
8:00pm: Event ends

EVENT LOCATION: McCone Irvine Auditorium

The McCone Building is located at 499 Pierce Street, Monterey, CA, 93940, on the campus of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. Attendees should enter through the glass doors from Pierce Street, and the Irvine Auditorium is located inside to the left. Campus map available at miis.edu.

REGISTRATION:
This is a free event, open to the public. Registration is requested, but walk ins are welcome. This is an in-person only event, no live-stream will be available, and the event will not be recorded. See website for more info and registration: go.miis.edu/storyofclimate

PARKING:

Parking is available in any Middlebury Institute campus lot after 5 p.m., no parking permit required, no fee. View the campus map. Free parking is also available on the street (time limits on surrounding streets end at 6 p.m.).

QUESTIONS:
Contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at cbe@miis.edu or (831) 647-4183.

ABOUT THE HOSTS:
The California Coast and Climate Semester program brings undergraduate students from Middlebury College, Vermont and other east coast liberal arts colleges to the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey from January to May each year. It offers unique, place-based learning focused on climate change, coastal resilience, and environmental justice. The students access the extraordinary beauty, rich cultural history and deep environmental ties of the Monterey Bay, while enrolling in master’s level classes in Environmental Policy and Management or other MIIS degree programs, earning credit toward their undergraduate degrees. Getting away from east coast winters is a definite bonus.

The Center for the Blue Economy is a research center at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, that provides economic and policy analysis to support the development of a robust and equitable blue economy for the 21st century. The Center uses the World Bank’s definition of the Blue Economy: the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health. We must maintain ocean health to maintain human health, economic health, and the health of the planet. Climate change is linked, inextricably, to a healthy ocean. Consider joining our movement for Ocean Climate Action Now. Consider joining our Center for the Blue Economy Newsletter List (3-4x per year by email).