Dr. Ken Bloom will present his colloquium topic, “Climate Impacts of Particle Physics: A Sustainability Agenda” in-person. Coffee and cookies will be available beforehand at 3:30 in the first floor atrium.

ABSTRACT: The pursuit of particle physics requires a stable and prosperous society. Today, our society is increasingly threatened by global climate change. Human-influenced climate change has already impacted weather patterns, and global warming will only increase unless deep reductions in emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are achieved. Current and future activities in particle physics need to be considered in this context, either on the moral ground that we have a responsibility to leave a habitable planet to future generations, or on the more practical ground that, because of their scale, particle physics projects and activities will be under scrutiny for their impact on the climate. I will discuss a white paper on this topic that I co-authored, in which we considered several contexts in which the practice of particle physics has impacts on the climate.