Hurricane Sandy Symposium Will Explore Climate Change, Storm Preparation

The lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy and the ways in which we can better prepare ourselves for future storms just like it will be the topic of discussion on Wednesday at a symposium at Stony Brook University's Wang Center.

The symposium is a joint project of the Sustainability Studies Program, the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), the Department of Geosciences, and the Provost Lecture Series. It's free, open to the public, and will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Michael Sperazza, assistant professor of geosciences at Stony Brook, said the panelists and presenters will facilitate the flow of information between the academic community and the community at large.

"There’s really no good understanding right now of what the frequency of these events will be," Sperazza said. "We could not have anything for a couple decades. But geologically, we know that these things happen. ... I think the thing is we have to anticipate that these storms will happen again, and how do we best prepare for it."

Sperazza will be joined by these panelists:

• Malcolm Bowman, Distinguished Service Professor, SoMAS, Stony Brook University
• Charles Flagg, Research Professor, SoMAS, Stony Brook University
• Ann Siders, Associate Director, & Fellow, Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University
• Michael White, Counsel at Anthony E Core, P.C, former director of the LI Regional Planning Council

Also among the panelists will be State Assemb. Steve Englebright, D-Setauket, who has a background in coastal geology. He said events such as this symposium are "timely and necessary" given what he said are three major storms in the past two years.

"This appears not to just be a temporary phenomenon and I think academic centers, most particularly Stony Brook, have something to offer to help all of us be better protected and prepared going forward," Englebright said.