Spend an evening with international journalist Gwynne Dyer

International journalist and military analyst Gwynne Dyer will explore climate change and the global impact of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in "Climate Wars", two public lectures taking place in Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach in December.

Dyer, who has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, writer, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years, will speak at Vancouver Island University’s Malaspina Theatre at in Nanaimo on Tuesday, December 2 and at Qualicum Beach Civic Centre Wednesday, December 3, 2008. Both lectures take place at 7 pm.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that the average global temperature will rise between 2 and 6.4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. At 2 degrees hotter, Dyer believes that many hundreds of millions are at risk, but with global cooperation and a switch away from meat production they wouldn’t have to starve. As rainfall patterns shift, some countries lose most of their best crop-lands while others remain unharmed or even gain new food-growing areas. The bitter irony is that the list of beneficiaries includes most of the countries that industrialized early and caused the problem to grow to its current size.

In Dyer’s opinion, there is also huge scope for conflict, including armed conflict because, “Nobody will sit quietly and watch their children starve when any alternatives remain, including violent ones. The only way to possibly avoid this future is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically in the next ten to fifteen years.”  Dyer says, “Making the deal that would mandate and enforce those deep cuts in emissions, especially the part of the deal that brings the “new” industrializing countries into the effort, is ferociously difficult politically, and there is no guarantee that it will happen in time.”

Born in Newfoundland, Dyer earned degrees at Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. His twice-weekly column on international affairs is published by 150 newspapers in some 35 countries. He is a Gemini winner and Academy Award nominee, amongst many other honours. Dyer’s most recent books are “War: the Lethal Custom,” published in 2005 and “After Iraq” will be published by St. Martin’s Press at the end of the year.

Tickets for Dyer's public lectures are $15 for seniors and students; $20 for adults, and are available by calling VIU's Centre for Continuing Studies at 1-866-734-6252. Gwynne Dyer's lectures are sponsored in part by the Nanaimo News Bulletin and The News in Parksville/Qualicum.