Join us for the next STAY COOL virtual (Zoom) webinar titled “The Ocean is a Climate Superhero” on Thursday, October 6, 2022 from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. This event is free, but please register here.
The ocean covers more than two-thirds of our planet, produces roughly half the oxygen we breathe, and has sequestered over 40% of the carbon dioxide emitted since the dawn of the industrial revolution. Yet the full text of the Paris Climate Accord includes the word “ocean” exactly once. We tend to think of the warming, acidifying, rising ocean as a victim of climate change when in fact it’s poised to be a hero.
This webinar will introduce you to some of the exciting possibilities just off the San Diego and California shores. You’ll learn about innovative programs from the Port of San Diego centered around aquaculture in the unseen ecosystems off the coast, CalWave’s energy wave pilot program off Scripps Pier with the potential to harness the world’s largest unused renewable resource, and California’s new initiative to generate at least 20 GW from offshore wind by 2045. San Diego is poised to become a center of this growing blue economy.
The webinar will be moderated by Dr. Kaitlyn Lowder with The Ocean Foundation. Join us as we dive into the hopeful solutions the ocean has to offer. Please sign up on Eventbrite for this free online event hosted by STAY COOL for Grandkids.
About our Moderator and Speakers
Moderator: Dr. Kaitlyn Lowder, The Ocean Foundation
Kaitlyn supports the International Ocean Acidification Initiative (IOAI) with The Ocean Foundation. As a 2020 Knauss marine policy fellow in NOAA Research’s International Activities Office, Kaitlyn supported U.S. foreign policy objectives in science and technology, including preparations for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Outside of the lab, Kaitlyn has worked to share how the ocean affects and is affected by climate change to both policy makers and the public. She has given lectures and hands-on demonstrations to over 1,000 members of her community through K-12 classroom visits and public talks to engage the next generation of scientists, innovators, and members of an ocean-aware society. To connect policy makers with ocean-climate science, Kaitlyn attended COP21 in Paris and COP23 in Germany, where she co-led a press conference on ocean acidification’s relevance to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Kaitlyn received her Ph.D. in Marine Biology with a Specialization in Interdisciplinary Environmental Research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. She is a member of the STAY COOL for Grandkids Advisory Council.
Paula Sylvia, Port of San Diego
Paula is the Program Director of the Aquaculture and Blue Technology Program at the Port of San Diego, a program that was created in 2015. She oversees a variety of planning and pre-development initiatives aimed at developing environmental and economic opportunities for aquaculture, blue technology, and other nature-based solution businesses in and around San Diego Bay. She also manages the Port’s Blue Economy Incubator, a platform to support entrepreneurship and innovation partnerships to facilitate and scale pilot projects and build a portfolio of nature-based solutions and new businesses that can deliver multiple social, environmental, and economic benefits to the region. Before coming to the Port, Paula worked as a Research Biologist for NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California for 2.5 years. Prior to her NOAA position, she worked as the Offshore Aquaculture Program Manager at Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego, California for 13 years. In these roles, Paula was responsible for planning, permitting and implementing offshore aquaculture projects in the southern California region and northern Baja California, Mexico for fisheries replenishment, restoration and food production purposes.
Julie Mai, CalWave
Julie serves as the Head of Communications for CalWave and has been leading the company’s communications and public relations strategy since 2020. Her work is centered around amplifying the importance and value of CalWave’s technology in conversations around clean energy innovation and climate change. Julie comes from a social impact and business background, having spent the last decade learning and helping social entrepreneurs tackle the world’s most urgent challenges from education, health, and public safety to poverty alleviation. Julie also consults for other stakeholders within the sustainability ecosystem, such as Invested in Climate, to bridge the gaps between innovation, investment, and advocacy for climate action. She holds an MBA with concentrations in Managerial Leadership and Social Responsibility and Sustainable Enterprises from the University of San Diego.
Rhetta deMesa, California Energy Commission
Rhetta serves as an Electric Generation System Program Specialist at the California Energy Commission where she has spent over 10 years working on climate and energy policy. She recently joined the Offshore Wind Energy Team. Prior to her work on offshore wind, she served as Special Advisor to former Vice Chair Janea Scott and spent time in the Energy Commission’s Research & Development and Transportation Divisions.
