'The Day After Tomorrow,' Entertainment vs. Science

WHAT:

In "the Day After Tomorrow," a $125 million disaster film set to open Friday, May 28, climate change disrupts warm ocean currents and sets off an instant ice age. Climate change science indicates something very different, though the eventual consequences of global warming may indeed prove to be of epic proportions. The University of Maryland, a leading center of climate change research, offers two experts who can help distinguish science fact from science fiction..

WHO:

Antonio Busalacchi chairs the National Academies' Climate Research Committee and directs the University of Maryland's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, which is collaboration between the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Busalacchi is also a professor in the Department of Meteorology. The Climate Research Committee chaired by Busalacchi has released a four-page background paper on abrupt climate change. Contact: 301-405-5599 (office); email: abusalac@umd.edu

Gerald Stokes directs the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a University of Maryland-based collaboration between the university and the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Contact: 301-314-6704 (office); email: stokes@pnl.gov.

WHEN:

Both men are available for interviews May 25 through May 29. ###

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