The climate of California, the U.S., and indeed most of the world has warmed and will continue to warm, with anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions being the primary factor in this warming. Societies are responding individually and collectively through a wide range of mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Much more will need to be done over the coming decades. This lecture begins with a brief review of climate change basics and the framing of climate change as a historic environmental and societal disruptor, with an emphasis on California. The lecture then describes areas of opportunity for civil and environmental engineers (CEEs) to contribute to both climate change mitigation efforts and projects being undertaken to help society adapt to the effects of climate change. Next, the lecture considers whether CEEs have a professional and leadership responsibility to help. The conclusion is that CEEs have a large and vital role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation, one that will last for decades, and a professional and leadership responsibility to contribute.

Rudolph Bonaparte is Chairman and Senior Principal at Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the firm for 20 years. He is also a Professor of Practice in the CEE School at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1977 from the University of Texas at Austin, and M.S. (1978) and Ph.D. (1981) in Geotechnical Engineering, from the University of California, Berkeley. His professional practice has focused on projects involving: geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering; design of environmental cleanups for contaminated sites and waterways; and design and performance evaluations for waste disposal facilities. He is a registered professional engineer in 20 states and an author of 75 peer-reviewed technical papers. He is recipient of the ASCE Terzaghi Lecture Award (2018), ASCE OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award in Design (2016), ASCE James R. Croes Medal (2000), and other professional recognitions. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2007.