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About This Event

In the ongoing climate wars, the Great Barrier Reef has become a symbol of everything that we have to lose from global warming. For years, reports of the world-famous coral being irreversibly bleached have fuelled an ideological battle between those fighting to stop the damage and those who insist the danger is overblown.

Paul Hardisty found himself in the middle of this fight during his six years as CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. In this fascinating, candid and urgent book, he dives into the history of the reef and cuts through the rhetoric to chart the circumstances and acceleration of its decline, as well as the determined efforts to save it.

In Hot Water is a crucial look inside the battle to save one of Australia's greatest treasures, describing what must be done to preserve it, and what is at risk if we fail to do so.

About Paul Hardisty:

Hailing originally from Canada, Dr Paul E Hardisty has spent thirty years working all over the world as an engineer, hydrologist and environmental scientist. He co-founded international environmental consultancy Komex Environmental Ltd, which he helped develop from a startup to a $50 million-a-year company with 1,000 employees, and sold to ASX-listed Worley in 2007.

Paul is a university professor and was CEO of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) from 2017 to 2023. He is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles, two textbooks on environmental sustainability, and seven novels. The Abrupt Physics of Dying was named Telegraph Thriller of the Year in the UK and was shortlisted for the CWA Creasy Prize. His latest novel, The Forcing, and its prequel, The Descent, imagine a near future affected by climate change. The Forcing was shortlisted for the 2023 Crime Lovers' Awards in the UK. Paul lives in Western Australia.