Co-leader Jancie Davolio knows Patzert, an oceanographer and climatologist, and thought his background would add a lot to the day.
Patzert began by telling the girls how important scouting is and showing them his own boy scout Eagle badge. He then began to quiz them on their knowledge of the ocean and explain why what happens to ocean affects everyone.
“A lot of people call this planet Earth, but it is really the ocean planet,” he said. “The ocean covers about 70 percent of the planet. The Pacific covers about 30 percent [of the planet].”
The girls showed Patzert that they knew quite a bit about the Earth and its oceans. Then it was his turn to impress them with his knowledge.
“OK, let’s play a game I call ‘Stump the Geek,’” Patzert said.
He took a beach ball-type globe and threw it into the air. When a girl caught it she looked at her thumb and asked a question concerning that area of the planet.
Questions about how much water is salty, how cold the Antarctic is and how deep is the ocean kept Patzert busy. Then the topic turned to the melting ice caps and how the Earth is warming.
“If all the ice melted, what would happen?” asked one of the girls.
“The sea level would rise 240 feet if all the [caps] melted,” Patzert said. “Staples Center [in Los Angeles] would be oceanfront property. Not here in La Cañada, though, [because] you are 1200 feet above sea level.”
He explained a brief history of the Earth, from the age of the dinosaur to the most dangerous animal that now roams the planet.
“What is the most dangerous animal on the planet?” he asked.
“Humans,” replied several of the girls, to his approval.
