Darin Croft, professor of anatomy, will present a talk as a part of the Origins Science Scholars lecture series.
His talk, titled “Global Climate Change: Past and Present,” will take place Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Talk details
Are humans causing global climate change? Or is nature cycling the planet toward a heat wave, just as it has had periods of heat and ice ages in the recent and distant past? The geologic record and earth dynamics explain the difference between the glacially slow climate change of the past vs. today’s radically accelerated changes. In fact, the mechanics of it are considered pretty simple. Geologists understand very well what makes the earth hot and cold—today, and throughout the 4.5-billion-year history of the planet. And they know the effects climate change has had on the planet’s inhabitants: the most common response of species to major environmental change is extinction.
Participants will come away with a better understanding of the science involved, apart from the questions of policy. Newly emerging markets are making huge gains in clean energy, which not only curbs pollution but simultaneously helps counter climate change. Solar panels and wind turbines are already providing thousands of new jobs in Ohio.
Program schedule:
- 5:30 p.m.: Coffee and sign-in
- 6 to 7 p.m.: Lectures
- 7 to 7:30 p.m.: Dinner with faculty and fellows
- 7:30 p.m.: Dessert and Q&A
Parking will be available.
Registration is $40 for members and $48 for nonmembers.
Learn more and register online.
Series details
Presented by Siegal Lifelong Learning and the Institute for the Science of Origins, this series engages community members with one another and with leading scholars to investigate rapidly developing areas of origins science. Each evening begins with a presentation by a world-class researcher, followed by complimentary dinner and open discussion among all the participants.