Published October 11, 2011
by iris_author
Peter Sale will be coming to York to present his seminar, Our Planet Does Not Have to Die: A Discussion of the Environmental Crisis, and to promote his new book Our Dying Planet on November 22nd at 12-1:30pm. Location York Research Tower room 519.
Peter F. Sale
Assistant Director, Institute for Water, Environment and Health
United Nations University
and author of
Our Dying Planet. An ecologist's view of the crisis we face
While we have been causing the extinctions of species since the Pleistocene, humans are now poised to cause the disappearance of an entire ecosystem. Coral reefs as we know them could disappear from the Earth by 2050, all because of things we did to them. As a coral reef ecologist, Peter Sale has a particular perspective on the environmental crisis, and he uses his experience in this seminar to make four important points: We currently face a single, multifaceted, complex environmental problem, not a set of several smaller problems, and climate change is just one part. This problem is much more serious than most people realize, serious for people as well as for ecosystems like coral reefs or the arctic. The decisions we take, and the changes in behavior which we adopt, over the next few years will determine which of several possible futures we will experience. While most of these futures are quite bad, it is still possible to reach a future in which people enjoy prosperous, culturally rich lives in a sustainably managed environment. Will we make the right choices, and will we do so in time to save coral reefs?
"Our Dying Planet is about how and why our planet is dying, but its most important message is that this does not have to happen. We can prevent the catastrophe that is looming, but only if we act, and act soon. A good future is possible for the world and for humanity, but we will have to make the right decisions and take the right actions if we are to get there."
Come out to learn more about how to change our planet and why it matters.
Posted in: Events
