The fall 2023 seminar series sponsored by the George Perkins Marsh Institute and Jeanne X. Kasperson Library continues this week. Over the course of the semester, session topics will examine the global climate crisis from various angles.
Established in 1990, the George Perkins Marsh Institute — named for the 19th-century conservationist who kept records of how humans were changing the natural environment — grew out of earlier research clusters at Clark that focused on topics like environmental risk and hazards, the potential of computer technology and remotely sensed imagery to map and analyze the environment, and the ways humans have shaped and are shaped by nature. (Read “A world of difference” from the fall 2015 issue of Clark magazine.)
Public and private organizations draw on the expertise within the Marsh Institute to address the array of issues around the ongoing and profound transformation of human and natural systems. Work at the institute is centered on the research themes of socioecological systems and sustainability science, earth system science, and institutions and human development, which cover topics such as climate change impacts and adaptation, local and global food security, sustainable communities, and natural resource extraction.
The Jeanne X. Kasperson Research Library offers one of the most extensive collections in North America on environmental risk and hazards, environment and development, and the human dimensions of global environmental change.
Each year, the Marsh Institute and Kasperson Library sponsor a fall and spring series of formal lectures and seminars that expose faculty and students to contemporary research on human-environment interactions, foster rich discussions, and catalyze future research.
All seminars are open to the public and will take place from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. in the Lurie Conference Room on the first floor of the University Center, unless otherwise noted. A 45-minute presentation will be followed by 15 minutes of questions and discussion; interaction with speakers is encouraged. Visit the Marsh Institute Seminar Series for more information.
The fall seminar series kicked off on Sept. 21 with “Sipping from the Data Firehose: Insights from Bayesian Inference, Power Computing, and Generalization,” a talk by Jeffrey Cardille, who uses remote sensing, GIS, and other techniques to study land-cover change at McGill University. Upcoming lectures include:
Thursday, Sept. 28
J. Timmons Roberts, Brown University
From Denial to Delay: Obstruction of Action on Climate Change
Thursday, Oct. 26
Gilbert E. Metcalf, Tufts University
The Climate Crisis: How Did We Get Here and What Can We Do?
Co-sponsored with the Department of Economics
Thursday, Nov. 9
Benjamin Sovacool, Boston University
Decarbonisation and its Discontents: A Critical Justice Perspective on Four Low-Carbon Transitions
