Dr. Barry Brook Inaugural Speaker in the Global Environmental Change Distinguished Speaker Series The first speaker in our “Global Environmental Change Distinguished Speaker” series will be Dr. Barry Brook. He is the Australian Research Council Future Fellow III, Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change, Director of Climate Science, The Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, South Australia (Profile: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/barry.brook; Blog: http://bravenewclimate.com). Barry cut his teeth as an innovative quantitative population ecologist, studying how genetic variability affects the persistence of small populations. Since then he has proliferated in many directions, with novel applications of simulation and statistical modelling to understand synergistic impacts on the biosphere. He is a terrific and wide-ranging thinker who is keen to meet with folks; please contact Scott Mills ([email protected]) or Marketa Zimova ([email protected]) to arrange a meeting time. Dr. Brook will be giving 2 presentations. All are welcome to both! FIRST TALK, part of the Forestry and Environmental Resources Seminar Series: Monday April 7, 2014, 3:30-4:30 in DANIELS 434 (*Note that this is a different room than usual*). Tipping points and metamodels: forecasting and abating aggregate human impacts on biodiversity The future of biodiversity and natural habitats in the 21st century depends on the degree to which societies decouple environmental impacts like land-use change and pollution from economic growth and rising human prosperity, and avoid crossing geophysical or biological tipping points. Top-down projections and policy scenarios typically forecast an inexorable rise in human population, land use, energy production and calorie consumption in coming decades, to the severe detriment of the biosphere. Yet, this is not inevitable—provided that various ‘technological fixes’ can be deployed, at scale, to tackle the social and fiscal drivers of environmental degradation in a timely way. This talk will show how hierarchical analysis, linked to metamodel simulations and underpinned by robust historical data, can be used to assess the feasibility of interventions. These methods hold the prospect of revealing pathways that achieve win-win outcomes for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation, at regional and global scales. SECOND TALK, more of a general public-oriented talk, April 8, 4 – 5pm. Location: 101 David Clark Labs (across from Dan Allen Parking Deck). Power to save nature? The role of nuclear energy and ‘techno-fixes’ in conserving climate and ecosystems Fossil fuels have supplied most of society’s energy demand for over two centuries. Yet, with the mounting problems of climate change, pollution, security and dwindling supplies, we now face the need for a near-total transformation of the world's energy systems. This talk will provide a critical overview of the challenges in—and potential solutions for—completely ‘decarbonzing’ our energy supplies, while also meeting the growing need for increased prosperity in the developing world. It will be argued that of the options available, it is next-generation nuclear power and related technologies, based on modular systems with full fuel recycling and inherent safety, that offer the best chance of curing our fossil-fuel addiction. Solving the ‘energy problem’ will not just help in mitigating climate change. It will also avoid destructive use of natural and agricultural landscapes for biofuels and diffuse energy generation, and allow societies to reduce their ‘footprint’ by sparing land and resources for biodiversity conservation. .