CSES Colloquia
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The Center for the Study of Environment and Society hosts periodic lectures on topics of broad interest. Contact cses@rice.edu for more details, or to make suggestions for future colloquia. See also the upcoming events page and events calendar, for seminars sponsored by other departments and institutions. |
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William H. Calvin, Ph.D., a theoretical neurobiologist and Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle will be visiting Rice University on November 29 th as part of the President’s Lecture Series. Continuing the events focusing on the 2007-2008 common reading theme of man, nature and climate change, the CSES (Center for the Study of the Environment and Society) will be hosting a lunchtime colloquium featuring William Calvin at noon on November 29 th. He will give a short talk, followed by an opportunity for questions and discussions. Lunch will be provided, and the event is open to the entire Rice community. Please RSVP to cses@rice.edu by November 23rd. Date: November 29th, 2007 Time: 12:00 noon Place: Duncan Hall 3092 "I talk a lot about ape-to-human evolution and all those abrupt climate changes along the way, even about civilization's vulnerabilities to abrupt shocks. But mostly I try to extend Darwin's intellectual revolution to brain mechanisms. What sort of Darwinian brain wiring allows us, in just a split second, to shape up a better thought? To create quality from mere incoherence?" – William H. Calvin Read about William Calvin's forthcoming book here. And read William Calvin's recent inteveiw with Evolution Shift here.
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April 19th, 2006 Joanie Kleypas is a Scientist II at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). She is a marine ecologist/geologist that specializes in the interactions between coral reef ecosystems and climate. She will give a short informal presentation at noon to precede her Thursday afternoon lecture. Please join us. Ocean acidification is gaining recognition as an important environmental problem caused by fossil fuel burning. Oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2 across the air-sea interface is changing the carbonate system in seawater to an unprecedented state. The main consequences are a lowering of both pH and carbonate ion concentration, and a lowering of the saturation states of the minerals calcite and aragonite (CaCO3), the main skeleton-forming minerals for many marine organisms. One of the demonstrated biological consequences of ocean acidification is a reduction in calcification rates of corals and other reef-building organisms. If laboratory experiments prove to be representative of corals in the field, then coral growth rates are likely to decrease in the future. Whether reduced calcification rates will affect the fitness of corals remains essentially unknown, but there is little doubt that the carbonate budgets on coral reefs will decline. This talk will outline the current state of knowledge as to what ocean acidification means for coral reef ecosystems, and will examine both modern-day analogs and geological record for clues as to whether coral reefs and the structures they build will constitute a measurable litmus test for ocean acidification. Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers: A Guide for Future Research by Joanie Kleypas A recent article published by the New Yorker on ocean acidification February 28th, 2007 Read about this event at Rice News.
November 2, 2006 March 30th, 2006 Peter Kareiva, Ph.D., a lead scientist in the Pacific Western Conservation Region, will give a presentation on . . . Making science less irrelevant in the real world: salmon, conservation easements, and GMO's.
March 22nd , 2006 Jim Blackburn, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Rice University will give a lectur entitled "Property Rights in Texas: Who owns the land and what can they do with it?"
March 7th, 2006 San San Antonio is the third largest city in Texas and has historically relied upon the Edwards Underground Aquifer for its water supply. Due to endangered species litigation and increasing demands on the Edward Aquifer, SAWS has been evaluating a number of alternative sources for their future water supply, including conservation, brackish desalinization, other g 9/18/07 Colorado River system and augmentation of recharge of the Edwards Aquifer. In the recent past, SAWS has also determined to discontinue its participation in several major proposed projects, including importation of Guadalupe River water and importation of groundwater from the Alcoa mine site northeast of Austin. Mr. Chardavoyne will present an overview of the SAWS evaluation process and will discuss directions for the future of water supply in San Antonio.
January 19th, 2006 Dr. David Goodstein, a professor of physics and applied physics at the Caltech Institute of Technology will give a presentation entitled: "Out of Gas: The end of the age of oil" . . . The world will soon start to run out of cheap, easily produced oil. If we turn to the other fossil fuels to replace the missing oil, we might do incalculable damage to the climate of our planet, and we are likely to start running out of all fossil fuels, coal included, by the end of this century. We will take a careful look at this situation and all of its ramifications. Dr. Goodstein's lecture is co-sponsored by the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Center for the Study of Environment and Society. More details concerning the lecture are available through that department's website, linked here. Dr. David L. Goodstein, Ph.D., is Vice Provost and Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Caltech, where he has been on the faculty for more than 35 years. In 1995, he was named the Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished Teaching and Service Professor. In 1999, Dr. Goodstein was awarded the Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and in 2000, the John P. McGovern Medal of the Sigma Xi Society. He has served on and chaired numerous scientific and academic panels, including the National Advisory Committee to the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the California Council on Science and Technology. His books include States of Matter (Prentice Hall, 1975, Dover, 1985) and Feynman’s Lost Lecture (Norton, 1996), written with his wife, Dr. Judith Goodstein. In the 1980’s he was Director and host of The Mechanical Universe, an educational television series that has been used by millions of students all over the world.
November 3, 2005 James Howard Kunstler is the author of The Geography of Nowhere and The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times Sunday Magazine and Op-Ed page, where he has written on environmental and economic issues. He will give a presentation entitled: The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century.
October 17, 2005 Matthew Kahni, Professor of International Economics at Tufts University, gave a presentation entitled "Contrasting Approaches for Measuring Urban Sustainability" about the Environmental Kuznet's Curve as a tool for measuring the how "green" particular cities are or might become.
April 22, 2007 Terrell Dixon, University of Houston English Professor, gave a presentation entitled "Goodbye to a Refuge?" about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Dr. Dixon discussed his recent trips to and upcoming book on ANWR as well as the political situation in which the refuge is now embroiled.
April 14, 2005 Jim Cahalan, Indiana University of Pennsylvania English Professor, gave a presentation entitled "From Home to Big Bend and Beyond: The Unusual" on the life of Edward Abbey. Cahalan's biography of Abbey, Edward Abbey: A Life received the Western Literature Association's Thomas J. Lyon Award in 2002 and earned Cahalan a reputation as one of the foremost authorities on Edward Abbey.
April 6, 2005 Lars Lerup, Rice University Dean of Architecture Lars Lerup spoke about his forthcoming book, Toxic Ecology: At the Limit of the Entrepreneurial City. Toxic Ecology examines Houston as a city which finds itself at the apex of its growth. Driven sheerly by capitalism and profit, Houston's suburbs have sprawled to the full extent of their potential while the environment within the metroplex has become toxic to its residents. Lerup examined how Houston should address growth and development from this point forward.
April 14, 2004 The forum was planned by the Center for the Study of Society and the Environment, FotoFest, the Environmental and Engineering Systems Institute, and the Shell Center for Sustainability at Rice University. The conference brought together interdisciplinary perspectives on water with participation by resource economists, hydrologists, bio-engineers, ethicists and philosophers, legal experts, architects, and artists. See the archived webcast here.
Observing Environmental Change: Why It Matters Thomashow is Chairperson of the Environmental Studies Department at Antioch New England Graduate School. He is specifically interested in developing reflective, interdisciplinary pedagogy in environmental studies. For a complete biography, click here.
January 21, 2004 David Orr, Professor and Chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College - Orr is best known for his pioneering work on environmental literacy in higher education and his recent work in ecological design. He raised funds for and spearheaded the effort to design and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center, which houses the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College. He is the author of three books: The Nature of Design, Earth in Mind, and Ecological Literacy.
Friday, October 31, 2003 Observations of the Earth: Towards an Earth Information System Richard Anthes, President of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) - Anthes is an atmospheric scientist, author, educator and administrator.
March 21, 2003 Antarctica: Climates of the past and implications for the future Robert Dunbar, Professor of Geological and Earth Sciences and Director of the Earth Systems Program, Stanford University. See the Stanford Alumni Magazine for a recent article on Dr. Dunbar's reasearch.
January 22, 2003 Indonesia: The Most Biodiverse Place on Earth. Why Should We Care? Russell Lieman, Divisional Director of Asia-Pacific and California Programs, The Nature Conservancy.
November 13, 2002 Biosphere 2 Information Session Mike Omiecinski spoke with students and others about Columbia University's study abroad programs at Biosphere 2.
October 30, 2002 Cleaning the Air, Jobs and Productivity: Lessons from Los Angeles Eli Berman, Department of Economics, Rice University
September 25, 2002 Valuing Nature in Texas: The Economics of Non-Market Environmental Amenities. Mitchell Mathis, Environmental Economist, Houston Advanced Research Center
April 5, 2002 Tony Burgess, Desert Ecologist, Biosphere 2
March 18, 2002 In Defense of Place: Texas Coastal Litigation Jim Blackburn, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University
Fall 2001 Numbers and Nerves: Seeking a Discourse of Environmental Sensitivity in a World of Data Scott Slovic, Professor of English, University of Nevada
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