Leonard P. Hirsch
Senior Policy Advisor
Smithsonian Institution

Scott Richardson
K-12 Program Coordinator, Learn and Serve America
Corporation for National and Community Service

Edward E. Geary
Director
GLOBE Program

Join a panel of experts for this closing session. What open questions can anchor your future discussions, activities, and actions? The team addresses your comments and offers guidance on how you can use what you’ve learned about this significant issue.

Evidence
Thursday, October 1, 2009
11:00 – 11:50 am EDT
RECORDING AVAILABLE
Stanley Heckadon-Moreno Director of Communications and Public Programs; Coordinator, Galeta Point Marine Laboratory
Smithsonian Tropical Research Center

We will begin Day 3 at STRI’s Galeta Island Marine Education Center in Panama. Galeta is adjacent to a coral reef, a mangrove forest, and seagrass beds that harbor all manner of marine life. It is the site of an intense study of the biological effects of a major oil spill, as well as ongoing environmental monitoring. Heckadon-Moreno will join us remotely from Galeta to show us the research being done there.

In advance of Stanley Heckadon’s session, we enocurage you to enjoy a documenatry video about Punta Galeta.

Duncan takes us to the intersections of art, communications, and ecology. He discusses the emergence of video as a medium and how it has been heralded by artists such as Paul Ryan as a visual tool for “scoring” the environment and eliciting community participation in issues of sustainability. To conclude the last session of Day 2, Duncan will share with us documents and video clips that illustrate the rich possibilities inherent in Ryan’s groundbreaking work.

What does the study of indigenous geography—which links the environment, social organization, political structures, and cultural systems—tell us about Native ways of understanding?

Herman will guide us in a discussion of “Native science,” how it differs from western science, and how it might be applied to climate change studies.

Bill Fitzhugh
Curator of Archaeology; Director, Arctic Studies Center
National Museum of Natural History

How have peoples in the past dealt with changing climate and environment? Is the Arctic a “bell-weather”—the proverbial “canary in the mine”—for climate impacts on the wider world? Studying long-term historical change has profound application to modern issues today. Fitzhugh will lead you on an exploration of the impact of climate change on northern peoples, both ancient and modern. Using case studies of groups like the Vikings, the ancient Mongolians, Eskimos, and modern residents of arctic regions, he’ll discuss with you the range of human interactions with the environment in the frozen north—a frontline of studies of climate change.

Don Moore
Associate Director for Animal Care
National Zoological Park

Joe Sacco
Associate Director of Education, Friends of the National Zoo
National Zoological Park

Along with this panel of experts from the National Zoo, you’ll be part of a discussion about how climate change, wildlife, and what some young people are doing to make a difference. The Zoo team will give you an overview of the issue while delving deeply into the specific impact of global warming on one specific population — Arctic polar bears. On a positive note, they’ll discuss the work of empowered youth taking small and large steps to protect our planet’s wildlife.

Listen to an audio message from Don Moore, and share your questions or comments about this topic below.

How is climate change affecting biodiversity on Earth? In his interactive talk, Dallmeier will highlight some of the animal species around the world that have been impacted by shifting climates. Pointing toward the future, he will also discuss new initiatives for studying biodiversity and climate change.

Evidence
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
11:00 – 11:50 am EDT
RECORDING AVAILABLE
Bert Drake, Plant Physiologist, Senior Scientist
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

What do we know about the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and what is the evidence of the relationships between carbon and climate? Join Bert Drake, the principal scientific investigator of the longest-running experiment measuring the impact of rising atmospheric CO2 on land ecosystems, as he outlines the big picture and takes participants’ questions. Bert’s presentation will also provide a fascinating historical context: the Smithsonian’s long involvement in studying climate change.