Jill and Ken Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecture

Monday, April 22 - Lecture

Overcoming Dogma and Prophecies
of Doom to Save Nature

5:00-6:30pm
David L. Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall

Abstract: Conservation is on the defensive. One way forward is to embrace the potential for recovery, restoration, and even rewilding, while realizing that nature never stands still. New messages, new science, new alliances, and a new nature are conservation's best hope.

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• Featured Classroom Visits:
  • 10:10-11:00am, 231 Warren Hall
    Dr. Kareiva joins the Nature and Culture class for a Q&A session about how natural resource conservation and management have changed over time and the role of organizations such as The Nature Conservancy in advancing change.
    Facilitator: Prof. James Tantillo (NTRES)
    
    
  • 12:20-1:10pm, 116 Kennedy Hall
    Dr. Kareiva joins Environmental Conservation students for a critical look at environmental conservation measures and how existing approaches to conservation are being challenged.
    Facilitator: Prof. Joseph Yavitt (NTRES)
    
    

Tuesday, April 23 - Roundtable Discussion

Promises, Possibilities, and Perils of “New” Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Roundtable

3:30-5:00pm
225 ILR Conference Center (King-Shaw Hall)

Dr. Kareiva joins Cornell faculty and the executive director of the region’s leading land trust organization in an informal, interdisciplinary conversation that considers both the opportunities and challenges of new approaches to conservation.

Panelists: Prof. Sunny Power (EEB and STS); Prof. Sara Pritchard (STS); Prof. Aaron Sachs (HIST); and Andy Zepp, Executive Director, Finger Lakes Land Trust

Facilitator: Prof. Drew Harvell (EEB)

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• Featured Classroom Visit:
  • 1:25-2:15pm, B106 Comstock Hall
    Dr. Kareiva joins Dynamic Models in Biology students for a discussion about the science behind and models for evaluating the success or failure of various environmental conservation measures.
    Facilitators: Prof. John Guckenheimer (MATH) and Prof. Stephen Ellner (EEB)
    
    

About Peter Kareiva

Peter Kareiva is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, where he mentors 600+ staff engaged in conservation science in over 30 countries around the world.  Kareiva  received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University in 1981 and immediately joined the faculty at Brown University in Biology and Applied Mathematics.  In 1984 he began a twenty years stint at University of Washington before becoming the Director of Conservation Biology at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.  After three years at NOAA’s Fishery Center he moved to TNC in 2001, where he has been ever since.  He is the author of more than 150 scientific publications and author or editor of eight books, including a textbook on conservation science.  Kareiva is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of The National Academy of Sciences.  His research concerns the connection between human activities and changes in ecosystem services, as part of the Natural Capital Project which he co-founded with Gretchen Daily, Steve Polasky, and Taylor Ricketts.  Kareiva is also studying the linkage between the sustainability initiatives of global corporations and their impacts on ecosystems.  In the past Kareiva has published on biotechnology, agriculture, risk assessment, insect ecology, theoretical ecology, climate change, invasive species, and the importance of getting our children into nature.

About the Iscol Lecture

The Jill and Ken Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecture brings prominent scholars, newsmakers, scientists, and leaders to Cornell to address environmental issues of paramount importance to humankind. Recognizing scholarship on the frontiers of scientific inquiry, the Iscol Lecture provides opportunities for Cornell students, faculty, staff, and the public to gain new knowledge about pressing environmental issues and enriches the intellectual character of the university and the community. A faculty award committee, representing a cross-section of academic disciplines, annually selects the Jill and Ken Iscol Distinguished Environmental Lecturer.

You may also wish to read coverage of the 2012, 2011, 2010, and previous Iscol Lectures.