Oct 11: The Anthropocene: Planet Earth in the Age of Humans

Please join the Grand Challenges Consortia on 10/11/12 at our symposium The Anthropocene: Planet Earth in the Age of Humans. 

A schedule for the event is below. A full event program including schedule, bio sketches for speakers and panelists, and abstracts for each talk can be downloaded from our website: http://www.si.edu/consortia. 

The event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to distribute this announcement to interested parties. All are welcome, but space is limited. 

Please RSVP to Consortia@si.edu to receive a ticket. 

The symposium on October 11, 2012 will address the tremendous scope of transformations now occurring on the Earth with profound effects on plants, animals, and natural habitats. Geologists have proposed the term Anthropocene, or "Age of Man," for this new period in the history of the planet. The symposium will focus on the arrival and impact of this new era through the lenses of science, history, art, culture, philosophy, and economics, and will promote discussion, debate, and deliberation on these issues of change. 

The Anthropocene: Planet Earth in the Age of Humans

Baird Auditorium

National Museum of Natural History

10^th Street & Constitution Avenue, N.W.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

9:15 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

9:15 a.m.                              Opening remarks by Eva J. Pell, Under Secretary for Science, Smithsonian Institution

First Session                      Moderator: Michelle Delaney

9:30 a.m.                              Charles C. Mann                               1493: Homogenizing the Planet

                                                Panel Discussion                               Justin Kasper (SAO), Rick Potts (NMNH), Andrew C. Revkin (Pace University; 

                                                                                                                                The New York Times), Daniel Wildcat (Haskell Indian Nations University)

11:00 a.m.                           Break

Second Session                Moderator: Christine Jones

11:30 a.m.                           Richard Alley                                      Energizing the Anthropocene: Science for Smart Decisions

                                                Panel Discussion                               Subhankar Banerjee (artist educator, activist), Karen Milbourne (NMAfA)

                                                                                                                                Mary Evelyn Tucker (Yale University), Scott Wing (NMNH)

1:00 p.m.                             Break

Third Session                     Moderator: Robert Leopold

2:30 p.m.                             Chris Jordan                                       Encountering Midway

                                                Panel Discussion                               Liz Cottrell (NMNH), James R. Fleming (Colby College)

                                                                                                                                Odile Madden (MCI), Woody Turner (NASA)

4:00 p.m.                             Break

Fourth Session                  Moderator: W. John Kress

4:30 p.m.                             Sabine O'Hara                                    Sustaining Economics for a Sustaining Planet

                                                Panel Discussion                               Rob Nixon (Univ. of Wisconsin – Madison), Torben Rick (NMNH)

                                                                                                                                Gavin A. Schmidt (NASA), S. Joeseph Wright (STRI)

Fifth Session     

6:00 p.m.                             The Honorable Timothy E. Wirth                                               Summation

6:30 p.m.                             Closing Remarks by W. John Kress

                                                Reception in the Rotunda

For further information on this message, contact Smithsonian Consortia, x31507 (VoIP), 202-633-1507 (non-VoIP),Consortia@si.edu.