Academic Year 2018-2019

Seeds of Time Film Screening and Panel Discussion

On April 22, 2019, over 200 people attended a film screening of Seeds of Time on Douglass Campus, followed by a panel discussion. Seeds of Time examines the effects of climate change through a resource we cannot live without: our seeds. Seed banks around the world are crumbling, crop failures are producing starvation and rioting, and the accelerating effects of climate change are affecting farmers globally. A perfect storm is brewing as agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler races against time to protect the future of our food.

Participants were treated to inspiring welcoming remarks by Chancellor Christopher Molloy (Rutgers University–New Brunswick), Executive Dean Robert Goodman (Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences), and Ambassador Gustavo Meza Cuadra (Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations). Ambassador Meza Cuadra shared the story of communities of indigenous Peruvian farmers already suffering the effects of climate change. The discussion panel included Cary Fowler, Sandy McLeod (director and producer of Seeds of Time), Thomas Orton (Professor and Agricultural Extension Specialist at Rutgers University), and Lena Struwe (Professor and Director of the Chrysler Herbarium, Rutgers University). 

The event was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Peru to the United Nations; Rutgers Climate Institute; Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; Rutgers Department of Plant Biology; Rutgers Global; Students for Environmental Awareness; Students for Environmental and Energy Development; and the Rutgers Undergraduate Food Science Club. The event highlighted the need to take action to protect our seeds, the future of our food, across the globe.

 

 

Tim Searchinger: Creating a Sustainable Future

On March 7th, 2019, Timothy D. Searchinger of Princeton University gave a lecture on Cook Campus on how to meet global food needs in 2050 while reducing greenhouse emissions.

Talking Climate: When Facts are Not Enough, Katharine Hayhoe

On February 26th, 2019, Katherine Hayhoe gave a public lecture on communicating climate change to an audience of nearly 300 at the Cook Student Center at Rutgers University.

Statistics of the Earth Seminar Series: Katharine Hayhoe, High-Resolution Climate Projections: Connecting Global Change to Local Impacts

On February 26th, 2019, Katherine Hayhoe gave a lecture on localizing global climate change impacts at the Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Health at Rutgers University.

Rutgers Polar Day 2019

 

On Friday February 22nd, 2019, Rutgers faculty, staff, and students studying the polar regions and cryosphere were invited to share their work in lighting talks (3-5 minutes) and discussion during the morning session. A keynote lecture by Dr. Richard Forster, University of Utah was given in the afternoon.