Fall Schedule 2009
October 5th, " Climate Change and Agriculture"
Climate change exacerbates concerns about agricultural production and food security worldwide. At global and regional scales, food security is prominent among the human activities and ecosystem services under threat from dangerous anthropogenic interference in the earth’s climate. At the national scale, countries are concerned about potential damages that may arise in coming decades from climate change impacts, as these are likely to affect domestic and international policies, trading patterns, resource use, regional planning, and welfare. Agriculture plays two fundamental roles in human-driven climate change. On the one hand, it is the one key human sector that will be affected by climate change over the coming decades, thus requiring adaptation measures. On the other, agriculture is also a major source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. As climate changes as well as socio-economic pressures shape future demands for food, fiber and energy, synergies must be identified between adaptation and mitigation strategies, to allow development of robust options that meet both the climate and societal challenges of the coming decades. Ultimately, farmers and others in the agricultural sector will be faced with the dual task of contributing to global reductions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, while having to cope with an already-changing climate.
October 12th, " Seeing Climate, Seeing Change: Communicating Climate Science in a Changing Media Landscape"
October 19th, "The Challenge of Introducing New Vaccines: The UK Experience '"
Co-sponsored with the Center for Health and Well-Being
October 26th, "Interactions between Climate and Regional Air Quality in the US:
How Changing Climate May Affect Smog and How Cleaning up Smog May Affect Climate"
Fall Break - No seminar Monday, November 2nd
November 9th, "The Challenge of Producing More Food and Fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions"
November 23rd, - " Dynamics and Control of Acute Infectious Diseases in Space and Time"
November 30th, " Consumer Genetics and Clinical Attitudes: Who Decides Whether You Can Look At Your Own DNA?"
December 7th, "Alternative Approaches to Carbon Capture and Storage at Existing Coal Power Plant Sites"