Climate change lecture series begins Feb. 3 at WCSU

WCSU biology professor to present public lectures on climate change

Western Connecticut State University Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences Dr. Mitch Wagener will present a series of free, public lectures on climate change this spring. The lecture series, “Climate and Human Civilization,” will be presented by both Wagener, an expert in invertebrates and ecosystems, and university students.

The lectures will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on five consecutive Wednesday evenings in Room 125 of the Science Building on WCSU’s Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury.

The lectures include:

•       “Weather and climate” on Feb. 3

•       “Factors that modify the climate” on Feb. 10

•       “Climate and civilization” on Feb. 17

•       “The recent past and the near future” on Feb. 24

•       “How do we fix this?” on March 2

Six of Wagener’s students will individually deliver a 10 to 15 minute portion of each lecture, covering a specific topic of their interest.

Wagener, who has delivered guest lectures and public talks on science for the past 15 years, has a passion for the topic of climate change. He taught a course on ecosystem ecology for several years, and has taught climate ecology at WCSU for the past six years.

Wagener said, “It is clear that climate change and all its myriad cascading effects aresome of the most pressing problems of the 21^st century. The impacts of climate change can be found from biodiversity to human health to politics, art and literature, and much more. The study of climate change is driving the development of a new interdisciplinary science at the planetary scale. Whether it is eventually called

‘Earth system science,’ ‘biosphere ecology’ or something else, climate change is exciting and terrifying and fascinating. And it is the great story of our time. It is vital for some of us with experience explaining scientific issues to the public to be prepared to provide the best information to those without scientific training.”

The lecture series is sponsored by the Jane Goodall Center at WCSU.

For more information, contact Wagener at wagenerm@wcsu.edu, or visit the associated Facebook page at “WCSU Climate Ecology.”

Photo cutline:  Professor of Environmental and Biological Sciences Dr. Mitch Wagener collecting zebra mussel samples with former WCSU students (l-r) Bruna Oliviera and Catrina Morgan.