Dean's Speaker Series
Dean's Speaker Series
Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series
The Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series features practitioners and industry leaders for insightful perspectives and engaging discussions on topics relevant to our department research and projects.
These events are open to all students, faculty, staff, and the general public. Questions about these events can be directed to Sarah Fobes at fobes@rowan.edu.
Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis
Michael Mann, Ph.D.
Michael Mann, Ph.D., is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Dept. of Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action and is the Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media.
Topic: "Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis" will provide the audience the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis, while emboldening them--and others--to act before it truly does become too late. See below for full description.
Date: Monday, February 24, 2025
Time: Seminar and Q&A will run from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.); Dr. Mann's book Our Fragile Moment, will be available for purchase before and after the event, with a book signing to begin at 8:30 p.m.
Audience: Open to all students, faculty, staff and the general public. All are welcome!
Cost: Free
Location: Chamberlain Student Center, Eynon Ballroom (located at Rowan University's Glassboro Campus) - Campus Map & Directions - This event is in-person only and will not be recorded.
Parking: Registrants may enter through the Rowan Welcome Gate located on Rt. 322. The attendant will direct you to parking in the Townhouse Garages.
Questions about this event can be directed to Sarah Fobes at fobes@rowan.edu.
For the vast majority of its 4.54 billion years, Earth has proven it can manage just fine without human beings. Then came the first proto-humans, who emerged just a little more than 2 million years ago—a fleeting moment in geological time. What is it that made this benevolent moment of ours possible? Ironically, it’s the very same thing that now threatens us—climate change. The drying of the tropics during the Pleistocene period created a niche for early hominids, who could hunt prey as forests gave way to savannahs in the African tropics. The sudden cooling episode known as the “Younger Dryas” 13,000 years ago, which occurred just as Earth was thawing out of the last Ice Age, spurred the development of agriculture in the fertile crescent. The “Little Ice Age” cooling of the 16th-19th centuries led to famines and pestilence for much of Europe, yet it was a boon for the Dutch, who were able to take advantage of stronger winds to shorten their ocean voyages. The conditions that allowed humans to live on this earth are fragile, incredibly so. Climate variability has at times created new niches that humans or their ancestors could potentially exploit, and challenges that at times have spurred innovation. But there’s a relatively narrow envelope of climate variability within which human civilization remains viable. And our survival depends on conditions remaining within that range. In this talk, I will arm attendees with the knowledge necessary to appreciate the gravity of the unfolding climate crisis, while emboldening them—and others–to act before it truly does become too late.
