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> Announcing the 2007 MIT ESI/CGCS Symposium:
>
> "Earth System Revolutions: Key Turning Points in the History of our
> Planet"
>
> Tuesday, October 9, 2007
> Massachusetts Institute of Technology
> Building 10, Room 250
>
> Co-sponsored by the MIT Earth System Initiative <http://esi.mit.edu/^{Image Removed}
> > and
> the MIT Center for Global Change Science <http://mit.edu/cgcs/^{Image Removed}>
>
> The MIT ESI/CGCS Symposium "Earth System Revolutions" is organized
> in three
> sections, starting at 8:30 am on Tuesday, October 9 in MIT Building
> 10-250,
> running until 6:15 pm. MIT students are particularly encouraged to
> attend as
> it is being held on a class-vacation day.
>
> In the first session of the symposium, key examples of revolutions
> early in
> the history of the Earth System such as the advent of oxygenic
> photosynthesis, the origin of Life and the Cambrian Explosion, will be
> presented to bring to light the ever-evolving nature of the
> biosphere. In
> the second session, speakers will discuss the "Anthropocene", that
> is, the
> ways in which humans have fundamentally altered the chemical,
> physical and
> biological systems on this planet. Topics include the impact of our
> energy
> portfolio, our changing climate, biodiversity, and other ways that
> society
> and industry have intentionally or unintentionally shaped the
> Earth. The
> final session will focus on the possible futures of the Earth
> System. To
> highlight two simple extremes, should we as a society attempt to
> mitigate
> the effects of our changing planet through geo-engineering? Or
> should we
> accept the inevitable and adapt to a new planet? What middle ground
> is the
> best balance? What options are most likely to succeed in protecting
> Earth's
> resources for future generations? Discussion time is scheduled
> following
> each session to allow for audience participation.
>
> Agenda
> 8:30 - Welcome - Prof. Penny Chisholm
> <http://web.mit.edu/chisholm/www/people/chisholm.html^{Image Removed}> (ESI
> Director) and
> Prof. Ronald Prinn <http://mit.edu/rprinn/^{Image Removed}> (CGCS Director)
> 8:45 - Prof. Paul Falkowski
> <http://marine.rutgers.edu/faculty_pfalkowski.html^{Image Removed}> (Rutgers
> Univ.) "The
> Rise of Oxygen on Earth"
> 9:30 - Prof. Dianne Newman
> <http://web.mit.edu/biology/www/facultyareas/facresearch/^{Image Removed}
> newman.html> (MIT)
> "From Rocks to Genes and Back: Stories about the Evolution of
> Photosynthesis"
> 10:15 - Discussion
> 10:45 - Prof. Daniel Pauly <http://www.fisheries.ubc.ca/members/^{Image Removed}
> dpauly/>
> (Univ. British Columbia) "Fisheries and Global Warming: Impacts on
> Marine
> Ecosystems and Food Security"
> 11:30 - Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig
> <http://www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/crosenzweig.html^{Image Removed}> (NASA-GISS)
> "Climate
> Variability and Change and their Impacts on the Global Harvest"
> 12:15 - Lunch break
> 1:30 - Prof. Ronald Prinn <http://mit.edu/rprinn/^{Image Removed}> (MIT)
> "Anthropogenic
> Climate Change"
> 2:15 - Prof. Daniel Nocera
> <http://web.mit.edu/chemistry/www/faculty/nocera.html^{Image Removed}> (MIT)
> "Whales to
> Wood: Wood to Coal/Oil: What's Next?"
> 3:00 - Discussion
> 3:30 - Prof. Roger Angel
> <http://www.optics.arizona.edu/Faculty/Resumes/Angel.htm^{Image Removed}> (Univ.
> Arizona)
> "Solar Energy as a Major Replacement for Fossil Fuel"
> 4:15 - Dr. Margaret Leinen <http://www.climos.com/bios/^{Image Removed}
> mleinenbio.html>
> (Climos Inc.) "Geosciences and Carbon Sequestration to Address Climate
> Change"
> 5:00 - Prof. Braden Allenby <http://www.cspo.org/about/people/^{Image Removed}
> allenby.htm>
> (Arizona State Univ.) "Earth Systems Engineering and Management"
> 5:45 - Discussion
> 6:15 - Close
>
> The public is welcome to attend this symposium and no registration is
> necessary. Further information can be found at http://mit.edu/cgcs/^{Image Removed}
> and
> http://esi.mit.edu/content/view/139/1/^{Image Removed}.

Friday, October 5; Subject: 34-101 today

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