9 Billion People + 1 Planet = ?

Date/Time:	Monday, 24 Oct 2011 at 8:00 pm
Location:	Great Hall, Memorial Union
Cost:	Free
Contact:
Phone:	515-294-9934
Channel:	Lecture Series
Categories:	Lectures Live Green
Actions:	Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder

Andrew Revkin covered global environmental issues for the New York Times for fifteen years and continues to write for their Dot Earth blog. He is currently a senior fellow at Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Sciences. The 2011 Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture.

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The planet's human population - after centuries of explosive growth - is widely seen as cresting within the next couple of generations. A mid-range best guess for the peak remains roughly 9 billion people. There are even signs that resource-sapping activities will hit a peak as well. Lee Schipper's work on "peak travel" offers one glimpse. But there are a host of unanswered questions about how the cresting of the centuries-long wave of growth in human numbers and appetites will play out. Will we overheat or innovate, conserve or despoil, crash or round the curve with a few scrapes? Can we manage our way to "peak us" before we're hit with "peak everything"? Andrew Revkin will reveal paths toward progress that can work even in the face of deep complexity and uncertainty.