Public Events
Naomi Oreskes: Merchants of Doubt: Using History and Philosophy of Science to Understand the Climate Change Debate
Great Hall - Somerville House Somerville House, Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT On vital issues such as genetically-modified foods and climate change, having correct scientific knowledge is vital for making good public policy. How does philosophy help us understand science? How strong is the scientific consensus about climate change, and the effects our species has on it? Naomi Oreskes, co-author of the award-winning book Merchants of [...]
Wayne Myrvold: What Do You Bring to a Street Fight?
Stevenson & Hunt Room A - Central Library 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT An editorial in the journal Nature warned climate scientists that they must acknowledge that, like it or not, they are in a street fight. Climate scientists have been the targets of a well-funded, orchestrated campaign to discredit them and their work. In this talk, I will raise the question of what scientists can do [...]
Gillian Barker: Ecological Thinking about Climate Change: A New Paradigm?
Stevenson & Hunt Room A - Central Library 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT A growing group of scientists and activists is calling for a “paradigm shift” in our thinking about the threat of climate change and how best to respond to it—a shift to an ecological approach that emphasizes the role of living systems. What do they mean? Are they right? SPEAKER PROFILE Gillian Barker is a [...]
Public Panel Discussion: Climate Change: What is to be done?
ABSTRACT A public panel discussion about what can, and what should, be done about climate change, with a focus on interplay between various levels of action – community, national, and international. Also discussed will be how we can cut through the ideological noise around the issue of climate change. SPEAKER PROFILES Gary Brown Gary Brown [...]
Leonard Smith and Erica Thompson: Doing Science in the Dark: The Challenges of Climate-Like Science
Stevenson & Hunt Room A - Central Library 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario, CanadaABSTRACT Climate prediction and weather prediction are very different: due to constant refinements and new techniques, the life time of a climate model is much less than the forecast we ask it to make, whereas the same weather model can be used to forecast tomorrow’s weather, day after day, for months if not years — [...]