Human-Climate Interactions and Evolution: Past and Future | Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA)

Event Date (Pacific Time):

Friday, May 15, 2015 - 1:00pm to 5:30pm

Venue:

Salk Institute - Conrad T. Prebys Auditorium

Event Chairs:

Charles Kennel, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Rick Potts, Smithsonian Institution

Summary: Our early ancestors evolved on a drying, cooling, and highly variable planet, which has led to competing ideas as to how climate may have shaped human evolution. Equally compelling is the question of how and when humans began to affect their surroundings to such an extent as to become a force of climate change, with disruptions affecting the globe today. According to earth scientists, paleontologists, and scholars in other fields, the planet has entered a new geological phase – the Anthropocene, the age of humans. How did this transition of our species from an apelike ancestor in Africa to the current planetary force occur? What are the prospects for the future of world climate, ecosystems, and our species? This symposium presents varied perspectives on these critical questions from earth scientists, ecologists, and paleoanthropologists.

Event Sessions

Media for each talk can be played by clicking on icons in the "Media" column, or by clicking on the individual talk titles below and then the attachment file at the bottom of the page.

Media	Session	Speakers
	Welcome	Ajit Varki, UC San Diego School of Medicine
	Opening Remarks	Charles Kennel, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego
	African Climate Change and Human Evolution	Peter deMenocal, Columbia University
	The Climatic Framework of Neandertal Evolution	Jean-Jacques Hublin, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
	Climate Instability and the Evolution of Human Adaptability	Rick Potts, Smithsonian Institution
	Abrupt Climate Transitions and Humans	Jeff Severinghaus, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego
	How Humans Took Control of Climate	William Ruddiman, University of Virginia
	The Impacts of Arctic Sea Ice Retreat on Contemporary Climate	Charles Kennel, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego
	A Tipping Point: Using the Past to Forecast Our Future	Elizabeth Hadly, Stanford University
	Human Impacts: Will We Survive the Future?	Naomi Oreskes, Harvard University
	Climate Change Mitigation: In Pursuit of the Common Good	Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UC San Diego
	Wrap-up	Rick Potts, Smithsonian Institution
	Question and Answer Session	All Speakers
	Closing Remarks	Margaret Schoeninger, University of California, San Diego

Support Opportunities

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Attachment	Size
CARTA_May2015_Directions_Parking_Bus.pdf	1.41 MB
NCTD_101_Bus_schedule.pdf	144.97 KB
CARTA_May2015_Salk_drop_off_directions_1.pdf	201.34 KB
Abstracts_Human_Climate_Interactions_5.15.15.pdf	801.38 KB
Bios_5.15.15.pdf	209.63 KB