| Global
Climate - A Symposium: Robert T. Watson, Chief Scientist and Director of Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development at the World Bank and Co-Chair of the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, leads a special Cambridge Forum series of dialogues on climate change on Monday, November 21, 2005 at First Parish, 3 Church Street, in Harvard Square. During an afternoon symposium, Watson leads scientists and environmentalists in an in-depth discussion of the scientific evidence for climate change and its impact on the world's ecosystems and human cultures. At his evening keynote address, Watson presents the accomplishments of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment as it sets the stage for future action to reverse or adapt to coming climate change and ensuing ecological and cultural disruptions. The program concludes with a public discussion of possible scenarios for the earth's environmental future. The symposium takes place from 2:00 to 4:15 p.m. The evening lecture and public forum begin at 7:00 p.m. Both programs are free and open to the public. At 2:00 p.m. the first symposium panel will convene to discuss the scientific evidence for global climate change. Chaired by William Moomaw of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and Director of the Tufts Institute for the Environment (TIE), the panel includes Kerry Emanuel, MIT climatologist who has done extensive research on changes in tropical weather patterns, and James McCarthy, an expert on arctic assessment. Watson ties their specialized area research to the global Millennium Assessment undertaken by the United Nations. Participants in the second symposium panel at 3:15 p.m. are: author Ross Gelbspan (The Heat Is On and Boiling Point); radio host Steve Curwood (Living On Earth); and author and cultural commentator Bill McKibben (Wandering Home). They will examine the economic, cultural, and psychological impact of changing ecosystems on human beings with Watson. Watson's evening addresses looks at the questions that Americans must answer, both as individuals and as members of one of the wealthiest and most profligate nations on the earth, as we prepare a future for our children and grandchildren. If human activities are causing global climate change and the depletion of natural resources, what actions can we take to slow or reverse these dangerous trends? When will it be too late for our actions to make a difference? What factors mitigate against significant changes in human activity? What reasons have we for hope? What will living on earth be like over the next century? Robert T. Watson is the World Bank's senior spokesperson on global climate change. He joined the Bank in 1996 as senior scientific adviser in the environmental department and in 1997 was appointed director of the department and head of the environment sector board. Prior to joining the Bank, he was associate director for environmental issues in the Office of Science and Technology Policy for the Clinton White House and had served at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as director of the science division and chief scientist for the Mission to Planet Earth. He has played a key role in negotiating global environmental conventions and, most recently, co-chaired the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
Cambridge
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