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1999 Spring Symposium
Hosted by the Center for Biodiversity
and Conservation |
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| The geologic record provides a unique long-term history of dramatic changes in the global climate and of the impact of these changes on life. It reveals how past environmental change may have caused species to migrate, become extinct, or gave rise to new species. | |||||
| Over the last century, the Earth's average surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit or a little more. Scientists agree our planet is now 5-9 degrees warmer than in the depths of the last ice age 20,000 years ago. The dominant view among experts is that if we continue releasing heat-trapping gases at the present rate, the average global temperature will rise by another 2 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. | |||||
| Global warming presents a particular challenge to biodiversity conservation in a world already largely modified by humanity. This two-day symposium, Biodiversity and Climate Change: Conservation in the Face of Uncertainty will explore the fate of biodiversity when climatic zones shift. | |||||
| Over the course of two days, scientists, natural resource managers, conservation biologists, and policymakers will not only explore the evidence for past and present climate change and its consequences for ecosystems and species but will also address conservation planning in an age of uncertain climatic trends. A special session will examine the past, present, and future effects of a changing climate on New York City and address regional and local conservation planning issues. | |||||
| Sponsored by the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, the symposium will be held in conjunction with the opening of the new Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth. | |||||
