Dr. Warren Allmon, Dr. Charles Greene, and Dr. Drew Harvell discussed the implications of climate change as it pertained to their respective fields on a panel discussion entitled “Adaptation and Extinction in the Wake of Climate Change,” on Feb. 13 that marked the second event of the weeklong Darwin Days series.  

Steve Miller, New York State’s first hops specialist, gave a lecture on Thursday Feb. 16 entitled  “Local Climate Change’s Effect on Hop Production” as a part of weeklong university-wide celebration of Darwin’s birthday. Miller gave a brief history of hops, a main ingredient of beer, and discussed how the crop is grown—emphasizing its production in New York State.

Addressing the warmest year and warmest decade on record, , Chief biodiversity advisor to the World Bank and founder of PBS series Nature kicked off Darwin days with. Thomas Lovejoy, the man who coined the term "biodiversity," answered how much is too much when it comes to greenhouse gases at a lecture entitled "The Present and Future of Climate Change" on Feb.12^th as a part of the Darwin Days series. 

The effects of climate change like melting sea ice and rising sea levels occur naturally, and may not necessarily be due to human impact on the environment, according to some scientists and contrary to popular belief. These changes are part of a natural cycle and have happened before.

Dr. Thomas M. Cronin, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, gave a guest lecture Wednesday, Feb. 15, as part of the University’s Darwin Days. Cronin’s presentation, “Climate Challenges and the Geologic Record,” focused on two main areas: sea ice and sea level.

In celebration of Charles Darwin’s 203rd birthday, the Cornell-affiliated Paleontological Research Institution arranged a series of events –– including discussions, lectures and a beer tasting –– on campus this week. This year’s Darwin Days focused on raising awareness in the Cornell community about evolution and climate change, according to Prof. Warren Allmon, earth and atmospheric sciences and director of the PRI.

Prof. John Hermanson discusses the relationship of evolution and domestication in different animals.

Bruce MacFadden gives the Darwin Days Keynote Lecture and discusses evolution.

While water covers over 70 percent of the earth, land life is 300 times more diverse than sea life. However, the ocean has a wide diversity of species. On Wednesday, in “Evolution and Biodiversity of the Sea,” panelists examined the threat of climate change on the biodiversity of the sea.

“Why should we care about biodiversity and saving nature?” asked Prof. Harry W. Greene, ecology and evolutionary biology, at his Feb. 11 seminar “Saving all the Pieces: Evolutionary Benchmarks for Conservation.” According to Greene, we should turn to Charles Darwin for the answer.

In school, Doug Erwin trained to think like a snail. This isn’t an insult to the his mind; it’s a tribute to his ability to think in tens of millions of years. He is a senior scientist, the curator at the Smithsonian Institution, and the president of The Paleontological Society.