KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ruth DeFries, Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University
This lecture will be held in the Wells Conference Center on the UMaine Orono campus at 1 p.m.
DeFries is a professor of ecology and sustainable development at Columbia University. She is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and many other academic awards, as well as author of over a 100 scientific papers related to how people are manipulating the planet and its consequences for humanity.
Her talk will be based on her recent book “The Big Ratchet” — a sweeping history of humanity’s journey from an ordinary mammal to a world-dominating species. The long lens on humanity’s journey portrays how people devised ways to feed civilization in a never-ending cycling of solutions and new problems. Rather than impending catastrophe, the “big picture” illustrates our species adaptability and ingenuity.