Resource economist to deliver Geddes W. Simpson Lecture
Resource economist Mark W. Anderson will speak about the state of human society in the 21st century during the 14th annual Geddes W. Simpson Lecture.
The senior instructor emeritus in the University of Maine’s School of Economics will deliver “Open season on chickadees: A field guide to Anthropocene” at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5 in the McIntire Room of the Buchanan Alumni House on the UMaine campus. The talk is free and open to the public.
Anderson will draw on lessons from Big History and the science of global change to propose a “field guide” to help humans navigate the new epoch of the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene relates to the current geological age and is viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
In 2001, Simpson’s family established the Geddes W. Simpson Lecture Fund at the University of Maine Foundation. Simpson was a well-respected faculty member whose 55-year career in the College of Life Sciences and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station began in 1931. He chaired the Entomology Department from 1954 until his retirement in 1974. The lecture was established to support a series that highlights speakers who have provided significant insight into the area where science and history intersect.
A reception will follow Anderson’s lecture.