Press

ALBANY – As part of the Museum Lecture Series, the New York State Museum will host free weekly lectures in March focusing on global warming, peak oil and other environmental trends.

State Museum Geologist Dr. Taury Smith, the Museum’s curator of oil and gas, will discuss past, present and future trends in global population, resource consumption and the environment. The four free lectures will be held every Wednesday in March at 7 p.m. in the Huxley Theater.

“Earth as a Cornucopia” will be the topic on March 5. Smith believes that although medical, scientific, and technological breakthroughs have increased longevity and made lives more comfortable, many of these same advances have set the world on an unsustainable path. He will examine human population growth, resource consumption, and attitudes about what Earth can provide.

Smith will talk about “Global Warming and Other Environmental Trends” on March 12. Earth’s climate is warming at least, in part, due to burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human influences. Smith will provide background on the science of global warming and discuss what needs to be done to slow down this and other damaging environmental trends.

On March 19 the topic will be “Peak Oil – The End of Life as We Know It? Life as it is known today is almost entirely built on the consumption of oil, but geologically there is a finite amount of oil, and production will peak and begin to decline in the next few years or decades. Smith will examine where oil comes from, current production and consumption, and the timing and possible economic and geopolitical implications of peak oil.

Smith will focus on “Life on a Small Planet” on March 26. He will discuss current science and economics behind alternative sources of energy and how civilization might need to change if Earth’s inhabitants are to live in a sustainable manner that is in balance with what Earth can provide.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, it is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.