News & Events
Flannery Delivers Ammerman Family Lecture
Scientist, conservationist, and author Tim Flannery gave this year's Ammerman Family Lecture March 31 in the Burgin Center's Simon Theatre. The lecture is part of the school’s 2007–2008 Monday Evening Lecture Series.
Flannery believes that human activity is drastically altering the earth’s climate, and that before too long these changes will have a devastating effect on the planet. He wants to mobilize the social and political will to address this problem before it’s too late. In his book, The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, Flannery tells the story of climate change over millions of years to help us understand the predicament we face today. In authoritative yet accessible language, Flannery carefully lays out the science, demonstrating the substantial, human-induced climate change and the likely ecological effects to the planet if this process continues.
"We've been given an extraordinary privilege [as a society] today," Flannery told the assembled audience of students, faculty, staff, and the Mercersburg community. "With new technologies and global treaties, we can step in and intervene as a species to keep our planet livable."
Flannery is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement, and also contributes to ABC Radio, National Public Radio, and the BBC. He is the former director of the South Australian Museum and is currently a professor at Sydney’s Macquarie University. In 2002, he spent a year as professor of Australian studies at Harvard University, where he taught in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He was honored as Australian Humanist of the Year in 2005 and was named Australian of the Year in 2007.
The Ammerman Family Lecture Series brings to the community speakers of national renown who have important perspectives on the significant issues of the day and the capacity to help young people understand the relevance of such issues to their lives. Endowed in 1999, the series was made possible through the generosity of Andrew R. Ammerman '68 and his mother, Mrs. Josephine Ammerman, in memory of Andrew’s father, H. Max Ammerman, and his brother, Stephen C. Ammerman.
Scientist, conservationist, and author Tim Flannery gave this year's Ammerman Family Lecture March 31 in the Burgin Center's Simon Theatre. The lecture is part of the school’s 2007–2008 Monday Evening Lecture Series.Flannery believes that human activity is drastically altering the earth’s climate, and that before too long these changes will have a devastating effect on the planet. He wants to mobilize the social and political will to address this problem before it’s too late. In his book, The Weather Makers: How Man Is Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth, which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list, Flannery tells the story of climate change over millions of years to help us understand the predicament we face today. In authoritative yet accessible language, Flannery carefully lays out the science, demonstrating the substantial, human-induced climate change and the likely ecological effects to the planet if this process continues.
"We've been given an extraordinary privilege [as a society] today," Flannery told the assembled audience of students, faculty, staff, and the Mercersburg community. "With new technologies and global treaties, we can step in and intervene as a species to keep our planet livable."
Flannery is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The Times Literary Supplement, and also contributes to ABC Radio, National Public Radio, and the BBC. He is the former director of the South Australian Museum and is currently a professor at Sydney’s Macquarie University. In 2002, he spent a year as professor of Australian studies at Harvard University, where he taught in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He was honored as Australian Humanist of the Year in 2005 and was named Australian of the Year in 2007.
The Ammerman Family Lecture Series brings to the community speakers of national renown who have important perspectives on the significant issues of the day and the capacity to help young people understand the relevance of such issues to their lives. Endowed in 1999, the series was made possible through the generosity of Andrew R. Ammerman '68 and his mother, Mrs. Josephine Ammerman, in memory of Andrew’s father, H. Max Ammerman, and his brother, Stephen C. Ammerman.
