Looking at planet Earth

Ba-arp, barp-barp. This is planet Earth.

If you’re keen to know more about this hunk of rock we call Earth, you should shuffle off to one of campuses of the University of Exeter’s Geography Department, which is celebrating the United Nation’s International Year of Planet Earth with a series of free evening lectures on the past, present and future of Earth.

“There’s a growing sense that science should be doing more to explain the world around us,” co-organizer professor Chris Turney of the university Geography department told the PRSD. “In this lecture series, we will be exploring the dim and distant past and looking towards the possibilities for the future. We’re really looking forward to sharing our passion with local people.”

The events spin into action on Thursday, May 1 on the University of Exeter’s Tremough Campus, Penryn where Dr Richard Jones will take us to ancient China to reveal why human impact on the environment may not be such a new phenomenon after all.

Dr Jones told us: “Very little is known about the long-term effects of human activity on the environment. Our research shows that human impact on the environment can be traced back thousands of years. This is a long-term research project for me and we are just beginning to find some of the answers, but I am excited to have the opportunity to share what I have discovered so far with local people at Tremough.”

List of events
Thursday 1 May, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Richard Jones: Farming, Floods and Dragons – Human impact in Shangri-La over the last 10,000 years

Thursday 29 May, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Chris Fogwill: Antarctica, an isolated continent? Some lessons from the past

Thursday 26 June, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Larissa Naylor: Rock coasts on the move: effects of the March 2008 storms

Thursday 31 July, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Tim Quine: Use and abuse of land resources

Thursday 28 August, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Bridget Woodman: Energy Policy for a Changing Climate

Thursday 25 September, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Stewart Barr: ‘Doing Your Bit’. Can we change our lifestyles to help the Planet?

Thursday 30 October, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Jasper Knight Climate Change and Sandy Coastlines

Thursday 27 November, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Chris Turney: Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past

Thursday 11 December, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Chris Caseldine: Iceland – living on the margin