Duly Noted

The keynote presentations on Monday and Tuesday evenings were given by Dr Bob Steneck of the Darling Marine Center and by Dr George Jacobson of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute.

Post salmon-feast, Bob Steneck provided a nice overview of the biodiversity of the Gulf of Maine. If you're interested in his talk, Sarah Kirn played scribe for the evening, taking copious notes that are now accessible on the AIM wiki. Related links:
An Inconvenient Truth
Turner Farm
Tethered Lobster on Cashes Ledge

Following burritos and strawberry short cake (with piles of whipped cream), George Jacobson showed us how to use the ice cycles of the past to understand the present and future of our global climate and regional ecosystems. In regard to the implications of the changing climate, he presented a list of "indisputable facts" that he believes the public needs to hear and understand:

• Humans are adding CO2 to the atmosphere in large quantities, primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels
• These additions will almost certainly increase pre-industrial atmospheric levels by 200% to 300% by the next century
• CO2 and other greenhouse gasses trap heat
• The result is likely to be a warmer Earth

George's one wish for change that would reduce global CO2 levels is to redesign communities to be more self-sufficient and locally-focused.