Elizabeth and  Lawrence Vadnais Environmental Issues Lecture 

photo by John Kleiner

Elizabeth Kolbert

"Fields Notes From Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change"

Wednesday, Apr. 4, 2012, 7 p.m.

MCLA Murdock Hall, Sammer Dennis Room

Elizabeth Kolbert traveled from Alaska to Greenland, and visited top scientists, to get to the heart of the debate over global warming. Growing out of a groundbreaking three-part series in The New Yorker (which won the 2005 National Magazine Award in the category Public Interest), Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change brings the environment into the consciousness of the American people and asks what, if anything, can be done, and how we can save our planet. She explains the science and the studies, draws frightening parallels to lost ancient civilizations, unpacks the politics, and presents the personal tales of those who are being affected most-the people who make their homes near the poles and, in an eerie foreshadowing, are watching their worlds disappear. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change was chosen as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year (2006) by The New York Times Book Review. She is currently at work on a new book about mass extinctions that will weave intellectual and natural history with reporting in the field (2012).

Elizabeth Kolbert has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999. Her series on global warming, "The Climate of Man," appeared in The New Yorker in the spring of 2005 and won the American Association for the Advancement of Science's magazine award. In September 2010, Kolbert received the Heinz Award which recognizes individuals who are addressing global change caused by the impact of human activities and natural processes on the environment. 

Elizabeth Kolbert's stories have also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Mother Jones, and have been anthologized in The Best American Science and Nature Writing and The Best American Political Writing. Prior to joining the staff of The New Yorker, Kolbert was a political reporter for The New York Times.

"If you have time this year for just one book on science, nature, or the environment, Field Notes should be it." - San Diego Union Tribune