Sustainability & Environmental Affairs

Does it seem as though the weather gods have gone crazy lately? It is not your imagination. The question on everyone’s minds is, why? And is it related to climate change? In this presentation, Francis will explain new research that links increasing extreme weather events with the rapidly warming and melting Arctic during recent decades. Evidence suggests that Arctic warming is causing weather patterns to become more persistent, which can lead to extremes such as droughts, cold spells, heat waves, unusually snowy winters, and some flooding events.

A panel discussion with faculty and students from the BIOL 371 Advanced Field Biology: Place-based Global Biology Education W’19. Students in this course conducted field-based scientific observation, sample and data collection, and interpretation of biological phenomena in coral reef environments on Abaco Island, Bahamas. The course deeply engaged in off-campus, place-based learning practicing population genetics, ecology, genomics, biogeochemistry, and site mapping via Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) protocols.

“Whale Watching from the Masthead off New Zealand: Historic and Present Global Whale Populations and Shifting Perspectives on Extinction”

Plastic debris was first documented in the ocean more than 45 years ago, when global plastics production was only about 10 percent of its current levels. Today we use these materials in virtually all aspects of our daily lives, yet we are appalled when faced with images of our plastic waste in the ocean and in the stomachs of marine wildlife. This presentation will focus on the most current scientific evidence of environmental impacts of ocean plastics, as well as the role of science and environmental scientists in advancing solutions.

With compelling high-seas blue-water action, this eco-thriller is an antipoaching documentary that sees the marine conservation group Sea Shepherd’s vessels chasing the Thunder, the notorious pirate poacher, to the bottom of the sea.

Movie trailer and movie poster

Join us at the Knoll for a guided labyrinth walk by candle light. bonfire after with hot cider. will be canceled if poor weather.

Join Bill McKibben, author and Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury, as he celebrates the 30th anniversary of his groundbreaking “The End of Nature” and kicks off the book tour for his latest creation “Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?” This new book asks what we’ve lost in those decades—and what we might still hope to protect.

Sponsored by the Franklin Environmental Center

When climate change looms large, the pandemic has no definitive end in sight, racism and racial injustices continue to compound, and everything feels overwhelming, what do you do? How do you find your way to meaningful action? Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson will join us virtually for a special conversation about their experiences and draw on insights from their new book, “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis,“ a collection of essays by women spanning backgrounds, approaches, and generations at the forefront of the climate movement.