The University of Oregon, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center, Worthy Brewing, Worthy Garden Club, and Oregon State University presents this Earth Day event: “From Wolves to the Warning to Humanity: Facing the Environmental Crisis through Science.”
The topic is the “Scientists’ Second Warning to Humanity” and Dr. William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University will share how society might face the environmental crisis through science. After Dr. Ripple's presentation, Congressman DeFazio will take the stage to discuss the fight to enact meaningful climate policy in Congress and his directive as Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to investigate ways to address head-on the impacts of climate change.
Ripple will present his work on how the far-reaching impacts of wolves are affecting the ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park. He will illustrate how he transitioned from Yellowstone to other national parks in western North America and beyond to demonstrate both the benefits of wild large predators and the costs of their demise. Ripple will disclose how his conservation research and general concern about the global environment and climate change led to him publishing the letter “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice.” As a health checkup for planet Earth, this letter has reached millions of people and is one of the most widely discussed and endorsed scientific articles of recent times. His talk will be full of illustrated stories about his 20-year journey from first only doing ecological research to now also being an advocate for science and the environment. He will provide suggestions for sustainability on planet Earth.