Most discussion of global warming looks only as far ahead as 2100 AD, but what happens after that? Jay Curt Stager, Ph.D., will show us how clues from the geologic past are a sign of how we are changing the world in ways that could last tens of thousands of years.  Exactly how that future plays out is up to us as we search for a sustainable path forward in this new Anthropocene epoch, the “Age of Humans.”

Stager’s main area of interest is Paleoecological research into environmental changes of the last 20,000 years, particularly with respect to lakes and climates in Africa, Peru, and the Adirondacks. He is also interested in most aspects of the natural sciences, ranging from coral reef ecology and psychology to glacial geology and bee behavior.

Dr. Stager is an ecologist, paleoclimatologist, and science journalist with a Ph.D. in biology and geology from Duke University. He has published over three dozen peer-reviewed articles in major journals including Science and Quaternary Research, and has written extensively for general audiences in periodicals such as National Geographic, New York Times, Fast Company, and Adirondack Life.  Since 1990, he has also co-hosted Natural Selections, a weekly science program on North Country Public Radio that is syndicated internationally, and has toured widely to offer presentations on his research to audiences ranging, as one colleague put it, “from middle-schoolers to formal scholars.” In 2013, he was named the New York State Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation. He currently teaches at The School of Natural Resource Management and Ecology at Paul Smith’s College and holds a research associate post at the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute.

The MDI Science Cafés are a program of the MDI Biological Laboratory. They offer a relaxed, informal way to learn about the latest scientific developments. Each Café lasts about an hour. Presentations are made in everyday language and questions are welcome.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Seating is limited, but standing room is available. Please arrive early if you require a seat. Cafés are free of charge, and refreshments are available.