Evolution Revolution: A Panel Discussion

Our understanding of how evolution works has changed dramatically in the 150 years since Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace first used the term. Join us for a panel discussion inspired by issues addressed by many of the artists in Un/Natural Selections with Aaron Mair, Eric W. Sanderson, and Jonathan Weiner about lessons we can learn from observed evolution here in the Hudson Valley, as well as predictions for the future. Followed by a Q&A and book signing.

Aaron Mair is past president and current member of the National Board of Directors of the Sierra Club; a 35-year veteran urban environmental activist; regional and national environmental justice organizer and strategist from the State of New York. He is New York State Pinebush Preserve Commissioner and is part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Environmental Justice Advisory Group. Mair received the Environmental Protection Agency Region Two, Year 2000 Citizen Environmentalist Activist Award.

Eric W. Sanderson has been the chief author, researcher, and director of the Mannahatta Project as part of his work for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He also wrote the New York Times bestseller Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, a reconstruction in words and images of what Henry Hudson would have encountered in 1609 when he first set foot on the island that would become Manhattan and a look ahead to 2409 to cities where people and wildlife might thrive together. In addition, he authored Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs. Sanderson earned his PhD in ecology from the University of California at Davis in 1998 and is currently Vice President of Urban Conservation at the New York Botanical Garden.

Jonathan Weiner’s books include the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time, which follows evolutionary biologists in the Galapagos and what their work tells us about the detailed workings of evolution. His most recent book is Long for This World, about the science behind the quest for biological life extension. He is a recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and many other honors. He currently teaches science writing at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Images: Aaron Mair; Eric W. Sanderson; and Jonathan Weiner by Calla Kessler.

Support provided by Art Bridges.