Climate Change Conversations - 2023

Winter 2023

The Climate Question. What do warmer waters mean for life below the waves?

OLLI's March 2023 Pop-Ups / Social Events With Star Pelsue
Friday, March 10 | 10:30 a.m.

Oceans have absorbed 90% of heat caused by climate change, bearing the brunt of global warming. For years its also helped to mitigate the effects of climate change. Since the 1970’s over 90% of atmospheric warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions has been absorbed by our Oceans. But this comes at a cost.
Location: Zoom

Fisheries and Restoration in Downeast Maine with Downeast Salmon Federation Sunrise Senior College March 13th to April 3rd, 2023 $15

Here is your chance to learn about Atlantic Salmon by joining us as we explore environmental restoration approaches specific to the Downeast region taken by the Downeast Salmon Federation (DSF). We will look at over 40 years of great work done by DSF, with a primary focus on current, on-going, and recent projects in the area. Over a four-week period, we will have the opportunity to learn about: conservation hatcheries, wild Atlantic salmon life cycle, fishery and etymology, land trust practices, habitat conservation, habitat restoration, the Endangered Species Act, and how DSF engages the community in interacting with the Downeast environment.
Presenters: Mike Manning (m.manning@mainesalmonrivers.org) joined DSF as their Fisheries Biologist in May of 2022. His graduate work focused on assessing the risk of hybridization between native and introduced salmonids. He combined his fisheries education with his earlier career experiences in the fire service & emergency management to bring a mitigation-focused approach to environmental issues. He will be covering an integrative approach to fisheries issues at the watershed scale.
Mitch Monini (mitch@mainesalmonrivers.org)has a degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture and has 8yrs. of experience of monitoring and rearing salmonids. Mitch has worked in 3 different hatcheries between Idaho and Maine and has worked with all life stages of salmon.
Haley Stein (haley@mainesalmonrivers.org) was a researcher studying fresh water restoration before she switched gears into science communication. She has led outreach and communication efforts with DSF since 2022, and will be covering how important community engagement is in environmental restoration work.
Kirstin Underwood (kirstin@mainesalmonrivers.org) has worked on road-stream crossing restoration and stream habitat enhancement projects across Maine for 5 years as a federal biologist. Kirstin has roots in Downeast Maine and has returned to work with DSF restoring sensitive coastal habitats.
Sara Williams (sara@mainesalmonrivers.org) is the Land Trust Coordinator for DSF and a wildlife biologist by training. She will teach a session about DSF's strategies for enhancing fish conservation through land stewardship and conservation.

Class Information: This is a hybrid class - held in-person in UM@M’s room Torrey 230 and via Zoom. For anyone attending in-person, proof of Covid vaccination must be presented however face masks are optional at this time.

Snowbirds – Following our Winged Friends in Winter with Sally Stockwell Sunrise Senior College February 9th, 2023 - $10

Are you a snowbird? Do you head south during the winter in search of sunny, warm weather with plentiful fresh local fruits and vegetables? Just like human snowbirds, many of "our" birds head south for the winter as well. Come join Sally Stockwell, Director of Conservation at Maine Audubon, to learn about the travels and winter homes of some of our breeding birds. As a bonus you'll also learn about the migratory pathways of several bats and insects, and learn about the true snowbirds - those that visit us each winter from the Canadian taiga and tundra.
Presenter: Dr. Sally Stockwell is a Professional Wildlife Ecologist and has been the Director of Conservation at Maine Audubon since 1990. She has been involved with a number of various projects where some of her accomplishments cover loons, coastal birds, forests and vernal pools, to name just a few.

Class Information: This class is being held via Zoom.

Bumble Bees in My Backyard with Dave Hobbins. St John Valley Senior College

Among the largest of our native bees, bumble bees are social creatures that form small colonies or nests and inhabit temperate to arctic regions of the world. Pollination by bumble bees is essential to the propagation of native plants. In addition to their ecological importance, they are used commercially on crops like tomatoes and blueberries, as they are better pollinators than non-native honey bees. Come learn some bee biology, the species found in our area, the plants they prefer, and what you can do to favor them in your yard or neighborhood.

In Person Class:
Thursday / March 23 / 6:00 PM / UMFK Cyr Hall / Room 204.

The Journey from Climate Doom to Active Hope THOMAS WHITE OLLI at USM TUE, 1/10 – 2/14, 12:45 – 2:45 P.M. • $50

When you think about climate change and ecosystems destruction, do you experience feelings of despair or helplessness? Do you want to leave these negative thoughts and feelings behind and take a thought-provoking journey to “active hope”? In this small, discussion-oriented class, you will explore the ideas of scientists, social scientists, and philosophers who have shown us how we could create a more hopeful story for ourselves. We will consider this question: How can I become more active — and hopeful — in protecting the Earth and ensuring the well-being of future generations?
Repeat course.
Course format will include online lectures and discussion.
Thomas G. White has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology. He taught at Gettysburg College, OLLI at the College of William and Mary, and OLLI USM. He recently moved to Brunswick after spending many summers in East Boothbay, Maine.

Living on Earth as If We Want to Stay MIKE NICKERSON OLLI at USM FRI, 2/3, 9:30 – 11:30 A.M. $15

With human activity pressing against planetary limits, perpetual growth is no longer an appropriate goal. But we can choose to create a stable relationship with Earth. This different approach to mutual provision (the economy) requires a change of perspective. Time-tested biological processes provide a foundation for securing long-term well-being as society’s economic “metabolism” adapts to our new situation. A glimpse of a future the grandchildren might enjoy can be seen through the precept “More Fun, Less Stuff.”
Repeat workshop.
Workshop format will include online lecture and discussion. Mike Nickerson founded the Institute for the Study of Cultural Evolution in 1971. He has since written and spoken extensively on sustainability and how we might achieve it. sustainwellbeing.net

A Future with Hope: Visions from Around the World MARIANNE HILL OLLI at USM TUE, 1/10 – 2/14, 12:45 – 2:45 P.M. • $50

Let’s explore together the visions and work of activists around the world. Environmentalists envision a democratic, equitable transition from fossil fuels. Feminists want people to be placed over profit-making. Labor looks to solidarity based human relationships. And, in most countries, there has been progress. We will consider: how strong are the motivations that drive these activists? What do you think unites or divides these groups? What can we learn from what’s happening in Europe and elsewhere? Online guests wil participate from Sweden, the U.K., and other countries. Course format will include online lectures, discussion, and film.

SUGGESTED BOOK: Building a Solidarity Society, Marianne T. Hill, ISBN 9783031073502
Marianne Hill has a Ph.D. in economics from Yale and has lived in England, Bangladesh, and Puerto Rico in connection with her work as an economist. She has studied in depth the problems involved in creating a better society from a radical, feminist perspective.

George Perkins Marsh: Kickstarter of the American Conservation Movement DAVID VON SEGGERN OLLI at USM FRI, 1/27 9:30–11:30 A.M. $15

George Perkins Marsh (1801-82) came from pioneer Vermont stock of colonial time and ended up as the dean of the American diplomatic corps in Europe. During his life, he touched on so many fields of endeavor and study that the 600-page biography of him by David Lowenthal hardly does justice to the scope and influence of his work. In 1864 Marsh published Man and Nature Or, Physical Geography As Modified by Human Action, a book so novel but compelling that it gained wide attention in his time and led to the conservation movement in the United States, with followers such as Powell, Muir, Pinchot, Leopold, and Udall. The workshop will treat the life of G.P. Marsh and his magnum opus, Man and Nature. We will draw on contemporary examples to underline his thesis that humankind has a huge impact on the Earth. Course format will include online lecture and discussion.

REQUIRED BOOK: Man and Nature (1864), G.P. Marsh, available free at gutenberg.org/ebooks/37957
SUGGESTED BOOK: George Perkins Marsh: Profit of Conservation, David Lowenthal, ISBN 0295983159

David von Seggern is a retired earth scientist (seismology) and emeritus at the University of Nevada, Reno, having moved to Portland in 2021. In retirement he has worked on many conservation and environment issues and brings his background to bear on understanding the impacts humankind is having on the planet.

"PFAS in Maine" PVSC - January 3, 2023

Presented by Dr. Andrew E. Smith, Sc.M., Sc.D. Maine State Toxicologist

PVSC One-Day Presentation

PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) have been making the news in Maine, and other states. PFAS refer to a group of man-made chemicals known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. There are thousands of varieties of these chemicals.
Dr. Smith will discuss PFAS, the “forever chemicals”, their adverse health effects, why and where they are in the environment and agricultural products across Maine, and how the state is dealing with PFAS contamination of soil and water, and recommendations for the future.

This presentation is free as part of your PVSC 2022-2023 membership, and will be offered on Zoom Tuesday, January 3 2023 at 4:00 PM.
Current members of other Maine Senior Colleges can register by emailingpvscmaine@gmail.com with your name, email, phone number, and name of your college.

Presenter: ANDREW E. SMITH, Sc.M., Sc.D.
Andrew E. Smith, Sc.M., ScD., is the State Toxicologist Director, Environmental and Occupational Health Programs, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He received his doctorate in environmental health from the Harvard University School of Public Health in 1994. His expertise is environmental and public health and is currently working on PFAS, childhood lead poisoning, carbon monoxide poisoning, environmental public health tracking, and climate and health.

PVSC One-Day Presentation
01/03/2023
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM
ZOOM ONLINE $27.00 Fee
Register through link below.

Belfast SC - Living in a world of toxic chemicals with Barry Timms. Jan 19 - Feb 9th, 2023 Thu from 9:30 - 11:30 am

During the past 75 years, over 80,000 synthetic chemicals have been released into the environment. Humans have been exposed to a vast number of man-made chemicals via food, breathed in, or through the skin. Relatively few of these chemicals have been tested for toxicity, and each year about 1,500 new chemicals are produced. Academic research has shown that a significant number of these chemicals have the potential to adversely impact human health, especially in the developing fetus and young children. There is no doubt that many man-made substances are a benefit to society, but others, such as Agent Orange (dioxin), and DDT are associated with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

This course will offer an introduction to our understanding of how these chemicals interfere with normal body functions, especially with regard to natural hormone actions that are important at critical stages of growth and development during pregnancy and early childhood.

Dr. Timms is an emeritus professor in the Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota and former lecturer and course director for Medical Histology. He received an MPhil from Aston University, and PhD in Biological Sciences from Cardiff University School of Medicine, UK. Dr. Timms completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Iowa. He has served on scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK), Department of Defense, National Toxicology Program and the Environmental Protection Agency. Dr. Timms’ research interests included investigations of the cellular growth control mechanisms in the prostate, and the effect of environmental endocrine disruptors in reproductive biology. His research was supported for many years through grants from NIDDK, NIEHS and EPA.

Image by Loren Biser

Image by Annie Spratt