Climate Chaos: Wrapping Up the Anthropocene

Monday, Feb. 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall, 112 Haven Road, Eastsound

Guy McPherson to give a free talk on climate change on Monday, Feb. 24

The Friends of Orcas Island Library will present a free talk by Guy McPherson, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona and author of 11 books, who will summarize and synthesize the latest data and projections about climate change. His response to a bleak future is pursuit of a life of excellence in the spirit of ancient philosophers.

McPherson’s presentation is guaranteed to provoke thought. It might engender action as well.

Guy McPherson was born and raised in small-town northern Idaho. The escape from his benighted village came in the form of education, in large part because McPherson’s parents were lifelong educators. To pay for his undergraduate degree in forestry, McPherson spent summers working on a helitack crew. Staring down a large wildfire at the age of nineteen, he realized some forces of nature are beyond the human ability to manage.

More than ten years into an academic career, McPherson began focusing his efforts on social criticism, with topics ranging from education and evolution to the twin sides of the fossil-fuel coin: (1) global climate change and (2) energy decline and the attendant economic consequences. His lectures stress these two predicaments because each of them impacts every aspect of life on Earth.

McPherson left his professorship for ethical reasons. His story is described in his memoirs, “Walking Away from Empire” and “Going Dark.” You can read about those books and his many others at his website: https://guymcpherson.com/my-books/.

For more information, contact Phil Heikkinen at Orcas Island Library, 360-376-4985, or pheikkinen@orcaslibrary.org