Reading Earth's Past and Shaping Its Future

In this talk I will discuss the concept of the Anthropocene and introduce some of the big social and environmental problems associated with this new proposed geological epoch and cultural keyword. I will then discuss solutions to some of these problems drawing on examples from my own research, and the research of others, about biocultural concepts of human-nature relations and land stewardship. Biocultural stewardship can be considered a resilience science practice relevant to all people. I will share examples from my research in urban and rural landscapes and at the natural history museum.

The relationship between lakes and humans has always been tight, and important. They have provided water, food, and recreation for all of human history. But lakes are also incredibly important for science, specifically when it comes to understanding past climate to be able to predict its future. Lakes effectively work as time machines, that allow us to go back in time and look into how different places in the world have changed through time in response to climate and environmental change. We can do this way beyond the instrumental record, in the scales of hundreds to thousands of years. We can then use this knowledge to try to predict how the current climate change scenario will affect us, and how we can adapt.