Feb 12 2008
Thomas Lovejoy, President of The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, will give a BSA Distinguished Lecture titled "Climate Change: Prospects for Nature," at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory on Wednesday, March 12, at 4 p.m. in Berkner Hall. BSA Distinguished Lectures are sponsored by Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages Brookhaven Lab, to bring topics of general interest before the Laboratory community and the public. The lecture is free and open to the public. Visitors to the Laboratory age 16 and over must bring a photo ID.
Founded in 1995 in honor of the late Senator H. John Heinz III, The Heinz Center is a nonprofit institution dedicated to improving the scientific and economic foundation for environmental policy through collaboration with industry, government, academia, and environmental organizations. In his talk, Lovejoy will explore the impact of climate change on the natural world. He will also discuss the implications of climate change for climate policy and natural resource management.
Before becoming President of The Heinz Center in 2002, Lovejoy was the World Bank's Chief Biodiversity Advisor and Lead Specialist for Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean and Senior Advisor to the President of the United Nations Foundation. Lovejoy has been Assistant Secretary and Counselor to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, and Executive Vice President of the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. He is the founder of the public television series, "Nature," and is credited with coining the term "biological diversity."
Lovejoy received the 2001 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, being cited as a pioneer in conservation biology. He conceived the idea of minimum critical size of ecosystems, which was important in calling attention to the problem of dwindling tropical forests. Also, he originated the concept of "debt-for-nature swap," which allows developing nations to convert foreign debt to nature reserves and conservation programs.
Lovejoy served on science and environmental councils or committees under the Reagan, the former Bush and Clinton administrations. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University.