Note: advance registration required. Visit tickets.sdnhm.org to obtain a free ticket for each lecture. Reserved theater seating with ticket guaranteed only until 6:15 PM.

Film Premiere!
Flow
Film screening and panel discussion with Iris Engstrand, Ph.D., Maude Barlow, Ph.D., and Mike Dettinger, Ph.D.
Irena Salinas’s cautionary documentary is determined to stir things up. Flow is an inspired yet disturbingly provocative wake-up call about the future of our planet which is drying up rapidly. Focusing on pollution, human rights, politics, and corruption, Salina constructs an exceptionally articulate profile of the precarious relationship uniting human beings and water. While each community’s challenges are unique, the message is universal—the time to turn the tide is now.
Monday, September 15; 6:30–9 PM–Sold Out.

All lectures are held in the Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater. Books are available for purchase in the Museum Store. Don't forget to see our new Webcasts of past lectures.

Blue Covenant: The Coming Fight for the Right to Water
Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, The Council of Canadians
The world is running out of fresh water. Humans are polluting, displacing and mismanaging our freshwater stocks so severely that entire areas of the Earth are drying up. As a result, close to two billion people now live in water-stressed areas of the Earth, and close to two million children die every year of water-related disease. The nature of this ecological and human rights disaster will be discussed, as will the blueprint for a water-secure world. Learn stories of conflict and triumph as “water warriors” around the world demand the right to affordable, accessible, clean water for life.
Listen to Maude Barlow's interview on KPBS These Days with Tom Fudge.
Stay after the lecture for a book signing with Dr. Barlow!
Tuesday, September 16; 6:30–8 PM–Sold Out.

This webcast was made possible through the generosity of Bank of America.

Water: Conflict in California and the West
Rita Sudman, Executive Director, Water Education Foundation
Water truly has shaped California and the West. In efforts to remap California water systems, there have been some critical events that had a profound impact on our history. These turning points not only forced a re-evaluation of how we use and view water, but continue to impact out lives today. This presentation will provide a fascinating overview of California’s past, current and future water issues.
Tuesday, September 30; 6:30–8 PM–Sold Out.

This webcast was made possible through the generosity of Bank of America.

Climate Change and Our Water Resources
Peter Gleick, Ph.D., President, Pacific Institute
The reality of global climate change is here. Among the most significant impacts will be threats to our water resources—water quality, quantity, the risks of storms and droughts, and rising sea levels. Look at how climate change will affect water resources globally and locally, and learn how to respond in ways that help us move along the path to sustainable water management and use in the 21st century.
Stay after the lecture for a book signing with Dr. Gleick!
Tuesday, October 14; 6:30–8 PM –Sold Out – standby seating (first come, first served) will begin at 6:15 PM

Thinking Like a Watershed
Brock Dolman, Director, Water Institute
Water is our most important resource, yet we face issues of water shortage and run-off pollution—two problems that can be addressed by one solution. Investigate how changing our thinking and our design to slow, spread, and sink water on our property can decrease our use of potable water. Discover how new approaches to landscaping can decrease flooding, improve water quality, stream structure and function, increase groundwater recharge, enhance wildlife habitat, provide short-term and long-term economic benefits, and improve local aesthetics. Also, explore some of the challenges and threats of the lower Sacramento River watershed, an area vital to the San Diego’s water supply.
Stay after the lecture for a book signing with Mr. Dolman!
Tuesday, November 18; 6:30–8 PM
Lecture sponsored by Diversified Lending Group, Inc.
Register now!

The Museum is planning two more lectures Sustainable Planet lectures on the topic of energy. Please watch this website for further information.

Our planet faces unprecedented human-caused threats to many species through habitat destruction, climate change, and the disruption of natural communities by species invasions. Today’s ecologists study the Earth’s biota to address needs for stewardship into the future. In this series, hear cutting-edge scientists, whose studies of the genetics, behaviors, and interactions among organisms and their environments pave the way for scientifically informed conservation.

Join us for a series of lectures that will provide new insights into the challenges faced by the natural world and discover how modern ecology research can provide answers for better environmental stewardship.

All lectures are free of charge and held at the Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater at the San Diego Natural History Museum at 6:30 PM. Please arrive early as theater seating is limited. Museum doors open at 6 PM.

Conservation and the Futures of Life
David Woodruff, Ph.D., Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
The world is quickly losing species and becoming dominated by fewer and fewer plants and animals. This decrease in biodiversity results in unnatural, simplified communities that may not provide humans with the ecological services they depend upon. Dr. Woodruff will illustrate the ways conservation biologists can affect the future of life on a planet experiencing an irruption of one species (humans), global environmental degradation, and climate change. Learn the importance of biodiversity, of parks and zoos, and of Dr. Woodruff’s own pioneering use of genetic methods to help save endangered species including chimpanzees and elephants.
Thursday, November 6, 2008; 6:30–8 PM

Life and Death among the Flowers:
The Perils and Secret Language of Bees
James Nieh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
Biting into a vine-ripe tomato is a familiar summer delight brought to you courtesy of bees who are crucial pollinators in natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, underlying the idyllic image of these nectar gatherers is a sometimes fiercely competitive world of sudden death and gang violence among scented blossoms. Discover this other side of bee life and the ingenious adaptations, including language, that bees have evolved in response to the perils of pollination.
Tuesday, January 22, 2009; 6:30–8 PM

Life on the Edge:
Ingenious Survival Strategies in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts
Therese Markow, Ph.D., Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, USCD
The giant columnar cacti of the North American deserts, in addition to their majestic appearance, serve as the homes for dozens of species of insects who depend upon these plants for their survival. In order to occupy this habitat, however, these tiny creatures have had to adapt to the high temperatures and extreme dryness of the desert, as well as to the harsh chemicals and nutritionally poor food provided by the cacti. Learn the “Survivorman” adaptations that enable animals to thrive in these extreme habitats.
Tuesday, February 26, 2009; 6:30–8 PM

Climate Change and Southern California Ecosystems
Elsa Cleland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
Numerous environmental changes are occurring in Southern California, including rising carbon dioxide levels, warmer average temperatures, increasingly variable rainfall, and more frequent and intense wildfires. Dr. Cleland will discuss her research into how these environmental changes alter growing conditions for plants, with ramifications for the conservation of California native plant communities, and the continued provision of valuable ecosystem services.
Wednesday, April 30, 2009; 6:30–8 PM

Ants Marching: A Biological Invasion in Your Own Backyard
David Holway, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Division of Biological Sciences, UCSD
The introduction of species into new environments has become economically costly and environmentally destructive. Because social insects (ants, bees, wasps, and termites) form densely populated, well-protected and long-lived colonies, these insects often become abundant and can profoundly affect the ecosystems they invade. The Argentine ant, one of the world’s most widespread, abundant, and damaging invasive species, thrives in California, where it displaces native ants and disrupts ecosystems. Explore the factors underlying the success of this notorious invader and learn about potential strategies to limit its abundance.
Wednesday, May 14, 2009; 6:30–8 PM

Assistive Listening Devices for films and lectures in the Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan Theater are available at the Visitor Services Desk.

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