Description

THE HUMAN DIMENSION
THE EARTH OVER TENDUY YEARS

We humans are looking through such a narrow keyhole at the time that we
think the climate is only now changing for the first time, and that it won't
happen again if only we are good. But we shouldn't just
look ahead to the year 2100, as most climate models do:
that's the future measured by the human scale. Natural
processes like climate change, sea level rise, earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions fluctuate on much larger time scales. If you look
back to the year 10,000, you see current changes in a very
different perspective. All the disasters we now fear have already happened in the
past, and even bigger ones, due to
natural causes. Those who, as Al Gore says, "we might lose the earth"
fail to see that everything that is happening now, including the recent warming of the
climate, is business as usual from the earth's point of view. Those
who say the earth is going to die don't mean the earth but themselves,
humanity. A petty anthropocentric worldview that does not do justice to the fact that for the earth, as Mark Twain puts it, humans are nothing more than the lick of paint on the top of the Eiffel Tower.

This lecture is extra topical in connection with the upcoming climate conference in Copenhagen!

CONTENTS
Interested parties are requested to register no later than 8 December next.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION
From motorway A13 Rotterdam or Den Haag, exit Delft Zuid/TU Delft. Follow TU Delft. At the end of the exit TU Delft turn right onto Schoemakerstraat. Then take the first turn left and immediately left again across the bridge. You are now in the car park of the burnt down Faculty of Architecture (Van den Broekweg). The Cultural Centre is at the end of this road, across Mekelweg. Due to work on the newly constructed ' Mekelpark', the Mekelweg is closed. Public transport via NS Delft-Zuid (see: www.snc.tudelft.nl, then on contact and then on directions).
.

10.30 h Reception with coffee
11.00 h Lecture by Prof S.B. Kroonenberg
11.45 h Break
12.15 h Continuation of lecture with concluding discussion
12.45 h End of meeting
.

Location

Culture Centre, Theatre Hall 232

Mekelweg 10, 2628 CD DELFT

Organiser

History of Technology

Histechnica

Name and contact details for information

Further information from ir L.A. Hissink, tel: 020-6649882 or via the e-mail address below.

hissinkla@planet.nl

www.snc.tudelft.nl