UK: Lancaster
| The Robert Gillow Pub 64 Market Street Lancaster LA1 1HP 01524 36092 |
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| First Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm | |
Everyone is welcome at Lancaster's Cafe Scientifique - whether you are keen to discuss or just listen. See you soon.If you fancy presenting at one of the events please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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| Beth Brockett | |
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RADIATION: FRIEND OR FOE?
Dr Chris Englefield Lancaster Café Scientifique, Wednesday May 1st 2013, 7.30pm. Robert Gillow Pub, Market St.
We all know that radiation is dangerous, don’t we? It is, but is it quite as bad as its press suggests? In fact we live in and have evolved in a naturally radioactive world. On a day to day basis, radiation is used to diagnose and treat illness, as an energy source, and to make critical safety checks in construction projects. It can also be used to kill on a huge scale. Regulation protects people and the environment from harmful side effects of beneficial and illegal uses of radiation.
Chris started working in radiation regulation with the Ministry of Defence and then joined the Environment Agency.
He has been closely involved in regulation of several nuclear sites and has acted as an advisor after incidents such as 9/11 and the Litvinenko affair. He is Editor-in-Chief of “Radiation Regulator”, Immediate Past-President of the UK’s Society for Radiological Protection, a Consultant to the United Nations and the World Institute of Nuclear Security and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Cumbria.
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Recent speakers |
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Wed 3rd April 2013
Details: Wed 3rd April 2013, 7.30pm, at the Robert Gillow Pub, 64 Market Street, Lancaster, LA1 1HP, 01524 36092
Five loaves and two fishes: can local food feed the world?
With the world’s population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050 there is talk of a global food security crisis. Across the globe, a range of initiatives are taking place in an attempt to avert this crisis, from scientists working to develop crops that will be more resistant to the impacts of climate change, through to the development of new, hi-tech forms of urban farming which could see food being grown in disused office blocks. But what about smaller, more local and community oriented ‘grow your own’ initiatives – such as the rise of urban foraging, community and ‘guerrilla gardening’? Such initiatives are often overlooked because the volume of food that they produce is relatively small. However, I’ll argue that they remain a vital component of food security, since they have the potential to transform the ways in which we relate to the environment and each other...
Beccy Whittle is a senior research associate in the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University. As a keen ‘allotmenteer’ and community gardener (and, less importantly, a social scientist with nine years experience of working on environmental research projects!), she is passionate about researching and developing local and alternative food systems which combine environmental sustainability with social and community benefits.
Title: Keeping research real: Science for social change, Feb 6th 2013
Speaker: Anne Toomey, PhD student at Lancaster Environment Centre
We know that conservation is as much about people as it is about biodiversity; all ecosystems are influenced by people and conservation is dependent on managing, appreciating, and involving people across all walks of life. But how can we best involve communities to participate in this process? How can we ensure that the scientific results are relevant for decision-makers? This talk will explore questions surrounding the existing gap between science and management in conservation, taking an in-depth look at the case of doing ecological research in the most biodiverse place on the planet: Madidi National Park, Bolivia.
Bio:
Anne has worked in the areas of community development and ecology in places as diverse as Nicaragua, Mexico and New York City. She holds a dual-M.A. in Sustainable Development and Natural Resources from American University in Washington, D.C and the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Her current doctoral research, undertaken at the Lancaster Environment Centre in the UK, addresses the gap between conservation research and management in Madidi National Park, Bolivia.
Professor Richard Bardgett spoke on ‘The vital importance of soil’ at the Café Scientifique in January.
Professor Alan Gillies. 'Science and Relgion: Is it a Phoney War?' Dec 5th 2012 Wednesday November 7th 2012Slaughtering the AmazonErika Berenguer |
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