Happy Earth Day!

Celebrate Earth Day with the Museum of the Earth

Earth Day Programming
This Earth Day celebrate the planet with Museum of the Earth!

Saturday, April 17
Join us at Syracuse's Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Party for the Planet.

Thursday, April 22 - Noon
PRI's Trisha Smrecak will give a lecture "Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future" at TC3 in Dryden, NY.

Thursday, April 22 - 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. lecture
An evening lecture at the Museum of the Earth entitled "The Revolution in Sustainability Education" by Peter Bardaglio, senior fellow at Second Nature, a non-profit committed to the promotion of sustainability in higher education. Tickets $10. Learn more by visiting our website.

Saturday, April 24 - 10 a.m. to Noon
Earth centric activities for the whole family at the Museum of the Earth

Satruday, April 24 - Noon
A special Natural History at Noon lecture in the Museum Classroom given by PRI's Warren Allmon, Rob Ross, and Trisha Smrecak, authors of the new book Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future. The book will be available for purchase and a book signing will occur after the talk.

All Earth Day events at the Museum of the Earth are made possible by the continued generosity of Wegmans!

Climate Change -- Past, Present, and Future

PRI Publications is very excited to announce that our newest publication, Climate Change - Past, Present, and Future: A Very Short Guide, will be hitting book shelves on Earth Day, April 22!

Climate change will likely be the major environmental – and perhaps economic and social – issue of the twenty-first century. It is controversial, confusing, and hugely important. Intended for students, teachers, and general readers, this book is a concise, user-friendly handbook that addresses the major features of the science behind this very complex topic. The authors explain – clearly and with a minimum of jargon – the basis for the three central conclusions of modern climate science: that the Earth is warming, that humans are mainly responsible, and that these changes will be extremely challenging for humans to deal with.

“This splendid little guide to understanding climate change has all the key ingredients: the science, how science works, and the implications .... and belongs in every household and every classroom. It should be required reading reference material for a responsible citizenry.”
- Thomas E. Lovejoy, Biodiversity Chair, The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment

Climate Change – Past, Present, and Future: a Very Short Guide, by Warren D. Allmon, Trisha A. Smrecak, and Robert M. Ross. Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York, special publication no. 38, 200 pp., ISBN 978-0-87710-491-9, $15.00 (softcover). Available April 22, 2010. Order online at Museum of the Earth, or email publications@museumoftheearth.org.

Did You Know?

This week is the National Environmental Education Week (EE Week)! What a great thing. It really is important to celebrate the environment. EE Week is celebrated annually the week prior to Earth Day. Earth Day is celebrated around the world on April 22. What are your plans?

Here's what's happening at the Museum of the Earth:



Earth Day Programming
This Earth Day celebrate the planet with Museum of the Earth!

Saturday, April 17
Join us at Syracuse's Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Party for the Planet.

Thursday, April 22 - Noon
PRI's Trisha Smrecak will give a lecture "Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future" at TC3 in Dryden, NY.

Thursday, April 22 - 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. lecture
An evening lecture at the Museum of the Earth entitled "The Revolution in Sustainability Education" by Peter Bardaglio, senior fellow at Second Nature, a non-profit committed to the promotion of sustainability in higher education. Tickets $10. Learn more by visiting our website.

Saturday, April 24 - 10 a.m. to Noon
Earth centric activities for the whole family at the Museum of the Earth

Satruday, April 24 - Noon
A special Natural History at Noon lecture in the Museum Classroom given by PRI's Warren Allmon, Rob Ross, and Trisha Smrecak, authors of the new book Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future. The book will be available for purchase and a book signing will occur after the talk.

A Trip to a Marcellus Outcrop with Sara Auer...

It's important as staff members of PRI to make sure we get out into the field. In light of all the attention on the Marcellus hydrofracture horizontal drilling debate I've been trying to learn about the geology of the Marcellus Shale. Yesterday I finally got to see it for myself at the Seneca Stone Quarry (with prior permission of course). The Seneca Quarry is a very interesting mix of limestone, sandstone, shale, and even an ash layer here and there from pre-historic volcanic eruptions. The Marcellus Shale sticks out with its striking black coloring, which is due to its high organic content. The shale has many color gradations from lighter-less carbon rich to dark black bands. Some of pieces of the shale that I picked up even had lenses of pyrite or fools gold inside. For me at least, I can read all the geology papers in the world but they don't sink in until I can actually touch what it is I'm reading about. Here's a few pictures so you can see what I saw!

Me at an outcrop of the Marcellus Shale

A view of the Seneca Stone Quarry.
Marcellus shale is visible in the foreground while the wall in the background is limestone.

Marcellus Shale-up close and personal with a rock hammer for scale.

Climate in Your Backyard

Earth Day Celebrations

Earth Day Programming
This Earth Day celebrate the planet with Museum of the Earth!

Saturday, April 17
Join us at Syracuse's Rosamond Gifford Zoo's Party for the Planet.

Thursday, April 22 - Noon
PRI's Trisha Smrecak will give a lecture "Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future" at TC3 in Dryden, NY.

Thursday, April 22 - 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. lecture
An evening lecture at the Museum of the Earth entitled "The Revolution in Sustainability Education" by Peter Bardaglio, senior fellow at Second Nature, a non-profit committed to the promotion of sustainability in higher education. Tickets $10. Learn more by visiting our website.

Saturday, April 24 - 10 a.m. to Noon
Earth centric activities for the whole family at the Museum of the Earth

Satruday, April 24 - Noon
A special Natural History at Noon lecture in the Museum Classroom given by PRI's Warren Allmon, Rob Ross, and Trisha Smrecak, authors of the new book Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future. The book will be available for purchase and a book signing will occur after the talk.