Info for all the other keynote lectures and keynote lectures on demand can be found below.
We fixed the ozone hole, we can fix our climate!
David Doniger has been at the forefront of the battle against air pollution and global climate change since 1978. He helped formulate the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement designed to stop the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer, as well as several essential amendments to the Clean Air Act. Currently, Mr. Doniger is working on banning HFC’s to safe the climate. HFCs or hydrofluorocarbons, are super greenhouse gases.
Healing Deforestation
Deforestation is a massive problem which we face all over the world. Cutting large forests in order to get the land for farming and agriculture, mining or drilling, building infrastructures. Droughts and wildfires also play their role. The good news is that we can stop it, we can heal the land and replant our forests. Instituto Terra in Brazil is doing it every day. As a result of the initiative started by Lélia Deluiz Wanick Salgado and Sebastião Salgado, now the former pasture became a beautiful Atlantic Forest again and the institution which grew from their initiative is still replanting the areas. Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, the vice president of Instituto Terra will share this unique experience with us and tell us how everyone can help in fighting deforestation and heal our forests.
The Energy Consumption Of Modern Technology
We live in the most advanced time in technological innovation, but this technological evolution has always had a huge impact on the resources we consume all over the planet. Especially modern technology requires a lot of energy. In this keynote lecture, Prof. Sattler will talk about the energy usage of e.g. Bitcoin and Artificial Intelligence. Prof. Ziegler will present a project of the TU Ilmenau called memWerk, which investigates memristive materials for neuromorphic electronics which are extremely energy-efficient. Such memristive devices offer a completely new hardware basis for information technology.
Preventing the next pandemic - Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission
Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity are fundamental to life on our planet. But even small changes in average temperatures can have a significant effect upon ecosystems. Climate change also affects the habitats of several species which then must either adapt or migrate to areas with more favorable conditions. This loss of biodiversity also leads to more zoonotic diseases like COVID-19. Kristina Roesel is a scientist for animal and human health and will give you an overview on how biodiversity is linked to zoonotic diseases.
Climate Communication
Climate change communication matters! There is a gap between the science and public understandig of climate change and communication can fix this problem. In this lecture you will learn about the most efficient ways to communicate climate change. How can communication help to make our lives more sustainable and how would you describe the role of celebrities in climate communication? Dr. Franzisca Weder is a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland. She researches and teaches in the areas of Organizational Communication and Public Relations with a specific focus on sustainability communication and corporate social responsibilty.
The sand crisis
Sand is the world’s second most consumed natural resource and an essential foundation of industrial society. But almost no one is aware of the fact that we are actually running out of sand. Environmental changes like rainfall, changes in sea level, seawater temperature and other ocean dynamics lead to the erosion of beaches. The scarcity of sand has spawned an illegal trade and lead to over-exploitation of sand that causes death and destruction of natural environments.
Causes And Effects Of Climate Change
Is there any other more important issue than climate change at the moment? Terrifying images of melting ice in the Antarctic, floods and other consequences of climate change reach us every day but the topic of climate change is so complex that people can hardly figure it out. What exactly is meant by climate change and what are the causes for and effects of it? Mojib Latif and Kees van der Geest will explain climate change and their consequences from a scientific point of view.
