From: 07:00 PM to 08:30 PM

On Thursday, March 16, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum will host Michael Mehta Webster, Professor of Practice in Environmental Studies at New York University (NYU), for a 7:00 pm lecture in the Reichert Planetarium on global warming and nature’s inherent resilience.

Webster’s lecture will draw heavily from his 2022 book The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth (Timber Press). In The Rescue Effect, Webster offers cause for optimism in the often-disheartening discourse around anthropogenic climate change. Through a series of compelling animal stories—from tigers in the jungles of India to cichlid fish in the great lakes of Africa and coral reefs in the Caribbean—Webster will highlight how certain species have adapted to a rapidly changing world. He will also explore how other species, like the mountain pygmy possum, are at risk of extinction without substantive but practicable efforts on the part of conservationists, activists, and concerned citizens of our planet.

Webster argues that we have good reason to expect a bright future because, almost everywhere we look, we can see evidence of nature rescuing many species from extinction. The Rescue Effect provides a much-needed roadmap to discovering what we can do to make a healthier Earth for future generations of humans and wildlife.

Tickets are available online at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s website.

Michael Mehta Webster is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University. He earned a Ph.D. in Zoology at Oregon State University, and a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin.

Webster is an expert in ecology, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and philanthropy. His research focuses on how to promote the adaptation of species and ecosystems to ongoing environmental change. Much of his recent work has centered on reef-building corals, which are struggling to adjust to warming ocean temperatures and a host of other environmental changes.

Prior to joining NYU, Webster led efforts to improve the management and conservation of coral reefs as the Executive Director of the Coral Reef Alliance. He has also held positions as a Visiting Research Scientist at NYU, a Visiting Professor of Practice at Cornell University, and a Postdoctoral Researcher at Oregon State University.