Eric Chivian & Mario Molina, "Global Environmental Issues: Effects on the Atmosphere and the Biosphere” - Ford/MIT Nobel Laureate Lecture Series 3/6/2003

MIT Nobel Laureates Mario Molina and Eric Chivian address what they see as alarming environmental trends across the globe, in a joint presentation for the Ford/MIT Nobel Laureate Lectures Series held on March 6, 2003. Institute Professor Molina, one of the leading world scientists dedicated to atmospheric chemistry, presents the scientific facts of global climate change. He has held joint appointments in the department of Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and of Chemistry at MIT, and won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1985. Chivian, recognized as a leading proponent of efforts to create a greater awareness amongst policy makers and the public of the importance of biodiversity to human health, reviews how the world has changed as a consequence of global warming. A former psychiatrist with MIT Medical, Chivian is director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, and co-founder of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.

In their presentations both speakers look at all scales of action: from changing habits on an individual level, to influencing national and international policy-makers, to setting up global efforts in the style of the Manhattan Project, to develop alternative energy sources and methods.

About the Ford/MIT Nobel Laureates Lecture Series: In 1997 the Ford Motor Company engaged MIT in a strategic partnership to address a set of 21st century challenges facing the automotive industry. Through this innovative program, the Nobel Laureate Lecture Series was introduced in 2000 and featured local and international Nobel Laureates leading provocative discussions in economics, physics, chemistry, physiology, medicine, and peacemaking. These seven lectures were held from 2000 to 2005 at MIT and were organized by MIT's Community Services Office, Lecture Series Committee, Graduate Student Council, Industrial Liaison Program, Undergraduate Association, and the Office of the Chancellor.