Download Dorsey Poster

Tuesday, February 23, 2016, 1:30 p.m.
Durham Evangelical Church
114 Dover Road (Route 108), Durham, NH
“Whaling Diplomacy, Scientific Uncertainty,
and Lessons for Climate Change”
Soviet catcher boat
with dead sperm whales
Arctic ice cap shrinkage
since 1979
Scientific uncertainty is often cited by global climate change skeptics as a
reason for opposing laws or treaties designed to address rising levels of
greenhouse gases. Decades ago, scientific uncertainty played a critical role in the
first global environmental diplomatic negotiations: efforts to regulate whaling on
the high seas. Proponents of reducing whaling often found themselves stymied by
disagreement over what exactly was going on with whale populations, as well as
by the unknowns of whale biology. Kurk Dorsey, UNH Professor of History ,
will analyze the parallels with climate-change diplomacy and assess the chances
that the recent Paris accords will be considered successful in the long run.
Free and Open to the Public – Students Welcome – Bring a Friend
Sponsored by the Seacoast Memorial Lecture Series of the Active Retirement Association
(ARA, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, is not affiliated with any political, religious, ethnic, or special interest group.)