VERO BEACH, FL (DECEMBER 1, 2022): Vero Beach’s top performance venue, the Emerson Center, offers environmental lectures E-Series. These E-Series lectures focus on topics that engage, educate and entertain. E-Series lectures will be held on seven different Tuesdays during the 2023 season, starting January 10, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. at The Emerson Center in Vero Beach.
2023 Emerson Center E-Series Lectures:
January 10, 2023: John Englander
“Rising Sea Level and the Path Forward”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
John Englander is an oceanographer, multi-book author, international speaker, and expert on climate change and sea level rise. He explains that “sunny day” flooding and higher tides are only the beginning of sea level rise. It will increase dramatically, and exponentially, in coming years. It is also unstoppable due to trapped heat ALREADY stored in our oceans. John also explores the effects of severe weather, coastal erosion, drought, and forest fires – as these are also caused by excess ocean heat. His solution is positive and pragmatic, and called intelligent adaptation, eventually leading to a call to move to higher ground.
January 24, 2023: Dr. Edith Widder
“Ocean Exploration-Here Be Monsters”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
Dr. Edith Widder is a MacArthur Fellow, a deep-sea explorer and conservationist. A world authority on marine bioluminescence, Dr. Widder has racked up hundreds of dives in deep diving submersibles, both as passenger and pilot. She has helped develop new tools for deep-sea exploration that have produced observations of animals and behaviors never seen before, including the first video of a giant squid filmed in its natural habitat. She has authored over 100 scientific papers and in 2021, a book: Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea, which the New York Times book review described as a “thrilling blend of hard science and high adventure”. She has also spearheaded the development of water quality monitoring systems and new methods of mapping pollution. In 2005, in order to help protect the ocean she loves, she helped found the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA). ORCA is a results oriented conservation organization that focuses on using facts to drive change.
January 31, 2023: Kendra Cope
“Sea Turtles- A Conservation Success Story”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
Sea turtles are our favorite animal and the reasons go way beyond the fact they are cute. Three species, Loggerheads, Greens and Leatherbacks, are responsible for hundreds of thousands of eggs laid along Florida’s beaches each year providing essential nutrients to the beaches we enjoy. They provide homes on their shells to thousands of small plants and animals. And, they keep marine ecosystems balanced by playing unique roles within the food chain that supports the health of our oceans, estuaries and reefs. However, our choices as individuals and a society are having a detrimental impact on these critical animals due to light pollution, fisheries, marine debris and more. The good news is we as individuals, groups and businesses are all able to make a difference to protect our environment through decisions we make every day.
February 7, 2023: Clay Henderson
“Forces of Nature- Florida’s Fighters for Conservation”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
Clay Henderson is one of Florida’s leading voices in environmental policy. He sponsored or co-authored most of the natural resource protection provisions in the Florida Constitution, including: Amendment 1, the largest voter approved conservation funding initiative in our nation’s history, and creation of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He led development of nationally recognized land conservation programs, including: Volusia Forever (1986 and 2000), Florida Communities Trust (1990), Preservation 2000 (1991) and Florida Forever (1999). Mr. Henderson played a key role in the Everglades Restoration (1996) and authored the large scale planning sections of Florida Community Planning Act (2011). He negotiated the historic merger of Florida Audubon Society and National Audubon Society, which had coexisted for 100 years, and was one of the founders of Save the Manatee Club.
March 7, 2023: Michael J. Tougias
“In Harm’s Way-The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
Michael J. Tougias is a New York Times bestselling author and co-author of over 30 books. Among his bestsellers are The Finest Hours (Disney Motion Pictures’ version opened in 45 countries in January 2016), Fatal Forecast, Overboard, King Philip’s War, and There’s A Porcupine In My Outhouse: The Vermont Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe. The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis is a harrowing story of survival. The sinking of Indianapolis resulted in the greatest single loss of life at sea from a single ship in the history of the US Navy. Tougias will also discuss why certain people survive against all odds.
March 14, 2023: Dr. Thomas Reinert
“Update on the Manatee Crisis and Efforts to Save Them”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
Dr. Thomas Reinert is South Regional Director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the state’s Fish and Wildlife agency. FWC’s South Region consists of 10 counties in south Florida, including the majority of the Everglades ecosystem, Lake Okeechobee, the Florida Keys, and the entirety of Florida’s coral reef complex. Dr. Reinert spent 11 years as a Research Administrator for FWC in the Manatee Rescue and Recovery Program, supervising manatee field staff across the state. The program is responsible for research, rescue, and carcass recovery of the federally-listed Florida manatee.
March 28, 2023: Dr. M. Dennis Hanisak
“Reversing the Course of Sea Grass Loss in the Indian River Lagoon”
Location: The Emerson Center, Vero Beach
- Dennis Hanisak is a Research Professor at Harbor Branch, Director at the Marine Ecosystem Health program, and Director of Education at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation. He has more than 30 years of experience in marine biology and ecology, with emphasis on marine plants, particularly macroalgae (seaweeds) and seagrasses. He has worked at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation since 1977, conducting research on marine plants in the Indian River Lagoon and in other parts of Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.
The Emerson Center E-Series lectures is sponsored by the Clean Water Coalition and the Indian River Land Trust. Doors open 30 minutes before the lecture. Admission to the E-Series is free: a suggested $10 donation is greatly appreciated.
ABOUT THE EMERSON CENTER
The Emerson Center is a venue for hosting entertainment, cultural arts, and education for Vero Beach and surrounding communities. For more information about The Emerson Center, please visit us online at TheEmersonCenter.com. The Emerson Center is located at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach at 1590 27th Ave, Vero Beach, Florida 32960.