Climate, Fire and Human Evolution: The Deep Time Dimensions of the Anthropocene

Join us for the launch of Dr Andrew Glikson's and Professor Colin Groves' latest book Climate, Fire and Human Evolution: The Deep Time Dimensions of the Anthropocene. 

To examine the content of the book further Dr Glikson and Professor Groves will be joined in conversation by Professor Will Steffen to explore future climate trends and debate the philosophy of science.

Climate, Fire and Human Evolution uses Earth System science to explain pre-historic human evolution, give insight into the origins of the mastery of fire and broaden our understanding of climate change. 

It outlines principal milestones in the evolution of the atmosphere, oceans and biosphere during the last 4 million years in relation with the evolution of primates to the genus Homo - which uniquely mastered the ignition and transfer of fire. 

About the authors/speakers 

Dr Andrew Glikson is an Earth and paleo-climate scientist. He has conducted geological surveys of the oldest geological formations in Australia, South Africa, India and Canada, studied large asteroid impacts, including effects on the atmosphere and the oceans, the effects of fire on human evolution and the mass extinction of species.

Professor Will Steffen is a climate change expert and researcher. He was on the panel of experts supporting the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee, has served as the Science Adviser to the Australian Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and was chair of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee.

Professor Colin Groves is a Professor in Biological Anthropology at ANU and has held fixed-term appointments in the University of California and in Cambridge University.

Praise for the book 

 "Andrew Y. Glikson and Colin Groves' new book Climate, Fire, and Human Evolution traces the fascinating and complex history of the Earth over the past 4 billion years. It explores the fundamental context of the Earth's climate system; the cycles of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen and the crucial role of fire, to provide the critical baseline for our understanding of how a single species, Homo sapiens, has changed the atmosphere, oceans and biosphere. The fate of our species, and all the others with which we share this planet, is now in peril from the unintended consequences of our development, and especially our use of energy. I commend this scholarly yet readable work as a vital reference for understanding our past and present, and hopefully for saving our future."

Professor Lesley Hughes Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, Australia