Cafe Sci Orlando announcements for 2013-12: Global Elemental Cycles, Frankenfood

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contents:

• New time at the Library
• No Cafe on New-Year's Day
• "Global Elemental Cycles" at Taste
  
• "Frankenfood" at Downtown Orlando Library

This month we will have fascinating discussions at our Cafe Sci at 7PM on Wednesday 4 December, at Taste, in College Park; and at the Cafe Sci for kids at 6:15PM on Tuesday 10 December, at the downtown Orlando Public Library.

New Time at the Library

We are shifting the time for the kid-friendly Cafe Sci at the Library 15 minutes later in the evening, from now on. Benefits: Much of traffic downtown should have cleared out. Kids have more time to have eaten dinner. It gives time to arrive after parking on the streets of downtown become free at 6PM. 

Please encourage parents and kids to come check it out. It starts promptly at 6:15 on the second Tuesday of every month.

No Cafe on New-Year's Day

The first Wednesday in January is a national holiday, so we will have only one Cafe Sci in January, on the second Tuesday.

"Global Elemental Cycles"

The rapacious human appetite for energy and food, accelerated by the industrial revolution, has transformed global elemental cycles. This transformation is altering our land, air and sea, with serious consequences for the entire global ecosystem. The Earth has moved into a new era, The Age of Humans, which some scientists have termed the “Anthropocene.” Human alteration of the earth can be viewed through many lenses, but nothing captures our predicament better than our transformation of global elemental cycles. Our impact on these cycles not only reflects human domination of the earth, but also exemplifies the challenges we face in meeting energy and food needs of a burgeoning human population sustainably. In this science café, I will take you on a crash course through global biogeochemistry, showing how humans have altered global cycles of the major life elements: carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Along the way, you will discover linkages between your local life and the global ecosystem. From global warming, to nutrient pollution of our coastal estuaries and springs, to the challenges of feeding the world, you will walk away with a better appreciation for how we are transforming the earth, and what we need to do to create a more sustainable future.

Patrick J. Bohlen is Professor of Biology and Director of Landscape and Natural Resources and Arboretum at the University of Central Florida. He oversees landscape planning and operations for multiple UCF campuses, and directs research and educational initiatives that guide conservation and stewardship of natural resources. His research focusses on soil and ecosystem ecology, and has included projects ranging from the role of earthworms in carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils, to human impact on nutrient runoff and water quality in urban and agricultural environments.

Taste

717 W. Smith Street

32804

Taste is near the corner of Princeton Street (really Smith Street east of the fork) and Edgewater Drive. One can park on the street or in the parking lot behind Taste. Please park across the street in parking for Downtown Credo first, then around Taste.

From Frankenfood to Frankenpeople?

Through film and a slide presentation, Lynn Unruh, PhD, RN will discuss the extent of genetically modified food in the American diet, and its risk to human health and future food production. She will discuss policies to curb the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in our food, such as legislating mandatory labeling of GMO in the state of Florida.

Lynn Unruh is Professor of Health Services Administration in the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida. A nurse and health economist, Dr. Unruh’s research focuses on healthcare workforce and quality issues and the impact of corporatization and globalization on health.

Orlando Public Library, first floor

101 E Central Blvd

32801

Parking is free on the street starting at 6PM, and there's a parking garage across from the library on Central.  Lymmo busses are free and can bring you from farther away and stop at the Library.

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We are surprised and shocked to learn that Taste is closed. We're moving tonight's Cafe across the street to Downtown Credo.

Credo is a small cafe*, which serves coffee drinks and only small snacks.  Plan to eat beforehand.

I'm very sorry for confusion and inconvenience.

- chad

Cafe Sci

* Credo is more than a cafe.  It's a non-profit organization that aims to improve our city and culture.  It also has a unusual pricing structure -- namely, there are no set prices and you pay what you want.