Events

Event Description

What Can Central Park Teach Us About Climate Change? With David Morris ’64

You wouldn’t think it now, but the land where New York City’s Central Park stands was once chaotic and polluted terrain. Constructed before, during, and after the Civil War, it was America’s first large-scale public project and created jobs, fostered green space, and provided the city with a refuge for nature, animals, and humans alike. In this talk and in his book Ten Thousand Central Parks: A Climate-Change Parable, David Morris ’64 argues that the park offers a powerful lesson for how we address climate change: even in times of conflict, cities can make large-scale transformations to benefit the environment. In his presentation, he will share how Central Park figures in global climate change, the fascinating history of the park itself, and why we need radical hope now to inform our green future. David believes that Central Park offers lessons in how nature-based solutions — even radical and ambitious ones — can help us face climate challenges now and for the future.

David Morris ’64, after publishing two prize-winning scholarly books in 18th-century studies, won a PEN prize for The Culture of Pain (1991), the first installment in a trilogy completed by Illness and Culture in the Postmodern Age (1998) and Eros and Illness (2017). His turn to narrative nonfiction began with Earth Warrior: Overboard with Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (1995), which describes a ship-ramming mission with famed environmental activist Paul Watson. Civil War Duet (2019) is a dialogue with David’s great-grandfather, who fought with the 101st Ohio Infantry, while Wanderers: Literature, Culture, and the Open Road (2022) traces the powerful cultural countercurrent that affirms liberation, improvisation, and lateral thinking. In 2002, he co-founded the innovative Taos Writing Retreat for Health Professionals, and his recent chapter in Bonica’s Management of Pain (sixth edition) reflects a continuing contribution to the medical field. His latest genre-crossing, interdisciplinary book is Ten Thousand Central Parks: A Climate-Change Parable (2025).

This is a virtual event. Registration is required. Use this link to register.