Science Revealed - Dean's Lecture Series featuring Gwynne Dyer

Dr. Greg Anderson, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Thompson Rivers University is pleased to invite you to Science Revealed, the Dean’s Lecture Series featuring Gwynne Dyer. The lecture series brings renown and captivating scientists from various scientific disciplines to the TRU Kamloops campus to reveal scientific discoveries and their application, making science accessible to audiences with diverse backgrounds and interests.

Gwynne Dyer has spent the past three years interviewing over a hundred climate scientists and engineers for his new book ‘Intervention Earth’. Geoengineering frightens them, and at the beginning, a clear majority ruled it out as ‘too dangerous’. By now, he reckons, a majority among climate scientists has reluctantly swung the other way: we must hold the heat down to keep our societies intact while we cope with the changes. Early research suggests that various forms of geoengineering are technically feasible and not even stunningly expensive, but it can only be a temporary patch, not a long-term solution. New emissions still have to stop, and most of the historic emissions will still eventually have to be removed. But climate engineering may be the necessary bridge to get us through the crisis without a catastrophe. That’s why Gwynne borrowed Jim Lovelock’s famous phrase ‘planetary maintenance engineers’ (from forty years ago) for the title of this lecture. We are already starting to take on that role in various ways, although we don’t yet admit it to ourselves. Human beings will have to intervene to keep the basic systems we have damaged running, at least until and unless we can restore most of the natural systems and the old climate. We will not see the end of this emergency in our lifetimes, nor will our children in theirs.

Gwynne has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for most of his adult life, but he was originally trained as a historian. He was born in Newfoundland and received degrees from Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Canadian Forces College, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published in more than 20 countries.

His first television series, the 7-part documentary 'War', was aired in 45 countries. One episode, 'The Profession of Arms', was nominated for an Academy Award. His more recent television works include the Gemini Award-winning series 'The Human Race'. Dyer's books include ‘War’ (1983), ‘Ignorant Armies: Sliding into War in Iraq’ (2003), ‘Future: Tense’ (2005) and ‘The Mess They Made: The Middle East After Iraq’ (2007). More recent works include ‘Climate Wars’ (2010), ‘Don’t Panic: Islamic State, Terrorism and the Middle East’ (2015), and ‘The Shortest History of War’ (2022). ‘Intervention Earth’ was published in March 2024.

Dr Dyer lives in London. In 2010, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada.