PESTA seminar (18.08.21)
Koalas, the New Polar-Bear-on-the-Iceberg for Climate Change – Why People Donated After the Fires
Professor Chris Daniels (CEO, Koala Life)
Over the past 18 months -- and arguably well before that -- koalas have been Australia's most newsworthy animal. Poster animal for the destruction of wildlife in the bushfires of 2019/20, koalas have assumed the face for all the environmental challenges Australia faces. As a result, emotion, political passion, and money have clouded the science so it is unclear what, who, or why, we can, should and/or haven't done the right thing(s) to save them. And in fact are they rescuable at all? Adding fuel to the fire are discussions arising from passionate if sometimes meaningless words such as "functionally extinct", "genetic inbred" and with disease, over population, culling and of course habitat clearance all arguments for blame and debate. So what are koalas, and what is that they bring out in us that makes our responses so dramatic? Why are there so many challenges, and what are we going to do about it -- and how will the new foundation Koala Life contribute to this extra-ordinary environmental maelstrom? All these topics and more will make you think twice about koalas in our back yards!
When: Wednesday, 18th August 2021, 12-1 PM
Where: Ira Raymond Exhibition Room, Barr Smith Library
Prof Chris Daniels is the CEO of the not-for-profit organisation Koala Life. He also holds adjunct professorships at University of Adelaide and University of South Australia. He has held senior leadership roles in a wide range of government and community organisations. Chris is actively involved with nature conservation and urban sustainability.