Summary
February 3, 2025 | 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM ET
Presented by the Lyceum Society
Welcome and Introductions: 11:30 AM to 11:45 AM
Initial Presentation: 11:45 AM to 12:45 PM
Language, Mind and the Growth of Civilization
Henry Kaminer
Thinking out loud about language and its relation to the development of the mind and the growth of civilization—a very broad topic for a brief presentation. However, these things are connected like a knitted woolen sweater. If you pull one strand, everything unravels. He will present the current controversy about the origin of language and offer his own hypothesis. It is derived from the principles of evolution, evidence from anthropology, and observation of the development of language in children. This leads to the role of language in thinking, that much admired activity that supposedly separates us from the lower animals. His discussion includes a tour through the mind at work and the role of language in mental processes.
Main Presentation: 12:45 PM to 2:30 PM
Anticipating Disasters: Climate and Weather Forecasts to Enable Early Action
Zinta Zommers
From fires in L.A. to Hurricane Helen, every year, millions of people face increasingly intense and frequent climate-related disasters. According to World Weather Attribution, 26 weather events analyzed in 2024 contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions. Since 2000, the United Nations has seen an eightfold increase in funding requirements for humanitarian appeals linked to extreme weather. However, as needs are increasing, so is the ability to predict the occurrence and impact of shocks such as droughts, floods, storms and disease outbreaks. This talk will explore how policy makers are taking advantage of forecasts to design “forecast-based finance” or “anticipatory action” systems. Anticipatory action involves the use of forecasts to release finance in days to months in advance of shocks. Since 2019, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has been advancing anticipatory action in the humanitarian system. To date, OCHA has disbursed over 89 million dollars to seven countries to help people take action before floods, droughts and cholera outbreaks. The talk will explore how such anticipatory action frameworks are designed, the impact of such early action, forecast challenges and research gaps.
Speakers
Zinta Zommers is Vice-Chair of Working Group II (Impacts and Adaptation) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). She is also the Climate Science Lead for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, where she works to help address humanitarian needs from climate shocks, strengthening early warning and anticipatory action systems. Zinta has held a variety of roles with the UN, including as part of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Change Team and as a member of the UN Chief Scientist’s Office. She has authored and edited two books on climate change adaptation and early warning systems and was a lead author of the IPCC’s 2019 Special Report on Land and the 2023 Synthesis Report. Zinta has a M.Phil. in Development Studies and a D.Phil. in Zoology from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and she was a Visiting Fellow at Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania, from 2021 -2023.
Henry Kaminer was born 90 years ago in a small village in the East Bronx in New York City. He is still trying to escape into the modern world. Dr. Kaminer was excited about science since childhood. His years at Bronx High School of Science opened an exciting world for him, and he learned as much from his fellow students as from the faculty. At City College of New York he tried to study molecular biology, but it had not yet been invented. He worked in pharmacological chemistry and then went to medical school. He narrowed down his interest to what was most confusing and least understood. Therefore, he has developed his professional career in psychiatry and its impact on other fields of study.
Pricing
All: Free
About the Series
The Lyceum Society is a collegial venue promoting fellowship, education, and discussion among retired members of NYAS. Learn more and explore other events hosted by the Lyceum Society.
Registration
The event is open for registration.