Speakers for Your Group

The Dallas Sierra Club has a new program to provide outdoor/environmental education in the form of entertaining and informative presentations by Dallas Sierra Club members with expertise in the topics offered. These presentations range in length from 30 minutes to one hour and cover a variety of topics in the general categories of outdoor adventure, environmental education, and general ecology. These talks are appropriate for a wide range of audiences including youth groups, school classes, civic and social groups, nature and gardening clubs, church groups, etc. Any group interested in an available topic is welcome to contact us.

This service is offered free-of-charge by the Dallas Sierra Club.

To arrange a speaker for your group, please contact Dan Moulton at 972-754-2506 or email him at dan@dallassierraclub.org.

AVAILABLE TOPICS

Outdoor Adventure

1. Exploring the Great Parks of Texas – 1 hour
   Tour Texas’ finest state and federal parks where you can enjoy nature and escape the concrete jungle. Learn about the conservation movement and how we can all protect the special places where we love to camp and hike.
2. Texas Nature and Environmental Centers – 45 min
   Learn about nature and environmental centers all over Texas. This talk will help you plan a visit to one of these centers where you can learn more about the environment you live in. Centers in the DFW metroplex area will be highlighted.
3. Wildlife of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
   Journey to uninhabited Laysan Is. In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. See the endemic wildlife, many of which are threatened or endangered, and learn about the threats and challenges that face the wildlife and the island.

Environmental Education

1. Introducing Environmental Science & Sustainability – 45 min
   Learn how human populations impact natural resources and environmental sustainability. Also, how environmental science can address environmental problems.
2. Population Change - 45 min
   Basic principles of population ecology and factors that affect population size. Human population growth and the demographics of selected countries.
3. The Problems of Overpopulation - 45 min
   How human overpopulation affects quality of life, and how governments and individuals can address overpopulation issues.
4. The Urban World - 45 min
   How population growth drives urbanization and some problems associated with that process. How cities resemble ecosystems and how urban land-use planning can make cities more sustainable.
5. Fossil Fuels - 45 min
   Learn about fossil fuels- coal, oil, and natural gas. Energy consumption in the US- does the US have an energy strategy?
6. Nuclear Energy - 45 min
   Basic nuclear processes such as fission and fusion, and the pros and cons of nuclear energy including safety issues and radioactive waste. Is fusion the nuclear energy of the future?
7. Renewable Energy and Conservation – 45 min
   Learn about what renewable energy sources are available to us. Also, how we can be more energy efficient using both high and low tech energy solutions.
8. Minerals: A Nonrenewable Resource – 45 minimize
   What are minerals; how are they found, extracted, and processed? What are the environmental impacts of mining and processing minerals? Can we increase the supply of minerals or find mineral substitutes?
9. Water: A Limited Resource – 45 min
   Learn about the importance of water and the hydrologic cycle. Can people share water resources and manage/conserve water to provide sustainable water supplies for the future?
10. Water Pollution – 45 min
    Learn about the different types of water pollution. Also, about the state of our water quality today and how we can improve our water quality.
11. Air Pollution – 45 min
    Learn about our atmosphere as a natural resource. Also, about the types, sources, and effects of air pollution, and how we can control air pollution in the US.
12. Solid and Hazardous Waste – 45 min
    Learn about the types of solid waste, and how we can reduce waste. Also, about the types of hazardous waste, and how we can manage it. Learn what is meant by the term “environmental justice.”
13. Human Health and Environmental Toxicology – 45 min
    Learn what human health issues are related to environmental pollution and disease. Also, how the risks associated with the health effects of pollutants are assessed.
14. Food Resources -A Challenge for Agriculture - 45 min
    World food problems and the challenges of producing more crops and livestock. What are the environmental impacts of agriculture and some solutions to those problems. Also, some facts about world fisheries.
15. Sustainable Diets –  45 min
    Learn how our food choices are affecting deforestation, species extinction, water pollution, water depletion, and climate change; and how we can make smarter food choices to minimize those impacts. More info: Contact protectthisplanet@protonmail.com to schedule a live Zoom talk.
16. The Pesticide Dilemma - 45 min
    What is a pesticide? What are the benefits and problems of pesticide use? The risks of pesticides to human health and some alternatives to pesticides. Some facts about pesticide regulation.
17. Global Climate Change – 45 min
    Learn what is meant by the term “global climate change.” Also, about the measurable causes and effects of global climate change. Can we mitigate or adapt to global climate change?
18. Tomorrow’s World – 40 min
    We must develop a plan of action for more sustainable living. This plan must include changing personal attitudes and practices. What kind of world do you want to live in and pass on to future generations?

General Ecology

1. Ecosystems and Energy – 45 min
   Learn what the science of ecology is and what an ecosystem is. Also, about the laws of energy flow with regard to living cells and how energy flows through ecosystems.
2. Ecosystems and Living Organisms – 45 min
   Learn how environmental factors cause living populations to change (evolve) over time. Also, how biological communities are organized with regard to available resources. Learn how species richness (variety) and community stability are related. Also, about some “services” ecosystems provide to humans.
3. Ecosystems and the Physical Environment – 45 min
   Learn about biogeochemical cycles and how they sustain life on earth. Also, how solar radiation, the atmosphere, the global ocean, and weather and climate interact with and regulate ecosystems.
4. Major Ecosystems of the World – 45 min
   Learn what a biome is and what the earth’s major terrestrial biomes are. Also, about major freshwater and marine ecosystems. Learn about some interactions and impacts of humans on life zones.
5. Land Resources and Use – 45 min
   Learn about the types of land use in the US and the world. Also, about use of parks, refuges, forests, rangeland, agricultural land, wetlands, and coastal areas- and how we try to conserve land resources.
6. Soil Resources – 45 min
   Learn what soil is and what the properties of soil are. Also, about some different types of soils. Learn about some soil problems, and efforts to conserve soil.
7. Preserving Earth’s Biological Diversity – 45 min
   Learn what biological diversity is and why we need it. Also, about the causes of species endangerment, and where declining diversity is worst. Learn how conservation biology tries to protect and restore habitats, and about some conservation policies and laws.