UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Author Seamus McGraw will give a public talk at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Pattee Library's Foster Auditorium on Penn State’s University Park campus. McGraw is a freelance writer and acclaimed author whose work examines the lives of everyday people dealing with the impacts of big energy and climate change. At a time when the divide between the haves and have-nots, urban and rural people, and liberals and conservatives appear to be at an all-time high, McGraw’s writing is more important than ever.
McGraw’s book, "The End of Country" looks into the divisions and the hopes that have erupted in Pennsylvania’s communities, economy and land as the shale gas revolution has taken off. Tom Brokaw called the book “elegantly written and unsettling account of what can happen when big energy companies come calling in rural America.” McGraw’s most recent work, "Betting the Farm on a Drought," invites readers into the impacts of climate change on people’s lives across the United States. From Atlantic fishermen to Montana anglers, from Florida engineers to fallen conservative representatives, and Penn State scientists to Midwest ranchers, McGraw shows that climate change doesn’t have to be about politics at all, but is something that touches what we do every day.
On Tuesday evening, Nov. 29, McGraw will also participate in a panel discussion following the free film screening of "After Coal" at 7:30 p.m. at the State Theatre in downtown State College. "After Coal" profiles inspiring individuals who are building a new future in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky and South Wales. This hourlong documentary invites viewers to the front lines of the transition away from fossil fuels. Coalfield residents who must abandon traditional livelihoods share stories from the front lines of the transition away from fossil fuels. The screening and panel discussion are free and open to the public.
For more information about the events, contact Peter Buckland at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute at pdb118@psu.edu.