Toxic Bodies Lecture - Dr. Nancy Langston, UW-Madison

Please join us for a lecture by Dr. Nancy Langston of the University of Wisconsin-Madison as she discusses the topics of "hormone disruptors and the sturggle for health". Dr. Langston’s research explores the interconnected histories of ecosystem health and human health.  Her recently-published book, Toxic Bodies (Yale, 2010) asks how and why endocrine disrupting chemicals have saturated our bodies and our environments.  Her first book, Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares (University of Washington Press, 1995) examined the cause of the forest health crisis in the Inland West.  Her second book, Where Land and Water Meet, (University of Washington Press, 2003) explored watershed change in the arid west.

Her current book project, Sustaining Lake Superior, focuses on the interconnected histories of watershed health, human health, and forest health—all in the context of climate change.  Using Lake Superior as a case study, she examines the Lake’s current ecological conditions, paying attention to the historical uses of the lake and its surrounding resources and the current social demands people place on this environment.  Her goal is to identify practical answers to the everyday challenges these ecosystems face.  In her own words, she asks: “How can communities help sustain the health of Lake Superior in the face of mining, climate change, forest change, invasive species, and emerging chemicals of concern?  The challenges facing Lake Superior are many—yet local, regional, and international communities overcame enormous threats to the lake's ecosystems in the past century.”