free download - University Press of Colorado

Thomas H. McGovern
as this excellent volume, as well as sponsor field and laboratory collaborations,
student training, public education, and engagement with global change science.
This consensus led to a proposal to organize and launch a new Global Human
Ecodynamics Alliance (GHEA). Ben Fitzhugh (University of Washington)
generously agreed to take on the work of launching the group and a series
of meetings in Arizona (hosted by Peggy Nelson and her team), Edinburgh
(hosted by Andy Dugmore jointly with the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience,
Environment, and Science [SAGES]), and St. Louis (organized by Ben at the
Society for American Archaeology meetings). GHEA is now up and running
with its new official website created by Anthony (www.gheahome.org).
GHEA is intended to be an open, loosely structured, and very flexible
group (down low in the “r” area of the classic resilience metaphor loop) that
will seek to build community and aid scholars, students, and members of the
wider public in connecting across national and disciplinary boundaries. All are
invited to participate and join through the website. GHEA is rapidly evolving
in response to member interests, but some bullet points incorporated into
GHEA from the Eagle Hill meeting may indicate shared interests:
• Productive Engagement with Global Change and Challenges of
Sustainability
• Promoting Diversity of Knowledge Sources
• Integration of Policy, Education, Outreach, Community Participation
in Global Science
• Spatial Patterning, Place-Based Learning, Longitudinal Research Programs
• Critical Times and Places: thresholds, tipping points, regime shifts.
This book is an early product of the Global Human Ecodynamics Alliance
and sets a high standard for future GHEA collaborations.
Acknowledgments and Thanks
We would like to thank our hosts in Eagle Hill, Maine, for a memorable conference
venue, and we gratefully acknowledge the dedication and sleep deprivation
of the CUNY REU team (Marissa Gamiliel, Reaksha Persaud, and Jessica
Vobornik) and CUNY doctoral student Cory Look, who also handled many
IT issues and logistics so competently. We also thank CUNY doctoral students
Amanda Schreiner and George Hambrecht for heroic long-distance late night
driving. We are all greatly indebted to Shari Gearheard, whose amazing recording
and synthesizing skills preserved an excellent record of fast-moving and
intense discussions. This conference was funded by an American Recovery and
Reconstruction Act grant from the National Science Foundation, Office of
Polar Programs, Arctic Social Sciences Program (NSF OPP ASSP #0947852),
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