Attendees flooded into a room at Gzowski College on October 24, ready for an intense and presumably controversial discussion about climate change from internationally acclaimed expert, Dr. David. Keith.

A Harvard professor, an expert in energy and environmental thinking, and one of TIME Magazine's 2009 Heroes of the Environment, Dr. Keith was welcomed to Trent as the keynote speaker for the annual workshop of the newly launched International Institute for Environmental Studies (IIES).

“The talk served as a catalyst to broader, transparent conversations and debate,” said Dr. Asaf Zohar, professor in Business Administration at Trent University and an attendee at the lecture.  “A debate that involves scientists, philosophers, writers, industry, social enterprise, local communities, Elders, musicians – in short, a transdisciplinary global discourse bringing together communities of reflection and communities of practice who get engaged with the questions about climate engineering, and think seriously about what its implications are.”

Dr. Keith’s lecture tackled the controversial topic of geo-engineering – a deliberate manipulation of an environmental process that will affect the earth’s climate, such as putting enormous mirrors in orbit around the Earth to reflect sunlight back to space.

Dr. Keith emphasized several times that he doesn't call for immediate action informed by geo-engineering but rather said we need to put the issue in the realm of open public debate and provide some funding to have meaningful research undertaken to better understand the implications and consequences of human interventions into climate.