In Peter H. Gleick's view, water is connected to everything he cares about. His research and writings have examined the links between water and health, the impacts of climate change on water and sustainable use, to name just three of the issues he has explored. Gleick will be the first guest speaker in the University of Kentucky Environmental Seminar Speaker Series at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3. His presentation, "New Thinking for Water in the 21st Century," will occur in the Grand Ballroom of the UK Student Center on the corner of Limestone and Avenue of Champions. It is free and open to the public.

Gleick is the co-founder and president of The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, a nonpartisan research institute in Oakland, Calif., that, according to its mission statement, "works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities."

Named a MacArthur Fellow in 2003, Gleick has also been dubbed a "visionary on the environment" by the BBC, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was named an Academician of the International Water Academy in Oslo, Norway.  He is a proponent of the "soft path" principle for water, which works to improve water productivity rather than seeking new sources, working with water users at the community level.

The UK Environmental Seminar Speaker Series is sponsored by the UK College of Agriculture, UK Cooperative Extension Service, Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment, UK Office of the Vice President for Research, UK Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute and the Environmental and Natural Resources Initiative.

For more information, call the Tracy Farmer Institute, 859-257-3780, or visit their website at http://www.ise.uky.edu.