Environmental photographer James Balog, best known for his groundbreaking efforts to document human modification of nature, including the impacts of climate change on global glacier melting, will host a screening of his 2018 documentary "The Human Element" on April 21, at 7 P.M., at Cinemapolis, in downtown Ithaca (general admission $5).

For four decades, environmental photographer James Balog has traveled the world capturing the connections between humans and nature in vivid detail. In "The Human Element" he explores the intersection of humanity and the rest of nature, documenting the increasing rates of animal extinctions and catastrophic wildfires, floods, and storms. 

Balog visits Cornell on April 18-23 as an A.D. White Professor-at-Large (ADW-PAL) and as part of an Earth Day program hosted by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and the College Scholar Program. He was elected as an ADW-PAL in 2020. His appointment runs through 2026. The ADW-PAL Program sponsors outstanding scholars and public intellectuals who have achieved high international distinction in their fields, inviting them to campus to interact with Cornell and the broader community in multiple forums.

• The day after this screening, on Earth Day 2022 at 7:00 P.M., Balog will participate in a panel discussion hosted by Ithaca's Paleontological Research Institution and Museum of the Earth, focusing on the current science of climate change, its impacts, and the human stories that connect us. (more info)