San Juan Nature Institute is proud to announce that the 2011 Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series, held in collaboration with UW Friday Harbor Labs, will begin on Jan. 13 with a lecture by Professor Peter D. Ward.

Ward is a member of the faculty in both the Biology Department and the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at University of Washington. His title: “Sea level, carbon dioxide or hydrogen sulfide: choose your future poison” examines threats from global climate change.

The lecture will take place in The Commons on the campus of Friday Harbor Labs at 7 p.m. and is free to the public, though donations are appreciated.

Ward is an expert on mass extinctions and the role of extraterrestrial impacts on Earth and uses his insight into past events to predict future changes. In his recent book, “The Flooded Earth,” he described what our world will look like in 2050, 2100, and beyond and explains what politicians and policy makers should be doing to alleviate the consequences of the inevitable changes.

He is currently involved in detailed field work in France concentrating on mass extinctions in bivalves and ammonites and, in contrast, researching speciation in living marine animals like Nautilus.

The series continues on Jan. 27 when Emily Carrington will talk about mussels and their tenacious hold on their host. Charley O’Kelly will discuss Biofuels on Feb. 10 and on Feb. 24, Gordon Orians explores the subtle decisions bird make when choosing where to live, what to eat and with whom to mate. All these lectures will be held at 7 p.m. in The Commons on the UW Friday Harbor Labs Campus.