Presentations

I’ve converted my PowerPoint presentations about Kosrae into videos. You can view them here or on my youtube channel.

My Year in Paradise: I’ve given this presentation weekly to Rotary Clubs across America while I’ve been stranded on Kosrae.  It tells the story of how I landed here in March 2020 not knowing that I’d be the last tourist to come to this tiny island in 2020.  Although I planned to continue from here to other islands, all my flight reservations were cancelled when the Global Pandemic was declared. Thanks to Micronesia’s travel ban, Kosrae remains 100% virus-free.  Life is normal here.  There are no masks.  There’s no need for social distancing.  Schools, businesses and churches have stayed open.  The Kosraeans are some of the friendliest and most generous people I’ve met anywhere.  When this pandemic is over, I’ll resume my travels, thankful for having had the chance to know a place that the rest of the world has never heard of.

Energy is the single most important commodity in today’s world. Energy is what enables us to enjoy the amazing high-tech world that we live in today. Energy is also what creates profits, causes pollution and starts wars. This seminar discusses the world’s energy sources, its consumption and what our options are for the future.

Lelu Ecosystem: 100 years ago, ships stopped at Kosrae to get clean drinking water from the streams that flowed down from Kosrae’s mountains. People caught all the fish they could eat in Lelu Harbor. Until the causeway was built, Lelu Harbor was a deep bay filled with corals, fish and giant clams. This seminar discusses what must be done to repair and preserve Lelu Harbor and its ecosystem.

Tsunamis: 80% of the world’s tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean. Since 2000, tsunamis have done more damage and killed more people than any other natural disaster. Everyone who lives on an island in the Pacific should know about tsunamis. This seminar covers the science of tsunamis and how you and your family can stay safe on Kosrae.

Extraterrestrial Life:  This week, we’re having some fun with a topic that everyone likes to talk about and no one has any answers: Is there life in outer space? Is it intelligent life? Have aliens ever visited Earth? Will we visit them some day? This seminar discusses everything from UFOs to NASA’s Perseverance Rover that’s exploring Mars right now.

Earthquakes: Although Kosrae doesn’t have earthquakes, many of our neighbors do. If you plan to visit Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines or California, knowing about your earthquake risk will be important to you. This week’s special science seminar will also explain some exciting new developments in the field of earthquake prediction.

What you should know about the health of our ocean: Kosrae depends upon the ocean for our food, our health and our lives. Climate change is warming the ocean. CO2 has made the ocean more acidic. Great garbage patches are forming in the middle of the Pacific. Commercial fishing fleets are robbing the oceans of trillions of fish per year. This special science seminar examines the declining health of our changing oceans.

Coastal Erosion and how you can prevent it: Kosrae doesn’t have earthquakes. Typhoons and tsunamis rarely strike. The volcano that formed this island is extinct. Still, Kosrae has one serious environmental problem that threatens our homes and our lives: Coastal erosion. This science seminar discusses coastal erosion and how you can protect your home and your community from being washed away. 

Climate Change and its impact on Kosrae: For the past 50 years, our planet’s average temperature has risen sharply – causing global Climate Change. This seminar presents the latest research on the causes and effects of Climate Change, what can be done to stop or mitigate it, and how Climate Change will affect life on Kosrae.

How the first people discovered Kosrae: About 3 million years ago, the first humans appeared in Africa. Soon, they explored the world and found new homes. Some people went to Europe. Others went to Asia and later to the Americas. The very last places to be discovered on Earth were the beautiful islands of Micronesia and Polynesia. This seminar tells the story of how the first people came to Kosrae.

Geology of Kosrae: About two million years ago, Kosrae was a fiery volcano spewing liquid hot rock from the ocean floor. This volcano blasted out the Wiya Bird cave, formed the basalt columns of the Lelu ruins, and shaped the island we see today. This seminar explains Kosrae’s past, present and future and how Kosrae differs from Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei.