Presentations & Podcasts
Contact
Western Sahara Project
Sand & Dust Blog
Contact Details:
Email:
consultancy at nickbrooks.org
npjbrooks at gmail.com
Tel:
+44 2032 861 892 (office)
+44 7919 402 918 (mobile)
EXPERTISE
- Climate change and the origins of civilisation
- Past environments and archaeology of the Sahara
- Contemporary climate change, adaptation & development
I have
been working
in the field of climate change for over 12 years,
specialising in
climate change and its impacts in the developing
world. I have a
special interest in the Saharan and Sahelian regions
of northern
Africa.
Since
1999 I have also been working in the field of
archaeology,
examining the links between climate change and changes
in human
societies in prehistoric and early historical times. I
have worked
extensively on this topic in the Libyan Sahara, and
currently direct a
research project examining links between climatic and
cultural changes
in the prehistoric Western Sahara, a disputed
territory partially
occupied by Morocco since 1975. More recently I have
been working on
the links between dramatic changes in climate between
about 6000 and
5000 years ago and the origins of
civilisation.
See my home page for more details of my research.
MEDIA EXPERIENCE
I have
made numerous contributions to radio on climate change
related
subjects, have participated in several documentaries,
and am regularly
contacted by journalists from the print media for
story material and
advice on climate change. My presentation on climate
change and the
origins of civilisation at the 2006 British
Association Festival of
Science received worldwide coverage, as did my
exposure of the
vandalism of important archaeological sites in Western
Sahara by UN
peacekeepers in early 2008.
DOCUMENTARIES
- "Why Ancient Egypt Fell", 2008. IWC Media. For
Discovery Channel. Appearance as expert on past climate
change and
impacts in Sahara/Egypt.
- "Sahara" Actuality Production, 2006. Aired on History Channel, available as DVD. On-screen appearances as expert on Saharan environments. See New York Times review.
- "The Mystery of the Black Mummy" Fulcrum TV, 2003. Aired on Discovery, UK Channel Five. On-screen appearances on location as expert on past environmental changes in the Libyan Sahara.
RADIO
- BBC World Service: How Climate Changes Culture, 2 November 2007.
- The Naked Scientists: Peruvian Mummies, Ancient Environments and the Sahara, 17 September 2006.
- The Science Show, ABC Radio National (Australia): How climate affected the rise of civilisation, 11 November 2006.
- Numerous appearances on news programmes on BBC local and national radio and World Service as expert on climate change.
NEWS COVERAGE AND ARTICLES
- The Times, "UN vandals spray graffiti on Sahara's prehistoric art" by Dalya Alberge, 31 January 2008.
- BBC World Service: "Peacekeepers 'deface ancient art'", 31 January 2008.
- Saudi Aramco World: "Desertification and Civilization" by Graham Chandler, Saudi Aramco World November/December 2007, pp. 36-43.
- Telegraph: "Climate change 'was the making of civilisation'", by Roger Highfield and Nic Fleming, 9 September 2006.
- Guardian: "Climate change caused civilisation, scientist says", by Alok Jha, 8 September 2006.
- Independent: "Climate change linked with rise of world's earliest civilisations", by Steve Connor, 8 September 2006.
- Salon.com: "The accidental birth of civilization", by Andrew Leonard, 17 November 2006.
- Guardian: "In the valley of life, oil is death to the art of a lost civilisation", by John Bohannon, 10 February 2005.
