Although Americans may spend 90 percent of their time indoors, we now live in closer proximity to wild animals now than anytime in our history. Journalist Jim Sterba traces our 400-year relationship to wild animals, from the 19th-century “era of extermination” to the conservation movement of last century, and up through the current age of “sprawl.” Today, Sterba argues, our well-meaning efforts to protect certain species has allowed some wild populations to burgeon out of control, costing billions in damage, degrading ecosystems, and deepening disputes that have polarized communities. The talk will take place this Thursday, December 13, beginning at 6 pm. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street garage.