Jane Goodall, 15 years ago, flew over the Tanzania forest where for decades she has studied chimpanzees and was horrified by what she saw.
Landslides, deforestation and the encroachment of humans had decreased the numbers of chimps made famous through her studies and prompted her into a broader mission she is continuing today – to raise environmental awareness around the world.
“Every one of us makes a difference and makes an impact on the world,” Goodall said Tuesday in a Colorado State University reception in Denver. “And we get to choose what kind of impact we want to make.”
Tonight, Goodall will lecture about environmental stewardship and her celebrated studies of chimpanzees as part of the Monfort Lecture Series at CSU’s Moby Arena, an event for which all the tickets were snapped up weeks ago.
Goodall on Tuesday spoke with a few dozen selected state and academic officials at a reception, featuring speeches by three CSU professors – Keith Paustian, Bernard Rollin and Diana Wall.
Goodall talked for about 20 minutes about her her career, which took her from a love of Tarzan to the forests of Africa to study primates in the mid-1960s.
In Africa, the population of chimpanzees has fallen from about 2 million to 150,000, she said.
The decline is due to deforestation, hunting and the influx of humans into the primates’ habitat.
She said she believes much of the world’s problems – from pollution to poverty – are directly the result of Western culture.
“The problems around the world are so interrelated,” she said. “These thing are speeding up. And they are all linked.”
Goodall has formed the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports research, education, conservation and development programs in the Gombe forest where she studied.
“But I have hope,” she said. “My main reason for hope is the human brain. ”
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
