LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Environmental authors Bill McKibben and Curt Stager will be among the distinguished speakers participating in the Adirondack Mountain Club's Winter 2012 Lecture Series at the High Peaks Information Center (HPIC). The Saturday evening lecture series begins Jan. 7 and runs through March 17.

McKibben, one of the leading voices of the environmental movement, is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. His books include "The End of Nature," "The Age of Missing Information" and "Hope, Human and Wild: True Stories of Living Lightly on the Earth." His Feb. 4 lecture, "Notes from the Front of the Climate Fight," will focus on the global movement to address climate change.

Stager, a professor at Paul Smith's College, is the author of "Deep Future: the Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth," which Kirkus Reviews listed as one of the best nonfiction books of 2011. On Jan. 21, Stager will speak on "Climate Whiplash: What Happens After Global Warming?" While debate over global warming generally focuses on what may happen in the next 100 years, Stager will discuss the long-term climate picture.

Other lectures in the series will focus on winter birds, backcountry travel, avalanche awareness and moose in New York State. On the lighter side, the series will also feature concerts by Annie and the Hedonists and the Rustic Riders.

Winter 2012 HPIC Lecture Series

Jan. 7: "Winter Birds of the Adirondacks" with Joan Collins, president of Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops.

Jan. 14: "Backcountry Travel" with Pete Fish, a retired forest ranger with over 30 years experience patrolling the High Peaks.

Jan. 21: "Climate Whiplash: What Happens After Global Warming?" with Curt Stager.

Jan. 28: "Basic Avalanche Awareness" with High Peaks Forest Ranger Jim Giglinto.

Feb. 4: "Notes from the Front of the Climate Fight" with Bill McKibben.

Feb. 11: "Moose in New York" with state wildlife biologist Ed Reed.

Feb. 18: "Adirondack Environmental History: It's as Clear as Mud" with Brendan Wiltse, a Ph.D. candidate from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.

Feb. 25: Music by Annie and the Hedonists.

March 3: "Introduction to Square Dancing," with music and calling by Stan Burdick.

March 10: "Flora and Fauna of the Adirondacks."

March 17: Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with The Rustic Riders, an Adirondack-based acoustic group.

The High Peaks Information Center (HPIC) is at the end of the Adirondack Loj Road, 8 miles south of Lake Placid. For more information about the lecture series and other ADK programs, visit our website at www.adk.org or call (518) 523-3441.

The Adirondack Mountain Club, founded in 1922, is the oldest and largest organization dedicated to the protection of the New York State Forest Preserve. ADK is a nonprofit, membership organization that protects the Forest Preserve, state parks and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.