Three Speakers: Sustainable Solutions

Timothy J. LaSalle, John Peterson Myers, and Derrick Jensen

The fifth annual This Way to Sustainability Conference hosted by CSU, Chico, The Institute for Sustainable Development, the Associated Students, and Butte College kicks off today, Nov. 5, and will continue through Sunday, Nov. 8. The conference provides opportunities for the local community, particularly families and K–12 students, to learn about important issues and the environment. This year there are 10 featured speakers, all with national and international reputations, who will address such issues as nuclear power and whether or not it will be key to creating a sustainable future; whether or not we can shop our way to sustainability by buying “green”; new research on environmental health; defending marine ecosystems from illegal fishing; adapting to rapid climate change; food systems; and more. You can still register on-site at the BMU Auditorium. Students can register for free; staff, faculty, and general audiences can register for $25. Visit our Web site for full conference details and schedule of events at http://www.csuchico.edu/sustainablefuture/conference.

Three of the speakers are Timothy LaSalle of the Rodale Institute; John Myers, CEO and chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences; and author and poet Derrick Jensen.

Timothy J. LaSalle, CEO, Rodale Institute
Thursday, Nov. 5, 4–5:15 pm, Laxson Auditorium
Regenerative 21st-Century Farming: A Solution to Global Warming
Timothy J. LaSalle is CEO of the Rodale Institute, an internationally recognized leader in regenerative organic agricultural research, advocacy, and education. LaSalle is the first CEO of the nonprofit organization, located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1947 by J. I. Rodale to explore the scientific foundation of organic agriculture. Since LaSalle began work at the Institute in July 2007, he has engaged national and international policy planners on how organic farming can address the global challenges of famine prevention, global warming, and human nutrition.

John Peterson Myers
Friday, Nov. 6, 11 am–12:15 pm BMU Auditorium
A Revolution in Environmental Health Sciences: Opening New Opportunities to Prevent Disease
John Peterson Myers is founder, CEO, and chief scientist of Environmental Health Sciences. He holds a doctorate in the biological sciences from UC Berkeley and a BA from Reed College. For a dozen years beginning in 1990, Myers served as director of the W. Alton Jones Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with co-authors Dr. Theo Colborn and Dianne Dumanoski, Myers wrote Our Stolen Future (1996), a book that explores the scientific basis of concern for how contamination threatens fetal development. He is on the boards of the John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, the Environmental Grantmakers Association, the Jenifer Altman Foundation, and the Environmental Working Group.

Derrick Jensen
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2–4 pm BMU Auditorium
Civilization and Resistance
Hailed as the philosopher poet of the environmental movement, Derrick Jensen is author of 15 books, including Endgame and A Language Older Than Words. He holds a degree in creative writing from Eastern Washington University, a degree in mineral engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines, and has taught at Eastern Washington University and Pelican Bay State Prison. He has packed university auditoriums, conferences, and bookstores across the nation, stirring them with revolutionary spirit.