A two-day symposium starting at Jefferson Community and Technical College Nov. 1 and continuing at UofL Nov. 2 will bring together scholars from several academic disciplines to discuss climate change, energy, local food and other sustainability topics.
Presenters will include:
- Guy McPherson, a University of Arizona professor emeritus who writes the blog “Nature Bats Last”
- Chris Martenson, a trend forecaster who wrote the 2011 book, “The Crash Course: The Unsustainable Future of Our Economy, Energy and Environment”
- Llewellyn Wells, who founded Living City Block, a Denver, Colo.-based project to create sustainable urban neighborhoods
Several UofL faculty, including environmental health expert Irma Ramos, biologist Margaret Carreiro and anthropologist Lisa Markowitz, also will speak at the symposium, which is free and open to the public except for a $25 keynote address and local harvest dinner.
The event is organized by UofL’s Sustainability Council, and is sponsored by UofL’s Department of Biology and Liberal Studies Project.
A second event, Bluegrass Bioneers, will take place at UofL Nov. 2–4. The annual free, public gathering combines national speakers via teleconference with live local speakers, workshops and tours.
UofL and JCTC also will co-sponsor a third event, a Campus Community Partnerships for Sustainability conference, at JCTC Nov. 1. The conference will showcase how Kentucky colleges and universities weave sustainability issues into their courses. Registration is $75 but it is being discounted to $25 for students.
