Bill McKibben and Brave New Planet: Oct. 27-30

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 10:25AM

Bill McKibben, renowned climate change activist and author, will be in Claremont at this month to lead a conference on the ethical implications that flow from a permanently changed Planet Earth.

The Brave New Planet: Imagining Ecological Communities gathering, sponsored by Progressive Christians Uniting, Claremont Lincoln University, Claremont School of Theology, Pomona College, as well as many other groups, is drawing clergy, students, activists, and lay leaders from churches and communities throughout Southern California. Participants will look in depth at water/food supply issues in this region, at what it takes to create sustainable local communities, and at historical precedents for demonstrating ethical leadership during catastrophic crises.

“There are no grounds for optimism in this fight against the weather. So far we've only increased the temperature of the planet about a degree, and that's been enough to set the Arctic to melting, turn the ocean 30% more acidic and make the atmosphere about 4% wetter, loading the dice for floods. Climatologists predict that unless we kick oil, gas and coal habits very, very fast, the increase in temperature will be 4 or 5 degrees before the century is out. If one degree does the damage we're seeing at the moment, we'd be fools to find out what 4 degrees will look like.”

From a May 10 Op-Ed piece by Bill McKibben in the Los Angeles Times.

Bill McKibben is the author of a dozen books about the environment, a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. Time Magazine called him “the planet's best green journalist” and the Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was “probably the country's most important environmentalist.” The Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, he holds honorary degrees from a dozen colleges. In 2011 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Brave New Planet Schedule:

Oct. 27: Free Pre-Conference Lecture, Big Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College – tickets required. To reserve free tickets for Thursday night’s lecture by Bill McKibben, please contact Vern Visick at vmvisick@gmail.com and indicate the number of tickets you require.

Oct. 28-29: Register here for 2-day Brave New Planet Conference on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $50/person for pre-registration, $60/person at the door. Student/low-income tickets are $30/person for pre-registration, $40/person at the door. Please consider also donating $20 for scholarships for students and low-income participants.

Oct. 30: Bill McKibben will be preaching at Claremont United Church of Christ, 233 Harrison Ave. at the 8:15 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Sunday services.