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BRISTOL SCHUMACHER LECTURES 2007
CRISIS & OPPORTUNITY
Saturday
13 October 2007 10am-5pm
Bristol Council House, College Green (bottom of Park St)
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Nicky Gavron
Deputy Mayor of London
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Herbert Girardet
Director of Programmes, World Future Council
RECLAIMING OUR FUTURE
Vala Ragnarsdottir
Professor of Environmental Science
TOWARDS ECO-CITY BRISTOL
Mark Lynas
Writer, activist and New Statesman columnist
CUTTING CARBON
Global Warming's Greatest Opportunity
Further Information
The Schumacher Society Tel: 0117 903 1081
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Nicky Gavron
Deputy Mayor of London
CITIES AND CLIMATE CHANGE |
| The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor recognise that tackling climate change is the highest priority for our generation. Nicky's talk will describe how it has been made the focus of policies through, for example, the Mayor's Energy Strategy and the London Plan - predicated on sustainable development and on sustainable design and construction. Nicky will also discuss the comprehensive programme to cut London's CO2 emissions by 60% by 2025 that was published in February 2007, including initiatives on transport, new and existing buildings and partnership with other cities worldwide |
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Herbert Girardet
Director of Programmes, World Future Council
RECLAIMING OUT FUTURE
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The long term impacts of decisions taken today are becoming an intolerable burden on future generations. In particular, we are burning fossil fuels as though there were no tomorrow. Making amends is thus becoming a central challenge for humanity. Accelerating the use of renewable energy, localising our economies and enhancing life on earth are three key challenges that the World Future Council has set itself. But only a profound change in our cultural priorities can help us in the huge task of Reclaiming the Future. |
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Vala Ragnarsdottir
Professor of Environmental Science
TOWARDS ECO-CITY BRISTOL |
| With her colleagues at the University of Bristol Vala started organising World Café based workshops, Sustainability Cafes, in 2006. Out of these grew the Bristol Sustainability Charter and the Big Cafes, where a ten year plan was laid to make Bristol a sustainable city. Café participants have been a cross section of the Bristol community. This lecture will outline the vision that has risen for Eco City Bristol and how citizen driven change can spark the quest for sustainable communities.
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Mark Lynas
Writer, activist and New Statesman columnist
CUTTING CARBON
Global Warming's Greatest Opportunity |
Global warming's greatest opportunity: why kicking the carbon habit will make us happier, healthier and more connected.
We're told that cutting back on carbon emissions to reduce global warming will require 'enormous sacrifices'. But what if changing our carbon-addicted lifestyles would actually be better for ourselves, as well as the planet?
The basis of today's mass-market consumer society is for corporations and advertisers to stimulate demand by inventing new 'needs' which they then sell us products to fulfil. The resulting economic growth is deemed to be a good thing by economists and mainstream politicians despite the spiralling cost to the environment. However, the real result is increased rates of depression and alienation, the loss of green space and children's freedom, the loss of leisure time due to commuting and long office hours, and the fracturing of communities and extended families due to increased mobility.
Reversing all of these trends would not just be good to reducing carbon emissions, it would be good for society as a whole. Mark Lynas explores why humanity's greatest-ever crisis may also contain the seeds for its greatest-ever opportunity. |
Sponsors
This
year's Schumacher Lectures are again supported by our three
loyal financial organisations who are leading lights in ethical
investment. Based in Bristol they are Towry Law (independent financial advisers),
Rathbone
Greenbank Investments (ethical investment management) and Triodos
Bank (ethical banking). |
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