February 11, 2005: Volume 63, Number 6

Environmentalist Lester Brown to speak Feb. 24, 25

Lester Brown, called the "guru of the environmental movement," will give the keynote address at a one-day conference on "Sustainable Development: Balancing Growth, Preservation and the Environment" on Friday, Feb. 25, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Union's College Park Hall (the former Ramada Inn) on Nott Street.

Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, also will give a pre-conference talk on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. in Union College's Nott Memorial. He will talk on his recent book, Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble. The talk is free to the public.

James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and a renowned lecturer on America's man-made landscape, will speak at the conference on Friday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m.

The one-day conference also will feature a plenary session on "Balancing Regional Economic Growth, Community Preservation and Environmental Protection" with regional planning, government and economic development leaders; and a number of break-out sessions on topics including smart growth, the costs of sprawl, storm water regulations and comprehensive planning.

Brown is the author of 48 books and numerous articles. The Washington Post called him "one of the world's most influential thinkers." The Telegraph of Calcutta refers to him as "the guru of the environmental movement." In 1986, the Library of Congress requested his personal papers noting that his writings "have already strongly affected thinking about problems of world population and resources."

Kunstler, who has also written Home From Nowhere and The City in Mind, is a frequent lecturer and presenter at professional organizations. He has been called"one of the great commentators on American space and place."

The conference is co-sponsored by ECOS: The Environmental Clearinghouse and the Union College Environmental Studies Program. Additional sponsors are the League of Women Voters of Schenectady County, Schenectady County Environmental Advisory Council, Social Action Committee of the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady, and the Environmental Awareness Club of Union College.

The Feb. 25 conference is the culmination of a series on "Sustainable Development" this winter sponsored by Union's Environmental Studies program. John Todd of the University of  Vermont and a global leader in the field of ecological water purification, will speak on "Sustainability Through Ecological Design" on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

"The impact of development on taxes, traffic, water and air quality, open space and community character is of increasing concern to residents and community decision makers," said conference organizer Patrick Clear, executive director of ECOS. "This conference will bring people together and provide participants with information and tools they need to work toward sustainable development in our region."

Cost is $25 (including buffet lunch). Students are free (lunch $10). Registration deadline is Feb. 18. For information, contact ECOS at 370-4125 or ecos@global2000.net.

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