Fourth Annual Bioneers by the Bay Conference Tackles Environmental Sustainability Crisis with Global and Local Solutions
- Northeast's Premier Environmental Conference Grows into New Location, Larger Venue
- "Green Collar" Job Advocate Van Jones and Other Leading Eco-Experts Connect for Change
New Bedford, Mass. – In a season where politicians, leading scientists and average citizens are discussing the impending urgency of our climate crisis, an important conference is bringing together speakers from multiple disciplines to showcase and discuss global and local solutions to inspire change.
The Fourth Annual Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change, hosted and produced by the Marion Institute, will be held in historic Downtown New Bedford, MA from October 23-26. The conference uses the ideas of international and national environment and social justice experts to inspire individuals and groups in local communities into action. Featured speakers include Van Jones and Majora Carter of Green For All and many others listed below.
Explains Marion Institute Executive Director Desa Van Laarhoven, "A lot of the rhetoric this election season about a planet in peril, not to mention a bleeding economy, can leave people feeling overwhelmed or helpless. Bioneers by the Bay seeks to inspire and remind folks that innovators – or the environmental and social justice super stars, as we like to call them – are developing and implementing real solutions to address climate change." She continues, "The conference also emphasizes the importance of our actions which matter not only individually in practical ways but, collectively, in shaping a powerful and earth saving social movement."
Due to the growing demand from an audience attracted to its rich and cutting edge programming, the event has moved from Dartmouth, MA to the Zeiterion Theatre, a larger 1,200 seat venue in New Bedford, MA with various events happening city-wide. Over the course of the three day conference, Bioneers by the Bay expects to have 2,500 people converse and cross pollinate ideas from a broad range of topics to build a healthier world.
In addition to keynote speakers, the event will also include workshops, a youth initiative, films, music, exhibits by sustainable businesses and organizations and a farmer's market with local and organic food. The event's appeal and success hinges upon its diversity. Speakers include a cross section of innovators such as environmentalists, scientists, grassroots activists, physicians, scholars, farmers and entrepreneurs tackling eco-topics ranging from green business to food to farming to diversity.
Van Jones, Majora Carter and Simran Sethi will present at the FREE open to the public Bioneers by the Bay kick-off event at 7:30pm on Thursday, October 23rd, at New Bedford's Zeiterion Theatre at 684 Purchase Street. They will present their pioneering ideas for green collar job training and our collective imperative for environmental justice, made all the more critical in today's economic climate.
Attendees, from individuals to youth groups and other organizations, leave the event empowered to fight for local, city and state commitments to climate change, build carbon-neutral homes, institutionalize composting and food purchasing programs, develop projects to support indigenous populations, secure funding for school gardens or donate time to progressive nonprofits.
Featured presenters at the 2008 Bioneers by the Bay conference include:
· Van Jones - founder and president of Green For All, which has a mission to help build an inclusive, green economy; co-founder of the Clean Energy Job Corps and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
· Majora Carter - one of the nation's pioneers in successful "green-collar" job training and placement systems and the founder of Sustainable South Bronx, an organization that achieves environmental justice through economically sustainable projects informed by community needs
· Simran Sethi - named one of the top ten eco-heroes of the planet by the UK's Independent and lauded as the "environmental messenger" by Vanity Fair, Simran is committed to a redefinition of environmentalism that includes voices from the prairie, the inner-city and the global community.
· Gary Hirshberg - former director of the Rural Education Center, a small organic farming school, and the current CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm, the world's leading organic yogurt producer
· Rha Goddess - creator and executive producer of the Young Woman's performance movement, We Got Issues!, executive producer of the Hip Hop Mental Health Project and "The Meditations Trilogy," and a 2008 recipient of the National Museum for Human Rights Freedom Flame Award
· Kenny Ausubel - founder and co-president of Bioneers, a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to disseminating practical and visionary solutions for restoring Earth's imperiled ecosystems and healing our human communities
· John Perkins - author of the New York Times bestseller Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and, more recently, The Secret History of the American Empire, a compassionate plan for crafting a world that future generations will be proud to inherit
· Lynne Twist - global activist, fundraiser, speaker, consultant, author of the award-winning book, The Soul of Money, and the founder of the Soul of Money Institute, which expresses a commitment to supporting and empowering people in finding peace and sufficiency in their relationship with money and the money culture
· John Abrams - co-founder and CEO of South Mountain Company, a 32 year old employee-owned design/build and renewable energy company, and the author ofCompanies We Keep: Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and Place
· Nina Simons - co-founder and co-president of Bioneers, former president of Seeds of Change, and former director of strategic marketing for Odwalla
· David Orr - a Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College, a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont. In 1996, he organized the effort to design the first substantially green building on a U.S. college campus, which was later named by the U.S. Department of Energy as "One of Thirty Milestone Buildings in the 20th Century"
· Thomas Rau, M.D. - medical director and part owner of the Paracelsus Klinik, Center for Biological Medicine and Dentistry in Lustmuhle, Switzerland, co-founder of the Paracelsus Biological Medicine Network in the USA, and the author of The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health
September 19 is the deadline for the early bird discounted registration of $150 for a three-day pass that includes breakfast, lunch, and snacks each day. One and two-day conference passes are also offered and a limited number of conference scholarships are available for seniors, students, and activists.
For a complete schedule of events and other information, visit www.connectingforchange.org <http://www.connectingforchange.org/> , call the Marion Institute at 508.748.0816, or e-mail [email protected].
About Bioneers
Bioneers is a
California-based nonprofit and a thought leader in the worldwide
sustainability and progressive movement. The organization has addressed
issues such as peak oil, climate change, systems thinking, and has
played an important role in the environmental and social justice arena
through their annual conference in San Marin, CA. In addition, Bioneers
has partnered with 18 communities across the country to produce
Bioneers Satellite Conferences. These events will feature satellite
presentations of the national plenary addresses from California. The
Fourth Annual Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change in New
Bedford, MA, is one of the eighteen sites in the national network and
is the largest Bioneers Satellite Conference in the country.
About the Marion Institute
Founded in 1992, the Marion Institute
is a member based nonprofit that acts to identify, promote and incubate
a diverse array of projects that serve to create deep and positive
change for the Earth and its inhabitants. One such program is the 4th Annual Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change
conference. We believe that when individuals are offered practical and
visionary solutions, they become inspired, realize their potential and
will act to restore a healthier balance.
CONTACT:
Jo Lee
Green Machine PR
401.338.5445
Pamela Ardizzone
Green Machine
PR
401.359.1944
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