Finger Lakes Bioneers Conference Oct. 16th-18th, Ithaca, NY We Make Our Future!
The creative potential of our species is undeniable. Both our action and our inaction determine our individual and collective future. Finger Lakes Bioneers believe in the creative potential of people to come together and solve today’s problems with the future in mind. We believe we have the capacity to design systems in which we can make choices based on care and respect instead of fear, greed, or short-term thinking. At the We Make Our Future conference October 16-18, we will explore several aspects of creating a sustainable economy and safeguarding the health and productivity of our natural systems. By linking nationally renowned speakers via satellite at Bioneer headquarters with local topics and experts on the ground, the We Make Our Future conference aims to inspire a potent global-local approach to our environmental and social dilemmas. For 20 years, Bioneers has been a leading-edge global forum for finding solutions to today's most challenging sustainability and social justice issues. As one of only 19 sites selected nationally, Ithaca is proud to host the inaugural Beaming Bioneers conference for New York State and provide this venue for the widening conversation about our shared future. Finger Lakes Bioneers is offering a venue to learn, share, and explore our options for building an economy that works for all of us. On Friday, we will explore the potential for biofuels to power our energy needs, and our ability to feed ourselves in a way that preserves our bountiful farmlands. We’ll look at the opportunities for creating new green enterprises out of the old manufacturing base of the past, and the viability of forming worker-owned businesses so that the profits from the new green economy are shared equitably. We’ll learn about the benefits of buying local, and explore our motivations for “doing the right thing” in the marketplace. We’ll also be celebrating the many green businesses and nonprofits already transforming our regional marketplace. Featured speakers on the Ithaca stage include Jonathan Todd of John Todd Ecological Design. Jonathan will be giving the Friday morning keynote address on the power of using sustainable design principles to revamp our old models for providing public services and critical infrastructure. The Todds have received numerous awards for their environmental innovation, including the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award to support their work in restoring Appalachian watersheds damaged by mountain-top removal coal mining. We are also very proud to feature Omar Freilla, founder of the Green Workers Cooperative in the Bronx, and its successful ReBuilders Source – a worker-owned cooperative salvaging building materials for adaptive reuse -- and Jim Anderson of the Ohio Employee-Ownership Center. Jim has led the creation of Evergreen Cooperative Laundry – a worker-owned enterprise offering green laundry services to universities and medical facilities that is giving low-income families a pathway out of poverty. We also have Dave Cooper of Mountain Justice here to share tips with regional leaders concerned about the impact of Marcellus Shale gas drilling. On Sunday morning, we will hear from Ithaca’s own civil rights heroine Dorothy Cotton. You won’t want to miss Ms. Cotton’s special address to the regional sustainability movement! We hope you will join us October 16-18 on the Ithaca College campus. Besides the presentations above, the conference will feature daily "Beaming Bioneers" satellite feeds from the main Bioneers conference in California along with more local and regional presentations on energy, food, the arts, health and wellbeing, youth empowerment, and earth stewardship. There is great joy to be found in working with others to create positive solutions to our own challenges while protecting the future of those who follow us. Visit www.WeMakeOurFuture.org to learn more about this inaugural event, and the many creative voices that will be joining us in this conversation about our shared future. Register today for Early Bird rate! This is the conversation you've been hungry for! Re: Finger Lakes Bioneers Conference held at Ithaca College Oct. 16th-18th. Contact: Matt Riis: [email protected] or 607-227-7475 -- ---------------------------------------------------- Gay Nicholson, Ph.D. President Sustainable Tompkins 109 S. Albany St. Ithaca, NY 14850 www.sustainabletompkins.org 607-533-7312 (home office) 607-220-8991 (cell) 607-216-1552 (ST office) 607-216-1553 (ST fax) [email protected] _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
