Visions of Sustainability
2009 Speaker Series Sept 21 - 25
If we are to live sustainably we need to know what it would look like.
Monday Sept. 21 at 7:30 pm Meier 204
Dr. Andy Johnson - Why Sustainability? Why Now?
The world is facing serious problems - can we continue our high-consumption way of life?Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 3:00 pm Meier 202
Rosalie Little Thunder - Lakota Sustainability & Cultural Mapping
How the Lakota culture promotes co-existence and harmony with the environment.Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 1 pm Jonas 206
Josh Krueger of Hills Horizon - Sustainability Efforts in Spearfish & Sustainable Building Practices
Local sustainability efforts in Spearfish and cob building for low energy dwellingsThursday Sept. 24 at 11 am Jonas 206
Jerry Wright of Rapid City MRF - Energy conservation through recyclingThursday Sept. 24 at 7:30 pm Meier 204
Dr. Karl Schmidt of SDSU - The Transition Movement - Meeting the Twin Problems of Climate Change and Peak Oil
The Transition Movement is working to shift our culture and communities to more sustainable models.Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 am Meier 127
Dr. Karl Schmidt of SDSU - Permaculture - Permanent Agriculture Fitting In With Nature
Permaculture (permanent agriculture) draws together landscape and people to provide food, energy, shelter, and other needs in sustainable ways.
Session Details:
Monday Sept. 21 at 7:30 pm Meier 204
Dr. Andy Johnson - Why Sustainability? Why Now?The world is facing serious problems - can we continue our high-consumption way of life?
Johnson will introduce the week's schedule, and offer an overview of the question of sustainability. We need to be concerned about sustainability at this point in history because the problems facing modern industrial civilization are unprecedented, and the "solutions" currently being debated will not support business as usual. Changes now visible on the horizon will strongly affect everyone's lives.
Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 3:00 pm Meier 202
Rosalie Little Thunder - Lakota Sustainability & Cultural MappingRosalie Little Thunder will speak on ways that the Lakota live sustainably, and on Cultural Mapping - how Lakota people define themselves, thereby their culture in their own mother tongue. It provides an insight into the disciplines that were necessary to survive and to co-exist with the environment and with each other in harmony. Cultural Mapping gives definition to the highly evolved spirituality that helps the mortal being to negotiate its existence in the well-ordered cosmos.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 1 pm Jonas 206
Josh Krueger of Hills Horizon - Sustainability Efforts in Spearfish & Sustainable Building PracticesJosh Krueger of Hills Hills Horizon will talk about local efforts to improve the sustainability of Spearfish and local communities. Krueger will address local recycling efforts, the purpose of the Market in the Park, the push for a community garden, and Cob building for dwellings that require much less energy and are very durable.
Thursday Sept. 24 at 11 am Jonas 206
Jerry Wright of Rapid City MRF - Energy conservation through recyclingJerry Wright of the Rapid City Recycling Program will talk about the connections between recycling and energy conservation. Recycling materials saves vast amounts of energy. For example, in the recycling of newsprint and cardboard there is approximately a 50% savings in the steam/heat processing requirements. In aluminum, there is a 90% savings in energy. Recycling plastics can reduce our needs for petroleum. We need to consider the total costs and benefits for all manufacturing. Energy conservation has not been on the national billboard for recycling, as it should be.
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Dr. Karl Schmidt of SDSU will talk about the Transition Movement, a grassroots movement that has the goal of shifting our current unsustainable culture to one that is sustainable (and more rewarding) through relocalizing, developing vibrant local economies, and reducing energy use so that it's possible to rely on renewable energy and renewable material resources. Schmidt has led sustainability-related study abroad trips to Poland and Brazil, and has taught environmental history at SDSU. He also runs a South Dakota non-profit called Glacial Lakes Permaculture, based in Estelline.
Friday, Sept. 25 at 10 am Meier 127
Dr. Karl Schmidt of SDSU - Permaculture - Permanent Agriculture Fitting In With NatureDr. Karl Schmidt of SDSU will introduce Permaculture. Originating in Australia, Permaculture (permanent agriculture) draws together landscape and people, providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Permaculture draws information from many fields, including agriculture, horticulture, soil science, animal systems, geography, forestry, sociology, construction, and engineering. Its goal is to integrate this information into sustainable planning and design. Permaculture is more than just sustainable farming - it is a new way of living that seeks to work with the natural world. Schmidt teaches about the history of the global environment at SDSU. He has trained in Permaculture in both Australia and Brazil and has done outreach work in Poland. He also runs a South Dakota non-profit called Glacial Lakes Permaculture, based in Estelline.
 | Sponsored by People for the Ethical Treatment of the Environment (P.E.T.E.) |  |