The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality

Richard Heinberg
Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute

Richard Heinberg is a Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, a non-profit organization that provides tools and resources for sustainability. He is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost Peak Oil educators. During his talk at CSU, Chico, Heinberg lays out the prospects for our economy. He explores three growth-limiting factors: debt, energy, and the environment. He provides context to understand why the economy is doing what it’s doing and where it’s headed.  Heinberg also offers suggestions about what can be done to adapt to that reality. Starting with The Party's Over: Oil, War & the Fate of Industrial Societies (2003), Heinberg has written 10 books.  His most recent book is The End of Growth: Adapting to our New Economic Reality. He has written numerous articles and appeared in many film and television documentaries.

Presentation time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

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This Way to Sustainability Conference 2012: Keynote Address

Dr. Wallace "J." Nichols
Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences

Dr. Nichols founded and co-directs Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates. He is committed to building a strong, more progressive and connected environmental community. He has published articles in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, and many other periodicals. This talk was the keynote address for CSU, Chico’s seventh annual This Way to Sustainability conference.  Among other topics, in this presentation he discusses “the connection between the planet and neuroscience,” a new field called “neuro-conservation.” He illustrates his talk with slides from his work as an oceanographer.

Presentation time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

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Cool Cuisine: Feed Your Body, Mind, and Planet

Laura Stec
Author and Corporate Chef for Pescadero Foods, Inc.

Foods best for the health of our people are also best for the health of our planet. True or false? Why does it matter? And why should food-lovers especially take notice? Based on the book, "Cool Cuisine - Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming," and a partnership between Harvard University and the Culinary Institute of America, this talk looks at how the four most common dietary habits which negatively affect human health (being overweight and eating too much sodium, simple carbohydrates, and red meat) are also ruining the health of our environment.  It addresses how agricultural practices can enhance or destroy the taste and nutrient-quality of food, and what inspires eaters (especially youth) to make changes. Understanding motivations and learning new tips will help us cook delicious, full-flavored foods more easily and more often. A discussion of the "energetics of food," plus a mini cooking demo, complete the presentation. This talk was part of the seventh annual This Way to Sustainability conference at the CSU, Chico campus.

Presentation time: 1 hour, 8 minutes

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The Causes of Recent Climate Change: Separating Fact From Fiction

Dr. Ben Santer
Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Dr. Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has spent over 20 years studying climate change. He has concluded that "the totality of evidence" shows that humans have affected climate change. He believes that natural causes alone cannot explain the observed changes. The bulk of Dr. Santer's presentation is an explantion of the scientific underpinning of his conclusions. Among the topics he discusses are natural vs. human influences on climate, cause and effect relationships in the climate system, and debunking myths about climate change. This lecture is part of the Rawlins Environmental Literacy Lectures Series.

Presentation time: 1 hour

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Transcript with PowerPoints

Origins and Environmental Impacts of Supervolcanoes

Dr. Clive R. Neal
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering & Geological Sciences, University of Notre Dame

Supervolcanoes can grow to the size of Greenland. They can form on land or on the sea floor. When they erupt, their environmental impact affects all living things on the planet! Learn about supervolcano eruptions of the Ontong Java Plateau, northeast of Australia, with Dr. Clive R. Neal, a professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame. “Origins and Environmental Impacts of Supervolcanoes” examines how large volcanic plumes form in the earth and the environmental impacts of these massive eruptions. The lecture is part of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer Series and is co-sponsored by the CSU, Chico Institute for Sustainable Development and the Rawlins Endowed Professorship for Environmental Literacy.

Presentation time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

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