Connecticut College will bring together scholars, activists and concerned citizens to explore issues of global environmental injustice at “The Quest for Global Environmental Equity in an Increasingly Inequitable World” conference April 18-20.
Speakers and panelists, including conservationists, human rights lawyers, philosophers, geographers and political scientists, will bring diverse interdisciplinary perspectives to address issues such as the impact of globalization on India, the effects of mining on indigenous and urban marginal populations in Peru and the challenges of supporting livelihoods and economic development while simultaneously preserving biodiversity in South Africa.
“In so many ways, we are connected globally and, in turn, connected to global environmental inequity. From the products we use (e.g. consumer electronics) to the wastes we ship and dispose of overseas, the connection is nearly direct,” said Amy Cabaniss, assistant director of Connecticut College’s Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment, which sponsors the conference. “This conference is for anyone who is interested in environmental issues, human rights and other social impacts.”
In addition to a full schedule of talks and discussions, two keynote lectures are free and open to the public:
• “From Our Homelands to the Tar Sands” – Activist Melina Laboucan-Massimo will discuss indigenous resistance to the tar sands projects and the proposed expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline Thursday, April 18, at 4:30 p.m. in the Ernst Common Room of Blaustein Humanities Center.
• ”The High Tech Trashing of the Global South” – Jim Puckett, director of the Basel Action Network, the world’s only organization focused on confronting the global environmental injustice and economic inefficiency of toxic trade, will discuss the global expansion of e-waste injustices and what the international community is doing to address this serious issue on Friday, April 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ernst Common Room of Blaustein Humanities Center.
For more information about the conference and for a full schedule of events, visit: http://www.conncoll.edu/academic-centers/the-goodwin-niering-center-for-the-environment/conferences/the-quest-for-global-environmental-equity/. Registration for the full conference is $65, registration for one day is $35. To register, visit https://www.conncoll.edu/camelwebssl/index.cfm?fuseaction=zform&circuit=406.
This conference is part of Connecticut College’s semester-long “Striving for Global Justice” project, a shared intellectual endeavor motivated by the compelling issues of global justice, including gender, environmental, socioeconomic, digital and ethno-racial issues.
“The Quest for Global Environmental Equity in an Increasingly Inequitable World” is sponsored by Connecticut College’s Goodwin-Niering Center for the environment with support from the Elizabeth Babbott Conant & Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation.