How do society, economics and the environment all play a role in global environmental sustainability? Colorado State University faculty will explore the interdisciplinary issues with experts from the public and private sectors during the fifth campus-wide International Colloquium, Oct. 6-8, at the Lory Student Center.
This year’s topic is Visions of Future Earth: Linking Society, Economics, and the Environment. Over the course of the three-day event, 11 panel sessions will provide students, faculty, staff and the public with opportunities to learn about the concept of Future Earth and our shared role in global environmental sustainability. All panel sessions are free and open to the public.
Last year’s International Colloquium on Global One Health attracted more than 1,000 participants. The Office of International Programs, the School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES), the Vice President for Research and the Confucius Institute at CSU are organizing this year’s event.
Traditional strengths of CSU
The 2014 International Colloquium will feature a wide range of panel sessions reflecting traditional strengths of CSU – climate change, water, biodiversity, climate-smart agriculture and international education – as well as important business and societal perspectives.
Headlining the event is Monday afternoon’s plenary session, “Our Earth’s Future: The Arctic from a Global Perspective,” 4:30-6 p.m. in the LSC North Ballroom. Diana Wall, CSU professor of biology and director of SoGES, will moderate the session, which features well-known global climate scientist Robert Corell as keynote speaker.
“Creating a New Vision for Healthy, Thriving Communities,” a session organized and moderated by Brian Dunbar, director of CSU’s Institute for the Built Environment, will take place on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. in LSC Room 382. This interactive workshop will give attendees an introduction to the current impacts of the built environment, including innovative examples of healthy communities in Colorado and around the planet, and provide them with the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for a “vision” of Future Earth.
Tuesday’s workshop “How Many Is Too Many? Overpopulation and Ecological Sustainability in the Anthropocene Epoch,” explores population policies that help create sustainable societies around the world. The panel will take place at 4:30 p.m. in LSC Rooms 304-306, and is organized and moderated by CSU philosophy professor Philip Cafaro.
On Monday at 2:30 p.m. in the Cherokee Park Ballroom, the College of Business will host “The Business of Feeding the World,” a session focused on the role that agriculture and the private sector play in sustainability. Moderated by CSU entrepreneurship and sustainable enterprise professor Tom Dean, the session will feature expert panelists from CSU, as well as entrepreneur Libby Cook, co-founder of Wild Oats Markets and Sunflower Markets.
“The International Colloquium is a great opportunity for non-experts to develop interdisciplinary perspectives,” said Jim Cooney, vice provost for International Affairs at CSU. “We welcome the entire Fort Collins community to join us.”
