[Peakoil-announce] ANU Public lecture (11 September 2008): Towards the Storm: Australia in an Age of Peril & Opportunity

[Ben Davies]

Towards the Storm: Australia in an Age of Peril & Opportunity
http://billboard.anu.edu.au/event_view.asp?id=33346

In this lecture Professor Gleeson will consider the principal social and ecological threats facing Australia, especially climate change and declining solidarity, and outline some ways in which these will need to be confronted and addressed.

The underlying theme is that we need, as a nation, to shift our collective ambition away from endless, mindless growth towards a new dispensation favouring modesty, solidarity, and sustainability. To deal with the threats already breaking upon us we will need to adopt a singular focus on achieving resilience. The storm is already upon us and we must make for safe harbour, for resilient ground, as quickly as possible. Once there we should take steps to cement our new dispensation with Nature.

Professor Brendan Gleeson has authored and edited nine books, some jointly, on a range of social scientific and environmental themes including disability, environmental theory and policy, urbanisation and urban policy, and the well being of children. His books have received international and national awards including the inaugural John Iremonger Award for Public Writing in 2004. He is presently working on a new book, Towards the Storm: Australia in an age of threat and opportunity.


This lecture is free and open to the public.
Presented by the Fenner School of Environment and Society.
Speaker/Host: 	Fenner School of Environment and Society
Venue: 	The Manning Clark Centre, Theatre 2, Building 26A
Date: 	Thursday, 11 September 2008
Time: 	6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Enquiries: 	ANU Events on 6125 4144