10/20-Athenaeum at 1pm - How the Connected Community Paves the Road to Sustainability? An Earth Way Perspective by James Reidy

Join us on Wednesday October 20th at 1pm for a presentation by James Reidy titled "How the Connected Community Paves the Road to Sustainability? An Earth Way Perspective."

James Reidy is an Associate Professor of Recreation, Tourism and Therapeutic Recreation (RTTR). He will speak about: the best path to sustainability is through our understanding and practice of a connected community. If, as a community, we examine the historical and economic conflict between the people of the First Nation and the European nation, we will be better equipped to pave a solid path to enhanced sustainability and secure a future for our children. During this presentation Professor Reidy will weave the audience through a tapestry of teachings, quotes, and songs from several tribes, which could be incorporated into a daily discipline in order to sustain the biotic and abiotic community.

The Athenaeum is located on the second floor of the WSU Krueger Library, bluff side.

4/15 Last Athenaeum at 1pm - Elements and Natural Processes: Designing a Sustainable Path for Large, Complex Systems by Marilyn Klinkner

Join us Wednesday April 15, 2009 at 1:00pm for a presentation by Marilyn Klinkner titled "Elements and Natural Processes: Designing a Sustainable Path for Large, Complex Systems."

"Fixing problems” at the level of detail in complex systems, is an almost certain way of solving one problem by inventing another.” - Karl Henri Robert

Reductionism and Compartmentalization demolish on-going essential processes in art, poetry and nature. This talk will present a powerpoint on sustainable development, where analysis and competence are more essential than values, because the development is success and action-based, back-casted from a vision of the future.

The more rigorously “sustainability” is defined, the easier it is for levels of planning to be built upon. All involved need a shared mental picture of what we want to correct, no matter what their discipline.

“Nobody can look into the future”, Einstein said, “but we can invent it. “ The goal of the talk is to present a model of arriving at a holistic campus initiative dynamically oriented toward planned economical and sustainable action. The audience will see a developed and tested intellectual and institutional structure for inventing and integrating processes to achieve goals in communities.

10/31 Athenaeum at 1pm - Nature and Sustainable: From the Bluffs to the River -Borsari/Ripley

Nature and Sustainable: From the Bluffs to the River
Bruno Borsari – Professor, Biology
Wayne (Chuck) Ripley - Professor, English

This presentation describes the experience of the river course “Nature and sustainability” that was offered last May and taught by Bruno Borsari (Biology) and Wayne Ripley (English). Emphasis is given to the four day trip on the WSU River Explorer. Students have been invited to join the instructors to share their reflections and thoughts about this challenging learning experience.