Re: Bill McKibben in India - Invitation to a talk on energy and Climate change
chaitanya kumar
From: chaitanya kumar <chaitany...@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 1:50 PM
Subject: Re: DirtE Talks - Conversations on India's Dirty Energy
To: Chaitanya Kumar <chai...@350.org>
Dear Friends
<Please excuse cross posting across different platforms>
Hope everybody had a good Diwali break.
I am writing with an invitation to join us in some DirtE talking. Yes, our obsession with dirty fossil energy is not showing any major of signs of relenting and that is as much to do with lack of public opinion as with bad Govt. policies. We are kick starting a new project called DirtE talks with an aim to spark a conversation in the country on our energy and its future.
The DirtE Talks series is a long term initiative to break the myth that fossil fuel based development is the only way for India to prosper. We are kicking this project off with a 3 talk series in New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderbad with Bill McKibben as one of our guest speaker from November 7th-11th. We know that a talk series alone is not enough to bring the change all of us desire to see and we need a strong movement on ground to support the demand for sustainable energy. DirtE Talks therefore is a small effort to kickstart a mainstream discussion, largely amongst the youth, that will challenge the status quo of how India perceives and acts on its energy needs.
These seminars will not only introduce important concepts like energy equity, unsustainable growth parameters, economic impacts of dependence on fossil fuel, but will also provide a platform for audiences to learn and interact with communities resisting dirty energy projects. Stories from frontline communities will leave a long lasting impact on people, urging them to think about injustice and inequalities arising out of our current systems of generating energy.
Please visit www.dirtetalks.in and sign up for the talks (each venue has limited seating capacity so we urge you to sign up on the website soon)
We hope to see you for any of the three talks and join the larger conversation on India's dirty energy. Please share this information widely in your networks.
The schedule for the talk series is below:
Hyderabad - November 7th, Friday, NTR Auditorium, Telugu University
New Delhi - November 8th, Saturday, Chinmaya Mission, Near IHC, Lodi Road
Mumbai - November 11th, Tuesday, St. Xaviers College
Time: 5 - 8 PM on all three days.
Please visit www.dirtetalks.in for information on other speakers, schedule, blogs etc.
Background:
Over 2500 people marched with us in on the 20th of September, calling on our new Government to act with a great sense of urgency on climate change. The day also witnessed diverse communities coming together like never before on climate issues. With new people joining the climate movement there is now a need to rapidly build public opinion on climate change whilst challenging the social and political factors that are impeding action. To build upon the energy and enthusiasm from the Peoples Climate March we are planning a series of public seminars across India.
About the key speaker Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben is an author and environmentalist. His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He is a founder of 350.org, an organisation named after the safe level of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, 350 parts per million.
The Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he was the 2013 winner of the Gandhi Prize, the Right Livelihood award or the Alternative Nobel, and the Thomas Merton Prize, and holds honorary degrees from 18 colleges and universities. Foreign Policy named him to their inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers, and the Boston Globe said he was “probably America’s most important environmentalist.” A former staff writer for the New Yorker, he writes frequently for a wide variety of publications around the world, including the New York Review of Books, National Geographic, and Rolling Stone. He lives in the mountains above Lake Champlain with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern.
For more information, please visit: www.billmckibben.com