Elon University’s Center for Environmental Studies will examine issues critical to sustainable communities and development during a seminar titled “Roadmap to the Future: Tomorrow by Design,” which will be held from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 8 in McKinnon Hall, located in Moseley Center on the Elon campus. The conference is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for lunch for non-Elon participants.
The seminar will offer a variety of speakers, presentations and exhibits about sustainable development, transportation and environmental planning. Government experts, scholars and representatives from various organizations will explore ways to support local agriculture in a sustainable community, alternative fuels, biotechnology and many other topics. For detailed information and a workshop schedule, visit http://www.elon.edu/academics/environ/roadmap/roadmap.html.
Featured speakers include David Orr, professor and chair of the environmental studies program at Oberlin College; and Stuart Hart, the Samuel C. Johnson Professor of Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and former director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Afternoon breakout sessions will include a discussion on sustainable agriculture, moderated by Rett Davis, Alamance County Agricultural Extension agent. Panelists will include Tony Kleese, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and Linda Niedziela, assistant professor of biology at Elon.
Another breakout session will focus on community and business design with sustainable practices as a guiding principle. Moderated by Paul Kron, regional planner with the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, the panel will include Anne Tazewell of Triangle Clean Cities; Rodney Swink, director of the N.C. Office of Urban Development; and Nate Bowman of Bowman Development Corporation.
An automotive show, featuring vehicles that use alternative fuels such as biodiesel and hybrids, will be sponsored by Elon Campus Safety and Police. Vehicles will be on display in the Moseley Center parking lot and available for test drives.
Established in 2000, the Center for Environmental Studies promotes environmental education, responsibility, stewardship and leadership while providing opportunities for students and faculty to work with individuals and organizations outside the university. The center is involved in the creation of a database of organizations that monitor the water quality in the Cape Fear River basin, streamlining efforts to maintain the watershed’s health.
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