UNCG’s Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability will host the 2019-2020 Harriet Elliott Lecture Series with the theme of “Just Futures: Equity and Sustainability.”
The first four events in the series will take place in November:
Wednesday, November 6, 6:30-8 pm, Sullivan 200: “From PCBs to Coal Ash: Environmental Justice in North Carolina,” panel discussion
Monday, November 11, 6-8 p.m., Bryan 111: “Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice,” panel discussion
Wednesday, November 13, 1:30-3 p.m., Faculty Center: “Rachel Carson and Environmental Justice in North Carolina,” Dr. Robert Musil
Saturday, November 23, 5-7 p.m., Music 217: “Saving the Songwood: Global Consumption, Sustainability, and Value,” Alex Smith and Tijan Dorwan.
The series’ goal is to create a sustained discussion, says Dr. Sarah Praskievicz, co-chair of the Harriet Elliot Lecture Series Committee and assistant professor. “By participating in our events, attendees can contribute their ideas and perspectives about this topic, learn from the experiences and expertise of others, and help develop principles for building a more just future.”
She added, “We recognize sustainability as the enduring interconnectedness of social equity, the environment, economy, and aesthetics. We wanted to highlight the social equity aspects of sustainability this year. As our first event in the series, ‘From PCBs to Coal Ash: Environmental Justice in North Carolina,’ will discuss, North Carolina is widely recognized by scholars as the birthplace of the modern environmental justice movement, when civil rights and community activists began organizing in 1982 to oppose the construction of a PCB landfill in Warren County.”
She notes many pressing issues regionally and globally, from exposure to air and water pollution in North Carolina communities, to calls for a just transition away from a carbon-based economy, to the global movement for climate justice. “Through our year-long series of events, we will engage many of these issues from diverse perspectives.”
The series will continue in the spring for more events on this topic.
Learn more at GES.UNCG.EDU/HELS/
Contact Lois Carney (lscarney@uncg.edu or 336-334-5388) for disability accommodations.
