The Climate Crisis: It’s real . . . it’s here . . . and it's up to US to stop it . . . !
February 16, 2013 (Saturday)
IIT Kent College of Law, Chicago
Chicago:
CLIMATE CRISIS
MOBILIZATION
The February 16, 2013, Climate Crisis Summit in Chicago will be a full-day working conference that will provide each participant with specific take-aways in three areas:
- How can I make sense of this? What responses are commensurate with the depth of this crisis? The science is clear; what IS blocking efforts to address the urgency?
- Which approaches to bringing about change make sense to me, and how concretely will I be involved in the days ahead? How can I get involved with key activist groups and make a real contribution?
- We need to build a movement -- how can I help get the word out and engage others?
. . . and please help us get the word out: share on Facebook!
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
(For full description, see full conference details below.)
8:30 am Registration
Morning Plenary
9:00 am Welcome
9:20 am Keynote Presentation: Climate Crisis Science and A View of the Climate Crisis
10:30 am Panel Discussion: The Roots of the Problem
Lunch (provided) - noon
Afternoon Sessions
1:00 pm Breakout sessions: Approaches for taking action!
2:45 pm How will we expand the community? Social Media and Upcoming Events
4:15 pm Wrap-up
Event concludes at 5 pm
FULL CONFERENCE DETAILS
Morning Plenary
How can I make sense of this? What responses are commensurate with the depth of this crisis? The science is clear; what IS blocking efforts to address the urgency?
Keynote Presentations:
"Climate Crisis Science" by Dr. Mark Potosnak - Dr. Mark Potosnak is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Studies at DePaul University. He will present the science of climate crisis at our opening plenary. The talk will begin with a brief overview of how fossil fuel combustion is driving up global temperatures through an enhanced greenhouse effect. Some of the extensive evidence for current climate change will be presented. The talk will then turn to some of the most likely future impacts of climate change, followed by a discussion of the worst-case scenarios we face in our future.
"Ground Zero for Climate Change: America’s First Climate Refugees" by Carl Wassilie - Indigenous peoples around the world who contributed the least to the climate crisis and who have the fewest resources to deal with it are being impacted the most. In Alaska 86% of Alaskan Native villages are threatened by flooding and erosion, and 31 Native villages are under imminent threat of relocation. Many of these remote, physically isolated coastal and riverine villages primarily depend upon subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering for food security and customary ways of life. Carl Wassilie, a Yup'iaq Eskimo, will share the complex multi-faceted impacts of permanent relocation of whole Alaska villages as a result of climate climate change (climigration). The challenges of climigration in Alaska are confounded by exploitative commercial fishing and mining industries which threaten the cultural survival and bioproductivity of whole global ecosystems in the region. To avoid further humanitarian catastrophes Wassilie argues that climigration must be addressed by institutional systems and legal structures for human rights protections to be in place. He will highlight the Yup’ik village of Newtok which is the first community to intentionally climigrate in the United States.
Panel Discussion:
"The Roots of the Problem" - A panel of speakers will examine underlying economic, political and philosophical roots of the climate crisis. The science is clear: what are the obstacles preventing action commensurate with the crisis? Speakers will address the capitalist economic and political system, the traditional Christian understanding of humanity's relation to the earth, and the inheritance of colonial domination and the settler mindset.
Afternoon Sessions
Which approaches to bringing about change make sense to me, and how concretely will I be involved in the days ahead? How can I get involved with key activist groups and make a real contribution? Moreover, we need to build a movement -- how can I help get the word out and engage others?
Breakout Sessions:
- Divestment (with 350.org) (READ FULL SESSION DESCRIPTION)
- Pressuring Our Government (with Stop the Frack Attack on Illinois and others) (READ FULL SESSION DESCRIPTION)
- Direct Action (with Rainforest Action Network and others)
- Legal Support (with Kent Law chapter of NLG) (READ FULL SESSION DESCRIPTION)
Expanding the community - Social Media and Upcoming Events:
- initiatives to build the movement on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, blogs, and more
- planning for a large scale event on Earth Day on April 22, 2013
PARTICIPATING GROUPS
Participating groups currently include:
- 350.org
- 8th Day Center for Justice
- AddATree
- Blacks in Green
- Chicago Buddhist Peace Fellowship
- Chicago Chapter, World Can't Wait
- Citizens Act to Protect Our Water (CAPOW!)
- Democracy Action Chicago
- Eco-Justice Collaborative
- IIT Kent College of Law Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
- Illinois Environmental Council
- Illinois Student Environmental Coalition
- Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)
- National Lawyers Guild, Chicago Chapter
- Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
- NW Indiana Veterans for Peace
- Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice
- Occupy Kent
- Peace Committee of St. Clement's Episcopal Church/St. Joseph's and St. Aidan's Episcopal Church
- Protect Chicago's Water
- Rainforest Action Network Chicago
- Rising Tide Chicago
- SEIU, Local 73
- St. Luke's of Logan Square, Social Justice Ministry
- Stop the Frack Attack on Illinois
- Wellington Ave. United Church of Christ (UCC)
- World Can't Wait
- www.ChicagoVeg.org
- www.eco-living.us
Please consider becoming an important part of this crucial summit. If you have any questions or wish to join, please contact Gail Ferraris at shugaze@gmail.com or 708-309-4626.
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