Program at a Glance

Friday, October 19
8:30–9:15 a.m.	Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:15–9:30 a.m.	Welcome and Introductions Jack Greene, Jim Goodwin, Lynne Goodhart
9:30–9:45 a.m.	Welcome and Introductions Nat Frazer, USU Sustainability Council Joseph Tainter, USU Dept. of Environment & Society Kevin Young on “Wiser Earth”
9:45–10:00 a.m.	Break
10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon	National Plenary Speakers - eccles auditorium
12:00 noon–1:00 p.m.	Lunch - room 205-207
1:00–3:00 p.m.	National Plenary Speakers
3:00–3:15 p.m.	Break
3:15 - 4:15 p.m.	Cheryl Charles Children and Nature Network Resources - auditorium Amy Defreese & Ann Peralta The Future of Water In Cache Valley - room 201
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.	Break
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.	Local Presentations
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.	Evening with Cheryl Charles - logan tabernacle (open to public, free of charge) Cindy Roberts—Welcome, State of the Valley Craig Peterson—Update on Cache Valley Regional Council Jack Green—Introduction of Cheryl Charles Cheryl Charles—The Ecology of Hope: Building a Movement to Reconnect Children and Nature
Saturday, October 20
8:15–9:00 a.m	Continental Breakfast and Registration West African Drummers
9:00–9:45 a.m.	Welcome and Introductions Jim Goodwin Laraine Swenson, Logan City Council Multicultural Performers Music: Wade and Cara
9:45–10:00 a.m.	Break
10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon	National Plenary Speakers - eccles auditorium
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.	Alternative Transportation Exhibit - west of eccles
12:00 noon–1:00 p.m.	Lunch - room 205-207
1:00–3:00 p.m.	National Plenary Speakers
3:00–3:15 p.m.	Break
3:15 - 4:15 p.m.	Local Presentations
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.	Break
4:30 – 5:30 p.m.	Local Presentations
Sunday, October 21
8:00–9:00 a.m.	Celebration of Earth at Sunrise southwest corner of old main hill - amphitheater Cindy Roberts, Jack Greene
9:00–9:45 a.m.	Continental Breakfast
9:45–10:00 a.m.	Welcome and Introductions Cindy Roberts
10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon	National Plenary Speakers - eccles auditorium
12:00 noon–1:00 p.m.	Lunch - room 205-207
1:00–3:00 p.m.	National Plenary Speakers
3:00–3:15 p.m.	Closing Remarks Jim Goodwin, Jack Greene

Utah Bioneers Full Program

Friday, Oct 19

10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon | National Plenaries from California
Designing the Next Golden Age: A Progress Report - JAY HARMAN
Award-winning inventor, entrepreneur and CEO of PAX Scientific offers examples of highly efficient technologies inspired by natural systems that can help us create prosperity without degrading the biosphere.

The Interactive Digital Mural: A Tool for Social Reconciliation from the Local to the Global - JUDY BACA
World-renowned Los Angeles muralist and community arts leader unleashes the power of public art to help transform societies.

1:00–3:00 p.m. | National Plenaries from California
Local Living Economies: Green, Fair and Fun - JUDY WICKS
Fabled entrepreneur and activist tells her story of moving beyond responsible business practices to working cooperatively with other entrepreneurs and citizens to build whole economies based on love of nature and community.

Thinking Like Cathedral Builders - JOHN ABRAMS
Business needs bold new stories. Author, designer/builder and community activist explains how equal doses of freedom, hope, outrageous behavior and long-term thinking can open the way to a durable and successful future.

Toward a Green Growth Alliance: Birthing a New Politics - VAN JONES
It is the chief moral obligation of our time to build a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Activist and founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights urges us to carry our spiritual, cultural and economic movements into the electoral arena to transform politics and forge a green “New Deal” coalition so that kids who are now prison fodder will help create a zero-pollution economy, harvest the sun and heal the land instead.

3:15–4:15 p.m. | Local Sessions
Children and Nature Network Resources - CHERYL CHARLES - auditorium
People want to do what is right and best for children. With that in mind, we at the Children & Nature Network have set out to compile a premier set of research studies to help us all understand what’s best for children’s healthy development. One major result—which we’ve known for a while, and which led us to form the Children & Nature Network—is that nature is good for children.

The Future of Water in Cache County and Along the Wasatch Front - ANN PERALTA & AMY DEFREESE - room 201
This workshop will present information on our water resources in Cache Valley, the legalities, best available science on quantity and quality for surface and subsurface water, how we can conserve it and protect our interests, what the future may hold in a changing political climate and global warming scenarios, and the bigger picture- where are Northern Utah and the Wasatch front headed?

4:30–5:30 p.m. | Local Sessions
Wintertime Air Particulate Exposure and Lung Function in Cache Valley Children: Results of the Greenville Elementary Asthma Study - DR. ED REDD - room 201
This presentation offers a brief overview of particulate air pollution in Cache Valley together with a brief review of known health effects of air particulates (PM2.5) An overview of the Greenville Asthma Study with its methods and results, will be featured, together with interpretation of the results, and recommendations for action based on those results.

Sustainable Energy Solutions for Utah and You - SARA BALDWIN - room 203
Are you concerned about air quality, global warming, and energy security? Do you want to know what you can do to make a difference? Utah Clean Energy will discuss the current energy situation in Utah and the nation and explore simple ways for individuals to be part of the solution through support of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean energy technologies.

Economy or Environment? Rural Conflict Over a Coal-fired Power Plant - JOHN C. ALLEN, Ph.D., SUSAN E. DAWSAN, Ph.D., GARY E. MADSEN, Ph.D., and CHIH-YAO CHANG - room 303
The presenters conducted a community study in a rural area facing a proposed coal-fired power plant. This session will focus on social network analysis and mapping as tools to better understand how communities respond to controversial environmental issues.

Cache County-Wide Trail and Parkway Master Plan - TIM WATKINS - room 305
Since 2005, Cache County has been working to integrate multiple community plans and concepts for trails, bike routes, parks, and open space preservation into a single county-wide master plan. Stakeholders and citizens can take local action by learning about opportunities and expressing support to elected officials, land owners, developers, utility companies, and public land agencies.

Healthy Children, Healthy Planet - MARIANNE CHRISTIAN - room 307
In a day and age when materialism and media have a large impact on our youth, parents and other adults need support in helping to steer young people into more meaningful activities that promote a love of nature and support of our earth. This session presents materials from the Great Basin Earth Institute course helping parents and teachers to guide children on a variety of topics, including cultural pressures, food and health, and exploring nature. The overall goal of the course is to “motivate individuals to examine and transform personal values and habits, to accept responsibility for the earth, and to act on that commitment.”

Saturday, Oct 20

10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon | National Plenaries from California
Green Chemistry: From Here to Sustainability - PAUL ANASTAS
The “father of green chemistry” explains that moving toward a sustainable civilization depends on major changes taking place in the nature of our products, processes and systems. Green chemistry seeks to transform many of the materials that are the basis of our society—from clothes to housing, communications, agriculture and energy—to ensure they are as benign as possible to the planet and all its inhabitants.

Green the Ghetto - MAJORA CARTER
A leading figure in the environmental justice movement and founder of the groundbreaking organization, Sustainable South Bronx, offers her vision of what we must do to green our inner cities so that we can reclaim our birthright—healthy communities with clean air and water, and access to open spaces.

10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. | Community Biodiesel Road Show
Alternative Transportation Exhibit - west of eccles center
The Central Utah Biodiesel Project “hits the road” with a trailer mounted demonstration biodiesel plant. This facility, a means of bring appropriate technology education to farm, school, and fair, will be exhibited in its technical and educational aspects. The project envisages many such units sponsored by other regions as the desirability of distributed, sustainable farm energy becomes more apparent.

1:00–3:00 p.m. | National Plenaries from California
An Indigenous Perspective on How to Survive the Next Hundred Years - EVON PETER
The chairman of Native Movement and former chief of the Neetsaii Gwich’in from Arctic Village in northeastern Alaska dives into traditional knowledge, spiritual understanding and common sense as tools for helping to heal and transform humanity.

V to the 10th - EVE ENSLER
Award-winning playwright and world-renowned women’s rights activist tracks the extraordinary global trajectory of the “V-Day” movement over the last decade and shares her visions for the next ten years—helping women all over the world obtain peace, power and pleasure.

Return of the Ghost Dancers: Modern War’s Devastation…and Healing - EDWARD TICK
The psychotherapist who has been working with survivors of war, violence and trauma for over 30 years, surveys the true extent and costs of modern technological warfare, its resulting spiritual and ecological crises, and the possibility of healing individuals, nations and the planet through spiritual, cultural and community transformations. zero-pollution economy, harvest the sun and heal the land instead.

3:15–4:15 | Local Sessions
Utah’s Ecological Footprint: Are We Living Sustainably in Utah? - SANDRA MCINTYRE - room 201
Are we succeeding in presenving our natural heritage in Utah? How do we measure whether we are living within our means? One indicator is the Ecological Footprint, an internationally standardized ecological accounting tool that measures the balance of human consumptive demand versus supply of biological capacity. The results are given in terms of land required and land available per person. Utah Vital Signs, a project of the Utah Population and Environment Coalition, has calculated the ecological footprint of Utah. In this presentation, we will show how big Utah’s footprint is, how it has grown since 1990, and how our sustainability compares with that of the U.S. and the Earth. We will then highlight some challenges and choices Utahns face for creating a sustainable future in our state.

Biofuels at Utah State - ANNE ANDERSON - room 203
Biofuels is a broad term encompassing many different types of products. Biofuel sources are equally diverse ranging from microbes to plant materials. Some technologies such as biogas production are established whereas others are awaiting development. The new Biofuels Initiative at Utah State University will be introduced as well as basic concepts of biofuel production.

No Child Left Inside - ERIC NEWELL & WENDY HELLSTERN - room 305
With the passing of “No Child Left Behind” legislation educators have been under increased pressure to raise student test scores. Two Cache Valley educators, Wendy Hellstern and Eric Newell, share their insights and experiences on the value of getting kids out of the classroom and under the sky to learn. Eric and Wendy will discuss resources they tap and creative ways they overcome obstacles to plan and carry out effective field instruction. Find out why they believe what kids today need is a little less seat time and a little more sunshine, and how they make it happen.

Cache Valley and Global Warming - ROBERT DAVIES - room 303
Earth is warming. Human-related greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause; consequences already emerging will likely prove severe by mid-century unless significant emissions reductions are realized in the next decade. This workshop examines emerging national and local strategies to address these realities. In particular, we’ll review efforts underway in Cache Valley initiated and supported by local government and industry alike.

Sustainable Growth Management and Tools: What’s New and Being Used in Utah - LAURA AULT & CHRISTOPHER SANDS - room 307
Interest in more sustainable growth options for Utah communities continues to increase as our population continues to grow. So what are the latest and greatest growth management tools being developed and used in Utah? This session will review and discuss a variety of growth management tools that have been implemented recently in several Utah communities including open-space planning, critical lands planning and spatial growth modeling.

4:30–5:30 | Local Sessions
Renaissance: Geothermal Energy for Northern Utah - DR. CARL AUSTIN - room 201
This presentation offers a look at the Renaissance resource of Utah, located between Brigham City and Honeyville, the history of its discovery, the amount of electricity this geothermal resource is expected to produce, and for how long, and its various potential by-products, such as chemicals, heat for processing and greenhousing, water for aquaculture, and chemicals. It will also offer a non-technical overview of what geothermal deposits are, where they occur, why they occur, and their power potential for the United States. Various kinds of temperatures, gasses, fluids and fluid chemistries that can be produced from geothermal deposits will be examined, together with today’s technologies for turning geothermal gasses and fluids into useful products, including space heat, generation of electricity and chemicals, plus fresh water.

Cache Valley’s Future: Expanding Mass Transit - TODD BEUTLER - room 203
This presentation will discuss some of the past successes of the Cache Valley Transit District and its impact on Cache Valley residents. It will also discuss current requests for service and plans to meet those requests. Finally the discussion will project possibilities for where mass transit in Cache Valley will be in 10 to 20 years. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions and provide input.

Aftermath: The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Raid on Swift Packing Company Employees in Hyrum, Utah - LEO BRAVO, PEGGY CHANSON, ANN MAES & DEAN QUAYLE - room 305
Where are the workers now? What was the impact on their families and their individual lives? Was the raid necessary and was it done appropriately? How did Cache Valley respond to this crisis? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by those who were directly involved with families and individuals whose lives were sent into turmoil by last December’s ICE raid on the Swift (Miller’s) Meat Packing Company.

Sunday, Oct 21

10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon | National Plenaries from California
A Brave New Ocean, or an Ocean Revolution? - WALLACE J. NICHOLS
Senior scientist at the Ocean Conservancy and ocean activist extraordinaire explains how space-based research and new deep sea technologies have resulted in an explosion of information about the ocean. To change our destructive course we must harness this knowledge, make it accessible to everyone and creatively communicate what the state of the oceans means to the future of life on our planet.

Culture and Re-building: Remembering New Orleans and Re-weaving its Social and Cultural Fabric - CAROL BEBELLE
The renowned community activist, poet and co-founder of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, dedicated to the saving and re-birth of New Orleans’ rich legacy, discusses the cultural, social and creative mandates for the re-building of New Orleans that will respect the city’s bonds of connection and community.

1:00–3:00 p.m. | National Plenaries from California
The Sea Around Us, The Environment in Us - CHARLOTTE BRODY
Executive director of Commonweal, and seasoned organizer for civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, peace and environmental health since 1964, explores how chemicals are creating disease and disorders, and how solutions are being innovated to regain health and democracy.

Seeds the Creator Gave Us - WINONA LADUKE
This renowned indigenous rights leader and two-time Green Party U.S. Vice Presidential candidate highlights the struggles of indigenous peoples to protect their food sovereignty, restore their food systems and protect their cultures and foods from genetic modification.

Earth Rights: Linking Human Rights and Environmental Struggles in the Age of Globalization - KA HSAW WA & KATIE REDFORD
The co-founders and directors of EarthRights International will discuss their work from the jungles of Burma and the Amazon to U.S. courtrooms to hold corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses committed in the name of development. They will focus on EarthRights’ landmark lawsuit Doe v. Unocal, and their work to raise the voices of indigenous people in international forums through their model training program, the EarthRights Schools.

Please use the following links for additional information:

• Utah Presenters
• National Presenters