May 30-June 2, 2011
PUBLIC EVENTS
A limited number of Aspen Environment Forum and day passes are
still available at www.aspenenvironment.org.
COPING WITH CALAMITY: THE ART OF LOOKING AHEAD
Featuring Thomas Lovejoy, Bill McKibben, Stewart Brand, and Terry Garcia in conversation with Joel Achenbach
Monday, May 30
5:30PM
Paepcke Auditorium $20
Headlines from the past two years tell an unsettling story: we live in
an increasingly disaster-prone world. Some of these disasters were
natural; some caused by humans, and some perhaps a mix of the
two. But all were dramatically amplified in their impact by the fact
that we have, in the past half-century, put so many more people and
failure-prone technology in harm’s way. Is it possible to build more
resilience into our crowded and complex world? To what extent is
preparedness merely a matter of investing resources and to what
extent does it require changing mindsets—of learning to expect
rather than be surprised by inevitable calamity?
CROWDSOURCED VERITÉ
WALKING THE TALK
Screening of Life in a Day
John Francis,
National Geographic Fellow
in conversation with Boyd Matson,
National Geographic Journalist
Followed by a conversation
between filmmaker
Kevin Macdonald
and Elvis Mitchell
Kevin Macdonald, Filmaker
Tuesday, May 31
8:00PM
Wheeler Opera House $20
Every day, nearly 7 billion people view the world through their
own unique lens. Imagine if there was a way to collect all of these
perspectives, to aggregate and mold them into the cohesive
story of a single day on earth. Last summer, YouTube put out a
global call for submissions of home movies depicting life on July
24, 2010. The resulting film, Life in a Day, was edited into a
compelling feature film, produced by Ridley Scott and directed by
Kevin Macdonald.
Life in a Day was compiled from 80,000 movie submissions,
which comprised 4,500 hours of footage from 192 countries.
Elvis Mitchell is a film critic and host of “The Treatment”
on KCRW.
Wednesday, June 1
8:00PM
Wheeler Opera House $20
John Francis, National Geographic Fellow
Pioneering environmental activist and National Geographic
Fellow John “Planetwalker” Francis took a vow of silence that lasted
17 years during which he walked across America with a message
of environmental stewardship that inspired thousands. His new
National Geographic book The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace
in a Noisy World offers lessons on the need for reflection in one’s life.
In 2008, National Geographic published Francis’s stirring memoir
Planetwalker: 22 Years of Walking; 17 Years of Silence. In 2010,
Francis became the first National Geographic Education Fellow.
As a leading on-air journalist for National Geographic, Boyd
Matson currently hosts a weekly radio show called NG Weekend.
Matson also writes a monthly column for National Geographic
Traveler magazine, called “Boyd Matson Unbound.”
ANCESTOR KNOWLEDGE
Spencer Wells, Ph.D.
Genographic Project Director, National Geographic Society
Thursday, June 2
8:00PM
Wheeler Opera House $20
Spencer Wells, Ph.D.
Scientist, author, and documentary filmmaker
Spencer Wells set an extraordinary goal for his
global team—capture an invaluable genetic snapshot of humanity before modern-day influences
erase it forever.
The fossil record suggests that our species
evolved in Africa, but when? Now, the new
tools of molecular genetics are being used to
unearth clues that reveal how we populated
the world. This research has culminated in
the Genographic Project, the largest study of
genetic anthropology ever undertaken. Project
Director and National Geographic Explorer in
Residence, Dr. Wells takes us on a tour that spans
the globe and 60,000 years, tracing the migrations
of our ancient ancestors using genetic signposts
carried in the DNA of people living today.
Tickets for these individual sessions of the Aspen Environment Forum are on sale now.
For tickets, visit www.aspenshowtix.com or call (970) 920-5770.