19 Oct 19-21, 2012 National Bioneers Conference
San Rafael, CA Marin Center
2012 Registration Closed - Save the date for 2013! 18-20 Oct.

Greening our Faiths: From Belief into Action for the Environment and Environmental Justice

August 7, 2012 by

by Fletcher Harper  

Introduction by Hugo Steensma 

This courageous Episcopal priest — Executive Director of the groundbreaking interfaith environmental coalition GreenFaith and award-winning spiritual writer and renowned preacher on the environment — will illustrate ways in which growing numbers of diverse faith-based groups are offering environmental leadership on issues ranging from renewable energy to environmental justice and reconnecting with the Earth. He’ll describe GreenFaith’s Certification Program for faith-based sites — a transformative 2-year process through which houses of worship become centers of environmental spirituality, stewardship and justice. 

Restoration Nation Theater | 9:40am, Sat

The Climate Fight Gets Hotter

August 7, 2012 by

by Bill McKibben  

The award-winning environmental journalist, author, Co-Founder of 350.org, and leading global climate activist will survey the landscape of climate action, including the remarkable holding action by 350.org and others to suspend approval of the Keystone XL pipeline carrying Canadian “tar sands” oil, the “biggest carbon bomb” on the planet. Bill McKibben wrote The End of Nature in 1989, the first book for a general audience on climate change. He’s the author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with The End of Nature in 1989. The grassroots group 350.org has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. Time magazine called him ‘the planet’s best green journalist’ and the Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was “probably the country’s most important environmentalist.” As Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, he holds honorary degrees from a dozen colleges. In 2011 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Restoration Nation Theater | 9:05am, Sat

Harmonizing People and Nature: A New Business Model

August 7, 2012 by

with Gretchen Daily 

Introduction by Kenny Ausubel 

Leaders around the world are increasingly recognizing ecosystems as natural capital assets that supply life-support services of tremendous value. The challenge is to turn this recognition into incentives and institutions that will guide wise investments in natural capital, on a large scale. Gretchen Daily will illuminate advances being made on three key fronts: the development of new science and technical tools for valuing Nature, such as InVEST, a software system developed by the Natural Capital Project; new policies and finance mechanisms being implemented worldwide, including in China, South America and the U.S.; and the engaging of leaders in forging a deep and lasting transformation. Gretchen Daily is a Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at Stanford. She co-directs The Natural Capital Project, a partnership among Stanford, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and the University of Minnesota.

Restoration Nation Theater | 11:50am, Sat

The Public Square Is Empty (Aside from the Occasional Hanging)

August 7, 2012 by

by Carol Jenkins 

Introduction by Nina Simons 

As perhaps never before in our history, Americans are at war — with one another. Divided by race, class, gender, faith and rigid politics, our media has failed us. Instead of the Public Square of information, we increasingly retreat to our own de facto segregated sources of opinion. In this crucial election year of 2012, can we revive the Public Square, and, if not, what happens? Carol Jenkins is an Emmy award-winning former journalist and producer, and founding President of the Women’s Media Center, the groundbreaking nonprofit aimed at increasing coverage and participation of women in the media. In that WMC role, she conceived the acclaimed Progressive Women’s Voices media leadership program, and acquired and expanded SheSource as the largest portfolio of women experts in the country. She will explore how to regenerate the public information commons in this polarized age.

Restoration Nation Theater | 11:20am, Fri

emPOWERed

August 7, 2012 by

by Michael Brune 

Introduction by James Gollin, Rainforest Action Network President 

Hungry for good news? Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune will tell the story of how an inspiring grassroots coalition has achieved hundreds of victories against Big Coal over the last several years. He will depict a new, localized approach to fighting climate change effectively and outline what each of us can do to help clean energy such as solar and wind become the dominant source of power by the end of this decade. The Beyond Coal campaign, including recent funding of $50 million from Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, has helped block 166 (and counting) new coal plants over the past decade, with major impacts on reducing global greenhouse gas and mercury emissions. The Mother Jones magazine headline says it all: “How a Grassroots Rebellion Won the Nation’s Biggest Climate Victory.” In 1999, while working at Rainforest Action Network, Michael Brune ran a successful campaign that pressured Home Depot stores to stop purchasing and selling wood from old-growth forests. Time magazine listed this as its top environmental story of that year. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and Daily Kos. In 2008 he published the book Coming Clean — Breaking America’s Addiction to Oil and Coal.

Restoration Nation Theatre | 12:10pm, Fri 

The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria: Making Home Once Again

August 7, 2012 by

by Greg Sarris, Ph.D. 

Introduction by Melissa Nelson, Professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State

The Tribal Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and professor of Native American Studies at Sonoma State University will describe how his people (descendants of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo) are using their understanding that they have always been a part of the natural world to embark on a major commitment to position themselves as “keepers of the land” once again. Using ancient ethics and aesthetics of place, bolstered by casino revenues, the 1,300 member tribe has partnered with county and state officials to secure and restore large tracts of open space, as well as to convert local farms to the production of organic produce for the low-income and needy, thus creating a model of local restoration and sustainability.

Restoration Nation Theater | 9:55am, Fri

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