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PERU, Vt. – The worsening effects of climate change are now a near-daily feature of our news. Forest fires spreading to the city continue to ravage Los Angeles and its surroundings. Hurricanes are more severe than ever. Snowstorms are penetrating more deeply into theSouth. And here in Vermont, the years that separate severe floods are getting closer together. In response to this crisis, the Londonderry Conservation Commission is hosting well-known Vermont environmentalist Bill McKibben, with a presentation entitled “Back to the Wall, Face to the Sun.” He will speak on climate change and how we can all play a part in minimizing the damage of a warming planet. All are invited to this free program, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m., at the Burr & Burton Mountain Campus.
McKibben is an award-winning environmentalist, educator, journalist, and author of 20 books. Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has called him a “moral visionary and activist.” He has written extensively on the impact of global warming and the role of government policy. His recent children’s book “We Are Better Together” is “a hopeful, inspiring picture book celebrating the power of human cooperation and the beauty of life on Earth, beautifully illustrated by artist Stevie Lewis,” according to Goodreads.
He lives in the mountains above Lake Champlain with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, where he spends as much time as possible outdoors. In 2014, biologists credited his career by naming a new species of woodland gnat, Megophthalmidia mckibbeni, in his honor.
According to his website, “His 1989 book ‘The End of Nature’ is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages. He serves as the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has won the Gandhi Peace Prize, as well as honorary degrees from 20 colleges and universities. He was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the alternative Nobel, in the Swedish Parliament. Foreign Policy named him to its inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers.”
Please join us on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m., at the Burr & Burton Mountain Campus, located at 3067 Hapgood Pond Road, Peru, Vt. This program is sponsored by the Londonderry Conservation Commission, and is a free event.