Keynote Speaker - Bill McKibben

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Bill McKibben speak at a Christian Educators Conference in Albuquerque. For a little background on Bill, check one of my previous posts. I have read several of Bill's books and was very interested to hear him speak in person.

His talk began with an overview on climate change and he used a number of biblical references for why we should care for creation. He spoke about his involvement in the national day of action, Step it up 2007 and his latest involvement with 350.org which will bring worldwide attention to the need for reducing carbon dioxide to 350 ppm.

I now have an autographed copy of his book, The Comforting Whirlwind - God, Job and the Scale of Creation.

Lester Brown

The Washington Post has called Lester Brown "one of the world's most influential thinkers." He has been an influential member of the environmental movement and has authored or coauthored 50 books.

In 1974, after an early career in agriculture, he founded the Worldwatch Institute, the first research institute devoted to the analysis of global environmental issues.

In 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy.


Lester Brown's latest book, Plan B 2.0, Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, outlines a plan, a budget and a timetable for rescuing our twenty-first century civilization.

Chapters of the book are available in pdf and html format on the Earth Policy Institute website (link)





Video of Lester Brown speaking at the UC Berkeley Institute for the Environment.

Bill McKibben

Over the past year, I have become aware of Bill McKibben. His name has appeared in magazine articles and was mentioned numerous times at a recent Caring for God's Creation conference. He was instrumental in this year's Step It Up 2007, a National Day of Climate Action on April 14th.

Bill currently lives in Ripton, Vermont and is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College. He is also a Sunday school teacher in the local Methodist church.




I just finished reading his first book, The End of Nature, written in 1989 . It was one of the first book to bring the topic of global warming to the general audience and is considered an environmental classic. The book was published after being serialized in the New Yorker magazine which was also the case with another classic, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.







I have added his latest book, Deep Economy, to my summer reading list. It deals with need for a new economy based on strong local communities.


Listen to a Bill McKibben Interview.

Rachel Carson

Today is the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson, marine biologist, gifted writer, and one of the inspirations for the modern environmental movement. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Carson’s most famous and controversial book, Silent Spring, was written in1962 and dealt with the indiscriminate use of pesticides. This book led to the banning of DDT, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and revolutionary changes in public perception about our air, land, and water.

Check out the short video of her legacy at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife website.

Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

“We must all have a great sense of responsibility and not let things happen because everyone takes the comfortable view that someone else is looking after it. Someone else isn’t looking after it.”

Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964)