Altman Program to host Bill McKibben Wednesday

By Max Pikras, The Miami Student

On Wednesday April 8, activist, author, professor and environmental scholar Bill McKibben will give a lecture, "The Education of an Unlikely Activist," for this year's Miami University Humanities Center's Altman Program.

"[McKibben is] one of the most influential environmentalists in our era," said Timothy Melley, director of the Humanities Center.

McKibben, a professor of Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, is a well-known activist, distinguished scholar, public speaker and best-selling author. He has written many books, beginning with The End of Nature, which was published in 1989. McKibben has received numerous awards, including the Gandhi Peace Award and the Thomas Merton Award for his commitment to helping improve the environment.

His activism and dedication to the environment led him to found 350.org. This movement helps to create solutions that will ensure a promising future for the next generations. In order for us to preserve our planet, scientists say that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere must be reduced to below 350 parts per million. The current level is 400 ppm.

McKibben has been invited to Miami to share his knowledge and experience with faculty, students, fellow scholars and all those looking to make a difference in the environment.

McKibben's lecture will offer new and interesting insights that will help answer the pressing questions of this year's theme. McKibben's lecture will kick off a series of lectures by Gregg Mitman, Stephanie LeMenager and Karl Zimmerer, which will be held Thursday, April 9, and Friday, April 10.

"McKibben's appearance as a speaker is an honor for the Altman Program, and to Miami University as a whole," said Thomas Yarcusko, a student Altman Fellow. "[His] lecture is important because he not only conceptualizes problems around global climate change, but he also forces us into action."

For many students, the lecture will be an educational experience, and may even encourage students to take up activism.

"His presence is more than just educational for me," Yarcusko said. "It's also just really quite cool."

Yarcusko is able to have dinner with and interview McKibben on Wednesday, because of his position as a student fellow.

"The Altman Undergraduate Fellow program has allowed this kind of exposure," said Yarcusko, in reference to his upcoming experience with McKibben. "The program has incorporated me into a worldwide conversation where my voice-as part of this conversation-is not only heard, but valued as well."

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

His role in Wednesday's lecture is part of an overall project at the Humanities Center.

"The Altman Program is a year-long program that provides answers to a pressing question in our world," Melley said.

The theme for the program for 2014-2015 year is "The Anthropocene: A New Era in Human-Environment Relations."

Paul Crutzen, a Nobel Laureate chemist, coined the term anthropocene, which the Humanities Center's website defines as marking "the emergence of a new geologic epoch in which humans have become the most 'globally potent biogeophysical force' on the planet."

Following this year's topic, the Humanities Center sought to answer the pressing questions regarding Earth and the environment. Specifically, how humans have become more powerful in changing the Earth than nature itself, and environmental issues plaguing the world today.

To help answer these questions, the Humanities Center has invited a total of 12 speakers, each with distinguished credentials, to provide their experiences with and perspectives on the environment.

The Altman Program provides this opportunity, and opens Miami to thought-provoking questions and answers. McKibben's lecture, along with the other lectures, will get faculty, students and scholars another step closer to answering the questions about our environment, and what we can do to make a difference.