SCHEDULE

Thursday, Sept. 28, 6 PM

Burchfield Penney Art Center
Humanities New York presents “Turning the Tide: Communicating Climate Science.”

Thursday evening’s forum discussion, which will be held in the Burchfield Penny Art Center’s Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Auditorium, will focus on the challenges of communicating climate change to the public. Doubt, while fundamental to the scientific method, has played an out-sized role in the public debate on climate change. Why do so many Americans distrust science in this specific context? Join our panelists in a discussion of the history of environmentalism, the politicization of science, and more for the launch event of the festival.

PARTICIPANTS:
Jacqui Patterson, Director, NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program
Jason Briner, Associate Professor of Geology, University at Buffalo
Elizabeth Mazzolini, Assistant Professor of English, University at Buffalo
Adam Rome, Professor of History, University at Buffalo
MODERATOR: Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University at Buffalo

Friday, Sept. 29, 8 PM (7 PM VIP reception)

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, with reception in the AK Café
Environmentalist author and social activist Bill McKibben, “The Desperate Climate Fight: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Moment”

Saturday, Sept. 30, 10:30 AM

Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College
The full festival day begins with a performance by Deke Weaver of “BEAR and the Unreliable Bestiary” and continues with talks, panels, and community conversations focusing on issues of environmental justice and economic sustainability, activism and planning, and the global climate change crisis. Lunch by West Side Bazaar is included with tickets purchased by Sept. 25th. The closing reception features music by 12/8 Path Band and beer by Community Beer Works.

Saturday Schedule Grid

(scroll down for text version)

Saturday Schedule

10:00 AM | Registration/Check-In Open

10:30 AM | Deke Weaver presents “BEAR and the Unreliable Bestiary”

11:30 AM | Session I

Panel Discussion: Listen! Youth Voices on Climate Justice | Members of Western New York Environmental Alliance’s Youth Climate Justice Campaign, Massachusetts Avenue Project, and Ujima Theatre
Reflecting on Earth’s Reflectance, or Adventures in Albedo Enhancement | Judith Goldman, Assistant Professor of English, University at Buffalo
Fostering Community Empowerment through Social Justice and Environmental Narratives | Erin E. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, Canisius College
Reimagining Education: Engaging Poverty in Higher Ed | Kevin D. Blair, Professor of Social Work and Chair of the Social Work Department, Niagara University and David B. Taylor, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Niagara University

12:30 PM | Lunch by West Side Bazaar

1:15 PM | Session II

In Our Own Image | Eric Dolph, Professor of Interior Design, SUNY Buffalo State
Who Speaks for the Corals? Despair and Hope in the Anthropocene | Irus Braverman, Professor of Law and Adjunct Professor of Geography, University at Buffalo
Human Judgment and Environmental Impact | Jason Grinnell, Chair of the Philosophy Department and Associate Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Buffalo State and Amy McMillan, Interim Director of the Honors Program and Associate Professor of Biology, SUNY Buffalo State
Achieving a Regenerative Economy Through a Just Transition | Rahwa Ghirmatzion, Deputy Director of People United for Sustainable Housing, Inc. (PUSH Buffalo)

2:15 PM | Break

2:30 PM | Session III

Building The Future—What Makes An Effective Change Agent? | Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer, University at Buffalo
My Walks with Olmsted | Adam Rome, Professor of History, University at Buffalo
Evolving Resistance and the Environmental Movement | Leslie James Pickering, former Spokesperson for the underground Earth Liberation Front and a Co-Owner of Burning Books and David Reilly, Director of International Studies and Chair of the Department of Political Science, Niagara University
Nature, Culture, Narrative | Barbara Porter, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Canisius College

3:30 PM | Reception with music by 12/8 Path Band and beer from Community Beer Works