Naomi Klein – This Changes Everything

The award-winning Canadian journalist, international activist and best-selling author (The Shock Doctrine, No Logo) depicts climate change as more than an “issue.” It’s a civilizational wake-up call delivered in the language of fires, floods, storms and droughts. It demands that we challenge the dominant economic policies of deregulated capitalism and endless resource extraction. Climate change is also the most powerful weapon in the fight for equality and social justice, and real solutions are emerging from the rubble of our failing systems.

This speech was given at the 2014 Bioneers Annual Conference.

To find out more about Naomi Klein’s work, visit her website.

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Severine V T Fleming – Millions of Acres: Young Agrarians Needed

In the next 20 years, farmland ownership will shift on a continental scale—400 million acres—yet 70% of American farmland is owned by people 65 and older. How can we help young, motivated agrarians survive daunting structural obstacles and become successful farmers to whom retiring organic farmers can transmit their wisdom? How can we invest in the democratization of our land base? These questions drive Agrarian Trust, started by Greenhorns founder Severine V T Fleming, one of the most dynamic leaders in the young farmers’ movement.

Terry Tempest Williams – A Love That is Wild | Bioneers

What might a different kind of power look and feel like, and can power be redistributed equitably, even beyond our own species? Conservationist, activist, and one of the nation’s most beloved and acclaimed authors, Terry Tempest Williams has been called “a citizen writer” who speaks eloquently for an ethical stance toward life, showing how environmental issues are social issues that become matters of justice. A scholar at the University of Utah and Dartmouth, she has been equally at home camping in the wilderness and being arrested for civil disobedience.

 

Cecil Williams & Janice Mirikitani – Who Will Take Care of My People?

For 45 years, Reverend Cecil Williams, founder and Minister of Liberation of Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, and its founding President Janice Mirikitani have created 87 groundbreaking programs to provide human services to some of the Bay Area’s most disenfranchised communities. These renowned faith-based pathfinders share their visions and strategies to address the pollution, economic injustice, neglect and apathy that confront poor communities.

 

Jeffrey Bronfman – The Botanical Dimension of Our Human Evolutionary Next Steps

The use of plants as food, medicine and construction material for human habitat is apparent to all, but the essential role certain plants play in human spiritual evolution is not well understood. Jeffrey Bronfman, an environmentalist, educator and founding member of Bioneers, has encountered the use of plants within numerous spiritual, ceremonial and religious contexts throughout the Western Hemisphere. He explores the vital role certain plants have in the development of human awareness at this critical moment in the state of the biosphere and our evolution as human beings.

This speech was given at the 2014 Bioneers Annual Conference.

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Wallace J. Nichols – I Wish You Water

The cognitive and emotional benefits of healthy oceans and waterways have been celebrated through art, song, romance and poetry throughout human history. Marine biologist, activist, community organizer and author Wallace J. Nichols dives deeper and explore our blue minds through the dual lenses of evolutionary biology and cognitive science, reminding us that we are water.

This speech was given at the 2014 Bioneers National Conference.

Manuel Pastor – Movement Building for the Next America

Facing rapidly changing demographics, growing inequality and increased political polarization in the U.S., movement builders are grappling with creating new cross-generational ties and a new understanding of the relationship between equity and economic growth. How do we build movements based on vision and values, not interests and transactions? Manuel Pastor is Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at USC, and founding Director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at UC Santa Cruz. He directs the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, and co-directs USC’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.

This speech was given at the 2014 Bioneers National Conference.

 

Wade Crowfoot – California Climate Leadership

In 2007, California took the landmark step of putting into law the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Now poised to easily meet this goal, join Wade Crowfoot, Deputy Cabinet Secretary and Senior Advisor to California Governor Jerry Brown, for the inside track on how the state intends to significantly ramp up efforts to achieve 80% reductions in emissions by 2050. Presently advising policy including transportation, infrastructure and drought, Wade Crowfoot’s previous positions include: West Coast Regional Director for the Environmental Defense Fund, and Environmental Advisor and Director of Governmental Affairs for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

This speech was part of the 2014 California Climate Leadership Intensive hosted by Bioneers as a supplement to the Bioneers 2014 Annual Conference.

Paul Hawken – Project Drawdown

Providing key context and framing for the important race to ‘drawdown’ greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, legendary author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken outlines Project Drawdown: a book, a digital platform, and open-source database. Through measuring the beneficial financial, social and environmental impact that ‘state-of-the-shelf’ solutions can deliver, Project Drawdown shows the world that if it’s happening, it’s possible.

This speech was given at the California Climate Leadership Intensive, hosted by Bioneers as a supplement to the 2014 Bioneers National Conference.