Award-winning painter Judy Baca describes how art can reconnect people to place, revive disappearing history, and repair cultural root systems. While working with at-risk youth to create The Great Wall of Los Angeles, the world’s longest mural, Baca realized that restoring a disappeared river also meant restoring disappeared cultures.
This speech was given at the 2003 Bioneers National Conference.
To learn more about Judy Baca, visit her website.
As a member of the legendary Cousteau family, Alexandra Cousteau grew up traveling the globe, and learning firsthand the value of conserving the natural world. A 2008 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Alexandra discusses what we must do to preserve the integrity of our planet’s waters; shares stories from her adventures around the world; and speaks about one of her initiatives, which seeks to inspire and empower individuals to protect not only the oceans and its inhabitants, but also the human communities that rely on the purity of our freshwater resources.
Introduction by marine scientist and water advocate Wallace J. Nichols.
This speech was given at the 2008 Bioneers National Conference. To find out more about Alexandra Cousteau and her efforts to conserve and restore our oceans, visit her website.
Given how serious and pressing our global problems are and how paralyzed our planet’s leaders seem to be, nothing is more important than mobilizing the next generation of rising leaders to finally address the challenge. Jess Rimington is just such an extraordinary young leader. She is dedicated to education equity and international grassroots collaboration as vehicles for global sustainable development. An activist since middle school, six years ago, at age 18, Jess Rimington founded One World Youth Project, which connects schools worldwide to transform students into empowered, discerning and empathetic global citizens. Introduction by Anisha Desai, Director of New Leaders Initiative at Earth Island Institute.
This speech was given at the 2010 Bioneers National Conference.
In this inspiring presentation, Wallace J. Nichols explores how new technologies and large-scale research projects have resulted in an explosion of invaluable information about the health of our ocean planet and what we can do to conserve the 80 percent of biodiversity and 90 percent of global habitat that “Mother Ocean” holds. To change our destructive course, he proposes we must harness this knowledge, make it accessible to everyone and creatively communicate how the state of the oceans is central to the future of life on Earth. Introduction by Nina Simons, Co-Founder and President of Bioneers.
This speech was given at the 2007 Bioneers National Conference.
“What does the open space of democracy look like? In the open space of democracy there is room for dissent. In the open space of democracy there is room for differences. In the open space of democracy, the health of the environment is seen as the wealth of our communities.”
Celebrated author Terry Tempest Williams elegantly blends language with landscape and regales the audience with deeply personal stories of transformation, both personal and political. She challenges us to bypass political rhetoric and opt for a deeper conversation about democracy. For her, the test of true patriotism is not what we are willing to die for, but what we are willing to give our lives to. This speech was given at the 2004 Bioneers National Conference.
Terry Tempest Williams is a best-selling author, conservationist and activist. A native of Utah, her writing is rooted in the American West and ranges from issues of wilderness conservation, to women’s health, to exploring our relationship to culture and our natural landscape. Find out more about her at her website http://www.coyoteclan.com/
In this far-ranging, acutely insightful overview, Michael Pollan depicts the profound societal transformation underway in how we eat and grow our food. It’s a “Sunfood” agenda that takes our food system off its petrochemical dependency and unhealthy “food-like substances.” It brings farming back to local communities with human-scale agriculture. He identifies the food system as the single most important determinant of public health and the health-care crisis. This is a genuine food revolution, he observes, and it’s growing much bigger and faster than you may think. Introduction by Kenny Ausubel, CEO and Co-Founder of Bioneers.
Find out more about Michael Pollan and how you can engage with his work and efforts by visiting michaelpollan.com or follow him @michaelpollan.
This speech was given at the 2009 National Bioneers Conference.
Ka Hsaw Wa and Katie Redford, the Co-Founders and Directors of EarthRights International, discuss their work from the jungles of Burma and the Amazon to U.S. courtrooms to hold corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses committed in the name of development. They focus on EarthRights’ landmark lawsuit, Doe v. Unocal, and their work to raise the voices of Indigenous people in international forums through their model training program, the EarthRights Schools.
Introduction by Tom Van Dyck, Senior Vice President for Wealth Management at Royal Bank of Canada.
This speech was given at the 2007 Bioneers National Conference.
Ed Tick, the psychotherapist who has been working with survivors of war, violence and trauma for over 30 years, surveys the true extent and costs of modern technological warfare, its resulting spiritual and ecological crises and the possibility of healing individuals, nations and the planet through spiritual, cultural and community transformation. Introduction by Kenny Ausubel, CEO and Co-Founder of Bioneers.
This speech was given at the 2007 Bioneers National Conference.
The world-renowned Los Angeles muralist and community arts leader, Judy Baca, unleashes the power of public art to help transform society. Introduction by Nina Simons, President and Co-Founder of Bioneers.
This speech was given at the 2007 Bioneers National Conference.
LaDonna Redmond tells her very personal story of searching for answers in her struggle with her son’s food allergies and finding a need for the African-American voice in the food and farming industry. She also discusses the difficulty of finding healthy food in her neighborhood, linking food and racial justice.
This speech was given at the 2004 National Bioneers Conference.
Author and anthropologist Wade Davis showcases other ways of living and thinking through stunning photographs and personal stories from his world travels, highlighting the beauty and importance of diversity.
This speech was given at the 2001 Bioneers National Conference.
Peter Warshall, the late Co-Director of Dreaming New Mexico (DNM), discusses his work with DNM, a project focused on resilience and sustainable energy and food systems.
“The best university, the best college in the world, is to go into public office…That is an education that can not be taught inside any college.”
This speech was given at the 2012 Catalyzing a Resilient Communities Network Intensive, a supplement to the Bioneers National Conference.
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