8th Annual Maui CC Sustainable Earth Summit

8th Annual UH-MCC Sustainable Earth Summit

In celebration of Earth Day, Maui Community College will host the 8th Annual Sustainable Earth Summit from April 14 – 16, 2008. This three day meeting of the minds will feature global leaders in sustainability and social justice sharing their insights, life experiences, and their latest publications focusing on saving the planet. Panelists will also discuss important issues facing Maui in areas such as renewable energy, the proposed solar telescope on Haleakalā, and the development of a green economy on Maui.

Local elected leaders and community organizers will also be sharing about their daily efforts to empower youth and protect our ´āina. Mayor Charmaine Tavares will deliver the 3rd Annual State of Maui’s Environment address. There will also be excursions of empowerment where students will see sustainability in action taking place at Maui CC--from covering entire life-cycles through the planting of indigenous flora, to recycling our resources and preparing slow grow foods. Students will also get a chance visit the Kaheawa wind farm. The historic signing of an Energy Charter symbolizing a collaborative partnership between UH-Maui CC and Maui Electric Company to promote the use of sustainable energy technologies will also take place on Tuesday the 15th.

Workshops focusing on Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and The Low Carbon Diet will provide a framework to reduce our carbon footprints on the planet. Students will organize a sign waving for sustainability supporting solar water heating legislation and a Speak Out for Step It Up at the Free Speech Zone. Several new documentaries will also be making their debut, focusing on climate change in Oceania, alternative fuels in America and how students can become engaged in addressing world concern over climate change. These include films such as Green Revolution, Time and Tide, and Everything’s Cool. Wednesday will include an edutainment based outdoor informational booth area with numerous local businesses and organizations showcasing their programs, projects, and activities.

The conference will also feature keynote addresses by international and local experts in the fields of environmental justice, global climate change, renewable energy, and sustainable living. Bill McKibben is a global scholar and author of The End of Nature, Deep Economy and Fight Global Warming. He will deliver the keynote address entitled: Deep Economy: "What the World Looks Like When We Take the Environment Seriously" on Wednesday at noon. Bill Schulz is the former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA and the author of many influential books including his most recent The Future of Human Rights. Schulz will be speaking Tuesday evening at 6 p.m with a presentation entitled: "From Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms to the Future of Human Rights: The Roots of US Policy for a New Era of Sustainable Development & Global Social Justice." Kelly King and Tanner Watt with the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and Pacific Biodiesel will be speaking on Getting BioFuels Rights in Hawai'i. Lori Grace with Hale Akua Garden Farm will be speaking on "How to Green Your Lifestyle for $50 or less. Save Money and Have Fun!"

The event is organized through a collaborative effort between the Hawaii Institute for Human Rights, the Sustainable Living Institute of Maui, Amnesty International Hawaii, the United Nations Association Hawaii, and several student-based organizations such as the MCC Recycling Club, the MCC Political Science Honor Society, the ASMCC, and the MCC Sustainability Club.

Please join us. All activities are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the SLIM website at www.sustainablemaui.org. Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities also exist. Please contact SLIM Executive Director Alex de Roode at 808-984-3379 or SLIMinfo@hawaii.edu for more information.

Venue: Pilina Building-Student Lounge and Outdoor tent on UH-MCC Great Lawn

Ticket Information
Attendance is Free and open to the Public

Event Sponsor
Sustainable Living Institute of Maui, Hawaii Institute for Human Rights, UH-MCC Kahului

More Information
Alex de Roode, 808 9843379, sliminfo@hawaii.edu, http://sustainablemaui.org/events.html

Ongoing Events