The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education is excited to announce Bill McKibben as the closing keynote speaker at the 2019 AASHE Conference & Expo in Spokane, Washington.
McKibben is a renowned author and climate activist who was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the “alternative Nobel,” in 2014. His book The End of Nature (approaching 30 years in print) is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change and has been translated into 24 languages. TIME Magazine has called him “perhaps the planet’s best green journalist,” and he’s lectured and organized on every continent, including Antarctica. His latest book—Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?—offers a piercing look not only at our environmental challenges but at the existential questions that come with new technologies like artificial intelligence.
McKibben offers realistic approaches to saving our planet as individuals, but also as thoughtful members of a mobilized group. When it comes to building a movement, we should consider “being a little bit less of an individual,” he says. Together, we can build “the right kind of pressure” in order to make a change, like convincing college campuses to divest from fossil fuels. Audiences will be inspired and uplifted by McKibben’s stories of people all over the world engaged in making the planet a more environmentally just, sustainable place. These talks “give people a sense that even in their deep worry—they are not alone,” he says.
“We’re excited to have Bill McKibben join us again at this year’s conference. Tackling the climate crisis requires new economic models and we are eager to hear Bill’s vision for a sustainable economy,” AASHE’s Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser said.
McKibben will speak to approximately 2,000 higher education sustainability professionals in Spokane, Washington from Oct. 27 – 30 at the 2019 AASHE Conference & Expo. Limited interviews are available.
About the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
AASHE empowers higher education administrators, faculty, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. AASHE enables members to translate information into action by offering essential resources and professional development to a diverse, engaged community of sustainability leaders. We work with and for higher education to ensure that our world’s future leaders are motivated and equipped to solve sustainability challenges. For more information, visit www.aashe.org. Follow AASHE on Facebook and Twitter.
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