| Saturday Oct 25, 2014 10:00 AM - Sunday Oct 26, 2014 6:00 PM | $15.00 - $75.00 |
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Event
Teach-In: Techno-Utopianism and the Fate of the Earth
ONLINE TICKET SALES HAVE ENDED - BUT TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR!!
COME TO THE GREAT HALL OF THE COOPER UNION - SATURDAY OCT 25 AND SUNDAY OCTOBER 26TH - TICKET SALES BEGIN AT 9:00 AM ON BOTH DAYS! PROGRAM STARTS AT 10:00 AM ON BOTH DAYS!
PLEASE JOIN US AND 45 + LEADING SCHOLARS, authors and activists will convene at The Great Hall of the Cooper Union, New York City, for a PUBLIC "TEACH-IN" on the profound impacts - environmental, economic and social - of runaway technological expansion; the tendency to see technology as the savior for all problems. And, on the urgent need to change directions; returning the fate of nature to the center of economic and social decision making.
SPEAKERS
Speakers will include: Jeannette Armstrong, Debbie Barker, Shannon Biggs, Chet Bowers, Tom Butler, Helen Caldicott, Eileen Crist, Marcy Darnovsky, David Ehrenfeld, Aidan Ens, Bruce Gagnon, Claire Greensfelder, John M Greer, Susan Griffin, Clive Hamilton, Randy Hayes, Richard Heinberg, Craig Holdrege, Michael Huesemann, Wes Jackson, Andrew Kimbrell, Dave King, Lisi Krall, Winona La Duke, Neisen Laukon, Jerry Mander, Bill McKibben, Stephanie Mills, Anuradha Mittal, Pat Mooney, Ralph Nader, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Koohan Paik, Douglas Rushkoff, Linda Sheehan, Vandana Shiva, Katie Singer, Gar Smith, Atossa Soltani, Charlene Spretnak, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Jim Thomas, Bruce Thompson, Mary Reynolds Thompson, Doug Tompkins, Severine von Tscharner-Fleming, Ralph White, Langdon Winner et al. Full program/speaker schedule TBA soon. Plus films, workshops, and bookstore.
This event comes at a crucial historical moment. Ecological systems are near collapse global climate, soils and fertility; fresh water supply; deep ocean life, forests, biodiversity; diminishing global food production; and unprecedented rates of species extinctions. Human life is similarly threatened by these, as well as by shocking rates of economic inequality, and the expanding threat of wars to control lands and scarce resources. But proposed solutions rarely stray off the corporate message: "Technology will solve our problems. Leave it to technology." We do not share this optimism.
[When President Truman dropped the A-Bomb, he said "for the good of mankind." He should have said "for the good of General Electric" and the new technological era that brought us thousands of nuclear power plants, including Fukushima.]
SUBSTITUTE NATURE
Many in our society see the ecological crisis as a grand new economic opportunity for growth and profit. If nature is being destroyed, we can create new nature. Technologies are rolling out to introduce substitute nature. For example: GEO-ENGINEERING (to solve the climate crisis by "re-seeding" the heavens and inventing techno-climate); GMOs (to re-arrange the genetics of food, animals, and trees, making them more profitable); SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY (creating new artificial life forms, including genetically redesigned humans taller? smarter? better looking?; and NANOTECHNOLOGY (to replace the planet's billion-years-old molecular structures for greater efficiency.) We prefer the old planet.
We can also look forward to production of INTELLIGENT ROBOTS on farms and in factories (eliminating any need for expensive workers!); and vast numbers of MILITARY AND HOUSEHOLD DRONES, as well as a potpourri of such hot inventions as Google glasses, driverless cars, app-after-app-after-app, and ever more handy instruments for cyber-envelopment of our consciousness and everyday lives. Did anyone ask for these? They are all expressions of science in service to corporate profit and growth. They do not serve people, but do serve the needs of desperate capital, running out of nature's resources. Meanwhile, human experiencenow increasingly embedded within our new global technological cocoonis losing its awareness and connection with nature. This will not solve our problems. It does not bring us together; it does not bring happiness. It is isolating our minds and feelings within computer algorithms. As Sherry Turkle writes, we are now "alone together."
NEW CONSCIOUSNESS
What is needed is new consciousness, and new economic strategies that break from the assumption of human dominion over nature and the planet ("anthropocentrism"), while rejecting the idea that new technology is the way to save the world. What is required are new economics that will bring us together; reforming our economies toward fairness, and placing the health of nature as the final measure of success. Tweeting won't save us.
FURTHER INFORMATION & ADVANCE TICKETS
This is a joint project of: The International Forum on Globalization, The International Center for Technology Assessment, The New York Open Center and the Schumacher Center for New Economics.
CO-SPONSORS INCLUDE: Agrarian Trust, Foundation for Deep Ecology, Foundation Earth, Geez Magazine, Global Exchange, Greenhorns, Local Futures/International Society for Ecology and Culture, Navdanya, Oakland Institute, Pachamama Alliance, Post Carbon Institute, and the United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE). We, the World http://we.net (with more to be added).
ADVANCE DISCOUNT TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW THROUGH FRIDAY OCTOBER 3rd: $35 for Saturday/$30 for Sunday/$50 for both.(Regular prices will be $45 for Saturday/$40 for Sunday/$75 for both. Students/Seniors/Low Income: $20 for Saturday, $15 for Sunday, $25 for both days. Scholarships Available, Contact techno-utopianism@ifg.org
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LocationThe Great Hall at The Cooper Union (View)
7 East 7th Street
New York, NY 10003
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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Contact
Q&A
| Question: |
I registered for 2 people. How do I enter the second person's name? |
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Thank you for your question. Please feel free to contact us directly at 1.800.838.3006. |
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| Question: |
What age is Senior?
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| Answer: |
60 years old |
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| Question: |
will the teach-in be recorded? streamed? |
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Yes - the teach-in will be recorded. We are still deciding on live-streaming or not, but definitely post the videos of the Teach-In online after the Teach-In is over. If we decide to live stream, we will post the link on our FB and Web Pages. |
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| Question: |
How is this teach-in organized? Will I be able to hear all listed speakers? Will they be on panels? What about meal times? Separate breakout seminars? Thanks |
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You will be able to hear all listed speakers as all sessions are in plenary. There will be a short break for dinner and there are lots of cafes near by where you can get a quick bite. |
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| Question: |
At what age does Senior discount start? |
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60 years old |
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| Question: |
How can I access the recordings of the teach in after it is over? |
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We will post a link on the Techno-Utopia Project web page at http://ifg.org/techno-utopia/ and also announce it by email and facebook postings. If you wish to join the IFG mailing list - go to www.ifg.org and sign up. thanks so much for your interest in the Teach In! |
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