‘We are thinking of those who will take over the world after us’
Bishop Sofie Petersen says Canada can learn from progressive environmental projects Greenland has initiated. Photo by David Stanley (Flickr CC)
PLEASE NOTE: It is with regrets that Bishop Sofie Petersen has had to cancel her keynote speech at the Sustainability Across Disciplines conference.
Matthew Andersen, assistant professor of Theological Studies, will be speaking in her place. Anderson's talk, 'Our Work, Our Walk: Land, Meaning, and Sustainability on Métis and Indigenous Trails,' takes place March 17 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in Room MB 2.210 of the John Molson School of Business Building.
On March 16 to 17, the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability and the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre will host a major conference examining sustainability through an interdisciplinary lens.
“I am very proud that we are hosting this unique event,” says college principal Raymond Paquin, also an associate professor of management at the John Molson School of Business.
“The environmental and societal problems we are currently facing demand new and collaborative approaches.”
Sustainability Across Disciplines will feature experts from many walks of life, from the sciences to the arts. Sofie Petersen, bishop of Greenland, is one of the invited speakers.
“Theology adds an important dimension to the debate,” says Petersen, who will deliver her keynote address, Responsibility, Creation, and Climate Change: A Theological Reflection, on March 17 at 1:30 p.m.
“I intend to raise an ethical angle on climate change. Hereby I will create an incentive to focus on sustainability.”
The bishop says Canada can learn from progressive environmental projects Greenland has initiated, from hydropower plants to programs promoting electric cars. “We are thinking of those who will take over the world after us,” she says.
In addition to Bishop Petersen, conference attendees can hear from Daniel Simberloff, Gore Hunger professor of environmental science at the University of Tennessee, and Marian Chertow, associate professor of industrial environmental management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Concordia professors Damon Matthews (Climate Science and Sustainability research chair, in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment) and Carmela Cucuzzella (Integrated Design, Ecology and Sustainability for the Built Environment research chair, in the Department of Design and Computation Arts) will also deliver keynote addresses.
The conference will close with a plenary discussion on sustainability research across disciplines, featuring Ketra Schmitt (Centre for Engineering in Society), Ricardo Dal Farra (Department of Music), and Jochen Jaeger (Department of Geography, Planning and Environment).
The bishop says she hopes attendees will realize we all have an incentive to take part in the debate about climate change: “Our concerns about it must not discourage each other, but rather encourage and create some hope for the future.”
Sustainability Across Disciplines takes place from March 16 to 17 on Concordia’s Sir George Williams campus. Register before March 3. Contact Raymond Paquin or Rebecca Tittler at the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability to find out more.
