[OKC] 2007 Conference News Release

[Jennifer Gooden]

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the conference.  If you are interested or know of others who might be, please contact me at jgooden at homelessalliance.org.  

 

Please pass the news release below along to any newsletters, blogs, email lists, or other print and electronic sources you think would be interested.  A full version and short version are attached.  Thanks!  -JG

 

NEWS RELEASE                      

For Immediate Release

For more information: Kinsey Cox or Debbie Anglin at Anglin Public Relations (405) 840-4222

After hours number for media on deadline: (580) 402-5269

 

Annual Oklahoma Sustainability Conference to be Held April 20-21

Ideas to Action: Envisioning the Next 100 Years in Oklahoma

 

OKLAHOMA - In connection with worldwide Earth Day celebrations, Oklahomans will be learning about how they can improve the environment and local economy at the 6th annual Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference. 

 

Farmers, ranchers, students, architects, city planners, religious, business and community leaders will be among the participants at the Oklahoma Sustainability Conference hosted by the Oklahoma Sustainability Network April 20-21 at the National Weather Center in Norman. 

 

This conference will offer resources, networking opportunities, and information on a variety of topics related to sustainability, including: farming and agriculture; green building; biofuel, wind and solar energy; business and industry; food; climate change; land use; transportation; religion and ethics; activism; ecological footprints; and the natural environment.




"This year we are celebrating Oklahoma's centennial," said Miles Tolbert, Secretary of Environment for the state of Oklahoma. "The conference's focus on sustainability is very well timed, since 'sustainability' is just another way of saying that we intend to stay a while.  In fact, you need to look no further than the headlines about the development of the state's alternative fuels industry and debates over water to see how crucial sustainability is to the state's future." 

 

Two keynote speakers will bring national expertise to the event. On Friday, April 20, Victor Davis Hanson will speak about the importance of food and farming to sustainability, moving away from the agro-industrial model and returning to agriculture's traditional role in society. Hanson is a nationally syndicated columnist and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.  

 

On Saturday, April 21, Doug McKenzie-Mohr, co-author of Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing, will discuss how to take the ideas of sustainability to a broader audience through focused social marketing. McKenzie-Mohr will also lead a half-day, intensive workshop on the same topic.

 

Additional featured speakers for the Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference include:

·         Alan Hart, principal of VIA Architecture of Vancouver, architect and urban designer for transit infrastructure projects in Vancouver and Seattle.

·         Mike McAnelly, senior planner for Carter and Burgess of Dallas and consultant for central Oklahoma's Fixed Guideway Study.

         ·         Bob Waldrop, founder of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative and local advocate for social and environmental responsibility. 

·         Jim Garrison, president of Wisdom University in San Francisco and president/cofounder of the State of the World Forum with Mikhail Gorbachev.

·         Dr. David Karoly, Williams Chair Professor of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, lead author and review editor of the recent UN report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

 

"The challenge is to accept that global warming is real, it will increase in the future, and policy choices that we make now will affect the climate that our grandchildren will experience towards the end of this century," said Dr. Karoly. "The opportunity for Oklahomans is to use this information wisely, to seize its benefits, to plan for adverse impacts, and to take advantage of business opportunities in Oklahoma." 

 

Each year, the Oklahoma Sustainability Network offers lunch and snacks made entirely of locally grown foods. Buying enough local produce to feed a crowd of more than 300 people requires conference coordinators to place their catering orders several months in advance. Coordinators say it's worth the extra effort, because it supports the local economy, ecology and equity and is highly valued and enjoyed by attendees.

 

"This difficulty is indicative of why we need this conference," said Jennifer Gooden, conference coordinator. "Part of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network's mission is to make it easier to buy locally-grown and produced goods. Buying local produce should be as easy as walking to your neighborhood grocery store."

 

The Oklahoma Sustainability Conference will be held April 20 and 21 at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. For more information or to register, visit www.oksustainability.org <http://www.oksustainability.org/>  or call (405) 632-2066.  The Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference is presented by the Oklahoma Sustainability Network and hosted by Sustainable OKC.

 

The Oklahoma Sustainability Network Conference is sponsored by OG&E; the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment; Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Harlan Hentges, Attorney at Law; Department of Environmental Quality, Pollution Prevention; The Sierra Club, Oklahoma Chapter; Sustainable Tulsa; OU Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment; American Planning Association Oklahoma and Oklahoma Alliance for Public Transportation; Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture; OSU Environmental Institute; OSU Environmental Science Graduate Program; Oklahoma Food & Agricultural Products Center; Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems Inc.; EIA Design; and Land Legacy.

# # #

Editor's Note: For more information, photos or interviews or to attend the conference as working media at no charge, call Anglin Public Relations at (405) 840-4222.  

 

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