We Can Now Solve the Oldest Environmental Problem
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We Can Now Solve the Oldest Environmental Problem
Wes Jackson |
About Wes Jackson
Wes Jackson, President of The Land Institute, was born on a farm near Topeka, Kansas. The work of The Land Institute has been featured extensively in the popular media including The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, National Geographic, Time Magazine, The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour, and National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Life magazine named Dr. Jackson as one of 18 individuals they predict will be among the 100 "important Americans of the 20th century." In the November 2005 issue, Smithsonian named him one of "35 Who Made a Difference" and in March, 2009, he was included in Rolling Stone's "100 Agents of Change."
Dr. Jackson's writings include numerous professional papers and books. His most recent work, The Virtues of Ignorance: Complexity, Sustainability, and the Limits of Knowledge, co-edited with William Vitek, was released by University of Kentucky Press in 2008. Dr. Jackson is a recipient of the Pew Conservation Scholars Award, a MacArthur Fellowship, and the Right Livelihood Award, known as the "alternative Nobel Prize." He has a B.A. in biology from Kansas Wesleyan University, a M.A. in biology from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in genetics from North Carolina State University. He was a professor of biology at Kansas Wesleyan and later established the Environmental Studies program at California State University, where he became a tenured full professor. He has received four honorary doctorates and in 2007 received the University of Kansas Distinguished Service Award.
Presentation summary
According to Dr. Jackson, soil erosion is as old as agriculture, some 11,000 years old. In our time, with rapid doubling of human population as we approach the end of the fossil fuel epoch, humanity will one day know that soil is more important than oil and that the soils across the planet are under siege. He theorizes that we can solve this centuries old problem by perennializing the landscape which means to perennialize the major crops responsible for 70 percent of our calories and grown on some 70 percent of our agricultural acreage.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Linda Hall Library. Generous support provided by Swiss Re. The lecture is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited and tickets are required. Email events@lindahall.org or call (816) 926-8774 with your name, address, phone number, and the number of individuals in your party. Tickets will be mailed in advance of the lecture.
