Sustainability is the big idea to be explored during the next “What’s the Big Idea?” lecture series at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The “Here Today… Here Tomorrow? Sustaining Precious Resources for Our Future” series, which begins Sept. 23 and continues through Oct. 14, will describe Carolina’s sustainability activities in research, teaching and practice.
Sustainability is the big idea to be explored during the next “What’s the Big Idea?” lecture series at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The “Here Today… Here Tomorrow? Sustaining Precious Resources for Our Future” series, which begins Sept. 23 and continues through Oct. 14, will describe Carolina’s sustainability activities in research, teaching and practice.
The series will be held Thursday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Friday Center on just off N.C. 54 East, about three miles east of the Carolina campus. The cost is $10 for each lecture or $30 for the four-lecture series.
Here are the topics:
- Carolina: A Living Laboratory for Sustainability (Sept. 23)
Cindy Shea, director of the Sustainability Office, will provide an overview of what Carolina is doing to reduce its environmental footprint; Institute for the Environment faculty member Greg Gangi will discuss what students are learning inside and outside the classroom; and students will talk about the impact this knowledge has had on them.
- Rethinking Water: Carolina as a Case Study (Sept. 30)
Sally Hoyt, UNC stormwater engineer and manager of the non-potable utility program, will use the UNC campus as a case study to illustrate shifts in the water resources field.
- Energy Sustainability: How Do We Get There? (Oct. 7)
Thomas J. Meyer, Arey Professor of Chemistry and director of the UNC Energy Frontier Research Center in Solar Fuels and Next Generation Photovoltaics, will explore the issue of energy sustainability and discuss emerging and future technologies that could increase sustainability and efficient use of existing energy supplies.
- Is There a Link Between Sustainable Local Food Systems and Better Health? (Oct. 14)
Alice Ammerman, professor in the Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, and director of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, will discuss the broad implications of local sustainable food systems for community health and how all members of the community can benefit.
For registration and more information, visit http://www.fridaycenter.unc.edu/pdep/wbi/index.htm
William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education contact: Tyler Ritter, (919) 843-5836, etritter@email.unc.edu