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Leading environmentalist Bill McKibben to speak at Connecticut College Nov. 19

Bill McKibben has been called
Bill McKibben has been called "the nation's leading environmentalist" by the Boston Globe.

Bill McKibben, a leader in the environmental movement for more than 20 years, will speak at Connecticut College Friday, Nov. 19, at 3:30 p.m. in Evans Hall. McKibben, author of 13 best-selling books, has been called "the world's best green journalist" by Time Magazine. The Boston Globe calls him "the nation's leading environmentalist." He is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines including the New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta and Rolling Stone. "Bill McKibben is an influential and important person in the climate movement, and we are very lucky to have him," Emily Conrad '11, co-president of Connecticut College's Renewable Energy Club, which is sponsoring the event, said.

The Renewable Energy Club is one of several environment-related student groups at Connecticut College. The College is a leader in environmental education and students have a long history of driving sustainability initiatives on campus, including a light bulb exchange program, an organic garden, a composting program and a $25 renewable energy tuition surcharge to support student-selected renewable energy programs. McKibben is widely known for working with young people around the world to organize climate action campaigns. In 2008, he founded 350.org with a group of recent graduates in 2008. The campaign takes its name from the goal of reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from its current level of 390 parts per million to below 350 ppm, the safe upper limit according to leading scientists. In 2009, he led the organization in what Foreign Policy magazine called "the largest ever global coordinated rally of any kind," with 5,200 simultaneous demonstrations in 181 countries. The lecture is free, however donations for 350.org will be collected at the door.



November 15, 2010