The Development of Ecological Consciousness in the U.S.

Thursday, April 27, 7:00-8:30pm

Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95401

$10 (non-refundable).  Pre-registration required: www.lagunafoundation.org

"What is the future of environmentalism?” is an urgent question today—and we will address it, as we must. But our focus will be on the past of environmentalism. It did not originate with the founding of the nation, nor did it suddenly burst on the scene with the first Earth Day in 1970; rather, it developed, despite formidable obstacles, as a movement and moral imperative, over time, beginning in the early 19th century and reaching its zenith with the mass of environmental and consumer protection legislation passed in the 1960s and ‘70s. Thus this talk tries to explain, ecologically, why we are where we are. Accordingly, we will contextualize American environmentalism, and its successes and failures, cross-culturally and internationally by considering European antecedents, Native American traditions, and the biocentric perspective of Eastern philosophy. The talk will feature art, poetry, music, a clip from a classic Western film, and a special guest appearance by Godzilla.

John Smihula has a Ph.D. in English Literature and taught literature, film, composition, ESL, and humanities for twenty years at several institutions, primarily the University of Nevada, Reno. A central interest has been ecocriticism and environmental literature, particularly the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Edward Abbey, and Gary Snyder. Dr. Smihula has also worked as a counselor to at-risk youth and to adults in the mental health system in New York and San Francisco, co-shot an ethnological documentary on art and ritual in Melanesia, and produced and directed an award-winning political documentary about the School of the Americas and U.S. foreign policy in Latin America.

For more information, visit www.lagunafoundation.org   

Or contact Anita Smith, Public Education Manager, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation

(707) 527-9277 x 110, anita@lagunafoundation.org