Wondering what you can do to reduce your impact on our Earth? To make our world cleaner for our future generations? Here’s a chance to find others with the same questions and join in creating new possibilities for our communities.
Speakers For Think Green
Location: Green Stage
- Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
10:00 amJack Nelson-Pallmeyer, author, public speaker, and professor of Justice and Peace studies at the U of St Thomas since 1992, will open the day’s program with reflections on "Opportunities in Crisis: Pathways to Sustainability in the Most Important Decade".
Born and raised in Minnesota, Nelson-Pallmeyer believes that in this time of widespread concern for the future of our nation and our planet, we are experiencing the most important decade in history in which the decisions we make will determine the quality of life for all future generations.
Jack will dialog with us to determine our investment in Minnesota's future. Following his introduction will be a series of 15 workshops [2] covering sustainability in the areas of energy, food, water, soil, landscape and education.
You can read more about him on his website [3].
- Rebecca Kolls
1:00 pmPopular with viewers in Minneapolis and a standout among other meteorologists because of her on-air gardening tips, Kolls was featured as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. That appearance caught the attention of executives at Hearst-Argyle Productions, who were searching for someone to host a new nationally syndicated TV series on gardening. Impressed with her television savvy, weather-forecasting background and down-to-earth nature, Hearst-Argyle executives selected Kolls to host the program and named it after her. The series was nationally syndicated and carried on local TV stations throughout the country. The series also airs on the Home & Garden Television Network on a regular basis.
Rebecca Kolls, Master Gardener, meteorologist and keynoter for the concurrent Rochester Women’s Expo, will appear on the Green Stage to share comments on the significance of "The Green Revolution."
You can read more about her on her website [4].
- R.T. Rybak
3:00 pmBorn and raised in Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak Jr graduated from Breck, and Boston College. He began his career as a journalist, working on the Minneapolis Tribune (later Star Tribune and as editor of the Twin Cities Reader. He also acted as Development Director for Minneapolis' Downtown Council and dabbled in the dot.com industry before being elected Mayor of Minneapolis.
Mayor RT Rybak of Minneapolis brings significant expertise to his presentation, "Sustainable Minneapolis – Living Well".
Minneapolis recently was acknowledged as # 7 in the 2008 SustainLane US City Rankings on greening of the 50 most-populous cities in the nation.
In 2003, Mayor Rybak and the Minneapolis City Council took steps initiating development of the Minneapolis Sustainability Program. In the last three years the City has issued sustainability reports, measuring what they have achieved against their stated goals. It comes as no surprise that Rybak has community organizing roots, nor that he drives a plug in Prius capable of 79 mpg. What might surprise you is what happens when a city cares about what they can do, how they measure progress and how residents are partnering in the process.
Mayor Rybak’s presentation will set the stage for three closing dialogues with elected officials:
You can read more about him on this website [5].
Workshops
Visioning Sustainability
4:00 pm
We will have 3 final breakout sessions focusing on what we can do as communities through our levels of government. Each session will be facilitated so that you can both learn and contribute.
- Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Rochester
Council members Bruce Snyder and Ed Hruska
Facilitator: Shaun Palmer - Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Olmsted County
Commissioners Dave Perkins, Matt Flynn and Ken Brown
Facilitator: Joe Mayer - Visioning SUSTAINABILITY in Minnesota
Sen. Ellen Anderson
Facilitator: Sen David Senjem