Environmental Author Bill McKibben to Speak at Newport Public Library about Global Warming 

Wednesday, May 2 at 6 p.m., renowned environmental author Bill McKibben will give a free lecture on global warming at the Newport Public Library. McKibben’s presentation is open to the public and is part of the Aquidneck Land Trust’s (ALT) 2007 Conservation Speaker Series, designed to deepen community dialogue about conservation. Space is limited, so those who would like to attend should contact Cindy Sabato at csabato@ailt.org or 401-849-2799.

McKibben is an American environmentalist and author who frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy and other environmental topics. His first book, The End of Nature, published in 1999 and available in 20 languages, is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change. Last summer, McKibben helped lead a five-day walk across Vermont to demand action on global warming. Some newspaper accounts called it the largest demonstration regarding climate change to date in America. In January 2007, McKibben founded stepitup07.org, which organized rallies held on April 14^th in hundreds of American cities, including Newport, demanding that Congress enact carbon emissions curbs that would cut global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050.

“We are pleased to bring an environmentalist of Bill McKibben’s stature to our community so that we can be further educated about global warming. The very work of the Aquidneck Land Trust to conserve open space helps mitigate against global warming by securing hundreds and hundreds of acres of plants and trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, by preventing energy consumption that accompanies over-development and by lessening transportation-related carbon dioxide emissions through the conservation of farms and local food sources,” said ALT Executive Director Ted Clement.

McKibben is a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College, recipient of Guggenheim and Lyndhurst fellowships and winner of the Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction. He holds honorary degrees from Green Mountain, Unity and Lebanon Valley colleges. He is a former staff writer for The New Yorker and a frequent contributor to a variety of national publications including Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and New York Review of Books.

This email update has been sent to the entire Aquidneck Land Trust email list. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive these email updates by replying to this message. If you have any questions or comments, please call 401/849-2799 x19 or email csabato@ailt.org.