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“We're the first generation to feel the sting of climate change and we’re the last that can do something about it.”

That’s Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s warning about climate  change, perhaps the paramount existential threat of our time. 

The two-term Democratic governor and David  Wallace-Wells, best-selling author of “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming,” will headline the interactive speakers’ series “Conversations On the Green” when it returns for its seventh season on May 19.

As climate change moves from an imminent peril to a deadly reality for vast swaths of the country, the two nationally recognized groundbreakers in the debate on global warming will discuss the gaping dichotomy between what scientists say needs to be done to moderate an impending disaster and the political reality of what is possible.

“Doomsday Denial: The Politics of Climate Change” will be a broad ranging discussion of the science, economics and politics swirling around the alarming climate change headlines. The debate will examine what state and local communities are doing to mitigate the congressional stasis, what might break the logjam, how the issue plays in national, state and local elections and the role of private citizens and companies.  

Elected to Congress in 1992 from a relatively rural, agricultural area of Washington, Inslee in became the first public figure to propose a moon-shot like national energy program. In the 2002 op-ed and a subsequent series of pieces, he laid out a precursor to what is now colloquially known as the Green New Deal – a multifaceted agenda to wean the country off fossil fuels while rebuilding the national economy by creating millions of “green collar jobs.” 

“We went to the moon and created technologies that have changed the world,” says Inslee, a groundbreaking governor who has been at the forefront of myriad legal and political battles against President Trump but is basing his 2020 presidential campaign on the issue of global warming. “Our country’s next mission must be to rise up to the most urgent challenge of our time, defeating climate change.” 

A technocratic leader by nature and inclination, Governor Inslee is the voice of legislative reason in the face of David Wallace-Wells, an editor at New York magazine and the author of the new NYT best seller, “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming,” an apocalyptic portrait of where civilization is headed. His Cassandra warning of our future is nothing less than economic collapse in the wake of famine, desertification, pandemics, broiling cities, charred forests and acidic oceans.

Originally published two years ago as a long-form essay in New York magazine, the piece immediately provoked a storm and went viral, becoming the most read article in the publication’s history. Many saw it as prescient, the “Silent Spring” of our time, a belated bugle call to battle and a desperately-needed SOS for a dying planet; critics savaged it as alarmist pornography, “fear mongering,” “scientifically imprecise” and little more than dishonest clickbait.

But just two years later, Wallace’s distress flares have been largely validated by the enduring headlines of fires and floods and by a major report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which last fall warned of an impending doomsday. Even many of those who dissed his essay now praise the book, which follows up and expands on the earlier work.

Moderated by Jane Whitney, former NBC News correspondent & talk show host. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the interactive town-hall style format.

All proceeds benefit:

• Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Inc. - Helping members of the Litchfield County Community and beyond find access to compassionate and high-quality mental health and related care.
• New Milford Hospital - helping to secure the latest technology, attract the best medical staff and provide the compassionate, patient-centered care for which they are nationally recognized. 
• Susan B. Anthony Project - promoting safety, healing, and growth for all survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and advocates for the autonomy of women and the end of interpersonal violence.

Tickets are available at two levels:

• $45 - Individual tickets.
• $250 per person - "Angels on the Green" tickets, include preferred seating and a chance to meet the speakers at a cocktail reception following the conversation at The Mayflower Inn & Spa.

Seating is limited. To reserve your place:

1. Email Conversations on the Green: Please let us know what type and how many tickets you'd like and how you prefer to be contacted. conversationsonthegreen@gmail.com
2. To buy tickets online with a Credit Card or PayPal, click "Register Now!" below.
3. To buy tickets by mail, click on the MAIL IN RESPONSE FORM,print and fill out, and return it by email or regular mail as soon as possible.

Some portion of your payment is tax deductible.
We suggest you consult with your accountant or attorney.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Register Now!