MIDDLEBURY, Vt., Jan. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- In its March 18, 2004, edition, The Economist magazine asked: "Could the next grassroots revolution in America be over climate change?" National leaders and grassroots organizers concerned with the climate crisis, including Executive Director of Greenpeace U.S.A. John Passacantando and "End of Nature" author Bill McKibben, hope to answer this question with a resounding "yes" when they meet Jan. 25-27 at a conference at Middlebury College titled "What Works? New Strategies for a Melting Planet." The kick-off lecture on Jan. 25 is free and open to the public. The remainder of the conference is closed to the public and to additional participants, with the exception of a limited number of journalists, since attendance has reached full capacity. More information about the event, including a schedule, is available on the conference Web site at http://www.whatworks-climate.org/ . Conference proceedings will be available online in February.

Conference participants will also include Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, co-authors of "The Death of Environmentalism," a controversial essay released last year at the October meeting of the Environmental Grantmakers Association that has sparked a big debate among environmentalists at every level, according to the Jan. 3 edition of The Nation. The text of the essay is available at http://www.thebreakthrough.org/ .

McKibben, who helped design the event at Middlebury, said, "Many people in the environmental community in the United States are discouraged by our country's failure to adopt a national policy designed to confront the climate crisis. Now it's time to be practical. We're asking, 'What additional progress can we make using grassroots methods that are already being used effectively?'" For three days, Jan. 24-26, McKibben will contribute a daily update of the event to the online environmental publication Grist Magazine at http://www.grist.org .

National leaders and grassroots organizers of the climate movement from the nonprofit, business, government and university sectors will participate, sharing their own ideas and efforts. These individuals include:

- John Passacantando, Executive director of Greenpeace U.S.A. and founder of Ozone Action

- Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature" and "Enough," and Scholar in Residence in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College

- Michael Shellenberger, Executive director of the Breakthrough Institute and co-author of the essay "The Death of Environmentalism"

- Ted Nordhaus, Co-founder and director of Strategic Values Science Project; and co-author of the essay "The Death of Environmentalism"

- Judith Helfand and Daniel Gold, Co-directors and co-producers of documentary film "Blue Vinyl" and the forthcoming "Melting Planet: A Toxic Comedy about Global Warming." Helfand and Gold will film the Middlebury conference for use in "Melting Planet."

- David Merrill, Founder and executive director of the National Global Warming Coalition

- Susi Moser, Research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Institute for the Study of Society and Environment

- Billy Parish, Founder and executive director of The Climate Campaign and Energy Action

- Tom Stokes, Director of The Climate Crisis Coalition

- Joel Makower, Founder and editor of GreenBiz and ClimateBiz

- More participants are listed on the conference Web site at: http://www.whatworks-climate.org/ .

According to a Dec. 16 Associated Press story which appeared in the Burlington Free Press, a report released by a United Nations weather agency on Dec. 15 stated that the year 2004 was the fourth hottest on record. The agency, the World Meteorological Organization, said the statistic coincides with a trend - the 10 hottest years ever have all occurred since the 1990s. The story also stated that new data provided by U.N. environmental officials confirmed that

"The current year was also the most expensive for the insurance industry in coping worldwide with hurricanes, typhoons and other weather-related natural disasters."

Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Economics Jonathan Isham, who organized the Middlebury event, said, "Averting this global crisis will require a heroic effort. Conference participants will explore how social movements of the past, such as the one led by civil rights leader Dr. King, offer lessons for today. Right now, inspiring local action is taking place across the country, particularly among college students, religious leaders, and climate-friendly businesses. Events at the conference will encourage leaders to share the good news about their grassroots efforts, and then plan how the climate movement can expand its political base."

The conference will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 25, with a keynote lecture titled "Global Warming and the Meaning of Life," by Eban Goodstein, founder and director of the Oregon-based Green House Network, a nonprofit organization that, according to its Web site, is committed to creating the grassroots movement needed to stop global warming. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place in Room 216 of McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125). The conference will feature interactive sessions designed to help all conference participants develop and refine strategies that will contribute to the new climate movement, including a proposed new campaign of civil disobedience. Break-out discussions will focus on a range of new social movement strategies.

Throughout the events, college students who are shaping the new climate movement will share their ideas and discuss their own efforts to address climate change. For example, 25 Middlebury College students will present service-learning projects developed in collaboration with environmental organizations and climate-friendly businesses, including Ben and Jerry's, Clean Air-Cool Planet, Energy Action, Environmental Defense, The Green House Network, and the Middlebury Area Global Warming Action Coalition. The students are completing these projects and helping to organize the conference as part of their work for the course "Building the New Climate Movement," which Isham is teaching during Winter Term - a one-month semester that takes place in January when students take one course. One student project is the development of a new prize to be presented annually by the members of the Green House Network to an outspoken climate-crisis naysayer. The establishment of the new prize, which was inspired by the new Michael Crichton novel, "State of Fear," will be announced officially at the conference on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

The kick-off lecture on Jan. 25 is free and open to the public. The remainder of the conference is closed to the public and to additional participants, with the exception of a limited number of journalists, since attendance has reached full capacity. More information about the event, including a schedule, is available on the conference Web site at http://www.whatworks-climate.org/. To follow is a schedule of conference events:

"What Works? New Strategies for a Melting Planet" January 25-27 Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

Conference Schedule: The most up-to-date agenda is available on the conference Web site at http://www.whatworks-climate.org/ . Please check the Web site for current schedule information.

Conference Communication Techniques: Two participatory techniques will be used during portions of the conference.

- The World Café technique allows conference participants seated around a series of small tables to build a body of knowledge through conversations.

- Open Space Technology permits conference goers to design and lead their own breakout sessions based on a body of knowledge they have developed together.

Tuesday, Jan. 25

5-7 p.m.

Welcome reception and informal dinner

7:30 - 9 p.m.

"Global Warming and the Meaning of Life," keynote talk by Eban Goodstein, founder and director of the Green House Network, and chair of the Lewis and Clark College Environmental Studies Program Room 216, McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125)

9-11 p.m.

Music and socializing at The Grille, the campus café and bar. McCullough Student Center, Old Chapel Road off South Main Street (Route 30)

Wednesday, Jan. 26

All Jan. 26-27 events will take place in the Social Space, McCullough Student Center, Old Chapel Road off South Main Street (Route 30).

8- 8:30 a.m.

Coffee and conference welcome by Middlebury College students enrolled in "Building the New Climate Movement."

8:30-9:30 a.m.

Conference introduction: "Stewardship and Justice in the Age of the Climate Crisis" by conference organizer and Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Economics Jonathan Isham and independent environmental consultant Sissel Waage

9:30-10:30 a.m.

Presentation and moderated discussion: "The Strategic Values Project" by Ted Nordhaus, co-founder and director of the Strategic Values Project

10:30-10:45 a.m.

Coffee break

10:45-11:30 a.m.

Presentation and moderated discussion: "The Death of Environmentalism" by Michael Shellenberger, executive director of the Breakthrough Institute, and co-author of the essay "The Death of Environmentalism"

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

A working panel on "The Process of Social Change," including Mary Lou Finley, faculty member at Antioch College of Seattle, and Bill Chaloupka, professor of political science at Colorado State University

12:30-1:30 p.m.

Lunch

1:30-3 p.m.

Using The World Café technique, conference participants will deconstruct and reconstruct six new climate campaigns-the work of Middlebury students currently enrolled in the course "Building the New Climate Movement" and their service-learning partners, environmental organizations and climate-friendly businesses.

3-3:15 p.m.

Coffee break

3:15-4:30 p.m.

Using The World Café technique, conference participants will consider how to design and conduct a national civil disobedience campaign, in the tradition of King and Gandhi. Billy Parish, founder and executive director of the Climate Campaign and Energy Action, will serve as leader and moderator of this session.

4:30-4:45 p.m.

Brief summary and preview of next day

5:00-5:30 p.m.

Formal announcement of a new prize to be presented annually by the members of the Green House Network to an outspoken climate-crisis naysayer.

7-8:30 p.m.

Dinner

8:30-10 a.m.

A presentation and screening of segments of "Melting Planet," a forthcoming film co-directed and co-produced by documentary filmmakers Judith Helfand and Daniel Gold, makers of the film "Blue Vinyl." Helfand and Gold will film the Middlebury conference for use in "Melting Planet."

Thursday, Jan. 27

Social Space

McCullough Student Center, Old Chapel Road off South Main Street (Route 30)

8-8:30 a.m.

Coffee and brief re-welcome

8:30-9:30 a.m.

Talk and moderated discussion: "Reflections on the Climate Crisis" by John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA.

9:30-10:30 a.m.

Open Space Technology Session 1: Using Open Space Technology techniques, conference goers will design and lead their own breakout sessions.

10:30-10:45 a.m.

Coffee break

10:45-11:45 a.m.

Open Space Technology Session 2: Using Open Space Technology techniques, conference goers will design and lead their own breakout sessions.

11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Plenary discussion: "What have we learned? Where do we need to go? How can we get there?," with Conference Organizer and Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Economics Jonathan Isham and independent environmental consultant Sissel Waage

12:30-1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15-2 p.m.

Closing Remarks by Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature" and "Enough," and scholar in residence in environmental studies at Middlebury College

The keynote lecture on Jan. 25 will take place in Room 216 of McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125). All Jan. 26-27 events will take place in the Social Space of the McCullough Student Center on Old Chapel Road off South Main Street (Route 30).

The kick-off lecture on Jan. 25 is free and open to the public. The remainder of the conference is closed to the public and to additional participants, with the exception of a limited number of journalists, since attendance has reached full capacity. More information about the event is available on the conference Web site at http://www.whatworks-climate.org/ .

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CONTACT: Sarah Ray, Middlebury College Public Affairs Office, 802-443-5198, sray@middlebury.edu