UN/AMNH Culminating Conferences

United Nations / American Museum of Natural History Culminating Conferences

Religion and Ecology: Discovering the Common Ground

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October 20, 1998

United Nations Conference

  • Press Conference and Luncheon
  • Symposium
  • The Search for a New Ecological Balance
  • Religious Perspectives on the Environment

 

October 21, 1998

American Museum of Natural History Conference

  • Welcome and Overview
  • Setting the Context
  • Roundtable Discussion with Bill Moyers
  • Charting the Course: The Implications of the Earth Charter
  • Evening Activities
  • Biographical Sketches of Conference Participants

 

United Nations Conference
Sponsored by: the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE), Bucknell University, Interfaith Center of New York, and Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS)

Press Conference and Luncheon

Press Conference

Maurice Strong, Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary General

Timothy Wirth, President, the United Nations Foundation

Adnan Amin, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office, North America

Lawrence Sullivan, Director, Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions

John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Project Coordinators, Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions and Bucknell University

Tu Weiming, Director, The Harvard-Yenching Institute

Michael McElroy, Chair, Harvard University Committee on the Environment

The press conference addressed the significance and the urgency of the role of the world's religions in helping to solve environmental problems. The results of the three-year Harvard conference series was reported and summary papers on the potential contributions of each of these religions will be made available. An announcement was made of an ongoing Forum on Religions of the World and Ecology to carry this work forward.

 

Press Luncheon

The press and invited guests will have an opportunity to interact with the participants from the press conference and the afternoon conference.

 

Symposium

Key UN representatives, policy makers, and scientists will discuss developments regarding environmental issues since the Stockholm (1972) and Rio (1992) conferences on environment and sustainable development. Following this, participants from the Harvard conferences on Religions of the World and Ecology will report to the larger UN and NGO Community on what these traditions have to offer for renewing human-Earth relations.

 

The Search for a New Ecological Balance

Welcome - Lawrence Sullivan, Harvard University, CSWR

Moderator - Mary Evelyn Tucker, Bucknell University, CSWR

Maurice Strong, United Nations - From Stockholm to Rio

Timothy Wirth, United Nations Foundation - From Rio to Now

Adnan Amin, Executive Director, UNEP, RONA - Future Prospects

Michael McElroy, Harvard University - Science, Society, and Sustainability

Niles Eldredge, American Museum of Natural History - Why Environmental Ethics Matter

 

Religious Perspectives on the Environment

Welcome - James Parks Morton, President, Interfaith Center of NY

Moderator - John Grim, Bucknell University, CSWR

Tu Weiming, The Harvard-Yenching Institute - Beyond the Enlightenment Mentality

L. M. Singhvi, Member of Parliament, India - Cosmology and Ethics for Ecology

Ismar Schorsch, Chancellor, Jewish Theological Seminary - A New Covenant with Creation

Sallie McFague, Vanderbilt University - Voices for the Earth

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washington University - The Order of Nature

Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of Haudenosaunee, SUNY Buffalo - The Call from Words to Wisdom

 

Concluding Comments

Moderator - Douglas Candland, Bucknell University

Speaker - Brian Swimme, California Institute of Integral Studies

 

American Museum of Natural History Conference

Sponsored by: the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR), Center for Respect of Life and Environment (CRLE), Bucknell University, Interfaith Center of New York, and Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS)

Welcome and Overview

Welcome

Ellen Futter, President, American Museum of Natural History

James Sniffen, UNEP, Regional Office for North America

Paul Irwin, President, CRLE & Humane Society of the U.S.

 

Overview

Lawrence Sullivan, Harvard University

John Grim, Bucknell University, CSWR

Mary Evelyn Tucker, Bucknell University, CSWR

 

Setting the Context

Evolution, Ecology, and Ethics

Chair - Mary Evelyn Tucker, Bucknell University

Speaker - Brian Swimme, California Institute of Integral Studies

 

Science, Society, and the Environment

Chair - Joseph Humphrey, Bucknell University

Speaker - Jane Lubchenco, Oregon State University

Speaker - Michael Novacek, American Museum of Natural History

 

The Challenge of the Environmental Crisis to Economics

Chair - Daniel Little, Bucknell University

Speaker - Ismail Serageldin, World Bank

 

The Role of Education and the Environment

Chair - William Adams, President, Bucknell University

Speaker - George Rupp, President, Columbia University

 

The Call to Reflection and Action

Paul Gorman, National Religious Partnership for the Environment

James Forbes, Riverside Church

 

Roundtable Discussion with Bill Moyers

Indigenous Traditions - Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of Haudenosaunee, SUNY Buffalo

Judaism - Ismar Schorsh, Jewish Theological Seminary

Christianity - Sallie McFague, Vanderbilt University

Islam - Seyyed Hossein Nasr, George Washingon University

Jainism - L.M. Singhvi, Member of Parliament, India

Hinduism - Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida

Buddhism - Donald Swearer, Swarthmore College

Confucianism - Tu Weiming, Harvard University

Taoism - Liu Xiaogan, National University of Singapore

Shinto - Sonoda Minoru, Kyoto University                       

 

Charting the Course: The Implications of the Earth Charter

Chair - John Hoyt, President Emeritus, Humane Society of the US

Speaker - Steven Rockefeller, Middlebury College

Speaker - Wangari Maathai, Green Belt Movement, Kenya

 

Concluding Comments

Chair - Mary Pearl, Columbia University

Speaker - Michael McElroy, Harvard University

Speaker - Niles Eldredge, American Museum of Natural History

Speaker - Thomas Berry, Fordham University, Emeritus

 

Evening Activities

An Evening of Celebration with Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme and the Indigenous Musical Group from Peru, INCA SON.

“Range of Light: The John Muir Story” - A one-man play written and performed by Duane Tucker.

 

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