Knox County Public Library is proud to partner with the City of Knoxville to bring a new Lunch & Learn series to downtown Knoxville called "Brown Bag - Green Book" with a focus on the important topic of sustainability. Each program will feature a prominent Knoxvillian talking about a timely "green book" with a particular look at how ideas in the book are relevant to issues of sustainability in East Tennessee. The public is invited to listen as speakers share their thoughts, insights, and perspectives about these critical issues.
Mike Edwards, CEO and President of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce will launch the series on Wednesday, March 11 at 12 p.m. in the Cafe 4 Conference Room as he discusses Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman.
In this ground breaking book, Friedman discusses what he sees as America's surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; as well as the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests. Friedman explains why he believes this is a great challenge, but also a great opportunity - one that America cannot afford to miss. Not only is American leadership the key to the healing of the earth; it is also our best strategy for the renewal of America.
Edwards says he chose Hot, Flat and Crowded because it hits the nail on the head. We're facing a big uphill climb, but fortunately, in East Tennessee we've got some world class resources to deal with the issues ahead of us. I hope folks will come out for this new series. It's important that we all understand the challenges ahead," says Edwards.
The public is invited to join the conversation each month, but is not required to read the books to attend. Participants may bring their own lunch or order in advance from Cafe 4 at 544-4144 or another downtown restaurant.
The series will continue on the second Wednesday of each month. On April 8, 2009, Elizabeth Eason, owner of the design firm Elizabeth Eason Architecture, will talk about Cradle to Cradle/Remaking the Way We Make Things, a provocative and visionary book which questions the wisdom of "reduce, reuse, recycle." Authors William McDonough and Michael Braungart propose that products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new - either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
On May 13, 2009, Chris Woodhull, Executive Director of Tribe One and Knoxville City Councilman, will discuss The Green Collar Economy. In this landmark book, author Van Jones illustrates how we can invent and invest our way out of the pollution-based grey economy and into a healthy new green economy. According to Jones, this path should be built by a broad coalition deeply rooted in the lives and struggles of ordinary people, so that it has the practical benefit of both cutting energy prices and generating enough work to pull the U.S. economy out of its present death spiral.
For more information, please call Emily Ellis at 215-8723 or Madeleine Weil at 215-2680.