Environment

The Juneau World Affairs Council presents “Vulnerable Vietnam: A Photo Story Focused on Climate Change in the Mekong Delta” with Lione Clare. Clare is a photographer from Sitka with a professional interest in climate change and conservation. She was in Vietnam earlier this year documenting effects of climate change.

A group of artists from across the country are touring Ketchikan, Juneau, Gustavus and Sitka by ferry. Artists Nina Elder, Billy Joe Miller, Wendy Given and Jimmy Riordan are exploring the theme of signal to noise in our understanding of place, nature and community. The artists’ Tidelines Journey is sponsored by The Island Institute based in Sitka.

Joel Salatin presents the problems with mainstream food/agriculture systems, and how a return to traditional ways will help us for the future. There is an emphasis on permaculture and agriculture system design.

The Juneau World Affairs Council, in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Juneau and the Open World Leadership Center, present: “Mongolia Today: Profile, Strengths, and Politics” with Mongolian Parliament member Tsogtbaatar Damdin. Mr. Tsogtbaatar is a former cabinet minister and newly-elected member of the Mongolian Parliament.His primary focus is the development of responsible, accountable, open and efficient government institutions at both the national and local levels. He will give us a primer on his nation, its government, and its future.

A conversation about John McPhee’s 1977 classic “Coming into the Country” – a book that defined Alaska for many readers. Alaska’s Energy Desk tracked down policy makers, homesteaders, and river runners that were featured in the book to find out how Alaska has changed over the the past 40 years. A live studio audience asks questions of panelists: Willie Hensley, former state lawmaker and author of the autobiography Fifty Miles From Tomorrow. Reed Stoops, formerly of the Department of Natural Resources, now a lobbyist. Dan O’Neill, author of A Land Gone Lonesome, about the Yukon River. Pat Pourchot, a former state lawmaker, Congressional staffer, and DNR commissioner who had the enviable job of leading the river trip that John McPhee writes about in the first section of the book.

What is the future of renewable energy in Southeast Alaska? Three community stakeholders will discuss advances in technology and the challenges of powering the region’s most remote locations. We will look at models across the globe to see what’s working and how it could be adapted here.