Monday, October 08, 2007

GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY: DIONE AND SAUL

Hi Dad,

Attached is the syllabus for a course called
"Global Ecology" that Saul and I teach together. We
use Lester Brown's book "Plan B" for the class as well
as a book by Jared Diamond called "Collapse". If you
get a chance to pick up either book they are both very
interesting. Lester Brown's books give the whole
overview of the issues we are facing: Peak Oil,
Global Warming, Food, Water, Farming Practices, etc.
Jared Diamond's book gives a historical perspective
about societies that have collapsed and the reasons
for their collapses. The two books together make a
very powerful combination.

The first chapter of Jared Diamond's book is about the
Bitterroot Valley in Montana because he has a place there.
Jared Diamond won a Pulitzer Prize for his book "Guns, Germs and
Steel", and had a full page article in the New York
Times about "Collapse".

So, Lester Brown was actually one of your students??
[Note from Bill: Brown was an exchange student at the
same time I was in 1956 and is my age, not my student]
Interesting! If you get here at some point when we
are teaching the class, you could come talk to our
students about your former student!

Also, if you are playing around on the internet google
a man named Jose Ramos-Horte. He is now the president
of East Timor, but he got his Master's Degree through
Antioch McGregor's independent study program (with
Noam Chompsky as one of his advisors). Saul and I
planned a dinner for him a few years ago and met him
personally. He's a very interesting person who, in
addition to recently winning a national presidential
election, won the Nobel Peace Prize in about 1995. I
hope all is well!

Love, Dione

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