Topic: Speakers
February 9, 2009
Nationally known environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will visit Ball State University on Feb. 18 as the spring semester's first guest of the Bracken Environmental Speaker Series.
Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, is the chief prosecuting attorney for the advocacy group Riverkeeper and author of "Crimes Against Nature." His address, "Our Environmental Destiny," will consider the role that natural resources play in our work, health and identity as Americans. It begins at 8 p.m. in Emens Auditorium and will be free and open to the public.
"We're pleased and excited that Mr. Kennedy will be here to speak to us, for he is a champion of the environment and consequently a champion for us all," said Provost Terry King. "He focuses his expertise and hard work into making sure we all have a better quality of life."
Named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet," Kennedy is recognized as the first among a new breed of environmentalists. The New York City watershed agreement that Kennedy negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers established an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development. He also helped lead the fight to turn back anti-environmental legislation during the 104th Congress.
Along with his work with Riverkeeper, he also is the senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the former president — now chair — of the Waterkeeper Alliance.
Continuing the Bracken series is The New York Times foreign affairs columnist and "The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century" author Tom Friedman. On March 4, he will share his outlook on the crises of destabilizing climate change and rising competition for energy from his new book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution—and How It Can Renew America" (September 2008), a No. 1 New York Times best seller.