Bioneers, a gathering of environmental visionaries who offer practical solutions to the most pressing environmental and social issues of our time, will celebrate its 10th year as a Colorado satellite forum Nov. 9-11 at the University of Colorado Boulder campus.
The national organization Bioneers, now in its 23rd year, connects the dots among environment, health, social justice and spirit. This year’s conference, titled “From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Reimagining Civilization in the Age of Nature,” will create opportunities for sharing, learning and action by bringing together the region’s progressive ideas, people and organizations. The key themes are resilience and indigeneity.
“This local Bioneers event fuses many issues and serves as a hub for sustainability,” says Marianne Martin, associate director of CU’s Environmental Center, which hosts the event in conjunction with Transition Colorado, Naropa University, the Center for ReSource Conservation, Restorative Leadership Institute, Boulder’s Best Organics and Woodbine Ecology Center. “We have to be strong enough to create social and ecological networks that are smart and will last the test of time.”
Other issues that will be addressed include local food, energy and climate, and sustainable economies.
More information about Colorado Bioneers can be found at http://ecenter.colorado.edu/resources/events-calendar/bioneers.
— Michael Callahan
GROUPS TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO PROTECT HAWAII’S REEF ECOSYSTEM
Earthjustice, a non-profit public interest law organization that works to protect the environment, filed a complaint on Oct. 24 to require the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources to protect Hawaii’s reefs and coastal areas from unlimited collection of fish and other wildlife for the aquarium trade.
Every year, aquarium collectors catch hundreds of thousands of wildlife from Hawaii’s reef, according to the com plaint.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources has stated that this is just a minimum estimate because it does not validate the accuracy of catch reports submitted. Presently, there is no limit on the number of aquarium permits the department can issue and neither is there a limit on the number of animals an aquarium collector can take under one permit.
The complaint aims to obtain a court order to force the state to comply with the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act’s requirement to assess the effects of aquarium collecting before issuing collection permits.
— Adelina Shee
