EOWBF Biodiversity Days Release_20170202
E.O. Wilson, Thomas Lovejoy, Thomas Friedman, and Jeff Sachs Among Speakers Set for Biodiversity
Days, March 2-3
Contact: Kellie Laity, 919/613-8137, [email protected]
DURHAM, N.C. – Biologists E.O. Wilson and Thomas Lovejoy, two of the most influential and widely cited
scientists of our time, are among the speakers slated to take part in Biodiversity Days, a two-day series
of public talks, March 2 and 3, at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and the Carolina
Theater in downtown Durham.
The theme of this year’s talks is “Half-Earth” – reflecting Wilson’s urgent call for humans to set aside half
of Earth’s surface as protected landscapes to ensure the survival of the 10 million other species that
share the planet with us.
Wilson will present the event’s keynote address, “Half-Earth: How to Save the Natural World,” at 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 2, at the Carolina Theater.
Joining him in a panel discussion will be Lovejoy of George Mason University, John Seager of Population
Connections, and Louie Psihoyos of the Oceanic Preservation Society.
Singer Paul Simon will also join them for a brief solo performance and special announcement.
Tickets for this event are available through the Carolina Theater at (919) 560-3030,
http://www.carolinatheatre.org or by stopping by the theater’s box office in person.
Other highlights of Biodiversity Days will include:
• “Green is the New Red, White and Blue,” a free public talk at 9 a.m. Friday, March 3, by awardwinning
columnist Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times. Friedman’s talk, which does not
require advance tickets, will be at Field Auditorium in Duke’s Environment Hall, 9 Circuit Drive.
Wilson and Lovejoy will join him for a discussion following the talk.
• “Half-Earth, Whole Heart: Half-Earth and Conservation as a Spiritual Necessity,” a free public film
event at 12 p.m. Friday, March 3, with Emmy Award nominated producer Graham Townsley and
Academy Award winning documentary film director Louis Psihoyos. This film event does not
require advance tickets, and will be at Love Auditorium in Duke’s Levine Science Research Center,
308 Research Drive.
• “Forging Global Cooperation to Save the Biosphere,” a free public talk at 4:30 p.m. March 3 by
economist and senior United Nations advisor on sustainable development Jeffrey D. Sachs. No
advance tickets are required. Sachs’ talk will be in Field Auditorium. A reception and book signing
by E.O. Wilson will immediately follow.
A full list of speakers and events is online at https://eowilsonfoundation.org.
Event sponsors are the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, the Half-Earth Project, The Nature
Conservancy, Discover Life in America, NatureServe, Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and the
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.