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Book Discussion - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman
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10:30-11:20
Richard Sedlock
Professor and Chair
Geology
We face a future fundamentally different from the late 20th century. Obtaining energy for our petroleum-dependent society is progressively costlier and riskier. Our addiction to petroleum is changing Earth’s climate in unwelcome ways. Alternative energy resources require massive investments whose likelihood inexorably declines with the decay of global debt-based economic system.
Most responses to our predicament presume maintenance of business-as-usual conditions. As things unravel, we will be tempted to assign blame, and will expect governments to take care of us. A pervasive sense of powerlessness could lead to frustration, anger, depression, and paralysis.
Blame no one: Blame is a passive strategy that undermines your ability to act. Expect nothing: Waiting for governments to save you is also a passive strategy. Do something: Instead, I encourage you to abandon hope—hope is a passive non-act, a desire for an outcome over which you have no control. You HAVE power over your own future. Evaluate your circumstances, determine how you and your family can thrive in a slower, smaller world, and act. We’ll discuss a variety of actions whose impacts range from negligible to cathartic.
Most responses to our predicament presume maintenance of business-as-usual conditions. As things unravel, we will be tempted to assign blame, and will expect governments to take care of us. A pervasive sense of powerlessness could lead to frustration, anger, depression, and paralysis.
Presenter Biography: Richard Sedlock is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Geology at SJSU. He hails from Cleveland, Ohio and received degrees from Northwestern, UC Santa Barbara, and Stanford. He is co-director of the Bay Area Earth Science Institute, which provides professional development to local pre-college teachers. He has taught courses in structural geology, field geology, technical writing, and earthquakes. In 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, he co-taught SJSU’s year-long, interdisciplinary course “Global Climate Change,” and is teaching it again in 2010-11. Since Spring 2009, he has taught “The End of the World (as you knew it),” a course that analyzes the issues outlined above in much more depth and breadth.
And, as you’ll see, he is “walking the walk,” not just talking the talk.
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