ABOUT US

Sustainable Development & Conservation Biology (CONS) is a graduate degree program at the University of Maryland whose mission is to prepare the next generation of leaders in ecological sustainability.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Max Christian is a graduate of the program in Sustainable Development & Conservation Biology (CONS) at the University of Maryland, where he studied the implications of energy constraints for biodiversity conservation and economic development in Latin America. Prior to CONS, Max started a green design and construction practice in Montana incorporating renewable energy and sustainable materials, and has development and reconstruction experience in Central and South America. He holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (University of Southern California, 1994).

Jack Santa-Barbara is the Director of The Sustainable Scale Project, which he founded in 2002.  The mission of this NGO is to integrate the sustainable scale concept, and its implications, into the policies and operations of relevant governmental, business and international bodies. The current priority for this project is the development of a sustainable and equitable energy future.
Trained as an experimental social psychologist (PhD, Mc Master University, 1971), Jack has had successful careers as an academic, researcher, consultant and entrepreneur, prior to devoting his full time efforts to sustainable scale since 2000. Previously, he conducted several large research projects in the areas of mental health and social services, was a co-developer of a widely used family assessment instrument, was the founding President of the Canadian Evaluation Society, and served for twenty years as the CEO of the company he founded in 1980, which grew to become the largest behavioral health company in Canada.  He sold the company in 1999 to devote his attentions to issues of sustainable scale. Having a long term interest in issues of peace and conflict, he is also an Associate of the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University, and a Member of Transcend, an International Peace and Development Network. He is currently co-authoring a book, Peace Business: The Role of Business in Reducing Violence, Inequity and Ecological Degradation, and has participated in peace projects in Afghanistan, Central America, Turkey and the Philippines. Currently, Jack lectures in both public and academic forums on sustainability and energy issues, as well as sustainable business practices.  He also serves as a board member on a variety of environmental and social justice organizations, and writes for various media on environmental issues.

Nathan Hagens is studying the impacts that a decline in liquid fuels will have on planetary ecosystems and society at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. On the supply side, he is exploring net-energy comparisons of the primary alternate fuel sources to oil: coal, wind, nuclear and biomass. While many new energy schemes will produce profits from a bottoms-up perspective, an EROI (Energy Returned on Energy Invested) analysis from a top-down perspective limits the scope of energetically and ecologically sound replacements for fossil fuels. Because of this, real progress on the human and planetary scale issue will likely come from a reduction in consumption. On the demand level, Nate is studying the evolutionary mechanisms that cause humans to seek novelty, act impulsively, and value the present over the future (steep discount rates). Specifically, our neural plasticity combined with a culture promoting growth and consumption results in biochemical positive feedback loops akin to addiction. We can however, be happier, healthier and more sustainable by consuming less, if we are provided with a different cultural carrot. Nate’s thesis lies in modeling sustainable scale solutions to the future decline in EROI by researching ways to reduce the steepness of our discount rates, thus giving more weight to the planet’s future. Prior to coming to the Gund Institute, Nate developed trading algorithms for commodity systems and was President of Sanctuary Asset Management, Managing Director of Pension Research Institute, and Vice President at the investment firms Salomon Brothers and Lehman Brothers. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago.

This conference was made possible through the generous support of the Wallace Global Fund.

Conference co-sponsors: