Karl-Henrik Robèrt
By Wyndham Manning • Apr 10th, 2008 • Category: HappeningIf we think systematically, we will stop asking, “How much is nature worth?” We will know that we are a piece of nature ourselves. –K.-H. Robèrt
Are you plugged into any of the events that feature The Natural Step founder, Karl-Henrik Robèrt, April 14 & 15? He’ll be in town as the keynote speaker for a conference sponsored by the UW Health Integrative Medicine called “Healthy People Healthy Planet”, but he’ll be busy around town for a number of other very exciting panels and lectures. Whether you’re a med. student, an environmental studies student, or just have a passing interest in anything related to sustainability and systems thinking, you’ll find something to spark your fancy. A bio for the uninitiated:
Karl-Henrik Robèrt, M.D., Ph.D., is one of Sweden’s foremost cancer scientists who, in 1989, initiated an environmental organization called “The Natural Step”. Dr. Robèrt received his M.D. in 1975; his Ph.D. in 1979 and in 1982 became a Professor of Internal Medicine. He has lectured at international conferences and while heading a research laboratory at the Karolinska Institute, the leading cancer Research Institute in Sweden, Dr. Robèrt authored numerous scientific publications concerning leukemia, lymphoma, lung cancer and their clinical implications. He has written many books and articles on the environment and sustainability, which encourage an understanding of the linkage between ecology and economy. With Dr. John Holmberg, he developed the “system conditions” for ecological sustainability. Dr. Robèrt mobilized twenty independent professional networks to initiate and support the framework of The Natural Step, while producing educational materials and distributing them to every household and school in Sweden. Major Swedish companies, business corporations, as well as municipalities, including Stockholm, have begun to incorporate the system conditions into their business practices.
The events:
APRIL 14-
Robèrt will present his keynote at the Green Medicine Conference, “Healthy People Healthy Planet” at 8:00am. The two-day conference looks at external and internal influences on wellness. Other speakers and topics include: Jonathan Patz on the health implications of global warming and Warren Porter on contaminants in food and water.
APRIL 15-
BASE (Business Action for Sustainable Enterprise)presents an intimate panel discussion featuring Robèrt in Grainger Hall at 4:15pm. Come for the once in a lifetime opportunity to sit at the table with him for a face-to-face conversation. As if that wasn’t enough, free snacks will be provided.
Finally, Robèrt will cap his visit off with a Distinguished Lecture Series lecture, “Incompetent Leadership, The Greatest Sustainability Problem,” at 7:30pm in Mills Hall.
As always, see our Calendar for complete event listings.
Wyndham Manning is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he is majoring in Communication Arts, Environmental Studies and Integrated Liberal Studies. He currently works at SRO Artists in Middleton and serves as Dane County Supervisor in District 5.
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