Survive or Flourish? Nobel Laureate Discusses the Earth's Carrying Capacity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nobel laureate Sir John Sulston is chairing a new effort by the United Kingdom's Royal Society to study the impact of population dynamics on sustainable development. To be completed in early 2012, the "People and the Planet" study will analyze how population variables such as growth, aging, migration, and urbanization will affect--and be affected by--economies, environments, societies, and cultures over the next 40 years and beyond.

"Unpacking the complex connections among consumption, population, and development is an ambitious and critical step to charting a sustainable future," said Geoff Dabelko, the director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program. "These big challenges require a willingness to ask big questions, and the Royal Society is doing that."

At the Wilson Center on Tuesday, February 22nd at 3:00 p.m., an expert panel, led by Sir John Sulston, will discuss the implications of population decreases and increases in different parts of the world, and seek to answer the question, should we be aiming to survive or flourish?

***This event will be webcast live***

What: Panel Discussion, "Carrying Capacity: Should We Be Aiming to Survive or Flourish?"

Who: Sir John E. Sulston FRS, Chair, People and the Planet Working Group, Royal Society; Chair, Institute for Science, Ethics, & Innovation, University of Manchester; and 2002 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine Laureate

Martha Campbell, President, Venture Strategies for Health and Development

Parfait Eloundou-Enyegue, Associate Professor, Department of Development Sociology, Cornell University; and Associate Director, Cornell Population Program

When: Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Where:  Woodrow Wilson Center, 5th Floor Conference Room

The Wilson Center is located in the Ronald Reagan Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Federal Triangle Metro Station)

Media planning to cover this event should RSVP at ecsp@wilsoncenter.org or by calling Sharon McCarter at 202-691-4016.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the national, living memorial honoring President Woodrow Wilson.  In providing an essential link between the worlds of ideas and public policy, the Center addresses current and emerging challenges confronting the United States and the world.  The Center promotes policy-relevant research and dialogue to increase understanding and enhance the capabilities and knowledge of leaders, citizens, and institutions worldwide.  Created by an Act of Congress in 1968, the Center is a non-partisan institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and supported by both public and private funds.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Geoffrey Dabelko

http://www.profnetconnect.com/geoffrey_dabelko

SOURCE Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars