2007 Media Releases
Thursday 25 October, 2007
“Can we avoid the looming ecological armageddon?” La Trobe-Suzuki hook-up seeks answers to climate change
At 1pm on Thursday 25 October staff and students at La Trobe University will tune in simultaneously across four campuses to hear what the world’s pre-eminent environmentalist, Dr David Suzuki, has to say about the “looming ecological armageddon” – and what we should do to avoid it.
In an environmentally-friendly pilot hook-up, La Trobe will co-opt the technology of our times to help deliver the most urgent message of our times - reducing its own contribution to jetfuel emissions and Dr Suzuki’s by beaming him in electronically instead of sending him an airline ticket.
Eschewing his traditional fly-in fly-out mode of travel, the award-winning scientist will deliver the University’s annual Sir John Quick Lecture via video-link from his Canadian university campus, on the topic “Can We Avoid the Looming Ecological Armageddon?”
La Trobe audiences – including Vice Chancellor Paul Johnson and invited guests – will listen to the lecture and ask questions via a networked videoconference from The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus.
The videoconference will be transmitted as multi-media data via a high definition Broadband Internet link direct to LaTrobe’s main Bundoora campus, and re-routed simultaneously via La Trobe’s own statewide fibre-optic and microwave broadband network to its regional campuses at Bendigo, Albury-Wodonga and Mildura.
La Trobe is a leader in the utilisation of videoconferencing for teaching and internal communications, and is believed to be the first University in Australia to leverage the technology to simultaneously link an overseas conference site with multiple Australian campuses.
Dr Suzuki’s lecturewill bring little comfort to politicians - warning that where climate change is concerned political leaders do not use the best information to reach a conclusion, “factoring in instead factors like the next election and the needs of the business community.”
“I point out that we are at a remarkable point in history when all the combined destructive activity of human beings is undeniable, and must be dealt with in the next few years or else we head into a completely out of control world that will be most perilous for human survival,” Dr Suzuki said yesterday.
“I will talk about how we arrived at this moment and consider what is our most important survival attribute to get us out of this mess. Foresight has been the greatest endowment of humankind. We are the only creature that has the ability to look ahead, recognise dangers and opportunities, and then take steps to avoid danger and exploit opportunities.
“Yet today when we have so much ability to predict what lies ahead, we are turning our backs on this strategy, and instead argue that we can’t afford it. Why can’t we see what lies ahead and act?”
Dr Suzuki says his personal contribution to the crisis is to work very hard to reduce his own carbon footprint, cutting his flying time already this year in half.
“This videoconference is very exciting because it allows me to maintain my Australian audience while not flying.By next year I hope to have reduced flying down to almost nothing, by virtue of videoconferencing. My Foundation is holding its next Board meeting by videoconference. I’ve been flying carbon neutral for over three years by investing in gold standard carbon offsets, but it is still important to reduce the amount of flying.”
Dr Suzuki will be introduced by Vice Chancellor Paul Johnson from Bundoora campus at 12.50 pm, and the lecture delivered to all campuses at 1 p.m.
La Trobe University’s annual Sir John Quick Lecture was established in honour of Sir John Quick, the self-made man considered by many Australians to be the father of Australian federation. It is presented annually on La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus with the support of the Sir John Quick Lecture Committee and the City of Greater Bendigo. The lecture is free and open to the public but bookings are essential.
Further information
Bundoora: Adrienne Jones T: 03 9479 5513, Email: adrienne.jones@latrobe.edu.au
Bendigo: Professor Lorraine Ling M: 0439 551288
Albury Wodonga: Reinhard Beissbarth T 02 6024 9784 M: Email: r.beissbarth@latrobe.edu.au
Mildura: Ron Broadhead T:03 5051 4001.
Email: r.broadhead@latrobe.edu.au