Global warming. Energy depletion. Overpopulation. You are only as healthy as the world you live in. Without awareness and significant change, Earth’s once bountiful treasures will be depleted. Researchers at The Ohio State University College of Public Health will gather national experts for a conversation on the state of our planet’s health. “Converging Environmental Crises” is a Web-based conference on topics such as global warming, overpopulation and energy depletion.

Highlights

• 11:30am Congressman Roscoe Bartlett provides a 15 minute introduction.
• 11:45am Terry Tamminen, former director of the California EPA, talks about whether it is really possible to address climate change in time, and what steps might be needed.
• 12:15pm Gail "the Actuary" Tverberg talks about the economic impact of an energy downturn.
• 12:45pm William Catton PhD, author of Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, talks about living on a finite planet, and reaching a carrying capacity bottleneck.
• 1:30pm Dick Jackson MD, PhD, environmental health expert, talks about pollution related issues.

Between 2:00 and 3:00, there are simultaneous break out talks. The choices are

• Kristin Bradford, MD, from Willits, California, talks about hospital care in the context of peak oil and climate issues.
• Joel Kreisberg, DC, MA talks about pharmaceutical pollution of drinking water.
• Walt Lierman, PhD, talks about the economics of climate change mitigation.
• Don Spady, MD, talks about differences between the Canadian and US medical systems in needed responses to peak oil.
• Jason Bradford, PhD of Willits, California, talks about reducing fossil fuel inputs to the food system.
• Ken Smail, PhD, talks about global population reduction, and other inconvenient truths.

Between 3:00 and 4:00 is a time for summing up.

• 3:00pm Jessica Pierce, PhD, bioethicist, looks at the moral challenges facing health care.
• 3:30pm Mac Crawford, PhD, one of the conference organizers, talks about the public health response to the converging crises of peak oil, climate change, water shortages, and population growth.
• 3:45pm Dan Bednarz, PhD, the lead conference organizer, talks about abandoning silos between disciplines.