New West Nobel Peace Prize Laureate to speak at NWEP AGM

By Matthew Laird 2 October 2009 Be the first to comment

For over three years, New Westminster Environmental Partners has been the voice of sustainable living and development in New Westminster. As a founder of the group, I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished in such a short time. To continue with this agenda, NWEP has incorporated as a non-profit society, opening new doors to expand its work.

With this in mind, we’re very excited to announce our first AGM on Tuesday, October 13th in the New Westminster Library auditorium. We’re even more excited to announce our keynote speaker for the evening, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and SFU Environmental Economics professor Dr. Mark Jaccard.

Besides being our AGM, the primary theme for the evening will centre on the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The Copenhagen conference is a pivotal moment in our history, where world leaders will decide how the future of our species will unfold for generations to come. That is why we believe it’s so important to join others around the world in raising awareness about this summit; so residents of New Westminster can join other Canadians in letting our government know we demand immediate, decisive action on climate change.

Dr. Jaccard, who is also a New Westminster resident, will give a lecture titled “Can we save the planet from ourselves?” An apt title considering the challenges and – up until now – lack of action by world leaders on climate change. And we feel very fortunate to have Dr. Jaccard come kick off what will surely be the first of many AGMs. Besides being a Nobel Laureate, he was named BC’s Academic of the Year in 2008 and was recently named to the Royal Society of Canada.

In addition, the evening will feature a Q&A session with Ian Bruce, a climate change campaigner with the David Suzuki Foundation, on the topic of Copenhagen and climate change.

Doors open at 6:30 with the evening beginning promptly at 7pm, so please come out and join us for what is sure to be an exciting evening with two internationally respected speakers. The AGM is open to all residents, attendees need not be NWEP members but membership will be available for $5 at the door.

Past NWEP accomplishments include:

Lobbied successfully for anti-idling by-law
Partnership with Canadian Cancer Society on New Westminster cosmetic pesticide ban
Raised New Westminster Station pedestrian safety issues & crosswalk establishment
Participation in community visioning process, Translink long-range planning, Metro Vancouver planning
Partnership and support for Royal City Farmer’s Market and Community Garden Initiative
Organizing New Westminster stop on David Suzuki cross Canada tour
Three Pillars of Sustainability lecture evening
Brunette River lecture evening featuring Fin Donnelly
2009 Provincial Election All-candidates meeting
Composting seminar at NW Library
Established Green Drinks in New Westminster (2nd in Lower Mainland)
Participation in Shoreline CleanUp, Queensweep, and Sapperton Landing invasive species cleanup

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