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July 27-29, 2012 • Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

Preconference Courses: July 26-27, 2012 • Professional Members’ Forum: July 30, 2012

WorldFuture 2012 Earth Sessions

Trends in Agriculture: Sunrise and Sunset

This insider’s look at the world’s second-oldest profession will cover a wide-ranging list of trends affecting farming and agriculture as related to population, economies, and nation building across the globe. Today’s farmers face unique challenges raising livestock and crops as infrastructure declines and grain prices soar.

Janice is a farmer, futurist, orator, and a former special project manager for the U.S. Navy. For the last two years, she has hosted hour-long sessions at the Mother Earth News Fair, Longbranch, Washington, USA

Power of Campuses in a Digital World

If the 20th century campus was a pastoral college town, the 21st is located in the urban core, a hybrid of real and digital worlds. The vertical campus engages communities, generates economic prosperity, and becomes a central element of thriving cities.

Cindy Frewen is board chair of APF, architect, founder of Frewen Architects, and adjunct professor of strategic foresight at University of Houston Futures Studies grad program, Leawood, Kansas, USA

David Broz is education and culture practice leader for Gensler a global architecture and planning firm. He has led the design of 200 education projects and has written and presented extensively on the future of the university campus, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Climate Engineering Technologies: Current and Future Issues

Reports of rising global temperatures have raised questions about responses to climate change, including efforts to (1) reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, (2) adapt to climate change, and (3) design and develop climate engineering technologies for deliberate, large-scale intervention in Earth's climate.

Timothy Persons is chief scientist at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), will discuss GAO's recent technology assessment (GAO-11-71) entitled “Climate Engineering: Technical Status, Future Directions and Potential Responses,” Washington, D.C., USA

Ashley Mercer is a doctoral candidate at the University of Calgary doing interdisciplinary research on risk communication and decision making related to very controversial and risky technologies in climate change, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Systemic Solution to Achieving Green Economic Growth and Sustainable Development

Achieving green economic growth and sustainable development requires comprehensive and coordinated strategies for entire regions as a complex system fully considering global drivers and local actions. Relying solely on green technology cannot achieve a green economy or communities.

Kenneth Hunter, senior fellow, Maryland China Initiative, University of Maryland, and board chair, World Future Society, Laurel, Maryland, USA

Zhouying Jin, director, Center for Technology Innovation and Strategic Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China

Can Innovation Save the Planet?

The world is bumping up against multiple environmental and natural resource hurdles—climate change, peak oil, freshwater shortages, and rising prices for food, minerals, and commodities of all sorts. At the same time, a growing population and a surge in the wealth of the developing world are increasing consumption. Can innovation keep pace? What are the true limits to growth?

Ramez Naam is a professional technologist and author; he is a senior associate, Foresight Institute, Seattle, Washington, USA

How to Turn Teenagers into Environmental Futurists!

Experiments and demonstrations enable young people to appreciate the structure of the Earth, the fragile nature of our air and water resources, and the importance of energy. Students are empowered to save Planet Earth.

Deane Hutton is a science communicator and futurist who speaks in business conferences and schools in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, Semaphore Park, South Australia

Communities of the Future

In the decade after this one, many believe that the impacts of peak oil and climate change will start to be felt. Global population growth will also have an effect, stretching our food and water resources towards their limits. We have it in our capacity to prepare for this future and to mitigate some of the possible negative effects.

Stephen Aguilar-Millan is director of research at the European Futures Observatory; member of the World Future Society Global Advisory Council; former board member of the Association of Professional Futurists; and president of the WFS Europe Chapter, Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Reinventing Life: A Guide to Our Evolutionary Future

Based on the new book, Reinventing Life — A Guide to Our Evolutionary Future, this session will explore the future of evolution and the decisions that each of us makes to drive it. Humans are currently dominating the evolutionary process in mostly unconscious and destructive ways.

Jeffrey Coker, author, associate professor of biology, director of general studies, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina, USA

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