Franklin Fairbanks Award 7 PM
This annual event honors the many people who have shaped the Museum’s past and influence its future. Please join us for an evening honoring Liz Thompson, 2012 Franklin Fairbanks Award Winner, and new Fairbanks Fellows!
To celebrate the voices, ideas and energy that bring your Museum to life, the William Eddy Lecture Series offers food for thought, followed by a reception at the Museum.
Everyone is welcome to this public program that is FREE to Museum members.
Date: March 24, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Info:
William Eddy Lecture presents Michael Specter
"A refreshing counter-reaction to the growing rejection of the benefits of modern science."
Michael Specter’s truthful, rigorously researched, and often politically incorrect views are the perfect antidote to the widespread rebellion against scientific thought and the products of scientific inquiry, such as the new wonder drugs, the new vaccines that are being refused by the public, as well as the genetically engineered foods that many are boycotting.
Michael is a New Yorker Staff Writer Covering Science, Technology, and Public Health Issues. His book, Denialism, is a meticulously reported investigation of the growing mistrust among people around the world of science and its byproducts. He argues that irrationality, politically-inspired fear, and misplaced skepticism have undermined public acceptance of the scientific marvels of our age, and the benefits they all provide humankind.
He is the winner of the 2009 Robert P. Balles Annual Prize in Critical Thinking, from The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the Skeptical Inquirer magazine.
Michael argues that by turning our backs on scientific impartiality, we are abandoning rational thought in favor of hearsay, rumors and vague promises, which he sees manifested in the rush to organic foods, as well as vitamins, dietary supplements and “natural” cures that do no good and sometimes cause harm.
Most importantly, he gives voice to the growing fear that denialism, as he calls the phenomenon, will stifle scientific inquiry and progress, prevent us from solving solvable problems such as famine in third world countries, and create new windows of opportunity for devastating diseases to appear in the world.
The William Eddy Lecture Series was established in 2010 to challenge the ways we think about our place in the world by bringing nationally-recognized speakers to St. Johnsbury. 2012 Franklin Fairbanks Award recognizes Elizabeth Thompson as a defining voice of Vermont’s natural communities. One of Vermont’s preeminent botanists and ecologists, she is the Director of Conservation Science for the Vermont Land Trust. Liz Thompson helped start Vermont's Natural Heritage Program, identifying fragile natural areas of importance to the state’s biological diversity and shaping strategies for their protection. She has advised many Vermont communities on priorities for conservation planning, and has taught field botany and plant ecology at the University of Vermont. Since 2003, Liz Thompson has led a partnership between the Vermont Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy to identify and promote the protection of ecologically important features on the conserved lands of these organizations. As a key figure in another collaboration among local, regional, and national organizations, Liz has worked to protect the diverse threatened upland landscapes of Vermont’ s Chittenden County, close to her heart and her home in Jericho. The Franklin Fairbanks Award is an honor dedicated to individuals for service that has enriched our awareness and understanding of the natural world through contributions in the arts, humanities, and sciences. We’ll celebrate the many people whose vision, dedication and talents carry the spirit of Franklin Fairbanks’s vision and help us understand the world around us by naming this year’s Fairbanks Fellows.
Location:
Awards and presentation at the North Congregational Church, Main Street, St. Johnsbury (across the street from the Museum).
Reception following the presentation in the Museum's main gallery.
Intended Audience:
This is a public event.
Contact: Leila Nordmann
Email: lnordmann@fairbanksmuseum.org
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