KCC Hosts “Eco-Festival 2011: Sustaining Waters”

We are all more acutely aware of the effects our activities have on the marine ecosystems since the catastrophic explosion and subsequent oil spill — the petroleum industry’s largest in history — devastated the Gulf of Mexico last year, claiming 11 human lives and taking an incalculable toll on marine life.

Kingsborough Community College, 2001 Oriental Boulevard, will be exploring this topic, and more — including CO2 emissions, crashing global fish stocks, the scarcity of freshwater available for human consumption, the lack clean water for more than one billion people of the world’s population, over-fishing, pollution, development, and climate change — at its “Eco-Festival 2011: Sustaining Waters,” April 13 to 15.

All Eco Festival events are free and open to the public.

Note: We missed the April 13 lineup for the 2011 Eco-Festival, as it occurred earlier this a.m. and are subsequently publishing only the April 14 to 15 lineups. We apologize for the inconvenience.

April 14: The Eco-Fest features an exciting lineup of guest speakers: Author Robert Sullivan will discuss “The Surprising Comeback of New York Harbor”; author Kelly McMasters discusses “Standing at the Edge of the Sea: Our Human Ecosystem”; Derek Denckla, founder of the Propeller Group and FarmCity.US, will speak on “Rising Tides & Empty Tables: The Nexus Between Watershed & Foodshedwater,” and Dr. Adeline Apena of Kingsborough will talk about “Africa: water usage, scarcity, and pollution.”

Additionally, there will be a Green Trade Fair, as well as an Afternoon of Eco-Arts, featuring marine photographers Suzanne and Glen Rankin, who will present their award-winning “Colors of the Sea.” Guest poet George Held will be on hand for a reading, followed by a student-hosted Café Night, featuring fashion, music, and poetry.

There will also be a multitude of workshops, student and faculty panels, and films.

April 15: Open to high school students, Kingsborough’s Maritime Technology Program will host “The Gulf Oil Spill: A Year Later” featuring keynote speaker Thomas Bronson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To learn more, click here for a comprehensive time table of all events.