2014 News

2014 News Archive

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November

• Read about CJ Eliasen's recent conference experience at Commonbound:
  • "Commonbound is an alternative economics conference held in Boston, MA. Mark Miller and I attended the conference during the summer of 2014. The conference hosted myriad guests and speakers, many of which were acclaimed academicians, policy makers, and activists. A plethora of topics were covered at small, nuclear meetings throughout the weekend. These included talks on shortening the workweek, raising minimum wage, alternative measures of economic growth and human welfare (i.e. gross national happiness and other metrics), and micro loaning/lending. Furthermore, groups of activists and academics gave a presentation regarding the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision which determined that corporations are considered people, and can therefore exercise their right to free speech in the form of corporate donations to political campaigns. A number of grassroots campaigns are working to overturn this decision. Outside of being tremendously informative, the conference served as a networking platform. Mark and I both were able to make contacts with policy makers, all of whom were very excited to hear that sustainability is on the rise within the academic paradigm. All in all, Commonbound was an overwhelmingly positive experience."
• Catholic Leaders and Retired Navy Admiral to Discuss Climate Change at Mount St. Joseph University
  • WHAT: Climate Change, Global Security, and the Common Good
    WHEN: Thursday, November 13, 2014
    Panel 1: 12:15 - 1:15 PM
    Panel 2: 7:00 - 8:30 PM
    WHERE: Mount St. Joseph University, University Theatre, 5701 Delhi Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45233
  • The Catholic Climate Covenant and Mount St. Joseph University are co-hosting a free and public panel to discuss the scientific, national security, justice and policy (EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan) aspects of climate change from a Catholic perspective. The event is co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Xavier University, and the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati.
  • The event will feature two nationally known speakers: David W. Titley, Rear Admiral USN (ret.), Director, Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University and Dan Misleh, Executive Director, Catholic Climate Covenant. Both presentations are in the University Theatre; parking is available in the west parking lot. This event is free and open to the public.
  • Read more about the Catholic Climate Covenant: http://catholicclimatecovenant.org/about-us/

December

• Fellow Majors Attend Slow Money Conference in Louisville
  • This November, three Xavier students drove to Louisville to attend the National Slow Money Event. Rebecca Woodul was accompanied by Jenny Niemeyer and Andrew Hermann, Xavier students and key members of the farm team which has undertaken management of Xavier's on-campus urban farm.
  • Rebecca shares her impressions of the event:
    "For those unfamiliar with Slow Money, it is essentially an organization dedicated to building a family of local networks of people committed to improving the world through the avenue of food. Slow Money connects entrepreneurs, activists and farmers alike to passionate investors and donors who want to invest their money mindfully. Their dollars support ventures led by such people set on effectively improving the global food system.
  • The conference was highlighted by such incomparable figures as Vandana Shiva, Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, and Eliot Coleman (the list goes on!). I encourage any reader who isn't familiar with Vandana Shiva's work to watch a video on youtube as she is one of the most prominent and undeniably moving contemporary environmentalists. Each keynote speaker was powerful in their own right; Joel Salatin presented prospective solutions to the global issues at hand in a practical fashion, thus filling the room with a tremendous hope and sense of empowerment."
  • The conference was also attended by countless innovative entrepreneurs whose ventures were impressive in the least; such leaders presented business models that creatively accommodate both and the inevitable dollar value. I encourage all of you to check out www.slowmoney.org and all of the organizations they partner with. The level of creativity, dedication, and absolute heart that served as a foundation to the visions of people we were introduced to was mind-blowing.