Philosophy Professor Teaches Us to ‘Think Like a Planet’ in Lecture on Feb. 17 at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Bryan Norton, distinguished professor of philosophy in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, will speak on “Strategy Amid Uncertainty: Learning to Think Like a Planet” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in The University of Alabama’s Biology Auditorium. The event, part of the Alabama Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change lecture series, is free and open to the public.

In 2005, Norton published the book “Sustainability: A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management.” More broadly, he has written on inter-generational equity, sustainability theory, bio-diversity policy and valuation methods. He is working on a MacArthur Foundation project called “Advancing Conservation in a Social Context,” which considers how to make better decisions about how to decide trade-offs between conservation goals and economic development needs.

He also recently served as a member of the board of directors of Defenders of Wildlife, a member of the governing board of the Society for Conservation Biology and a fellow of the Hastings Institute.

His talk for this lecture series was co-authored by Paul Hirsch. For more information on the Alabama Perspectives on Sustainability and Climate Change lecture series, go to http://www.as.ua.edu/public/programs/apsacc/index.html.

The lecture is sponsored by UA’s New College and the College of Arts and Sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.