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Jonathan Lash discusses individual rights, community and climate at the 19th Annual Frank M. Coffin Lecture
Jonathan Lash, President of Hampshire College, presented the 19th Annual Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service on October 20, 2011 at the Abromson Community Education Center. Lash is a global expert on climate change, energy security, and environment and development policies. He was President of the World Resources Institute (WRI) for two decades and was appointed earlier this year as President of Hampshire College.
During his lecture, he asked attendees to consider the effect of individual rights and community on the debate over how to address global environmental problems. Lash discussed a variety of environmental issues, including climate change. “Climate change is real, it is underway, and the emissions that cause it are increasing rapidly. Warming is happening more quickly with more significant consequences than science predicted.”
Lash continued by advising that this was not “a catalogue environmental doom speech.” Instead his speech highlighted the urgent need for humankind “to change its patterns of consumption and waste for survival.”
Lash’s lecture concluded with a robust question and answer session with attendees.
The Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service, sponsored by the University of Maine School of Law, honors the late Judge Frank M. Coffin, longtime federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, former member of Congress, and renowned leader and mentor in public service.
