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| Rockland to Host Sustainable Island Living Conference November 13-15 | | 11/5/2009 10:49:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Matthew Simmons, chairman emeritus of the energy investment banking firm Simmons & Company International and founder of the Ocean Energy Institute, will deliver Saturday morning’s keynote presentation on “The Gulf of Maine: What Lies Beyond the Fossil Fuel Horizon” at 9 a.m. at the Strand Theatre. |
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| Tom Chappell, founder of Tom’s of Maine, presents Friday night’s free, open-to-the-public keynote address, “Creating Commercial Value with Nature’s Goodness,” at 7 p.m., November 13, at the Strand Theatre in Rockland. |
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Keynote speakers include Matthew Simmons, Tom Chappell, Roger Doiron
The Island Institute's second Sustainable Island Living conference, during the weekend of November 13 to 15 in downtown Rockland, features presentations by international energy consultant Matthew Simmons of Rockport and Houston on Saturday; Tom Chappell of Kennebunk, founder of Tom's of Maine, on Friday; and Roger Doiron, head of Kitchen Gardeners International, on Saturday.
Chappell's keynote address, "Creating Commercial Value with Nature's Goodness," at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 13, at the Strand Theatre in Rockland, is free and open to the public. Chappell will describe how businesses can be profitable and delight customers with products that are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. Chappell and his wife Kate founded Tom's of Maine in 1970 and proceeded to make natural toothpaste and other natural personal care products. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive Co. bought Tom's of Maine for $100 million in cash. The Chappells are now active in philanthropy in Maine and also run Ramblers Way Farm, a new family business creating soft, comfortable worsted wool apparel entirely on American soil. About Ramblers Way, Chappell writes, "We live our values at work: creativity in what we do; continuous improvement; promoting sustainability, well-being and enjoyment by bringing together our individual talents towards a common goal of customer satisfaction." Chappell has written two books on business ethics, The Soul of a Business, 1993, and Managing Upside Down, 1999.
The three-day conference will focus on local food systems, sustainable housing, renewable energy and economic development. Island and coastal residents are invited to learn about sustainable resources available locally and to hear from experts - local, regional and national - about what can be done to ensure a more sustainable tomorrow. The conference includes workshop sessions, keynote speakers, hands-on intensive trainings, local tours and networking opportunities designed to provide concrete ideas and implementation strategies for individuals and entire communities working to live more sustainably.
Matthew Simmons, chairman emeritus of Simmons & Company International, the international energy investment banking firm that he founded 40 years ago, will deliver a keynote presentation on Saturday morning from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Strand Theatre. In his talk, "The Gulf of Maine: What Lies Beyond the Fossil Fuel Horizon," Simmons will give an overview of the Ocean Energy Institute, which he founded and which is dedicated to researching and creating renewable ocean energy sources, and he'll describe the role that offshore wind can play in reducing Maine's huge dependence on fossil fuel-based energy resources.
Roger Doiron will present "Doom and Bloom: How Small Farms and Gardens Can Save and Feed a big, hot, and hungry world" on Saturday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Strand. In a world full of big problems, Doiron argues that many of the solutions may be as small and as close as our backyards. Doiron, founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International, an organization of over 15,000 people from 100 countries who are growing some of their own food and helping others to do the same, led the successful campaign to replant a kitchen garden at the White House this year.
General registration for the conference is $50 and includes a Friday evening reception and all Saturday conference keynotes, break-out sessions and food (including a lunch at one of four local restaurants).
Sunday's hands-on workshops and tours range from $15 to $35 and include tours of the Fox Islands Wind project on Vinalhaven and the seafood processing facility in Port Clyde. Workshops provide opportunities to learn about cooking with local foods, organic gardening tools and techniques, professional energy auditing and retrofitting business development, and feasibility for renewable residential power systems.
For more information or to register, visit http://islandinstitute.org/silconference or call Sally at 594-9209, extension 103.
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