Symposium To Focus On How To ‘Live Gently’ Workshops At Gonzaga To Discuss Energy, Environmental Solutions

U.S. consumer confidence and stock markets are up. Interest rates and gasoline prices are down.

Happy days may be here again, but for how long?

“The present situation is not sustainable,” warns Gonzaga University political science graduate John Krauss. “Sooner or later, we’re going to run out of oil. Or there won’t be room enough on our roads for all those big cars.”

Local experts are seeking energy and environmental solutions before problems get out of hand, Krauss says.

With the help of GU’s political science department, he’s bringing those experts and other like-minded people together for a two-day Sustainable Life Symposium this weekend in the Jepson Center auditorium southwest of the GU Administration Building, 502 E. Boone.

Saturday’s sessions will focus on sustainable technology: efficient home design, solar energy, reuse of wastewater and innovative building products.

Sunday’s discussions will consider the philosophical side of the sustainability movement. Topics will include “Francis of Assisi: A Model of Ecological Wisdom for our Time” and “Bringing Money in Line With Human and Natural Ecology.”

Having taught English in Brazil for three years, Krauss says he appreciates how much wealth and opportunity Pacific Northwesterners enjoy.

“Today, choosing to live gently is a conscious decision,” he says. “But someday, it’s going to be essential.

“We’re living the great American experiment, and it’s not finished yet. Tomorrow, the whole thing might change.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: INFORMATION The free public workshops are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in the Jepson Center auditorium, southwest of the GU Administration Building, 502 E. Boone. For more information about the symposium, contact John Krauss at 928-5696.