Ecologist, author to discuss 'The Myth of Progress' Oct. 13

Ecologist and author Tom Wessels will discuss his most recent book The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future in an upcoming presentation at Skidmore College. Free and open to the public, the event is scheduled at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.

A reception featuring Environmental Studies students and faculty, members of Sustainable Skidmore, the campus environmental group, and local environmental organizations will follow the talk. Admission to the talk and reception are free and open to the public.

Wessels will offer a critical examination of reigning notions of progress through the lens of complex systems of science. He points out, "All the complex systems that we observe in the natural world-cells, organisms, ecosystems, even meteorological systems-honor basic laws that allow them to sustain themselves. Yet, the generally accepted paradigm of progress in our culture runs contrary to these basic laws of sustainability. Is our concept of progress exempt from the laws of nature or are our beliefs based on myth? Will ever-increasing rates of resource extraction and consumption create a better world or one that will become more impoverished? Is 'sustainable development' an oxymoron?"

His presentation will offer a critical examination of reigning notions of progress through the lens of complex systems science. There are foundational laws that govern the behavior of all complex systems, he points out. Wessels added, "We can observe these in the natural world around us. However, the foundation upon which our paradigm of progress rests ignores these laws. This information might prompt us to ask ourselves, 'Is our current path to progress truly sustainable'?"

An ecologist and founding director of the master's program in conservation biology at Antioch University New England, Wessels is the former chair of the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, which fosters environmental leadership through graduate fellowships and organizational grants. He serves as an ecological consultant to the Rain Forest Alliance's SmartWood Green Certification Program. In that capacity Wessels helped to draft green certification assessment guidelines for forest operations in the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. He has conducted landscape level workshops throughout the United States for more than 30 years.

Wessels is the author of the following books: Reading the Forested Landscape, The Granite Landscape, Untamed Vermont, and The Myth of Progress.