2nd Green Ethics Salons at Taste of India tonight

Environmentally conscious? Intellectually curious? Enjoy a good conversation over dinner?

It’s not too late to sign up for the Green Ethics Salons! The Green Ethics Salons are a series of intellectually stimulating, socially enjoyable gatherings that will explore selected topics on environmental ethics and how they apply to the CNMI. The Salons are a joint project of the NMI Council for the Humanities and the Isla Conservation Alliance. The Salons are also sponsored by Pacific Trading Co., which is generously contributing a variety of excellent wines to accompany the evening meals and discourse.

The first Salon, an Introduction to Environmental Ethics & Values, was held on Aug. 18, 2005 at Coffee Care Restaurant. Participants included Rachel Fusco, Deb Camacho, Jeanne Rayphand, Kathryn Tuten-Puckett, Rob and Brenda Schultz, and Jaime Vergara. Topics of discussion included the meaning and nature of ethics; ethical relationships with the environment; and whether the environment has intrinsic (inherent) value or is valuable only insofar as it is useful and important for human life (instrumental value).

Many of the participants were educators and/or parents, and there was an overwhelming opinion that many children seem to have an innate empathy toward the environment, and that they should be encouraged to explore environmental ethics from an early age.

The next Salon, Ethics and the Global Environment, is scheduled for today, Sept. 15, 2005, 7pm-9pm, at the Taste of India. Participants will examine global environmental issues such as overpopulation, global warming, and fossil fuel dependence, and discuss ethical responses to these problems.

Tonight’s Salon will be facilitated by Laura Williams and Tina Sablan.

Although the Sept. 15 salon is now full, there are still slots available for the last three Salons in this series. The Salons are held on the third Thursday of every month until December, and begin at 7pm. Conversations last approximately two hours, and dinner is provided.

Dates, venues, and central topics for the last three salons are as follows:

* Oct. 20, Remington’s: Social Justice & the Environment

* Nov. 17, AJ’s Restaurant: Green Business Ethics & the Ethics of Consumerism

* Dec. 15, Abyss: Practicing Environmental Ethics in the CNMI: Defining Sustainability at Home

Participation in the Salons is free of charge. Space is limited, however, as each Salon will be composed of no more than 10 people, including facilitators. Interested individuals must have filled out and submitted an entry form last Aug. 12, 2005 to participate.

For more information about the salons, call the Humanities Council at 235-4785, or email Tina Sablan, tinasablan@gmail.com. (PR)