Westchester EcoSalon

When:

Tuesday, December 1: 6PM - 10PM

Where:

Bedford Post Inn, Westchester, NY

Riverkeeper and special guest speaker Professor Jeffery D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, hosted our first annual Westchester EcoSalon on Tuesday, December 1, 2009. The EcoSalon hosted by Richard Gere and his wife Carey Lowell took place at the Barn and Farmhouse of their charming Bedford Post Inn. Riverkeeper Alex Matthiessen engaged Professor Sachs in a conversation on issues ranging from water protection, climate change, including the upcoming Copenhagen Summit, and the state of American politics.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He is one of the leading voices for combining economic development with environmental sustainability, and as Director of the Earth Institute leads large-scale efforts to promote the mitigation of human-induced climate change. In 2004 and 2005 he was named among the 100 most influential leaders in the world by Time Magazine. He is author of hundreds of scholarly articles and many books, including the New York Times bestseller Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet.

Riverkeeper board chair Howard Rubin and his wife Susan of Pound Ridge will co-hosted the event with an host committee that includes prominent members of the community and board members – John and Tonina Abplanalp, Seema Boesky, Hamilton Fish, George and Joan Hornig, Lyn Leone, John and Catherine McGrath, Ilo Milstein, Glenn Pacchiana and Alina DiDonato, Jane Preiser, Jeff and Debbie Resnick, Mike and Veronica Richter, Steven and Kimberly Rockefeller and Martha Stewart.

This fall’s Westchester EcoSalon was the second of three such outreach events being held in the New York metropolitan area each year. The purpose of the EcoSalon is to bring thought leaders in the fields of environmentalism, politics, science, arts and entertainment together with our members and their guests to spend an evening discussing some of the leading issues of our time.