Bangor Foreign Policy Forum |

July 1, 2013 – Sino-American Relations

The Search for Global Stability in the 21st Century

SPEAKER: Dr. James T. Kenny,
Chair of the Board of Directors, The Chinese Language and Culture Center of Maine

DATE: July 1, 2013
TIME: 7:30 AM
LOCATION: Bangor Public Library

Abstract: In today’s search for global stability, a climate of lessened conflict and balanced trade, we are forced to transcend some known and previously workable public policy positions and icons. Evolution in technology and commerce, the emergence of politico-cultural fault lines, the re-definition of work, and the changing role of women in societies are but a few of the signals that the world is not what it once was.

British historian Arnold Toynbee, commenting on the growth and decline of civilizations, noted that “the nemesis of creativity is the idolization of ethereal technique.” This now seems an almost intuitive reality. A new century and our fullest participation in it requires us to embrace reasoned change. Two world superpowers, the United States and the People’s Republic of China will most assuredly continue to expand in both productivity and their respective world influence. In light of this probability a more balanced, cooperative pattern of interaction between the two twenty-first Century leader states should be sought along with a mutual re-definition of common goals that might benefit all of mankind in increased health, enhanced well-being, freedom from fear, and clean sustainable living environments.

These concerns should be on the agendas of both powers, but that process begins with each of us. The Chinese Language and Culture Center of Maine (CLCCM) as an organization is committed to exchange–the sharing of ideas and ideals, the opening of economic opportunities, and the provision of cultural and language training. If change is to be a constant feature of our global landscape, let it be for the best and predicated upon a mutual and sustainable commitment to accommodation, reciprocity, and broadened human understanding.

About the speaker: After being awarded two master’s degrees, James Kenny moved on to earn a Ph.D. at the Joseph E. Korbel School of International Studies. His dissertation work, in International Law, was supported by Admiral Stansfield Turner, then President of the US Naval War College. Dr. Kenny presently serves as board chairman of the Chinese Language and Culture Center of Maine (CLCCM). Prior to this, he chaired the board of the Teague Biotechnology Center. While in Alabama, he served as president of the Montgomery Area Community Health Science Institute and Vice Chancellor for Research at Auburn University Montgomery. In this latter capacity he helped organize and served in the inauguration of the Alabama TechnaCenter, a university affiliated research park. Dr. Kenny has taught university-level political science, international studies, international law and diplomatic history. In the 1980’s, he assisted the National Endowment for the Humanities in creating a widely used curriculum on “The World of Islam.”

March 25, 2013 – Poverty & Deforestation in Central America

An Extraordinary, Garden-Variety Solution to Poverty & Deforestation in Central America

SPEAKER: Ms. Florence Reed, President & Founder, Sustainable Harvest International

DATE: March 25, 2013
TIME: 7:30 AM
LOCATION: Bangor Public Library

Abstract:This presentation begins with a look at the global and local impacts of slash-and-burn agriculture in the tropics. It then focuses on Sustainable Harvest International’s unique and successful model for reversing this harmful trend.

The talk goes on to show how this simple approach helps to alleviate poverty, reverse deforestation, mitigate global climate change, decrease illegal immigration, reduce pollution and much more.

About the speaker: Florence Reed believes that when people work together, things change for the better.This belief led her to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama in the early nineties. In 1997, Florence founded Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with rural Central American communities to implement sustainable farming practices. Since then, Florence has grown SHI from working with only a dozen families to working with nearly 1,500 active and graduate families in four Central American countries to plant more than 3 million trees, convert 14,000 acres of degraded land to sustain able farms and save an estimated 70,000 acres of tropical forest from slash and burn destruction.

In recent years she has received two honorary doctorates for her work from University of New Hampshire and Southern New Hampshire University, along with many awards such as the Yves Rocher Women of the Earth award, Traditional Home Classic Woman award, Garden Club of America Distinguished Service award and etown e-chievement award. In 2009, Florence was painted by artist Robert Shetterly as part of his renowned Americans Who Tell The Truth portrait series. In November 2011, Florence was named a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow by The Council of Independent Colleges and in June 2012, Florence was presented with the Peace Corps’ prestigious Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service.

In addition to presentations on her experiences founding SHI, the work of the organization and the issues it addresses, Florence can also speak on broader topics such as sustainable agriculture, food security, sustainable development, eco-tourism and voluntourism.

Florence is equally comfortable speaking to business groups, civic organizations, church congregations and international forums. School children to CEOs of multinational organizations alike are captivated by her gripping accounts, vision, integrity, humor and forthright manner.

An acclaimed speaker for audiences of all ages and backgrounds, Florence Reed brings to her lectures a unique combination of fascinating information, beautiful photography and a warm appreciation of peoples, cultures and the natural environment. Her tales of struggle and hope exemplify what people can accomplish with determination and vision.

February 22, 2013 – The Financial Crisis and its Impact on Renewable Energy Development

SPEAKER: Dr. Jonathan Rubin, Professor, Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and School of Economics, The University of Maine

DATE: February 22, 2013
TIME: 7:30 AM
LOCATION: Bangor Public Library

Abstract: The global economic crisis starting in 2007 2008, and continuing through today, has thrown the worlds economies and markets into turmoil. The reach and depth of the crisis surprised our politicians, professional economists, and casual observers alike. One major concern for those focused on climate change is the extent to which the financial crisis has impacted the United States (US) and European Unions (EU) ability and willingness to invest in and help develop renewable energy technology around the world. This is a serious concern since there is now a consensus that the climate change is human-induced. Equally important, there is a need to reduce the non-climate impacts of energy generation, provide employment, and reduce global poverty.

Following the record year in 2011, new investment flows in renewable energy in the first quarter of 2012 were the weakest since the depths of the financial crisis. In the US and Europe, public support has been weakened by a combination of large debt burdens and, in places, political upheavals from severe financial constraints. Additionally, in the US and Canada, the great expansion in oil and natural gas reserves and production have lessened their dependency on foreign imports of fossil energy. Meanwhile, developing countries such as Brazil and China are launching new incentive mechanisms and implementing national energy strategies. Going forward, which nations will provide leadership to develop these new technologies and will they actually lead to a reduction in fossil energy use or just increase the worlds supply of energy?

About the speaker: Dr. Rubin specializes in the economics of energy, light duty transportation, greenhouse gas emissions and alternative fuels. His research investigates low carbon transportation fuels, biofuel pathways, and the potential economic and environmental impacts from trading greenhouse gases and fuel efficiency credits for automobiles and light-duty trucks. Dr. Rubin is the Chair of the Committee on Transportation Energy, US Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. He was previously a Fulbright Scholar at the Clean Energy Research Centre at the University of Botswana and a Visiting Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research at the University of Cambridge. He has published numerous articles in national and international journals on credit trading, energy and policy. Dr. Rubin received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis in 1993.

January 28, 2013 – Debt and Deficits Worldwide: What Next?

SPEAKER: Dr. John F. Mahon, John M. Murphy Professor of International Business Policy and Strategy

DATE: January 28, 2013
TIME: 7:30 AM
LOCATION: Bangor Public Library

Abstract: We are drowning in debt. Europe is mired in debt and Japan is rarely mentioned but is also mired in debt. How bad is it and what are the options and consequences of action and inaction? What are the political ramifications of all this debt?

About the speaker: John F. Mahon is the John M. Murphy Professor of International Business Policy and Strategy and Professor of Management at the Maine Business School, University of Maine. He was the Founding Director of the School of Policy and International Affairs at UMaine. From 2004 to 2006, was Provost ad interim; from 2007 – 2010 he was Dean, College of Business Public Policy and Health.

Prior to coming to the University of Maine, Dr. Mahon was a Professor of Strategy and Policy and Chair of the Strategy and Policy Department at the School of Management, Boston University. He received his D.B.A. from Boston University, his M.B.A. (with honors) from Bryant College, and his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of over 260 cases, papers and book chapters published in such journals as the Academy of Management Review, Business in the Contemporary World, Corporate Public Affairs, Global Business and Economics Review, International Journal of Value Based Management, Global Focus, International Journal of Public Affairs, and the Strategic Management Journal.

Dr. Mahon has won 12 national awards for his research and writing during the period 2008 – 2011. In June, 2009 his co-authored article “Corporate Social Performance and Corporate Financial Performance: Twenty-Five Years of Incomparable Research,” was recognized as the most cited paper in the 50 year history of the peer reviewed journal Business & Society. In January 2012 he was appointed a Visiting Professor to the University of Chester by the Duke of Westminster. In May ’11 he was the recipient of the University of Maine’s Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award.

December 17, 2012 – Mexico, the Maya, and “The End of Time?”

DATE: Monday, December 17, 2012

TOUR OF THE HUDSON MUSEUM
TIME: 2:00 P.M.
LOCATION: Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine (Directions / Campus Map)
Join us on a guided tour for an opportunity to explore the Mesoamerican ceramics and other artifacts on exhibition. Generally produced by Maya scribes and artisans during the Classic period, these artifacts contain a wealth of information about Maya ideology-religion, beliefs, and cosmic concerns.

PRESENTATION
TIME: 2:45 P.M.
LOCATION: Bodwell Lounge, Collins Center for the Arts, University of Maine
Abstract: Predictions are that the world will end on 21 December 2012. Doomsdayers, sometimes referred to as 2012ologists, predict a cataclysm based on a rare planetary lineup during the 2012 winter solstice and the remnants of a Maya hieroglyphic inscription which may, or may not, indicate 21 December 2012. Nevertheless the meaning, resorts in Mexico intend to capitalize on the interest, and the fear, the date evokes. One can find December 2012 holiday packages to resorts in Mayaland from the Yucatan to Honduras at http://www.moon.com/. Dr. Thompson will explain what the mysterious Maya inscription means, and what it does not, and how it expresses the Maya conception of time through the Maya complex calendrical system and cosmology. She will also place the recent interest in the Maya in its modern Mexican context during what is an important time of political transition as a new president takes office in Mexico on December 1, 2012.

Dr. Angela Thompson

About the Speaker: Dr. Angela Thompson (PhD University of Texas at Austin, 1990) teaches Latin America and Atlantic World History at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Her research and publications focus on Mexico in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with special emphasis on mining, public health and epidemics, education, and families during the tumultuous period of Mexican Independence. Over twenty years ago, when Dr. Thompson was teaching at the University of Maine, she gave a presentation on the process of the decipherment of Maya glyphs, a process she participated in as a staff member of the Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas, where the Maya Hieroglyphics workshops were held.

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