As the climate science debate heats up, four panelists convene in a forum to discuss our earthly options. • Bill McKibben, author, educator, founder of 350.org • Dr. Gretchen Goldman, Research Director, Center for Science and Democracy • Tim DeChristopher, climate activist • Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, minister and activist By [PZmaps](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6039273 "") - Own work
Bill McKibben is the author of ten books, including *The End of Nature, The Age of Missing Information*, and E*nough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age*. McKibben's book "Falter" draws upon McKibben's years of experience in building 350.org, a global citizens movement to combat climate change, and provides some advice on possible ways out of the trap of conflicting interests that keep us from solving the climate crisis. A former staff writer for *The New Yorker*, McKibben writes regularly for *Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly*, and *The New York Review of Books*, among other publications. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont. Photo: Nancie Battaglia
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond is a top expert in charting Boston’s climate future, and serves as Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space since April 2021. A leading voice in the fight for environmental justice and community resilience, she oversees Boston’s policy and programs on energy, climate change, sustainability, historic preservation and open space.
Gretchen Goldman is the research director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In her role, Dr. Goldman leads research efforts on the role of science in public policy, focusing on topics ranging from scientific integrity in government decision-making, to political interference in science-based standards on hydraulic fracturing, climate change, and chemicals. Dr. Goldman came to UCS from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was a postdoctoral research fellow working on statistical modeling of urban air pollution for use in epidemiologic studies of acute human health effects.
Tim DeChristopher disrupted an illegitimate Bureau of Land Management oil and gas auction in December of 2008, by posing as Bidder 70 and outbidding oil companies for parcels around Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Utah. For his act of civil disobedience, DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Held for a total of 21 months, his imprisonment earned him an international media presence as an activist and political prisoner of the United States government. He has used this as a platform to spread the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for bold, confrontational action in order to create a just and healthy world. Tim used his prosecution as an opportunity to organize the climate justice organization Peaceful Uprising in Salt Lake City, and most recently founded the Climate Disobedience Center.