A meeting of generations kicks off Walter Orr Roberts Institute by Robert Henson NCAR Information and Education Outreach Program It was an unlikely juxtaposition of people in an unusual place. Sitting on the stage of the Main Seminar Room at NCARÕs Mesa Laboratory were anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson, high-school senior Aaron Brown, long-time NCAR scientist John Firor, and Montana writer William Kittredge. Before the panel was a larger, equally diverse group drawn from across the United States. Their mission: to begin an intergenerational dialogue on the future of our planetÕs health. This was the first session of a symposium called ÒInherit the Earth,Ó held 14-17 July in Boulder, Colorado, to kick off the interdisciplinary Walter Orr Roberts Institute. Based at UCAR, the institute will carry forth the vision of NCARÕs late founder Walter Orr Roberts by making scientific knowledge more accessible and useful to the public. ÒInherit the EarthÓ featured two days of intensive work and discussion by about 80 participants ranging in age from 13 to 81. Framing the symposium were several public events--a poetry and prose reading with original music, a mock trial, a dance work in progress--that brought citizens into the process and set the tone for the proceedings. Bateson led off the meeting by drawing on her own intergenerational perspectives, both as the daughter of Margaret Mead and as a renowned anthropologist in her own right, who has written and studied extensively on the cycle of life. ÒIt took an enormous amount of work on the part of our parents to get us here,Ó she noted. The faces of grandparents and grandchildren Òtell us about the shape of time,Ó says Bateson. But as the pace of cultural change accelerates, Ònone of us can learn to be ourselves [anymore] by looking at our parents. . . . ItÕs much harder to imagine ourselves into the shoes of our parents than it once was.Ó And, as subsequent discussions brought out, it is through the prism of generational time that we see most clearly the value of our environment. That point was emphasized on the symposiumÕs first full day. Participants were arranged in a circle of chronological order and broken off into seven cohorts of like age (with names such as Hope, the oldest; Revolution, the youngest; and Crisis Builders, a group of midlifers). Over the course of the day, these groups considered the case of ÒJesse Childe,Ó a fictional child born that morning. By the year 2043, Jesse will have experienced six generations (from great-grandparents to grandchildren) and will live to see seven. The cohorts pondered what the ideal condition of the natural environment would be on JesseÕs 50th birthday, and what obstacles might prevent that ideal. When the age cohorts reassembled at dayÕs end, they found a clear pattern: the oldest and youngest groups were the most optimistic about JesseÕs future world, while those in the middle--the ones now immersed in career and family commitments--were the most fearful. As one participant put it, the midlifers Òhave a foot in each door.Ó College student Gina Butcher, a member of the Groundbreakers, said, ÒI do think those of us here [at the symposium] feel we can change things.Ó However, she added, ÒEach of us has learned our passion for the environment and knowledge of the environment from previous generations, so I donÕt think itÕs fair to say weÕre the groundbreakers.Ó On day two, the age cohorts were dissolved and new groups--each spanning the age spectrum--were formed. Their job was to develop realistic plans for achieving the best possible environment for Jesse Childe by 2043. One group came up with a prototype for a neo-utopian planned community, with sustainable agriculture at its edges and commerce and housing at its heart. Another focused on how to gauge the impact of what we do between now and 2043 with Òintergenerational environmental impact statements,Ó much like todayÕs environmental impact statements, but extending to the next seven generations, or 140 years. Yet another group emphasized the importance of equity in all dimensions: along with preserving access to basic needs through time, they recommended ensuring that such access is granted to all members of society, especially those in developing countries. The proceedings moved into the legal realm on the evening of 15 July in a mock legal hearing conducted in the University of ColoradoÕs student courtroom. Six witnesses from the symposium, joined by over a dozen citizens who stepped up to two public microphones, gave testimony. The question at hand: Do future generations have the right to sue past and current generations for passing on diminished environment? In her testimony, legal scholar Edith Brown Weiss asked, ÒWho will do the suing?Ó and concluded that guardians of the future would have to be appointed, as is now done for minors. Economist Richard Howarth asked whether our true obligation is to preserve opportunities rather than actual resources. Bateson noted that the Western concept of private ownership of land is foreign to many world cultures, where the land ÒownsÓ the people. And historian Dan Flores placed the idea of intergenerational equity in Aldo LeopoldÕs Òexpanding circle of ethical people.Ó Following these and other arguments--accompanied by warnings on the limits of the legal process--a panel of four judges from the symposium ruled that legal remedies should not be allowed at this time because alternatives, such as mediation, have not been adequately explored. The meetingÕs results went public in a videotaped forum, chaired by journalist and National Public Radio commentator Scott Simon, on 17 July, at the Boulder Public Library. ÒThere is cause for optimism,Ó declared panelist Weiss, who cited the major global agreements and protocols on the environment that have emerged in the past 20 year--Òa steep learning curve,Ó as she called it. Theologian John Cobb noted how nationalism replaced Christianity as a dominant force in Western culture some 300 years ago, only to produce the specter of World War II. Economics then took the place of nationalism. But Cobb believes that unabated economic growth poses the threat of Òglobal suicide,Ó adding, ÒThe only [world view] thatÕs capable of challenging economics is Ôearthism.ÕÓ Along with the panelÕs presentation, the Roberts Institute was officially dedicated with help from several local and national dignitaries. Former U.S. senator Timothy Wirth talked of his 15-year friendship with Roberts and his hope that the institute can help make Boulder an Òenvironmentally sustainable community.Ó ÒThe excitement about the institute in Boulder is very broad,Ó said Boulder mayor Leslie Durgin, adding that she hopes to find ways to Òput into place immediately some of the intergenerational focusÓ of the meeting. Durgin also lauded the Òpassion and purposeÓ of Janet Roberts, WaltÕs widow and long-time civic leader of Boulder, who participated in planning for the symposium and, with other family members, took part in the three-day event. Roberts herself took the stage to formally open the institute, and her granddaughter, Kim McCarthy, described how her life had Òdramatically changedÓ after Walt RobertsÕs death in 1990. (Her collegiate work shifted from gerontology to environmental conservation and she became interested in making science useful to society.) What next for the Roberts Institute? A sequel to this symposium is being considered for 1994. Participants in this yearÕs meeting urged the institute to include as broad a generational spectrum as possible in its decision-making team; some participants may carry forth the symposiumÕs work directly. Founding director Radford Byerly is now beginning to shape the instituteÕs direction (see sidebar). As he took the instituteÕs reins at the dedication, Byerly pledged to model the institute after the qualities of Walt RobertsÕs personal vision--including his sense of humor and his intellectual rigor. A videotape of symposium highlights will be available later this fall from Chuck Carlentine, UCAR Development Office. Other symposium questions or requests may be directed to Carlentine or to symposium coordinator Cynthia Schmidt. SIDEBAR 1: E(nvironmental)-mail: how a computer conference got a symposium started ÒWalt Roberts would have liked this approach,Ó says Cynthia Schmidt of the nationwide computer conference used to pave the way for UCARÕs intergenerational symposium. Joining in these electronic discussions, which set the themes and structure for the symposium, was a cross- generational subset of the expected attendees. Hundreds of messages flew across the phone lines from May through June. ÒFor many years,Ó says Schmidt, ÒWalt Roberts was a faculty member of the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, which offered on-line computer courses before most people knew such things were possible. He also ran a conference called ÔGreenhouse--GlasnostÕ that linked U.S. and then-Soviet scientists. Walt was our inspiration for this computer planning conference.Ó One advantage to the electronic approach in this case was its democratic nature. With the wide range of ages, academic levels, and occupations involved, organizers feared that some voices might overpower others. Thus, pseudonyms were used, each drawn from the periodic table of elements. (Value-laden elements, such as plutonium and uranium, were intentionally omitted.) The electronic conference had a false start in February when glitches cropped up in a donated set of software, but in April, a switch to FirstClass software proved fruitful. The softwareÕs administrator, Bruce Peters (Rochester, New York), collaborated with UCAR computer consultant Jeff Woodruff and symposium facilitator John Huyler, of the nonprofit Keystone Center, to oversee the electronic proceedings. ÒThe computer conference exceeded our wildest expectations,Ó says Huyler. ÒApparently the anonymity and the ability to log on at the userÕs convenience contributed to an extraordinary thoughtfulness in the messages posted. Also, there were a lot fewer miles flown and hydrocarbons burned in organizing this symposium than is normally the case. I think Walt Roberts would have liked that, too.Ó For a transcript of selected exchanges from the computer conference, contact the UCAR Development Office. SIDEBAR 2: A word from Radford Byerly, Roberts Institute director I have a very strong feeling that science exists to serve human betterment and improve human welfare. ItÕs wonderful to have an opportunity given us by society to do basic research, but in return we have a very important moral responsibility to apply that research to benefiting humanity. ÑWalter Orr Roberts, 1915Ð1990 The philosophy expressed by Walt Roberts is reflected in the mission statement below. The Walter Orr Roberts Institute . . . is devoted to the application of scientific research for the betterment of humankind. The overriding theme of the institute is Walt RobertsÕs own phrase, and the principle by which he lived: Òscience in the service of society.Ó The primary mission of the institute is the transfer of scientific knowledge to the public domain. The goal is to help humankind live in an ecologically sound manner through education in the atmospheric and related sciences. Clearly the institute will be working at the interface of science and society, trying to improve the flow of information across that interface. One of the important things to realize about the work of the institute is that the flow of information must be two-way, if science is to serve society effectively. If research is to benefit humanity, in order to fulfill the moral responsibility that Walt Roberts felt, then the research must be informed by social needs and values. An important question is how to balance internal, curiosity-driven motivations for science with the externally generated needs, all the while maintaining a healthy research community and high-quality, rigorous science.