ICEE2005 Keynote Speaker

WCS is pleased to welcome Eugene Linden as conference keynote speaker.

"Diversity is the raw material of earth's wealth, but nature's true creativity
lies in the relationships that link various creatures. The coral in a reef or
the orchid in a rain forest is part of an ecosystem, a fragile, often delicately
balanced conglomeration of supports, checks and balances that integrate
life-forms into functioning communities. Given the complex workings of an
ecosystem, it is never clear which species, if any, are expendable."

- Eugene Linden, Biodiversity: The Death of Birth, 1989

 

Eugene Linden writes about science, technology, the environment and humanity's relationship with nature in books, articles, and essays. He began his career in Vietnam. In 1972, Saturday Review published his investigation of the demoralization of the American fighting forces. Following this he began his exploration of humans and nature in books and articles. Apes, Men, and Language was concerned with the implications of experiments attempting to impart human language to apes. The Alms Race examined the impact of voluntary aid on Africa. Affluence and Discontent offered a theory of the nature and origins of consumer societies. In Silent Partners (chosen by the New York Times as a notable book of 1986), Linden used the aftermath of the ape language experiments to explore our ambivalent relationship with the natural world. Between them, Linden's books have been translated into thirteen foreign languages.

Plenty of TIME
During the 1990s, much of Linden's magazine writing was published in TIME, which he joined in 1987 with the responsibility to conceive of, report, and write major stories on the environment and science. Linden wrote the central story for TIME's first global special issue, "How to Save the Earth," published on Earth Day 2000. From 1988 through 2000, Linden has played a major role in all of TIME's special issues devoted to the environment, including: "Our Precious Planet," (international special issue), and "Endangered Earth," (TIME's celebrated planet-of-the-year issue, 1989). "Arctic Meltdown" and "The Amazon Tinderbox" both ran as international cover stories and in shorter form in the 2000 U.S. edition.

Awards & Honors
Linden's cover story, "The Rape of Siberia," was awarded a 1996 Overseas Press Club Citation for Excellence. Another major piece, "Warnings From the Ice," about the search for clues to climate change in Antarctica, was a finalist for the 1997 John Oakes Award for writing about the environment. Before that ``Doomed'' discussed the bleak prospects facing the tiger. This cover story won the 1995 Genesis Award for outstanding writing about animal issues, and was the runner up for the National Press Club's Robert Kozick Award. ``Can Animals Think?'' published in March 1993, won the Genesis Award in 1994. In January 1993, Time published ``Megacities'' which explored the risks and opportunities of the global stampede to the cities in this century. ``Megacities'' won the 1994 Harry Chapin Media Awards Competition for Best Periodical as well as the Population Institute's 1994 Global Media Award for Best Periodical.

In July 1992, ``Inside the World's Last Eden,'' documented Linden's trip into a remote rainforest never before visited by humans. Another cover story was ``Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge,'' in which Linden explored the consequences of the impoverishment of human knowledge as tribes around the world abandon their ways and forget the wisdom acquired over thousands of years. The story was a finalist for the 1991 National Magazine Awards in the Public Interest category. His cover story ``The World's Water'' was awarded the 1991 American Geophysical Union Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism. Linden's first cover story for Time was an article on artificial intelligence.

A Distinguished Career Continues
Linden has contributed articles to a wide range of publications, including the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, and Inc. In March 1992, the National Geographic published as a cover story ``Apes and Humans: A Curious Kinship.'' The Jan/Feb 1996 issue of the journal Foreign Affairs included an essay by Linden on the looming problems facing cities in the developing world. In recent years, Linden has written a number of essays for MSNBC.com.

Having served as consultant to the U.S. State Department and the United Nations Development Program, in 2001 Linden was named as one of four recipients of the first Poynter Fellowship at Yale University - awarded for environmental journalism.

Eugene Linden speaks frequently about nature, environment and the future, and WCS is very pleased to have him join us for the 7th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment.

Books [reverse chronological order]
THE OCTOPUS AND THE ORANGUTAN; More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity. Hardcover: Dutton; Aug. 2002.

THE PARROT'S LAMENT; And Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity. Hardcover: Dutton; Sept. 1999. Softbound and 11 foreign editions

THE FUTURE IN PLAIN SIGHT: Nine Clues to the Coming Instability. Simon and Schuster: August 1998. Soft: Plume; Feb. 2002

SILENT PARTNERS: The Legacy of the Ape Language Experiments. Hardcover: TIMES Books; April 1986. Soft: Ballantine; August 1987. Foreign: Dobutsusha Ltd., Japan; 1987.

AFFLUENCE AND DISCONTENT: The Anatomy of Consumer Societies. Viking/Seaver Books: 1979.

THE ALMS RACE: The Impact of American Voluntary Aid Abroad. Random House: 1976.

APES, MEN, AND LANGUAGE. Hardcover: Saturday Review Press/Dutton; Jan. 1975. Soft: Penguin; Feb. 1976, revised edition, 1981. Seven foreign editions.