Living Earth Symposium Features Three Women Championing Sustainability in Indigenous Communities

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Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian

Jul 10, 2014, 02:48 ET

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian will present the symposium "Energy for Change: Green Leaders Building a Sustainable Future" during its annual Living Earth Festival Friday, July 18, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the museum's Rasmuson Theater. The event is free and open to the public. The program flyer with participant biographies is available here.

Rebecca Moore, founder of Google Earth Outreach and Google Earth Engine, shows Brazilian Amazon Chief Almir Surui how to use Google Earth. Moore will speak at NMAI’s July 18 symposium, Energy for Change: Green Leaders Building a Sustainable Future. (Photo by Andrea Ribeiro. Cacoal, Brazil.) (PRNewsFoto/Smithsonian National Museum)

Influential leaders and innovators are creating sustainable societies that include both environmental and economic success. A growing number of visionary women are concentrating on the establishment of sustainable practices to ensure the continuity of both human and nature's health.

The museum's associate director for museum programs and executive committee member of the Smithsonian's Living in the Anthropocene initiative, Tim Johnson (Mohawk), will moderate the symposium. Speaking at the event, there will be three successful and innovative women who endorse human rights, environment preservation and cultural protection:

Chief Ava Hill of the 56th Elected Council of the Six Nations of the Grand River will speak about the Six Nations' partnership with Samsung on the Grand Renewable Energy Park. The park will generate thousands of local jobs while creating clean energy. It will also allow the province of Ontario, Canada, to continue to move away from dependency on dirty coal production.

Rebecca Moore, engineering manager at Google, founder of Google Earth Outreach and Google Earth Engine, will explain the use of Google Earth Outreach as an instrument to help nonprofits, communities and indigenous people across the globe.

Chairwoman Aletha Tom of the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Nevada will be discussing the Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project. The project located just north of Las Vegas will bring clean solar energy for 25 years to Los Angeles.

A live webcast will be available at http://nmai.si.edu/webcasts. Follow the conversation on Twitter @SmithsonianNMAI and use the hashtag #EnergyForChange.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140710/126124

SOURCE Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian