Gabor Zovanyi to discuss new book, ‘The No-Growth Imperative,’ Oct. 17 at Western

Gabor Zovanyi, professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Eastern Washington University, will discuss his new book, “The No-Growth Imperative: Creating Sustainable Communities under Ecological Limits to Growth,” at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct.17 in Communications Facility 105 on the Western Washington University campus.

The talk, which is part of the Western’s Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series, is free and open to the public.

More than two decades of mounting evidence confirms that the existing scale of human enterprise has surpassed global ecological limits to growth. Based on such limits, “The No-Growth Imperative” discounts current efforts to maintain growth through eco-efficiency initiatives and smart-growth programs, and argues that growth is inherently unsustainable and that the true nature of the challenge confronting us now is one of replacing the current growth imperative with a no-growth imperative.

Zovanyi asserts that anything less than stopping growth would merely slow today’s dramatic degradation and destruction of ecosystems and their critical life-support services. For this reason, Zovanyi argues, local communities must take action to stop unsustainable demographic, economic, and urban increases, as an essential prerequisite to the realization of sustainable states.

Zovanyi has degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles, San Diego State University, and the University of Washington, with research specializations in growth management, sustainable communities, and land-use law. He is also the author of “Growth Management for a Sustainable Future.” For more information on his books, or to purchase a copy, please visit the publisher’s web site at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415630153/.

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate. The Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

Western’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact Western’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-3520.