February 27th, 2009

FARMINGTON, ME (February 27, 2009)--University of Maine at Farmington is
pleased to feature a presentation by nationally known environmentalist,
educator, writer and activist Bill McKibben. His talk, "The Most Important
Number in the World--Building the People Powered Movement to Fight Global
Warming," is free and open to the public and will take place at 7:30 p.m.,
Friday, March 13, in UMF's Nordica Auditorium.

A bestselling author and scholar in environmental studies, McKibben is a
frequent writer on global warming, alternative energy, the importance of
local economies and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. He
is actively involved with the fight against climate change and, beginning
in the summer of 2006, led the organization of the largest demonstrations
against global warming in American history.

McKibben is the author of 10 books observing contemporary life and the
environment, including his latest work, "Deep Economy," in which he puts
forward a new way to think about the food we eat, the energy we use and the
way to create a hopeful and sustainable future. He wrote the first general
audience book on global warming, "The End of Nature," in 1989, which has
appeared in print in more than 20 languages.

McKibben is a frequent contributor to many national publications, including
The New York Times, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Review of
Books, Orion Magazine and Rolling Stone. He was president of the Harvard
Crimson newspaper in college. After graduation, he worked as a staff writer
for The New Yorker, writing much of the "Talk of the Town" column from 1982
to early 1987.

He currently is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and resides in
Ripton, Vt.

McKibben's presentation is co-sponsored by the University's Diversity
Committee and Sustainable Campus Coalition.

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For more information, please contact Valerie Huebner, executive assistant
to the UMF president, at 207-778-7258, or huebner@maine.edu.

EDITOR'S NOTE: You will find photo at
http://www.umf.maine.edu/campus/docs/RP089-036.jpg

Photo Credit: Submitted photo