Pulitzer Prize Winner to Address EcoSummit 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pulitzer Prize winning author and scholar, Jared Diamond, will join the list of distinguished leaders in the ecology movement who will address EcoSummit 2012. The weeklong conference begins September 30, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio and to date has more than 1,500 people from 75 countries registered including scientists, economists, policymakers and corporate leaders interested in ensuring the sustainability of natural assets.

Nearly 2,000 academic papers were submitted for presentation at EcoSummit 2012. Other speakers include the Pulitzer Prize winning ecologist E.O. Wilson; President Olafur R. Grimsson of the Republic of Iceland; and Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute and the author of the forthcoming book, Full Planet, Empty Plates.

Diamond is the author of several books, including Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies which won a Pulitzer Prize, an Aventis Prize for Science Books and the 1997 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science. In this book Diamond explains why some societies become more dominant than others.

His next book also was highly acclaimed. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed chronicled how societies chose to succeed or collapse. In addition to being a popular success, the book was awarded the Royal Society Prize for Science Books by the United Kingdom's national academy of science.

The Ohio State University Professor Bill Mitsch, chair of the scientific committee of EcoSummit 2012, said Diamond has a skill of being able to explain complex ecological issues in a way that's understandable to a broad audience.

Mitsch said, "If we are to make progress in restoring the world's eco systems, people will need to understand both the problems and the solutions. Diamond brings that conversation to life."

Diamond is currently a professor of geography at UCLA and was awarded the President's National Medal of Science from the National Science Foundation in 1999. The award citation stated that Diamond was being honored "for his outstanding role in communicating science by explaining technical advances in widely understandable terms, and for his overwhelming dedication to science's role in building a better future."

EcoSummit 2012 marks the first time that the conference has been held in the United States. Previous EcoSummits were held in Copenhagen, Halifax and Beijing.

To learn more about EcoSummit 2012, visit ecosummit2012.org, like it on Facebook or follow it on Twitter @EcoSummit2012.

Media Registration Information: Please email your first and last name, news organization, country, email address and if you will attend EcoSummit 2012 in part or in whole to ecosummit2012@osu.edu. In addition to this basic information, please provide a copy of your media credentials.

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Tel: 614.224.8114
Email: awurst@paulwerth.com

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