“Transparency and China’s Green Choice”
Ma Jun
Chinese environmentalist, scholar and writer
Monday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.
- Smith Auditorium, Willamette University
- Free
About the speaker
Through his groundbreaking efforts to curb pollution in his homeland, Ma Jun is internationally renowned as one of China’s most successful environmental activists.
As the founder of the not-for-profit Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), he has exposed more than 97,000 air and water violations by local and multinational companies operating in China.
Ma Jun has convinced more than 600 companies in China — the world’s largest economy — to publicly disclose their plans and cleanup efforts, and he’s begun working collaboratively with Wal-Mart, Nike, GE and other major brands to adopt more sustainable business practices.
With the help of the Internet, staffers and a dedicated following of Chinese volunteers, Ma Jun is now launching a new app to provide public, real-time data on air and water quality in China.
Time magazine named Ma Jun as one of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in 2006. In 2012, he won the Goldman Environmental Prize and made the list of Foreign Policy Top 100 Global Thinkers.
A former investigative journalist, Ma Jun is the author of “China’s Water Crisis,” which has been compared to Rachel Carson’s trailblazing book, “Silent Spring.”
His lecture at Willamette University marks Ma Jun’s first — and only — public appearance in the United States this year.
Contact
This event is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation, the Luce Scholars Program and Willamette University's Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences.
For more information, contact Joe Bowersox at 503-370-6220.