Tubac lecture to focus on our ‘sustainability’

Well-known international consultant Dr. Michael Ben-Eli, a disciple and close associate of architect, designer and author R. Buckminster Fuller, will speak at 3 p.m. Friday on “Defining Sustainability” at the Tubac Community Center.

His talk is being sponsored by a Tubac resident who has asked to remain anonymous.

At the core of Ben-Eli’s approach is the belief that “our community and, indeed, our planet are at a crossroads, and we need to involve ourselves in meeting the demands and challenges of sustainability. The Earth’s endangered life-supporting ecosystems are at an unprecedented scope. This requires a deep change in all aspects of human activity, including our world view, our values, our technology, current patterns of consumption, production, investment, governance and more.”

Ben-Eli’s work has focused on strategy development, organization design, sustainability and change management, including sustaining growth and development in a desert environment, with the limited water supply that involves.

He graduated from the Architectural Association in London and received his doctorate from the Institute of Cybernetics at Brunel University, also in London. He worked closely with Fuller on projects involving advanced structural systems and the exploration of issues related to the management of technology and world resources for a sustainable future.

He says his mission is to inspire leaders in business, government, communities and youth to accelerate a peaceful world embracing broad changes to sustainable practices.

His talk is open to the public at the community center, also known as the old schoolhouse off Bridge Road. For more information on this community forum, call 398-8096 or 398-2767.

Freelance writer Kathy Engle can be reached at kdengle@earthlink.net.