M on 1 6 | S a n F r a n c i s c o
M on 1 6 | S a n F r a n c i s c o
Another Look at Particle Physics
Foundations for Peace in the Middle East
Marianne Ryan, Artist Richard Breedon, Physicist
Our understanding of the universe is about to change. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator, is being used by physicists at CERN near Geneva, Switzerland, to discover the Higgs boson, which some have referred to as the God particle, since it is required for particles to have mass. Breedon, a physicist on the CMS experiment at CERN, will speak about what discoveries might be expected from experiments at the LHC. Ryan, an artist, privileged to have twice toured one of the LHC experiments both before and after it was lowered underground, speaks of these life-changing visits, and her response as an artist. MLF: The Arts Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 standard, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Lynn Curtis
Akiva Tor, Consul General for Israel for the Pacific Northwest
The last half year has seen tectonic political shifts inside major state actors in North Africa and the Middle East. Consul General Tor will discuss the conditions required for advancing peace in an uncertain environment. MLF: Middle East Location: SF Club Office Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program Cost: $20 standard, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID) Program Organizer: Celia Menczel Also know: In association with the Jewish Community Relations Council
M on 1 6 | S a n F r a n c i s c o
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Wal-Mart: Force of Nature or Greenwashing?
Pleased at what you see in these pages? Outraged? Send a letter to the editor! We welcome your thoughts and suggestions.
Edward Humes, Author, Force of Nature
What’s driving Wal-Mart’s green push? After teaming up with Blu Skye Sustainability consultant and renowned river guide Jib Ellison, former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott retooled the world’s largest retailer into the world’s largest proponent of sustainable business practices. For profits? For public relations? For Mother Earth? The company is pursuing cleaner trucks, healthier food, slimmer product packaging and a host of other initiatives. It wants to squeeze carbon and costs from every product on its shelves and is encouraging its 2.1 million employees to walk the walk with their own personal sustainability plans. This is having a profound impact on Wal-Mart’s 100,000 suppliers and has prodded other industries, from apparel to dairy, to approach sustainability as a potential boon to their bottom lines instead of a cost. Has the unlikely partnership between a river guide and a CEO sparked a business sustainability revolution? Join us for an insider’s account of the new corporate quest to put profit and planet on the same page.
Letters The Commonwealth Club 595 Market Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 feedback@commonwealthclub.org
Location: SF Club Office Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program Cost: $20 standard, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
A p r il/May 2011
THE COMMO N WE AL TH
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