Explore the Series
This conference aims to create lively interdisciplinary dialogues raising ecological consciousness, drawing attention to climate-forward initiatives, and encouraging both personal discernment and social action.
The Current State of Climate Science
What’s happening? Are we too late? Can we bend the curve even now? What has changed since 2015? Further, what needs to be done, by when, and how to do it?
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
6:30 pm - 7:45 pm U.S. Eastern Time
The Contribution of Catholic Social Thought
Ten years after the publication of Laudato Si’, what are, or ought to be, the growing edges of Catholic social thought? What does it have to contribute to our understanding of the climate crisis and the development of an ecological conscience?
Monday, February 17, 2025
6:30 pm - 7:45 pm U.S. Eastern Time
The Political Economy of Climate Change
How do we move from what Pope Francis has called an “economy that kills” both people and planet to an economy that is truly sustainable and just? What are the levers of such a system change, and what are the obstacles to it?
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm U.S. Eastern Time
Environmental Politics
What are practical, effective forms of political action to counter the climate crisis and build both solidarity and momentum? Are all the winds countervailing, or are there promising movements and trends?
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
6:30 pm - 7:45 pm U.S. Eastern Time
About the Conference
Envisioning a Livable Future is an online, serial conference marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. This groundbreaking document called climate change “one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day,” proposed an analysis of “the human roots of the ecological crisis,” and advanced a new ecological vision for the challenges ahead.
Guided by the Jesuit apostolic preferences to “accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future” and to "collaborate in the care of our common home,” the conference seeks to inspire lively interdisciplinary dialogues aimed at:
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Raising ecological consciousness,
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Drawing attention to climate-forward initiatives, and
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Encouraging both personal discernment and social action.
Following the four spring 2025 events, fall 2025 events will address investment and finance for a greener future, the promise and perils of technology, and the role of the arts.
About the Organizer
This conference is organized by John Carroll University, in collaboration with the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago.
As Catholic, Jesuit institutions, these universities are dedicated to rigorous inquiry, the dignity of the human person, the promotion of justice, and care for creation.
The series is made possible through the support of the Boler College of Business, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the Office of Mission & Identity at John Carroll University and the Hank Center at Loyola University Chicago. Special thanks to the organizing committee, which includes faculty, staff, and students who have worked to bring this vision to life.
For more information about the conference, contact Bernard Prusak, Raymond & Eleanor Smiley Chair in Business Ethics, bprusak@jcu.edu.
Speakers: The Current State of Climate Science
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Katharine Hayhoe, Chief Scientist for the Nature Conservancy & Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair in Public Policy and Public Law, Texas Tech University
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Ben Sovacool, Director of the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability and Professor of Earth & Environment, Boston University
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Nancy Tuchman, Founding Dean of the Loyola University Chicago School of Sustainability and Professor of Biology, Loyola University Chicago
Speakers: The Contribution of Catholic Social Thought
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Emily Burke, Social Media Manager and Young Adult Mobilization Program Assistant, Catholic Climate Covenant
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Vincent Miller, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture, University of Dayton
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"Ram" Ramanathan, Distinguished Research Professor in Climate Sciences, University of California at San Diego, and Pontifical Academy of Sciences
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Susan Solomon, Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry, MIT, and Pontifical Academy of Sciences
Speakers: The Political Economy of Climate Change
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Brian Boland, Co-Founder, Delta Fund
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Katie Boland, Co-Founder, Delta Fund
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Adrienne Buller, author of The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism
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Nathan Schneider, Assistant Professor of Media Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
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Felipe Witchger, Co-Founder, Francesco Collaborative
Speakers: Environmental Politics
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Daniel DiLeo, Director, Justice & Peace Studies Program, and Associate Professor of Cultural and Social Studies, Creighton University
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Alexandria Nichols, Director of Parks and Recreation, City of Cleveland
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Jesús Sanchez, Director, Great Lakes Environmental Justice Program, Restore America’s Estuaries
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Philip Stoddard, Professor Emeritus of Biology, Florida International University, and Mayor of South Miami, 2010-2020
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Pete Williams, John Carroll University Journalist in Residence & former NBC News correspondent