Category: Speaker

Category to indicate a forum is a single speaker.

Nuclear Energy is the best solution to the climate crisis

George Erickson

11 a.m., January 8, 2023

Join the Humanist Forum, in person OR on Zoom.

On Sunday, January 8, Dr. George Erickson will join us on Zoom to discuss nuclear energy and climate change. 

Dr. George Erickson is a best-selling author of five pro-science books and a retired dentist. He has spent parts of 38 summers ”bush-flying” in Alaska and Arctic Canada and is a former VP of the American Humanist Assoc., a former president of the Minnesota Humanists and a former member of the New Brighton, MN Environmental Quality Commission. 

He is a member of the National Center for Science Education, a member of the Thorium Energy Alliance – and a member of a group of about 100 independent physicists, engineers, MDs, energy experts and journalists who are deeply concerned about climate change, the environment and energy issues. 

He has exchanged climate change/energy emails with Dr. James Hansen, former chief climate scientist at NASA – now Climate Change scientist at Columbia Univ., whom he often quotes in his image-rich book, Unintended Consequences: The Lie That Killed Millions and Accelerated Climate Change – the book on which his presentations are based. After reading a sampling of Dr. Erickson’s published op-eds on climate change and energy issues, Dr. Hansen called them “brilliant.” 

Dr. Erickson travels the country at his own expense, giving presentations on the environment, climate change and energy issues at colleges, schools and affinity groups. Unintended Consequences: can be downloaded for free from the home page of www.tundracub.com. Contact him at tundracub7@gmail.com or 218-744-2003 

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

1/8/23 George Erickson from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

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RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

The Power from Above

Christine Hoffman

11 a.m., December 11, 2022

Join the Humanist Forum, in person with our presenter OR on Zoom.

We will discuss a higher power critical to the creation and sustenance of humans and life on earth. This power is of course… the sun. After a very brief introduction on how the sun creates energy, the main focus of the talk will be on how this energy can be harnessed to electrify, heat and cool our homes. We will cover the basics of photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal technologies. Finally we will touch on the limitations and challenges of this amazing power.

Speaker Bio: Christine Hoffman has been a lifelong environmentalist, and waste-reduction advocate. She holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics, with her thesis work focusing on optimizing nonimaging solar concentrators. She currently teaches machine learning and data mining, but also aspires to become an entrepreneur for a company that uses technology to solve logistical issues of container reuse.

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

221211 Christine Hoffman.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

Peaceful Dispute Resolution Programs for Underserved Populations of the World

Victor Schachter

11 a.m., December 4, 2022

Join the Humanist Forum in person OR on Zoom.

In this presentation, Vic Schachter, the president of the Foundation for Sustainable Rule of Law Initiatives, returns to our Sunday Forum to provide an update of his efforts to promote fair and effective dispute resolution in countries with heavily backlogged courts cases, thereby promoting access by underserved populations to fair, timely and peaceful dispute resolution of their claims and preservation of their human rights. He will share some of the unique challenges to do this work during the pandemic, as well as the prospects for continued, future efforts in Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and Africa.

Victor Schachter is the founder and president of The Foundation for Sustainable Rule of Law Initiatives (FSRI), a non-governmental organization dedicated to establishing sustainable mediation centers globally to achieve timely, fair and peaceful conflict resolution in countries with backlogged court systems. He has served extensively as a mediator, and as an advocate representing clients in numerous mediations and arbitrations over his fifty-year career. In addition, he has led rule of law and related educational initiatives promoting judicial reform, alternative dispute resolution and judicial case management in India, Brazil, Liberia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Georgia, Turkey, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Mr. Schachter has been honored as a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year for his service in judicial reform, rule of law, and mediation building. In October, 2020, he received the Mediator of the Year Award from The Mediation Society of San Francisco for “outstanding contributions to the field of mediation”. His work has been reported and cited in numerous publications. Previously, he was a litigation partner at Fenwick & West LLP in Silicon Valley, California for 17 years.
You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room of the Mountain View Community Center at 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch.
If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. Vaccinations and masks will be required. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

12/04/2022 Victor Schachter from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

Is Religion Really Evil? A Humanist Chaplain Reflects on Interfaith Work

Humanist Chaplain Ben Iten

11 a.m., October 16, 2022

Many humanists recognize the societal ills for which religion is often responsible. But is this all there is to religion? Humanist Chaplain Ben Iten will reflect on his work and what he’s learned working with people from a variety of religious backgrounds.

Ben is an endorsed Humanist Chaplain with the American Humanist Association. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies from The Ohio State University and his Masters of Divinity from the Methodist School of Ohio. Ben completed his CPE internship and residency with OhioHealth including a second-year residency in Palliative Care. He currently functions as a staff chaplain for OhioHealth as well as Certified Educator Candidate.

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room at the Mountain View Community Center, 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum at a nominal fee.

Those of us attending in person will follow COVID protocols. We require vaccinations and masks, and if you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

———-

Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

221016 Ben Iten.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

History of Atheism

Werner Haag

11 a.m., September 18, 2022

Werner Haag will discuss the history of atheism, with information taken predominantly from the comprehensive book entitled “Doubt” by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
Skepticism is as old as religion and seems to occur in all religions, as far back as historical records go, some several hundred years BCE. Thus, doubt goes much farther back than the scientific revolutions of a few hundred years ago, and even before the famous ancient Greek philosophers. Join us through this journey of doubt from ancient times in India, through the dark ages of Christianity and Islam in Europe and the Middle East, through the Enlightenment era and the Neo-atheism of the 21st century.
Carneades, ca. 330 BCE:
“If Gods greatest gift to man is the gift of reason, why did he distribute it so unequally?”
Werner Haag is the current President of the ACSJ, has a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, and has presented many times at scientific conferences and to various Atheist and Humanist groups on topics such as the Biological Origins of Morality, and Examples of Real-time Evolution.

220918 Werner Haag.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Because of the coronavirus situation, this Forum will be held online.

To see the Forum, and to ask questions or make comments, if you wish, click here.
Our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the above link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer, if it’s not already installed, and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Atheist Community of San Jose Meetup announcement here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.