Robert K. Musil to speak about “Hope for a Heated Planet”

Robert K. Musil, president and CEO of the Rachel Carson Council, will speak on the Furman University campus Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in Watkins Room of the Trone Student Center. A reception and book signing will follow.

His talk, “Hope for a Heated Planet: What Would Rachel Carson Do?” is presented by the Riley Institute. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the university’s Cultural Life Program.

Dr. Musil, a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow, will be on the Furman campus March 22-27, and will spend time interacting with students and discussing how they can be civically engaged, take on leadership roles, and make a difference.

The Rachel Carson Council is a legacy organization envisioned by Rachel Carson, marine biologist, conservationist, and founder of the contemporary environmental movement. Established in 1965 by Carson’s closest friends and colleagues, the council is an award-winning non-profit that works for the protection of health and the environment.

In addition to Musil’s role at the RCC, he is also senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, School of Public Affairs, American University where he teaches about climate change and American environmental politics.

From 1992-2006, Musil was the longest-serving executive director and chief executive officer of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), winner of the 1985 Nobel Prize for Peace. Musil helped launch PSR’s environmental program in the early 1990’s and has led PSR campaigns for safe and affordable drinking water, clean air, and to prevent toxic pollution and global climate change.

He is the author of numerous articles and two books: Hope for a Heated Planet: How Americans are Fighting Global Warming and Building a Better Future (Rutgers University Press, 2009) and Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment (Rutgers Press, 2014).

A long-time leader of the environmental and nuclear arms control movements, Musil has also been executive director of the Professionals’ Coalition for Nuclear Arms Control, the SANE Education Fund, the Center for National Security Studies Military Affairs Project, and CCCO: An Agency for Military and Draft Counseling. He is a former Army captain who taught communications and policy at the Defense Information School, Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Ind. Musil refused orders to Vietnam and was honorably discharged as a conscientious objector.

He is a graduate of Yale University, Northwestern University and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at (864) 294-3107.