Perhaps the greatest cultural, economic, and technological challenge facing modern democracies and global development groups is how to respond to the depletion of natural resources and the effects of climate change. The health of the planet as well as the future shape of human society is at stake.

Responding to these challenges will require a combination of scientific and technological expertise, social scientific analysis, and humanistic reflection. That is why the Conversations on Morality, Politics, and Society (COMPAS) program for 2015-16 will focus on the theme of Sustainability.

This year's fall COMPAS conference, co-sponsored by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, will be on "Sustainability: Visions and Values."

The conference includes five panels featuring faculty members from Ohio State and other universities on:

• What is Sustainability?
• Institutional Responses
• Global Justice
• Future Generations
• International Institutions and Cooperation 

The Fall COMPAS Conference will take place Thursday, October 1, through Friday, October 2, in the 11th floor of William Oxley Thompson Library, 1858 Neil Ave Mall. See the conference program here

The ethical and political issues raised by sustainability engage each of Ohio State's Discovery Themes: Energy and the Environment; Food Production and Security; Health and Wellness. The Sustainability COMPAS aims to unify Ohio State's many environmental research, policy, and educational programs within a single year-long "conversation" dedicated to finding feasible and socially responsible solutions to these challenges.

COMPAS is a program of the Ohio State Center for Ethics and Human Values.