Landrum Library Speaker Series: Food – Climate Change Nexus

Date: February 17, 2026

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Landrum Library

Speaker: Ted Volskay, environmental consultant

On a global scale, the carbon footprint attributed to the production and management of food and food waste rivals the carbon footprints generated by fossil fuel power production and transportation.  This presentation will detail specific aspects of food production, consumption, and food waste management that generates greenhouse gas emissions and threatens the supply of finite natural resources, explain why food vulnerability and food scarcity will increase in the future, identify specific ways that individuals can achieve significant reductions in their personal carbon footprints, and identify several areas of food-based environmental advocacy and intergenerational environmental justice.

Ted Volskay has been a member of the legal women voters of Greenville County, South Carolina for 30 years and he has served in a number of roles, including board secretary, interim president, and chair of the legal women voters of South Carolina environmental work group. Ted received his B.S. in chemistry from the University of South Florida in 1981. After graduating, he joined the Navy and served as an officer on the James Monroe until 1986. Upon completion of his service in the Navy, he attended Clemson University where he earned a M.S. degree in environmental systems engineering in 1988. Since graduating from Clemson, he has been working as an environmental consultant. He is currently an environmental consultant for the Air Force. Upon reading the United Nations government panel on climate change 2022 report, Ted was inspired to return to academia, at the University of South Florida to continue his studies at the Patel College of Global Sustainability in 2023. He graduated earlier this year with the M.S. in global sustainability with a concentration on sustainable water management.

The Landrum Library Speaker Series programs are made possible thanks to our partnership with the Spartanburg County Public Libraries.

Contact Pam Torlina, pam@conservingcarolina.org, with questions or for more information.