One of the highlights of the day was a Skype session with world-renowned linguist Noam Chomsky, who talked about indigenous movements around the world and the stark contrast between rich and poor nations.

“You have the richest, most powerful country saying loud and clear: Let's race to the precipice as fast as we can, and fall over it," Chomsky said of U.S. attitudes toward climate change. "Let's go to the other extreme, Bolivia, the poorest country in South America. ... Bolivia is the one country that has established the rights of nature, the rights of survival as part of their legal system. ... The difference is Bolivia has an indigenous majority, and the indigenous population has been able to use the majority position to take a substantial amount of political power."

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This project was a huge undertaking for Bostrom and his students.

They spent time in and out of class, sometimes after school and Skype calls as early as 5 a.m. due to the time difference. As Bostrom talked in his classroom Monday afternoon, he was simultaneously Skyping with journalist Gloria Munoz Ramirez, one of the speakers Tuesday. She has worked extensively in Chiapas, Mexico, covering, for example, the Zapatista movement.