Inspiring minds come together at TEDx Carson City

Dozens gathered throughout the day Friday to see creativity and innovation in action at the TEDx debut in Carson City, held inside the Brewery Arts Center's Black Box Theater.

Sixteen speakers were selected for the 2016 program, ranging in age from 16 to 70 years old. Of those, eleven speakers are local in Carson City, the Carson Valley, Lake Tahoe and Susanville. Five others have local ties to Nevada.

Two of the speakers, Bryce O'Connor and Shaylin Segura, are local high school students.

The most seasoned speaker is Carson City resident Audrey Markowitz, 70, an artist and teacher of Zentangle who designed this event's logo and created a seven-foot tall X displayed on the Black Box Theater stage.

She was scheduled to give a stirring talk Friday afternoon about her personal battle with cancer.

"I thought it was great, and I'm glad it's online so we can share it with our daughter," said Incline Village resident Kathy Williams, who attended the morning events. "I really enjoyed the 17-year-old girl (Shaylin Segura) and Benjamin Wade. He was just inspirational."

Among the morning speakers was Donna Walden, an environmental marketing professional from Minden.

Her talk was entitled "How to change behavior for a sustainable future," and it focused on ways humans can reduce their impact on the environment.

She used the Squaw Valley resort area as an example, where efforts there have been focused on plastic water bottles. The resort provides reusable cups and bottles with refilling stations so that bottles do not have to be thrown away.

That campaign, Walden said, is expected to reduce the number of water bottles that end up in landfills by 28,000 per year.

"It takes hundreds of years for plastic bottles to degrade in a landfill," she said.

Walden highlighted two other Lake Tahoe-based campaigns Friday.

One called "Eyes on the Lake," run by the League to Save Lake Tahoe, which focuses on the prevention of invasive species into the lake's waters.

The second campaign -- conducted through the Tahoe Water Suppliers Association and the Incline Village General Improvement District -- is called "Drink Tahoe Tap," which encourages the public to change its water consumption behavior; such as reducing the use of plastic water bottles.

"The call to action I take is that everyone has a responsibility toward our planet," she said. "The biggest mistake people make is thinking they can't do anything about the environment. But we all can do something, like supporting local environmental protection groups."

Dr. Rebecca Bevans of Carson City also spoke Friday morning about the effects of artificial food dyes on children.

Bevans, who holds a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience, has been studying a link between the consumption of food dyes and the development of behavioral disorders in children. These include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Conduct Disorder and even Bipolar Disorder.

Food dyes, she said, are believed to contain a neuro toxin that effects chemicals in the brain.

"The findings so far show a behavioral pattern," she said. "Not all kids are effected by dyes, but many are. And, for those that are, it can be really difficult on the family."

Bevans said dye consumption can also reduce the effectiveness of drugs used to treat behavioral disorders.

"In fact," said Dr. Bevans, "eighty to ninety percent of medicines have food dyes in them."

But the solution, she says, is as simple as just taking the dyes out.

Consumers can protect themselves and their children by carefully reading labels and choosing products that do not have dyes in them.

Bevans said her participation in Friday's TEDx program was a key part of spreading the word about the dangers of food dyes.

"This is the first step in getting the message out there," she said. "Ted is about ideas worth spreading and I think this is one of those ideas that needs to be spread."

This year's TEDx theme is "creating the community you want to live in," and speakers from a variety of disciplines are featured during the all-day event to "share their life's work, passions and concepts" through short 10- to 15-minute thought-provoking and entertaining talks, the TEDx Carson City web site states.

The locally organized event is an indepdent, not-for-profit program run by volunteers.

"Carson City is on the cusp of doing great things by working together and uniting all stakeholders from different fields and organizations," the TEDx Carson City web site states. "The goal for TEDx Carson City is to unite the entire community both formal and informal leaders from all sectors and silos in the community with the common vision to transform Carson City to a community that all would want to live in."

"TEDx Carson City is an incubator for great ideas," states its web site, "a perfect opportunity to meet people who are doing interesting things, and a way to explore the interconnectivity that joins us."

Friday's event sold out within hours of tickets going on sale, and a free-reservation overflow room at the BAC Performance Hall was also booked early, according a report by the Nevada Appeal. But the event could also be viewed live by online streaming on the event's web site.

The TEDx program was launched in 2009, created "to help communities, organizations, and individuals to spark conversation and connection through TED-like experiences," the TEDx web site states.

TED is an acronym that stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, per the nonprofit organization's web site, that began in 1984 as a conference meant to spread ideas and spark conversation and innovation across a broad spectrum that includes business, science, and global issues.

TEDx events are held worldwide, and conducted in over 100 languages, the TED web site says.