The tiny-house movement is up for discussion at Coastal Carolina University's Tea and Ethics program sponsored by the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 4 p.m. in the James J. Johnson Auditorium. CCU faculty members Dan Abel and William Baird will lead the presentation along with Baird's wife, Laura. The event is free and open to the public.

With many media outlets covering this unique housing movement, it is no surprise that many people are embarking on a life in smaller spaces. Abel, an associate professor of marine science, Laura Baird, a naturalist at the Myrtle Beach State Park, and William Baird, a teaching associate of philosophy and religious studies, will discuss the tiny-house trend and how it's gaining steam across the United States and abroad. The Bairds will offer personal experience, as they just recently made the switch to tiny house living with their three children.

The presentation will bring to light some of the impacts of tiny living on the environment, raising a family, education, economics and aesthetics. It will also consider whether or not everyone should embrace tiny living and if people in tiny houses live happier lives.

Tea and Ethics is a forum sponsored by the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values that invites individuals to make ethical and value-based decisions. The Jackson Family Center aims to create opportunities for open conversations about how ethics and values affect the individual, the university, the region and the world.

Johnson Auditorium is in Room 116 of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, located at 119 Chanticleer Drive E. on the Conway campus. For more information, contact William Baird at wpbaird@coastal.edu or 843-349-2731.