EnviroThursday Spring 2003

Presentations take place at 12 noon, Olin-Rice Room 250

February 6, 2003

“Moby Dick”
Video

A documentary on Herman Melville’s novel and its scientific significance.

February 13, 2003

“Career Positions to Save the Environment with The Fund for Public Interest Research”
Speaker: Ryan Keith, Assistant Director, The Fund for Public Interest Research

The presentation will focus mainly upon positions The Fund for Public Interest Research has for graduating seniors to direct their offices around the country. Campaign Directors are responsible for hiring and training a staff of 12 to 35 activists that fund raise door to door and on the street, conduct press conferences, build coalitions with other organizations, and publish letters-to-the-editor to build public awareness for local and national public interest issues. Ryan will also talk about positions for undergraduate students working on their summer campaigns.

Ryan has been directing a campaign with Greenpeace in the Twin Cities for nine months. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1997 with a major in English Literature and a minor in American History.

February 20, 2003

“Dolphins with Robin Williams”
Video

PBS documentary on current research in dolphin behavior hosted by Robin Williams.

February 27, 2003

“Restoring Alaska”
Video

This video looks at the 10-year restoration process following the worst oil spill in U.S. history. It explores the legacy of this tragedy and its lingering effects on wildlife and people in the region, as well as efforts to see that it never happens again. Join researchers to investigate why only 2 of 28 injured species have recovered after 10 years. What will be the legacy of this environmental disaster for the people of Prince William Sound? Restoring Alaska is a story of survival and hope, told by the people whose lives were forever changed just after midnight on March 24, 1989.

March 6, 2003

“Affluenza”
Video

This video is a fascinating look at one of the greatest social maladies of our time: overconsumption and materialism. Hosted by National Public Radio’s Scott Simon, “Affluenza” explores both the comical and sobering aspects of our consumerism and its enormous impact on our families, communities, and the environment.

March 13, 2003 – No EnviroThursday

March 27, 2003

“Mammoths of the Ice Age”
Video

The subjects of Stone Age cave paintings thunder onto the screen as NOVA explores Woolly Mammoths. Recent discoveries show that the hairy ancestors of elephants fought off extinction much longer than anyone thought, surviving on an isolated island in the Arctic Ocean until as recently as 4,000 year ago.

April 3, 2003

“Using MN Atlas and ArcView for GIS Projects”
Speaker: Carol Gersmehl, Macalester Geography Department

Doing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) involves using both software and datasets. The MN Environmental Atlas is rich in datasets (e.g., environmental, administrative, demographic) and is easy-to-learn software. ArcView requires more time for learning software procedures and for gathering datasets. Both can contribute to mapping and analysis of environmental data. The presentation will show examples of student GIS projects using both MN Atlas and ArcView.

Carol Gersmehl has taught in Macalester’s Geography Department since 1987. She specializes in cartography and GIS. Although her M.A. is in sociology, her graduate work in geography at the University of Minnesota and her research experiences include physical geography and environmental topics.

April 10, 2003 – John B. Davis Lecture Hall, Campus Center, 12 noon

2003 Environmental Studies Distinguished Speaker

“Environmental Justice and the Market: The Politics of Sharing Wildlife Revenues in Tanzania”
Speaker: Dr. Richard Schroeder, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Rutgers University

Dr. Schroeder earned his B.A. at Macalester College in 1978 before going on to earn an M.S. in environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. at the University of California – Berkeley (under Michael Watts). He is the author of numerous articles and books, including Shady Practices: Agroforestry and Gender Politics in the Gambia (1999) and Producing Nature and Poverty in Africa (co-edited with V. Broch-Due) (2000). In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Schroeder also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone and as a Program Manager for the Save the Children Federation in the Gambia.

April 17, 2003

“Sea Soldiers: Military Use of Marine Mammals”
Video

Wonder how the dolphins used in the current war with Iraq were trained? Learn about it by watching this documentary made by French reporters who had access to secret military installations around the world.

April 24, 2003

“Jila: Painted Waters of the Great Sandy Desert”
Video

This video is being shown as part of Environmental Justice Day for Earth Week. “Jila,” an Australian Aboriginal word for “waterhole,” is a moving film about Aboriginal Australian peoples on-going struggles/fights to retain “title” to their native land–what they call “country”–in the face of efforts by the Australian Parliament to revoke their claims to native title. It is a moving film that show how artistic creations (in this case, a mural) can be powerfully embellished narrative texts (with argumentative significance and implications) for native peoples whose language, culture, and world views about themselves and their land are not adequately captured or expressed “in the white fella’s language.”