Boston College Environmental Studies Program: October 2012

Monday, October 15, 2012

Weekly Announcements: 10/15

Dear Environmental Studies Students:

Please see this week’s announcements below. Please note the lecture by Jay Walljasper is this evening at 7:00pm in McGuinn 121.

Upcoming Conference and Forum Opportunities

1. Symposium with Jay Walljasper – 10/15

2. Lecture: China, Environmental Change, and the Early Modern World – 10/23

3. Tide Mills Conference – 11/9-11/10

4. Colby College Conference on Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation – 3/1

Internship Opportunities, Travel Opportunities and Graduate School Presentations

1. Voter Canvassing with Environment Massachusetts

2. Green Corps

3. Educational Delegation with First Food – 12/22-12/30

4. Oceana Internship

5. Environment Massachusetts

6. Environment America Fellowship Program

Best,

Kevin

B. Kevin Brown

Graduate Assistant, Environmental Studies

envstudy@bc.edu

617-552-2477

Devlin 213

Office Hours: Monday 12:00-4:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am-4:00pm, Thursday 10:00am-2:00pm, and Friday 12:00-2:00pm

Symposium with Jay Walljasper

The (Re)Discovery of the Commons as a Path Toward a Greener, More Equitable and Happier World

CHINA, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE, AND THE EARLY MODERN WORLD

LECTURE BY ROBERT B. MARKS

TiDE MILL INSTITUTE’S 8^TH TIDE MILL CONFERENCE

NOVEMBER 9 & 10

Presentations (lunch provided at noon)

Anglo-Saxon Tide Mill – London 1194AD – Simon Davis, Museum of London Archaeology

Winnegance Maine: Tide Mill Capital of America? – John Goff – Tide Mill Institute My Family’s Tide Mill: A Personal View – John Morse – Sixth Generation Sawyer

Historic Tide Milling on the Pennamaquan – Fred Gralenski, Mill Historian

21st Century Tidal Power in Washington County – Todd Griset – Environmental Lawyer

Reception, Lunch and Refreshments included

CONTACT:

Earl Taylor -Ermmwwt@aol.com - 617-293-3052

Bud Warren - budw@myfairpoint.net - 207-373-1209

Winter Street Center

880 Washington Street

Bath, Maine

www.tidemillinstitute.org

Colby College Conference on Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation

Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation

Colby College

March 1, 2013

The Environmental Studies Program at Colby College, in conjunction with partner universities, colleges, and research institutions, is hosting a conference on March 1, 2013 in Waterville, Maine, that will focus on students as catalysts for large landscape conservation.

This conference will provide students, practitioners, and scholars with the opportunity to network with, and learn from, peers and leading experts from North America and beyond working in the field of large landscape conservation.

One feature of the conference will be a conservation innovation contest for students. Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit essays or creative contributions, such as videos. Authors of winning contributions will receive travel reimbursements to attend the conference up to $500. One essay will be considered for inclusion in a forthcoming book on large landscape conservation to be published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Additional essays will be considered for publication in an issue of an international conservation journal. Students unable to attend the conference are encouraged to attend via web conferencing.

The organizers also are soliciting student posters for display and presentation at the conference. These posters will not be considered as part of the conservation innovation contest for students.

For additional information about the student essay contest, registration, and other conference details, see: http://web.colby.edu/landscapeconservation/

For questions about the conference, please contact: landscapeconservation@colby.edu

VOTER CANvassing with Environment Massachussets

Canvass for the Environmental Vote!

with ENVIRONMENT MASSACHUSETTS

$9-$11/HR

*Work with great people!

*Fight for a Massachusetts' environment!

Work with Environment Massachusetts to support important environmental issues. Career opportunities and benefits available.

For more information, Call Elana at 781-570-1219.

Paid for by Environment America Action Fund. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contact us for more information at www.EnvironmentAmericaActionFund.org.

GREEN CORPS

Green Corps The Field School for Environmental Organizing

Green Corps is looking for college graduates who are ready to take on the
biggest environmental challenges of our day.

In Green Corps year-long paid program, you¹ll get intensive training in the skills you¹ll need to make a difference in the world. You¹ll get hands-on experience fighting to solve urgent environmental problems ‹ global warming, deforestation, water pollution, factory farming and many others ‹ with groups such as Sierra Club and Food and Water Watch. And, when you graduate from Green Corps, we¹ll help you find a career with one of the nation¹s leading environmental and social change groups.

For more information, read below or visit our web site: www.greencorps.org.

In your year with Green Corps:

You¹ll get great training with some of the most experienced organizers in the field: Green Corps organizers take part in trainings with leading figures in the environmental and social change movements: people such as Adam Ruben, political director of MoveOn.org, and Bill McKibben, author and founder of "350.org".

You¹ll get amazing experience working on environmental issues across the country: Green Corps sends organizers to jumpstart campaigns for groups such as Rainforest Action Network and Environment America in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and dozens of other places in between.

You¹ll have a real impact on some of the biggest environmental problems we¹re facing today: Green Corps organizers have built the campaigns that helped keep the Arctic safe from drilling, that led to new laws that support clean, renewable energy, that convinced major corporations to stop dumping in our oceans and much, much more.

You¹ll even get paid: Green Corps Organizers earn a salary of $23,750. Organizers also have a chance to opt into our health care program with a pre-tax monthly salary deferral. We offer paid sick days and holidays, two weeks paid vacation and a student loan repayment program for those who qualify.

And when you graduate from the program, you¹ll be ready for what comes next: Green Corps will help connect you to environmental and progressive groups that are looking for full-time staff to build their organizations and help them create social change and protect our environment.

In the next few months, weŒll invite 35 college graduates to join Green Corps in 2013 -2014. We¹re looking for people who are serious about saving the planet, people who have taken initiative on their campus or community, and people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work for change over the long haul.

If you think you¹re one of those people, visit www.greencorps.org to apply to join the 2013-2014 class of Green Corps¹ Field School for Environmental Organizing.

Green Corps¹ year-long program begins in August 2013 with Introductory Classroom Training in Boston, and continues with field placements in multiple locations across the U.S. Candidates must be willing to relocate.

For more information, visit http://www.greencorps.org or contact Aaron Myran, Recruitment Director, at jobs@greencorps.org.

Educational delegation with first food

“Sin maíz, no hay país!” (“Without corn, we have no country!”) is a popular battle cry in Oaxaca, Mexico. As the cornerstone of Mesoamerican agriculture and diet, corn or “maize” is at the heart of the ongoing struggle for food sovereignty in Mexico. This December, Food Sovereignty Tours offers the public an opportunity to explore current food issues in this diverse region of Mexico first-hand as part of a guided delegation.

Participants will learn directly from local farmers, scholars and activists about the threats to rural livelihoods such as environmental degradation, mining, out-migration and contamination of native seeds by imported genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The tour will look into how peasant organizations are working to strengthen local food systems while playing an important role in the global food sovereignty movement.

Along the way, participants will sample native fare, including renowned moles, countless corn-based dishes, and hot chocolate made from local cacao beans. In addition, delegates will celebrate the holidays with traditional Oaxacan dishes and enjoy “Night of the Radishes”—a unique festival celebrating food, farming and creativity. The delegation will also visit a maguey (cactus) farm that produces artisanal mezcal, a once criminalized tequila-like spirit.

The Food Sovereignty Oaxaca Tour will take place December 22 – 30, 2012. Partial scholarships are available for qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants who register (including deposit) by September 22, 2012, will receive a complimentary copy of Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice by Eric Holt-Gimenez and Raj Patel.

Tour registration is open to the public. To learn more, visit the Food Sovereignty Tours website: http://www.foodsovereigntytours.org/international-tours/oaxaca.

The mission of Food Sovereignty Tours is to build the global movement for food sovereignty through solidarity travel and immersion learning. Food Sovereignty Tours is a program of Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, which has been called one of the “most established food think tanks” by the New York Times. The program also leads international delegations to Bolivia, Mexico, Italy, the Basque Country and more.

OCEANA INTERNSHIP

Oceana is the world’s largest international nonprofit dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana’s Greater Boston Climate and Energy campaign is currently offering internship opportunities for college students. Internships will give students invaluable experience in grassroots issue advocacy and an opportunity to make an impact in moving the U.S. away from offshore drilling and towards a clean energy future.

About the Campaign:

Oceana is working to ban offshore oil drilling. Based on the direct impacts of oil drilling and its contributions to climate change, Oceana recommends the following:

· Prevent the expansion of offshore drilling to the Atlantic coast

· Prioritize the development of offshore wind energy in place of offshore oil drilling

· Promote energy efficiency and low carbon fuels

About the Internship:

As an intern with Oceana’s Climate and Energy campaign you will help bring about the transition to clean energy. You will talk with hundreds of students and community members about the impact of offshore drilling. You will collect photo petitions, organize media events, and help build grassroots coalitions of businesses and organizations. You will be part of a nationwide movement!

Leadership Opportunities:

We are looking for capable team leaders to facilitate the week-to-week operations on campus. Help organize your campus and community around these critical ocean issues.

Intern Responsibilities:

· Dedicates 8-10 hours per week to the Climate and Energy campaign

· Masters the core message of the campaign and communicates this message effectively

· Attends weekly core meetings and weekly project group meetings

· Participates in events or workshops where we’ll need “all hands on deck”, like rallies, film screenings, etc.

Intern Benefits:

· Build your resume while gaining valuable skills, knowledge, and experience

· Work with a motivated team of like-minded students

· Earn a letter of recommendation from Oceana upon completion

How to Apply:

Please email your resume and a short cover letter explaining your interest in this position to mcover@oceana.org. Please include ‘Campus Intern’ in the subject line. Check out our website at www.oceana.org to learn more about who we are and what we do. Oceana is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

ENvironnment Massachussetts

Environment Massachusetts has a number of internship opportunities posted on their website. For more information, please visit http://environmentmassachusetts.org/page/jobs or contact Alison Giest, Environment Massachusetts, New England Federal Field Associate, at agiest@environmentmassachusetts.org or 813-215-3604.

Environment America Fellowship Program

Each year, Environment America hires recent college graduates with the passion, the commitment and the talent it takes to stand up to polluting industries, organize support and fight for our environmental values.

This year, we are recruiting to fill 35 fellowship positions with our state affiliates across the country and in Washington, D.C. Every Environment America fellow will organize, advocate and fight for the environment while gaining the responsibility, training and experience you’ll need to make a difference – now and for years to come.

Our Fellowship Program is a two-year immersion in the nuts and bolts of environmental activism, organizing, advocacy and the type of organization-building necessary for the long haul.

To learn more and to apply: https://jobs.environmentamerica.org/programs/amr/become-environment-america-fellow

B. Kevin Brown

Graduate Assistant, Environmental Studies

envstudy@bc.edu

617-552-2477

Devlin 213

Office Hours: Monday 12:00-4:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am-4:00pm, Thursday 10:00am-2:00pm, and Friday 12:00-2:00pm

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Reflections on nine months in New Zealand

Noah P. Snyder
Director, Environmental Studies Program
Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Originally published in the BCEEAN Newsletter.

I spent the last academic year on sabbatical at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Growing up in a college town (Ithaca, New York) I always viewed sabbaticals abroad as one of the perks of being a professor. My faculty-brat friends would come back from a summer, semester or year in another country with new stories and new perspectives. As my first opportunity to take a sabbatical approached, my wife and I made plans to move our family (we have two young sons) overseas. We had spent our honeymoon in New Zealand in 2004, and very much enjoyed that landscape and culture. In 2010, I was offered a visiting fellowship in the Geological Sciences Department of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, and we made our plans to go. In this article, I reflect on my experiences abroad and how these influence my vision for BC’s Environmental Studies Program going forward.

Two 2011 natural disasters nearly derailed our plans to go to NZ. The first and most important was the Christchurch earthquake in February. This event essentially destroyed the downtown of the South Island’s largest city, which was built in the 19th century on weak wetland soil prone to liquefaction during shaking. Similar to California, New Zealand is a tectonically active place and the city had survived several previous earthquakes, including a larger but more distant one in 2010. The second event was Hurricane Irene, which grounded all flights, including ours, out of the U.S. East Coast in late August. For us, both events proved to be nuisances, but for many others they were far more devastating.

With rescheduling after the storm, it took us five flights and 37 hours to get from New York to Christchurch. We were picked up at the airport on a sunny, cold early Southern Hemisphere spring morning by one of my colleagues. Upon landing, we did not know what the city would look like. As we drove in from the west, the geologist showed us the damage there, mostly brick walls and chimneys that had been knocked down by the shaking. He explained that the far greater damage was on the eastern side of the city, where the liquefaction and landslides had occurred. There buildings, roads and other infrastructure (water, sewage and power systems) were all destroyed. The area around the university, where we lived for the whole nine months, was much less affected. While awake in the middle of our first jetlagged night, my wife and sons felt our first of many aftershocks.

Although local nerves are frayed by the aftershocks and by the uncertainty regarding the future of homes and neighborhoods, the impression I got was that the recovery process was remarkably functional and well managed. NZ has a strong government that provides excellent social services, and the citizens largely lack the anti-government culture that pervades the United States. Within two months after the February quake, the government was circulating recovery plans for public comment. This stands in remarkable contrast to the best recent analogy in the United States, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where the failure of government to respond adequately to an environmental challenge was such a major part of the story. I got a first-hand perspective on how scientists play an important role in educating the public during an environmental crisis because I was housed in the Department of Geological Sciences.

Beyond the earthquakes, New Zealand is an excellent place to consider the relationship of humans to the land. Similar to the rural western United States, the economy of New Zealand revolves around land-based industries like agriculture (particularly dairy farming for export), mining, forestry and tourism. The first three sectors often clash with the fourth, and its “100% Pure” international advertising campaign. NZ tourism is based on the beautiful landscapes seen in the Lord of the Rings films. The country manages a world-class network of national parks with outstanding tourist infrastructure (from well-maintained trails to organized adventure activities) at each one. On the other hand, land use strongly influences many places on both islands, with water-quality problems downstream of dairy farms, steeplands eroding rapidly due to overgrazing and poor forestry practices, and invasive species problems. For instance, iconic native birds like kiwis are being driven close to extinction by mammals introduced by Maori and European settlers over the past 800 years.

These land-use tensions are very much part of NZ life. Living on two islands in the southwestern Pacific encourages the citizens to be aware of the sustainability of their lifestyles. The South Island powers its electrical grid almost entirely using dams, and overall 75% of NZ’s power comes from renewable sources. The combination of a relatively modest human population, mild climate (not much need for air conditioning) and lots of rain in the mountains mean that they can do this and still have many free-flowing rivers. Nonetheless, rising demand and the need for clean energy (NZ has a greenhouse gas trading scheme) means the pressure to build more dams is a constant part of the civic conversation. I saw an excellent talk given by a government-agency geologist about the hard choices NZ will need to make in the future: balancing sizeable coal reserves, the possibility of natural gas exploration using hydrofracturing, new offshore oil production, new dams and wind farms, and the need to be good global citizens in the face of rising levels of greenhouse gases.

Of course, this conversation has little analog in US, where both presidential candidates are ignoring climate change (even after the hottest month on record in the lower 48!). This year the Environmental Studies Program will explore energy sustainability. This fall, I will teach a class required for all Environmental Studies minors in the classes of 2015 and beyond called “The Human Footprint” where we study population growth and the demand for energy and agriculture. I am also working with BCEEAN and other faculty to organize a symposium on energy that is part of BC’s 150th anniversary celebrations. And on October 11, we are showing a new film called Switch (http://www.switchenergyproject.com/) that presents an objective view of the possibilities for shifting to a lower-carbon energy future in the US. The goal of the documentary is to move toward the kind of balanced, mature discussion that I saw in NZ.

More broadly, I return to BC energized to build new opportunities for scholarship in environment and sustainability. This year I plan to propose the creation of a new interdisciplinary major in Environmental Studies. Several newly hired professors and the resulting expanded course opportunities give us the chance to build a substantial and rigorous program for students. I am also looking forward to working with faculty, staff, students and the Office of Sustainability to better link exciting new directions in campus sustainability and our undergraduate curriculum. Finally, a university-wide conversation has begun on building a Center for the Environment at BC to house interdisciplinary graduate programs and research collaborations.

A footbridge across the Avon River in downtown Christchurch, damaged by earthquake shaking in February 2011 (photograph by Noah Snyder, November 2011).

Landslide damage in a coastal neighborhood of Christchurch. The line of containers at the base of the cliff protects a roadway from additional falling debris (photograph by Noah Snyder, March 2012).

The Librarians are in ....

The Librarians are in….. the Earth & Environmental Sciences Office!

Starting October 10, there will be on-site “Library” office hours for E&ES and ESP in the E&ES Office, Wednesdays from 9-10 with Enid Karr, Librarian for Biology, E&ES and ESP and Sally Wyman, Librarian for Chemistry, Physics and ESP (Sally will be attending Oct 10 only but is available for consultations at other times.)

Please drop by to chat about your library/research needs, give us feedback about the collections or services the library offers, talk about any access issues you might have with journals and other materials, discuss search strategies in our science databases, or arrange for in-class library instruction, or any other library-related issues.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Weekly Announcements 10/4/12

Dear Environmental Studies Students:

Please see this week’s announcements below.

Upcoming Events and Announcements

1. Film Screening: Switch – 10/11

2. Library Office Hours

Upcoming Conference and Forum Opportunities

1. Radcliffe Institute Symposium: The Future of Water – 10/12

2. Symposium with Jay Walljasper – 10/15

4. Colby College Conference on Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation – 3/1

Internship Opportunities, Travel Opportunities and Graduate School Presentations

1. Green Corps

2. Educational Delegation with First Food – 12/22-12/30

3. Oceana Internship

4. Environment Massachusetts

5. Environment America Fellowship Program

Best,

Kevin

B. Kevin Brown

Graduate Assistant, Environmental Studies

envstudy@bc.edu

617-552-2477

Devlin 213

Office Hours: Monday 12:00-4:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am-4:00pm, Thursday 10:00am-2:00pm, and Friday 12:00-2:00pm

FILM SCREENING: SWITCH

What does the future of energy really hold? Join energy visionary Dr. Scott Tinker on a spectacular global adventure to find out. Dr. Tinker explores the world’s leading energy sites, from coal to solar, oil to biofuels, many highly restricted and never before seen on film. He gets straight answers from the people driving energy today, international leaders of government, industry and academia. In the end, he cuts through the confusion to discover a path to our future that is surprising and remarkably pragmatic. Switch is the first truly balanced energy film, embraced and supported by people all along the energy spectrum – fossil and renewable, academic and environmental. To be followed by a discussion lead by faculty from the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department.

When: Thursday, October 11, 7:00-9:00pm

Where: Devlin 008

For information about the film, visit http://www.switchenergyproject.com/screenings.php.

LIBRARY OFFICE HOURS

The Librarians are in….. the Earth & Environmental Sciences Office! Starting October 10, there will be on-site “Library” office hours for E&ES and ESP in the E&ES Office, Wednesdays from 9-10 with Enid Karr, Librarian for Biology, E&ES and ESP and Sally Wyman, Librarian for Chemistry, Physics and ESP (Sally will be attending Oct 10 only but is available for consultations at other times.)

We look forward to seeing you!

Radcliffe Institute Symposium: The Future of Water

Cloudy with a Chance of Solutions:

The Future of Water

Friday, October 12, 2012 | 9 am – 5 pm

Radcliffe Gymnasium, 10 Garden Street, Radcliffe Yard
Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Radcliffe Institute’s annual science symposium will focus on the important and challenging topic of water. Water is a theme that encompasses issues as varied as environmental contamination, public health, agricultural shortages, and geopolitical disputes. “Cloudy with a Chance of Solutions: The Future of Water” will focus on the ecological and human health hazards of environmental contaminants, the threats to drinking water of fracking, the promise of new technologies for water treatment, the need for national water policy, and the role of urban and other areas in conservation. The majority of the talks will focus on the “hard science” of water-related issues; others will offer the perspectives of experts from the policy, business, or urban-planning worlds to put the scientific discussions in a broader context and to link them thematically.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

For more information and to register, please visit www.radcliffe.harvard.edu or call 617-495-8600.

Symposium with Jay Walljasper

The (Re)Discovery of the Commons as a Path Toward a Greener, More Equitable and Happier World

Jay Walljasper is editor of OnTheCommons.org, a website devoted to restoring an appreciation of common purpose and common assets to contemporary life, and Senior Fellow at On the Commons. He is also a Senior Fellow Project for Public Spaces, a New York-based organization focused on improving public places, an associate of the DC-based public affairs consortium Citistates Group, and a Senior Fellow at Augsburg College’s Sabo Center for Citizenship and Learning in Minneapolis, where he lives.

When: Monday, October 15, 7:00pm

Where: McGuinn Hall, Room 121

Colby College Conference on Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation

Students as Catalysts for Large Landscape Conservation

Colby College

March 1, 2013

The organizers also are soliciting student posters for display and presentation at the conference. These posters will not be considered as part of the conservation innovation contest for students.

For additional information about the student essay contest, registration, and other conference details, see: http://web.colby.edu/landscapeconservation/

For questions about the conference, please contact: landscapeconservation@colby.edu

GREEN CORPS

Green Corps The Field School for Environmental Organizing

Educational delegation with first food

The Food Sovereignty Oaxaca Tour will take place December 22 – 30, 2012. Partial scholarships are available for qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants who register (including deposit) by September 22, 2012, will receive a complementary copy of Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice by Eric Holt-Gimenez and Raj Patel.

Tour registration is open to the public. To learn more, visit the Food Sovereignty Tours website: http://www.foodsovereigntytours.org/international-tours/oaxaca.

OCEANA INTERNSHIP

About the Campaign:

Oceana is working to ban offshore oil drilling. Based on the direct impacts of oil drilling and its contributions to climate change, Oceana recommends the following:

· Prevent the expansion of offshore drilling to the Atlantic coast

· Prioritize the development of offshore wind energy in place of offshore oil drilling

· Promote energy efficiency and low carbon fuels

About the Internship:

Leadership Opportunities:

We are looking for capable team leaders to facilitate the week-to-week operations on campus. Help organize your campus and community around these critical ocean issues.

Intern Responsibilities:

· Dedicates 8-10 hours per week to the Climate and Energy campaign

· Masters the core message of the campaign and communicates this message effectively

· Attends weekly core meetings and weekly project group meetings

· Participates in events or workshops where we’ll need “all hands on deck”, like rallies, film screenings, etc.

Intern Benefits:

· Build your resume while gaining valuable skills, knowledge, and experience

· Work with a motivated team of like-minded students

· Earn a letter of recommendation from Oceana upon completion

How to Apply:

ENvironnment Massachussetts

Environment America Fellowship Program

Our Fellowship Program is a two-year immersion in the nuts and bolts of environmental activism, organizing, advocacy and the type of organization-building necessary for the long haul.

To learn more and to apply: https://jobs.environmentamerica.org/programs/amr/become-environment-america-fellow

B. Kevin Brown

Graduate Assistant, Environmental Studies

envstudy@bc.edu

617-552-2477

Devlin 213

Office Hours: Monday 12:00-4:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am-4:00pm, Thursday 10:00am-2:00pm, and Friday 12:00-2:00pm