Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Brings Activist Spirit to Willamette

The U.S. has good environmental laws in place, but these laws are often not enforced, environmental activist and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a group of students Friday during a visit to Willamette University.

“Environmental crime is real crime,” he said during an informal meeting with environmental science and politics students before delivering the Dempsey Lecture on Environmental Issues Friday night. “Oftentimes, federal agencies don’t treat it like real crime. They call it ‘white collar mischief,’ and then they don’t do anything about it.”

Kennedy showed students his fiery brand of activism as he described the history of Hudson Riverkeeper, for whom he is chief prosecuting attorney. Riverkeeper — started in the 1960s by small commercial fishermen who were upset about “corporate entities robbing them of the Hudson River” that had long been their resource — led a successful fight to restore the river by tracking down polluters and prosecuting them under the law.

“We’re a law enforcement organization,” Kennedy said. “When people are violating the law by polluting public waterways, we step in to act. The waterways in Oregon and elsewhere are not owned by the governor, the legislature or the fisheries people. They’re owned by the public. You have the right to go out to the river, pull a fish out and take it home to feed your family. If someone is polluting the river so it’s not safe for you to take that fish, that’s an act of theft against you.”

Kennedy is known for his aggressive approach against entities whose policies accelerate pollution. His 2004 book, Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking our Democracy, calls into question the environmental policies of the U.S. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law, and co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio.

During his evening lecture, Kennedy took on everything from the recent Bush administration to corporate media to the coal industry as he touted the possibilities of alternative energy and urged government to invest in environmental policies.

"We don't have to choose between good environmental policy and good economic policy — it's a false choice," he said. "What's happening now in Washington, D.C., is some of the most exciting stuff I've seen in the 25 years I've been involved with these issues, because there's an understanding in the new administration that the path out of the recession is a new green energy future."

Kennedy also noted the importance of protecting the planet because "we understand that nature enriches us."

"My advocacy has not been about saving the birds and the fishes, but about recognizing we're protecting nature because nature is the infrastructure of our communities."

Kennedy's appearance was sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation and the Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University (www.willamette.edu/centers/csc/).

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Willamette Sponsors Environmental Lecture by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Prominent environmental activist and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will address “Our Environmental Destiny” Friday, March 6, at 8 p.m. at the Salem Conference Center as part of the Willamette University Dempsey Lecture Series on Environmental Issues.

Kennedy advocates an aggressive approach against entities whose policies accelerate pollution and maintain the status quo, and he has used numerous media outlets, including his 2004 book Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking our Democracy, to call into question the environmental policies of the U.S. His lecture, which will remind people of their responsibility to protect the planet, will be in the Willamette River Room at the Salem Conference Center, 200 Commercial St. SE.

Kennedy, who serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance, was named one of Time magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping Riverkeeper lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. He is a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law, and he is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio.

In addition to Crimes Against Nature, Kennedy’s books include The Riverkeepers (1997) and Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr.: A Biography (1977). His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and Atlantic Monthly.

The event is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation and the Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University. For more information call (503) 370-6654.

UPDATE: Tickets are required for this event, and all tickets have been distributed.

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Professor Emeritus Discusses Decline of Nature and Challenges to Sustainability

Professor Emeritus Gilbert LaFreniere of Willamette University’s Environmental and Earth Sciences Department will speak about the major findings of his book, The Decline of Nature, in a free lecture Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Collins Science Center, Room 210, at Willamette University.

LaFreniere has been a professor of environmental and earth sciences at Willamette for many years. He also worked as a trained geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies in California.

LaFreniere combines personal experiences exploring the natural history of Europe, New England, California, the Pacific Northwest and Canada with advanced degrees in both geology and history to create a unique synthesis of philosophy, history and science. In the context of his new book, he will examine long-term environmental problems known as “ultra vire” (beyond political jurisdiction) and their challenges to future sustainability. These problems include biodiversity loss, climate change, nuclear waste, population, overconsumption and resource constraints that impinge upon economic growth. More wealth and technological innovation will be dedicated to energy efficiency, but as we shift to alternative energy sources this will affect funding for the preservation of ecosystems and species.

This event is open to the public and will be followed with a book signing with the author. This lecture is sponsored by the Willamette University Center for Sustainable Communities and the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences.

For more information call Andrea Foust at (503) 370-6654.

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Green Building: The New Revolution is Here

Nationally recognized green-building expert Jerry Yudelson will speak about the rapidly emerging green building revolution in a free lecture Thursday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. in Paulus Lecture Hall at the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center at Willamette University.

Yudelson will present a compelling business case for green buildings, both residential and commercial, and share dozens of building projects that demonstrate environmental excellence, many within conventional budgets. A dynamic speaker with an urgent sense of purpose, Yudelson will explain why thousands of individuals and corporations across the U.S. are choosing green over conventional design for their homes and businesses, and how the market for green buildings is likely to evolve over the next several years.

Green building has emerged as a proven strategy to improve the health of a building’s occupants, combat global warming, enhance public relations, and save money for businesses and home-owners, Yudelson says. Attendees will learn how to take advantage of opportunities in green building.

The event is sponsored by the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center, the Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University, the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Pringle Creek Community, and the Salem American Institute of Architects.

For more information call Nathan Good at (503) 370-4448 or Andrea Foust at (503) 370-6654.

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Oregon Secretary of State Presents 'Global Warming and its Impact on Oregon'

Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, who completed a rigorous training program led by former Vice President Al Gore, will give a free presentation about issues and solutions surrounding global warming Monday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium at Willamette University.

Bradbury was part of a group of 50 individuals chosen to receive intensive training by Gore and a team of renowned scientists about global warming issues. Each received technical training to become experienced presenters of a version of Gore’s computer-based slide show, which became the basis of his best-selling book and documentary film, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

His Willamette visit is sponsored by Associated Students of Willamette University, Willamette Events Board and The New York Times.

“Bill Bradbury is an outstanding example of the millions of Americans who have been energized by the call to action on the climate crisis,” Gore said. “Bill will be spending the next year making presentations in and around Oregon discussing how individuals and businesses, schools and other organizations can be a major part of the solution to the growing crisis of global warming.”

Sallie Schullinger-Krause, the Oregon Environmental Council’s Global Warming Program Manager, said: “Bill Bradbury has become Oregon’s leader in global warming outreach. Not only has he tailored his presentation to include the very real effects of climate change on Oregon, but he has developed tools to help his audiences become part of the solution.”

The Oregon Environmental Council safeguards what Oregonians love about Oregon — clean air and water, an unpolluted landscape and healthy food produced by local farmers. For nearly 40 years the council has been a champion for solutions that protect the health of all Oregonians and the place they call home. Its vision for Oregon includes solving global warming, protecting children from toxins, cleaning up rivers, building sustainable economies, and ensuring healthy food and local farms. Find out more at www.oeconline.org.

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Climate Expert to Address Global Warming Science and Policy

Climate expert Stephen Schneider will deliver the 2008 Dempsey Lecture on Environmental Issues Monday, March 10, at 8 p.m. in Smith Auditorium at Willamette University.

Schneider’s topic is “Global Warming: Is the Science Settled Enough for Policy?” The lecture is free and open to the public.

Schneider, a professor of environmental biology and global change at Stanford University, has authored or co-authored more than 500 scientific papers, media articles, legislative testimonies and book chapters on climate change issues. A co-director at the Center for Environment Science and Policy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a senior fellow in the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Schneider has served as a consultant to federal agencies and to the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

During the 1980s he emerged as a leading advocate of sharp reductions of greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. He was part of the team that provided climate change data in 2007 that resulted in the United Nations–sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

This lecture is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation, the Willamette University Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences and the Center for Sustainable Communities. For more information, contact Andrea Carlson at (503) 370-6654.

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Video Contest, Symposium Highlight Focus the Nation at Willamette

Willamette University students, faculty, staff and community members gathered on campus recently for a daylong symposium on problems and solutions surrounding global climate change. The discussions were part of a nationwide project called Focus the Nation, with more than 1,200 colleges and universities participating.

Willamette also hosted a contest to create a video for the original song “Oceans Rising,” written by Willamette Vice President Kristen Grainger. Grainger performed the song with guitarist Dan Wetzel. The winning video, created by Willamette senior Katie Salisbury, a religious studies major, was shown at a free concert in Smith Auditorium. View Salisbury’s video at www.willamette.edu/go/oceans_rising.

Thursday’s discussions focused on a wide range of topics, including health effects of climate change, the challenge of teaching climate change in schools, the relationship between faith and climate change and private sector contributions to sustainability. Panelists included state agency representatives, educators, students and faculty.

For more information, visit www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/focusthenation/ or focusthenation.org.

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Willamette University Events Focus on Global Warming

Focus the Nation, a nationwide conversation dedicated to finding solutions to global climate change, will take place Thursday, Jan. 31, at more than 1,200 colleges and universities across the nation. Willamette University will host a free day-long symposium and a free concert. The community is invited.

Joint Chiefs of Staff, a regional band, will kick off the event with a free concert Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Willamette has invited students and community members to produce an accompanying music video for the original song, "Oceans Rising," by singer/songwriter Kristen Grainger, who serves as Willamette’s vice president. Winning videos will be shown at the concert.

Beginning Thursday, Jan. 31, the eight panel sessions are:

--- "Local and National Responses to Global Climate Change," 8 to 9:30 a.m., Montag Center. Panel moderator is Joe Bowersox, Dempsey Chair in Environmental Policy and Politics.

--- "Health Effects and Behavioral Solutions to Climate Change," 9:40 to 11:10 a.m., Alumni Lounge, University Center. Panel moderator is psychology Professor Sue Koger.

--- "Economic Incentives to Address Climate Change," 9:40 to 11:10 a.m., Montag Center. Panel moderator is economics Professor Don Negri.

--- "Tomorrow’s Global Citizens: Education and the Challenge of Global Climate Change," 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Cone Chapel, Waller Hall. The convocation will be moderated by Professor Neil Liss, School of Education.

--- "The Role of Law and Policy in Addressing Climate Change," 12:50 to 2:20 p.m., Alumni Lounge, University Center. Panel moderator is law Professor Susan Smith.

--- "Faith and Climate Change," also from 12:50 to 2:20 p.m., Montag Center. The Rev. Karen Wood, associate chaplain for vocational exploration and director of the Lilly Project at Willamette, will moderate.

--- "Private Sector Contributions to Sustainability," 2:30 to 4 p.m., Montag Center. Elliot Maltz, professor of marketing at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, will moderate.

--- A Willamette University student panel, 2:30 to 4 p.m., Alumni Lounge, will provide the closing discussion.

Visiting panelists include Michael Grainey, Oregon Department of Energy; Tim Stumhofer, Climate Clean; Regina Hauser, Oregon Natural Step Network; Bruce Hamilton, PPM Energy; Geoff Huntington, Sustain; Professor Paul Thiers, Washington State University, Vancouver; The Rev. Gail McDougal, First Congregational Church; Dave Aston, Port of Portland; Dr. Ernie Neimi, ECONorthwest; Steve Novick, candidate for U.S. Senate; Jon Yoder, Salem-Keizer Public Schools; Gail Achtermann, Oregon State University Institute of Natural Resources; Maggie Langlas, U.S. Department of the Interior, BLM; Rabbi David Kominsky, Temple Beth Sholom, Salem.

Focus the Nation is the brainchild of Lewis and Clark College Professor Eban Goodstein, who wrote “Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction: How Passion and Politics Can Stop Global Warming.”

It is Goodstein’s belief that university professors will fail as educators unless they prepare students for the challenge of climate change.

For more information visit www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/focusthenation/schedule.htm, www.focusthenation.org or www.willamette.edu/about/sustainability/contest/song.htm.

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Symposium on Sustainability, the Environment and the Pacific Rim

Scholars and researchers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond will discuss the local effects of global issues at a symposium Friday, Nov. 9. All events are free and open to the public, including the award-winning documentary, Manufactured Landscapes. The symposium is sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies and the Center for Sustainable Communities.

More details can be found at the Calendar of Events

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Willamette Community Learns from Renowned Scientist

What will be the state of environmentalism in the next 200 years? How do you conduct scientific research without “selling out” to a major corporation? Why is society so disconnected from nature? How do you encourage environmentalism on a global scale?

These are the burning questions on the minds of Willamette University’s science students. And they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this week to get answers — by posing them to Edward O. Wilson, one of the world’s greatest living scientists, while he visited campus to deliver the Biology Centennial Lecture.

“We’re in a very strange situation in the 21st century,” Wilson told the students in an intimate meeting before speaking to a sold-out crowd of 1,300 that evening in Smith Auditorium. “We have Stone Age emotions, we have medieval beliefs and we have god-like technology.

“We have evolved to exploit the planet, and now we’re having trouble slowing down.”

Wilson is considered a leader in the fields of entomology, animal behavior, evolutionary psychology, island biogeography, biodiversity, environmental ethics and the philosophy of knowledge. He is the Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, and he has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his non-fiction books “The Ants” and “On Human Nature.”

At his evening lecture, he addressed “The Future of Life,” informing the crowd about the immense biodiversity of our planet and the important task of trying to protect it. He had the same message for the students earlier. “The world needs to see that ecology and biodiversity studies are fundamental to the health of the planet,” he said.

He talked about meeting with evangelical leaders, setting aside their different views regarding evolution and focusing on issues they both agreed on. “I told them, ‘Let’s stop talking about issues like abortions and stem cells. Let’s do something important together, which is save the creation. See how we can combine science and religion into a single enterprise … and accomplish something quite extraordinary.’”

Wilson also discussed his work on the Encyclopedia of Life, an online resource launched in May that will include information about every species on the planet (view it at eol.org). “We’ve now reached an advanced state in the information age such that the idea of having everything known and available to everybody is not out of reach.”

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Films Document GM Foods and Portland Bike Art

Two documentaries will be shown Friday, April 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Salem’s Grand Theatre as part of Willamette University’s sustainability conference. “The Future of Food” focuses on unlabeled, genetically engineered foods in U.S. grocery stores, and “Martinis in the Bike Lane” takes a look at the unique bike lane markings in Portland, Ore. Tickets are $5 at the door for the general public. Refreshments will be provided by LifeSource Natural Foods, a wind-powered store that sells a large selection of local organic produce.

Shot on location in the United States, Canada and Mexico, “The Future of Food” examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what people eat. The film focuses on farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by genetically modified (GM) food technology, and explores health implications, government policies and alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, pointing to organic and sustainable agriculture as solutions to the farm crisis.

“If you eat food, you need to see ‘The Future of Food,’” wrote Newstarget.com. The Telluride Daily Planet wrote, “This stylish film is not just for food faddists and nutritionists. It is a look at something we might not want to see: Monsanto, Roundup and Roundup-resistant seeds, collectively wreaking havoc on American farmers and our agricultural neighbors around the world. In the end, this documentary is a eloquent call to action.” The film was named Best Documentary in Willamette’s 2007 Mid-Valley Video Festival.

“Martinis in the Bike Lane” is a documentary short that looks at Portland’s bike art and infamous bike lane stencil characters, and what it is about Portland that seems to nurture the quirky art form. The film won Best Documentary Short in the Mid-Valley Film Festival.

The Grand Theatre is at 187 High St. NE in Salem, Ore. The event is sponsored by LifeSource and Willamette University. For information call Lori Beamer at (503) 361-7973 or (503) 910-6435 or visit www.willamette.edu/events/sustainability/.

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Pacific Northwest Sustainability Conference Unites Advocates

The Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University will host a sustainability conference, “Creating Synergies: Community, University and Business,” April 20 and 21 in Salem, Ore.

Registration is free for all conference attendees thanks to a generous gift. Attendees who have sent in a registration fee will receive a full refund. A limited number of student scholarships are available to defray the cost of travel and lodging. To apply for a scholarship, note interest on the registration form.

The conference will provide a forum for business leaders, professionals, scholars, students and activists from throughout the Northwest to share experiences, network and explore opportunities for collaboration. All are welcome.

Presentations and discussion panels will address the “four E's” of sustainability: environment, equity, economics and education. Topics will include sustainable business management, designing sustainable spaces, green legislation in Oregon, the religious movement for social justice, sustainable forest practices, sustainability and the law, student sustainability scholarship, sustainable supply chains, social justice, pesticide-free gardening, faith perspectives, and business perspectives on sustainability in Salem, Ore.

There are still openings for presenters. Please complete the online submission form at www.willamette.edu/events/sustainability/.

Saturday field trips will include visits to businesses and communities that are guided by sustainable principles, including LifeSource Natural Foods, a wind-powered store that sells 100 percent organic produce; Pringle Creek Community, a neighborhood guided by principles of community-oriented planning, earth-friendly construction and energy-efficient practices; and the Oregon Garden, which offers more than 20 specialty gardens on 80 acres in historic Silverton. A guided hike in the Cascade Mountains will also be available.

A free Earth Day celebration Sunday, April 22, at Salem’s Riverfront Park will feature food, music, information booths and activities for children. There will be opportunities to browse children’s books with sustainability themes and learn about sustainable lifestyles. Native plants will be given away by the Willamette University student organization ECOS (Ecological Community Outreach Society), along with planting tips.

Two documentaries will be shown Friday night at 6:30 at Salem’s Grand Theatre as part of the conference. “The Future of Food” focuses on unlabeled, genetically engineered foods in U.S. grocery stores, and “Martinis in the Bike Lane” takes a look at the unique bike lane markings in Portland, Ore. The films are free to conference participants and Willamette students and staff with ID. Tickets for the general public are $5 at the door. Refreshments will be provided by LifeSource Natural Foods.

Conference partners offer hotel accommodations within walking distance of Willamette University. Salem is served by shuttle service from Portland International Airport, Amtrak and Greyhound Bus Lines. Attendees are encouraged to help make the conference a carbon neutral event by purchasing carbon credits at TerraPass, at www.terrapass.com/. (Carbon credits fund renewable energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases, offsetting carbon dioxide emitted when people drive or fly.) Directions and campus maps are available online.

Visit www.willamette.edu/events/sustainability/ or contact Joe Bowersox at (503) 370-6220 for information.

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Pacific Northwest Sustainability Conference to Create Synergies

The Center for Sustainable Communities at Willamette University will host a sustainability conference April 20 and 21 in Salem, Ore.

“Creating Synergies: Community, University and Business” will provide a forum for business leaders, professionals, scholars, students and activists from throughout the Northwest to share experiences, network and explore opportunities for collaboration. All are welcome.

Sustainability advocates are invited to offer individual or group presentations, discussion panels, information tables, vendor booths or poster projects that address the “four E's” of sustainability: environment, equity, economics and education.

Organizers are particularly interested in presentations that highlight curricular reform, dialogue between educators and business leaders, sustainability research, social justice and sustainable communities, student activism, green building, launching and managing sustainable businesses, the green ecumenical movement, alternative energy and sustainable agriculture. Please complete the online submission form by March 21.

Saturday field trips will include visits to businesses and communities that are guided by sustainable principles, including LifeSource Natural Foods, a wind-powered store that sells 100 percent organic produce; Pringle Creek Community, a neighborhood guided by principles of community-oriented planning, earth-friendly construction and energy efficient practices; Kettle Chips, a natural snack food manufacturer; and the Oregon Garden, which offers more than 20 specialty gardens on 80 acres in historic Silverton. A guided hike in the Cascade Mountains will also be available.

A free Earth Day celebration Sunday, April 22, at Salem’s Riverfront Park will feature food, music, information booths and activities for children. There will be opportunities to buy plants, browse children’s books with sustainability themes, and learn about sustainable lifestyles.

Online conference registration begins March 20. Registration is $30, and free for all students. A limited number of student scholarships are available to defray the cost of travel and lodging. To apply for a scholarship, note interest on the registration form.

Conference partners offer hotel accommodations within walking distance of Willamette University. Salem is served by shuttle service from Portland International Airport, Amtrak and Greyhound Bus Lines. Attendees are encouraged to help make the conference a carbon neutral event by purchasing carbon credits at TerraPass, www.terrapass.com/. (Carbon credits fund renewable energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases, offsetting carbon dioxide emitted when people drive or fly.) Directions and campus maps are available online.

Visit www.willamette.edu/events/sustainability/ or contact Joe Bowersox at (503) 370-6220 for information.

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Ecopoetry Reading to Support Focus the Nation

Ronault Latang Sayang Catalani and Alicia Cohen will be featured at a free ecopoetry reading to support Focus the Nation March 13 at 7 p.m. in the Roger Hull Lecture Hall at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

Ecopoetry is a form a poetry that focuses on ecology. Focus the Nation is an educational initiative coordinating teams at colleges, universities and high schools across the U.S. to engage in an interdisciplinary discussion about global warming solutions. The reading is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow in the lobby of the museum.

Catalani, a veteran activist and attorney, performs djatung, a rhythmic essay style. He is the Green World Project Manager for Focus the Nation and a 1983 graduate of Willamette University’s College of Law. Catalani has organized civil rights and cultural defense impact litigation for more than 20 years in three West Coast states, is a human rights advocate and political asylum attorney in Southeast Asia, and is an essayist for The Asian Reporter, El Hispanic News, Oregon Public Broadcasting and Wisconsin Public Radio. He has been an International Court of Justice Fellow at Hague Institute for Human Rights and a William Stafford Fellow at the Oregon Literary Arts Council.

Cohen is a poet who writes about the intersection of poetry and ecology. She lives in Portland, where she helped establish the artist-run gallery and show space Pacific Switchboard in 2000. Her book of poems, bEAR, was published by Handwritten Press, and she recently wrote, directed and produced a multimedia opera and gallery installation titled “Northwest Inhabitation Log.” Her work has recently appeared in Ecopoetics, How2, Bird Dog and Traverse. She has shown her installation, video and performance work nationally, and she teaches at Portland State University.

The reading is sponsored by Willamette University Department of English and the Center for Sustainable Communities. For more information, call 503-370-6026, email ksand@willamette.edu or visit www.willamette.edu/~ksand/ecopoetics.html.

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Native American Elders Discuss Northwest Fishing Rights

Native American elders Billy Frank Jr. and Hank Adams will meet Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in Cone Chapel at Willamette University to discuss “Lessons for Future Generations from the Struggle for Northwest Treaty Fishing Rights.” The lecture is free and open to the public.

Frank, a Nisqually tribal member, and Adams, who is Assiniboine-Sioux, are recipients of the national American Indian Visionary Award and are long-time activists for salmon restoration and treaty rights. The conversation will be moderated by Elizabeth Woody, director of Ecotrust’s Indigenous Leadership Program.

Frank and Adams were on the front lines when the battle over treaty-guaranteed Indian fishing rights erupted in the 1960s and ’70s. As the current chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Frank has worked to achieve a number of key agreements between the tribes and various local, state and federal officials that further strengthen treaty-guaranteed fishing rights and environmental protection laws.

In the 1970s, Adams served as a leader behind the famous Trail of Broken Treaties march on Washington and the subsequent Indian occupation of the BIA headquarters building. He also served as the last expert witness in the court case that eventually upheld treaty fishing rights for Northwest tribes, the so-called “Boldt Decision.”

This forum is supported by Indian Country Conversations, a Willamette University series that brings people together to discuss issues of interest to Native Americans. The Indian Country Conversations Series is sponsored by the Office of the President and the College of Liberal Arts.

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Urban Sustainability Forum at Willamette

Urban sustainability will be highlighted in a panel discussion at Willamette University Thursday, Nov. 9, at 11:30 a.m. in Cone Chapel on the second floor of Waller Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The panel discussion will examine urban sustainability in Vancouver, B.C., and its applications to cities large and small around the globe. Lance Berelowitz, author of “Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination,” Anthony Perl, director of the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University, and David Ramslie, green building planner for Vancouver, will share experiences, insights and obstacles they have encountered along the continuing path to sustainability in Vancouver.

This Convocations event is facilitated by Willamette’s Office of the Chaplain and Willamette students, and sponsored by the University’s Public Policy Research Center and Canadian Studies program.

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Organizer of Nationwide Climate Change Discussion to Speak at Willamette University

“Seen Inconvenient Truth: Now What? Focus the Nation on Solutions to Global Warming” will be presented by Eban Goodstein, an economics professor at Lewis & Clark College and the organizer of a national discussion on climate change. The lecture will be Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Paulus Room in the College of Law at Willamette University.

Goodstein is organizing Focus the Nation: A Global Warming Educational Initiative, which will engage faculty, students and staff at more than 1,000 U.S. universities and high schools in a nonpartisan discussion of climate stabilization. The project will also involve religious, civic and business organizations, and will culminate Jan. 31, 2008, in a one-day symposium to be held simultaneously on campuses across the country.

“Focus the Nation could be a catalyzing event on par with Earth Day 1970 that could help turn the national conversation about global warming from fatalism to constructive engagement,” Goodstein said.

Goodstein’s current research focuses on the economics of global climate change. He is the author of “Economics and the Environment” and “The Trade-off Myth: Fact and Fiction about Jobs and the Environment.”

He serves on the editorial board of Environment, Workplace and Employment, is on the steering committee of the Center for the Applied Study of Economics & The Environment, and is a member scholar at the Center for Progressive Reform.

For information about Focus the Nation, visit www.focusthenation.org.

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Organizer of Nationwide Climate Change Discussion to Speak at Willamette University

“Seen Inconvenient Truth: Now What? Focus the Nation on Solutions to Global Warming” will be presented by Eban Goodstein, an economics professor at Lewis & Clark College and the organizer of a national discussion on climate change. The lecture will be Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. in the Paulus Room in the College of Law at Willamette University.

Goodstein is organizing Focus the Nation: A Global Warming Educational Initiative, which will engage faculty, students and staff at more than 1,000 U.S. universities and high schools in a nonpartisan discussion of climate stabilization. The project will also involve religious, civic and business organizations, and will culminate Jan. 31, 2008, in a one-day symposium to be held simultaneously on campuses across the country.

“Focus the Nation could be a catalyzing event on par with Earth Day 1970 that could help turn the national conversation about global warming from fatalism to constructive engagement,” Goodstein said.

Goodstein’s current research focuses on the economics of global climate change. He is the author of “Economics and the Environment” and “The Trade-off Myth: Fact and Fiction about Jobs and the Environment.”

He serves on the editorial board of Environment, Workplace and Employment, is on the steering committee of the Center for the Applied Study of Economics & The Environment, and is a member scholar at the Center for Progressive Reform.

For information about Focus the Nation, visit www.focusthenation.org.

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Public Invited to 2006 Dempsey Environmental Lecture

Dr. Robert Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, will deliver the 2006 Dempsey Environmental Lecture Thursday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center at Willamette University. He will discuss “Ecological Economics: Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future.” The lecture, sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation, is free and open to the public.

Costanza is best known for his pioneering work on ecosystem valuation. In 1997 a team of researchers headed by Costanza published an analysis in the preeminent journal Science that put a dollar figure on the services ecosystems provide to the continued functioning of our planet, ranging somewhere between $16 and $54 trillion.

Costanza and ecological economists around the globe have spent the ensuing years confirming and refining their valuation process. His research also includes landscape-level spatial simulation modeling; analysis of energy and material flows through economic and ecological systems; and analysis of dysfunctional incentive systems and ways to correct them.

He is the author or co-author of more than 350 scientific papers and 19 books, and reports on his work have appeared in Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The New York Times, Science, Nature, National Geographic, and National Public Radio and other media. He is the co-founder and past president of the International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE).

Costanza received his Ph.D. in systems ecology with a minor in economics from the University of Florida in 1979. He also has a master’s degree in architecture and urban and regional planning from the University of Florida.

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Dempsey Lecture and Conference Feb. 10-11 Open to the Public

The general public is invited to attend the 2005 Dempsey Environmental Lecture and Conference at Willamette University Feb. 10-11. These free events are made possible by the Dempsey Foundation and are coordinated by the University’s Public Policy Research Center.

Terry Tempest Williams, environmentalist and award-winning author, will present the Dempsey Environmental Lecture Thursday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m. in Hudson Hall in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center at Willamette.

Williams is perhaps best known for her book, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, now regarded as a classic in American nature writing. In it she chronicles the epic rise of Great Salt Lake and the flooding of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in 1983, alongside her mother’s diagnosis with ovarian cancer, believed to be caused by radioactive fallout from the nuclear tests in the Nevada desert in the ’50s and ’60s.

Her work has been widely anthologized, having also appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Orion, Outside, Audubon, among other national and international publications. She is the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship in creative nonfiction, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Community Grant.

The Dempsey Environmental Conference, “Is Nature Calling? New Perspectives on Living with and Working for Nature,” is Friday, Feb. 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Cat Cavern, 2nd Floor, Putnam University Center, also at the University. The conference is free, but registration is required. To register on line, please go to http://www.willamette.edu/publicpolicy/environment05. For more information, please contact publicpolicy@willamette.edu or call 503-370-6060.

Featured conference panelists include: Ed Begley Jr., actor and activist; Robin Morris Collin, Willamette University professor of law; Dave Foreman, founder, The Rewilding Institute; Dale Jamieson, professor of environmental studies and philosophy, New York University; Jane Lubchenco, Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University; Carolyn Merchant, professor of environmental history, philosophy and ethics, University of California-Berkeley; Andrew Revkin, science reporter, The New York Times; Terry Tempest Williams, author and environmentalist, and Elizabeth Woody, program specialist, Ecotrust.

This conference will explore connections between the professional lives and broader motivations, meanings, and implications for individuals working for the environment. The conference will provide conference participants an opportunity to learn what panelists do and, most importantly, why they do it.

“Many of the featured panelists have risked their lives, their professional reputations, or both, in their dedication to improving our relationship with nature and with each other,” said Laura Leete, director of the Public Policy Research Center at Willamette. Their stories of commitment and transformation serve as cogent reminders of the personal sacrifice behind collective change.”

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Dempsey Lecture Features Biologist

Dr. Michael Soule, professor emeritus of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will deliver the 2003 Dempsey Lecture at Willamette University Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m. in Hudson Hall, Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. The title of his lecture is “Can Creation Be Saved?” Admission is free.

A graduate of San Diego State and Stanford University, he has done field work in Africa, Mexico, the Adriatic, the West Indies and Colorado. He has written and edited nine books on biology, conservation biology and the social context of contemporary conservation. He has published more than 150 articles on such topics as population and evolutionary biology, population genetics, island biogeography, environmental studies, biodiversity policy, nature conservation and ethics.

As one of the world’s leading experts in population biology and island biogeography theory, he is the author or editor of seminal books including Conservation Biology: An Evolutionary-Ecological Synthesis (1980), Conservation and Evolution (1981), Viable Populations for Conservation (1987) and Research Priorities for Conservation Biology (1989).

He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; has received a Guggenheim Fellowship; is the sixth recipient of the Archie Carr Medal; was named by Audubon Magazine in 1998 as one of the 100 Champions of Conservation of the 20th Century, and is a recipient of the National Wildlife Federation’s 2001 National Conservation Achievement Award.

Soule was the founder and first president of the Society for Conservation Biology, has served on the board for the National Research Council and is a founding and active member of the Wildlands Project.

Now living in Colorado, Soule works to restore wildlife habitat, consults internationally on nature protection and collaborates with other biologists.

The lecture is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation.

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Bruce Babbitt Gives Dempsey Lecture at Willamette

Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior, will deliver the 2002 Dempsey Lecture at Willamette University Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. The lecture, "Reflections on the Environment and National Policy," is free and open to the public.

After brief service as special assistant to the director of VISTA in Washington, D.C., Babbitt returned to Arizona and joined the law firm of Brown and Bain in Phoenix. He was elected Arizona Attorney General in 1974 and earned a national reputation in that office as a legal scholar and writer.

Babbitt was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to investigate the 1979 Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant accident and later consulted the president on additional environmental issues.

Following a distinguished career as governor of Arizona from 1978-87, President Bill Clinton named Babbitt Secretary of the Interior in 1993. During his tenure, he drafted plans to restore the Florida Everglades, helped enact the massive California Desert Protection Act, and negotiated the largest land swap in the history of the lower 48 states in order to protect the new Grand-Staircase monument and other parks in Utah.

Babbitt received his undergraduate degree in geology from Notre Dame University. As a Marshall Scholar, he later earned his master's degree in geophysics at the University of Newcastle, England, and his J.D. degree at Harvard University's Law School in 1965.

The lecture is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation. Seating is limited.

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Willamette Conference Addresses Future of Northwest Forest Plan

A collection of some of the nation’s most knowledgeable environmentalists and forest policy stakeholders will gather at Willamette University in Salem Wednesday, Sept. 25, for an all-day conference on issues relating to forests in the Pacific Northwest.

The goal of the conference is to examine current forest management policy and how these policies are impacted by science and politics.

Among the luminaries scheduled to speak are Gov. John Kitzhaber; Jack Ward Thomas, former head of the U.S. Forest Service; Bruce Babbitt; former Secretary of the Interior; and Mark Rey, current USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment.

The conference runs from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. in the Cat Cavern on the second floor of the University Center. Registration is required. At 8 p.m., Bruce Babbitt will deliver the 2002 Dempsey Lecture in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center at Willamette. The lecture is free and seating is limited.

The conference and lecture are made possible by the Dempsey Foundation and are hosted by the Willamette University Public Policy Research Center and the Department of Earth and Environmental Science.

Conference schedule and list of presenters for Sept. 25:

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Registration and buffet, Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center

11:45 a.m. - Keynote Address: Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, Cat Cavern

12:45 to 2 p.m. - Main Session: “What is Sustainable Forestry?” Cat Cavern

Panelists: John Beuter, president, Umpqua-Tualatin, Inc.; David Perry, program director, Land Restoration, Malama Kukui Cultural Learning Center (Hawaii); professor emeritus, ecosystem studies and ecosystem management, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University; Roger Sedjo, natural resources economist, Resources for the Future; Jack Ward Thomas, professor of wildlife conservation, University of Montana; former head of the U.S. Forest Service.

2:15 to 3:30 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions:

"Science and Policymaking," Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center
Panelists: Deborah Brosnan, Ph.D., president of the Sustainable Ecosystems Institute; Ronald Mitchell, professor, political science, University of Oregon; Dan Rohlf, associate professor, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College; Fred Swanson, research geologist, USFS Pacific NW Research Station; professor of forest science and geoscience, OSU.

"Endangered Species," Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center
Panelists: Steve Ackers, wildlife ecologist, Oregon State University; Susan Jane Brown, executive director, Gifford Pinchot Task Force; Stephanie Parent, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College; Richard Stroup, senior associate, PERC-The Center for Free Market Environmentalism.

3:45 to 4:30 p.m. - Closing Panel: “The Future and Challenges of the Northwest Forest Plan,” Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center

Panelists: Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior; Mark Rey, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment; Margaret Shannon, associate professor, University of Buffalo (NY) Law School; Jack Ward Thomas, former head of the USFS and professor, University of Montana, Missoula.

4:45 to 5:45 p.m. - Post Conference Events: “People and Forests: Diverse Perspectives on Sustaining Forests in the Pacific Northwest," a presentation by Steve Mital, service learning coordinator, University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program, Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center

8 p.m. - Dempsey Lecture by Bruce Babbitt in Hudson Hall, Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Conference registration is required before Sept. 16. Seating is limited. Fees are $5 for students; $40 for the general public and $160 for event supporters with display space. Checks made payable to Willamette University should be mailed to the public Policy Research Center, 321 Smullin Hall, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR, 97301. Participants may also register on line or call 503-370-6961.

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Environmentalist to Speak at Willamette

Environmentalist, entrepreneur and best-selling author, Paul Hawken, known for leading corporate reform with respect to ecological practices, will be speaking at Willamette University on "The Quest for a Sustainable Future."

Hawken's lecture will take place Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. It is free and open to the public. Tickets are not needed. A question and answer session and book signing will follow the lecture. Books will be available for purchase that evening.

Hawken uses his business experience to educate CEOs about how to transform internal corporate culture and business philosophy towards environmental restoration. Hawken has founded several companies, including Metacode, a business-to-business infrastructure company, Groxis, a portal and search engine interface software provider, Smith & Hawken, the garden and catalog retailer and several of the first natural food companies in the U.S. that relied solely on sustainable agricultural methods.

Hawken is author of six books, including The Next Economy, Growing a Business, The Ecology of Commerce and Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. His books have been published in over 50 countries in 27 languages and have sold over 3 million copies. Hawken has also hosted and produced a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) series that explored the challenges of operating socially responsive companies. This series was shown on television in 115 countries worldwide and viewed by more than 100 million people.

Hawken is the first lecturer in the Dempsey Environmental Lecture Series sponsored by The Dempsey Foundation. This lecture series will bring in one environmental lecture each year. For more information on the lecture, contact University Relations 503-370-6340.

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