Calendar of Events
Events Archive
Spring 2008
A Clean Energy Future for Maine: Big Opportunities, Deep Challenges
Pete Didisheim, Advocacy Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine
Thursday April 24, Dinner with students 6-7 Hutchinson Room
Evening Talk 7:30 pm 208 Hubbard Hall (Shannon Room)
This talk will address actions that Maine needs to take now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy independence, and promote clean power. The role of wind power development and energy efficiency will be discussed. Didisheim will focus on the benefits of a clean energy strategy, and the fundamental challenges of changing the status quo. Pete Didisheim is the Advocacy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the state’s leading environmental advocacy organization. He served as a member of Governor Baldacci’s Task Force on Wind Power Development, and previously worked at the U.S. Department of Energy and the congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Join Pete Didisheim for dinner when he will be talking with students about “An Inside View of Environmental Policymaking”
What really happens within the halls of the State House when environmental groups, industry lobbyists, legislators, citizen activists, and the media all attempt to affect the outcome of environmental legislation? Pete Didisheim will provide an “inside view” of the legislative battle that occurred during this session of the Maine Legislature over a bill designed to curb toxic chemicals in children’s products.
Fall 2007
ES SAC (ES Student Advisory Committee) Meeting
Friday, Nov. 16 12:30-1:30 pm
Boody Johnson House (256 Maine St.)
Join us for a discussion of spring events, including options for Earth week) and the search process for new ES Program Director.
Michael Mascia, Bowdoin '93
Tuesday, Nov. 27 7:00 pm
Cram Alumni House
Director of the social science programme for World Wildlife Fund
As forests shrink, fisheries collapse, and species—the charismatic and the unknown—wink out around the globe, the conservation community continues to look to the biological sciences to inform policy and practice. Often, however, we get the biology right, but our conservation interventions still fail to sustain target species and ecosystems. Why? Conservation interventions are the product of human decision-making processes and require changes in human behavior to succeed. Recognizing that conservation is about people as much as it is about species or ecosystems —an acknowledgement seldom explicitly made in conservation circles — requires a significant shift in the nature and use of conservation science. To preserve the earth’s natural heritage, the social sciences must become central to conservation science and practice, answering the critical questions of where?, how?, and so what? This lecture is free and open to the public.
Mike Mascia, Senior Science Officer, Social Scientist, World Wildlife Fund (Bowdoin College, class of 1993) As a World Wildlife Fund scientist and as President of the Society for Conservation Biology's Social Science Working Group, Mike Mascia works to strengthen conservation social science research and its application to conservation practice. His research focuses on natural resource governance and environmental policy, particularly the design and management of marine protected areas (MPAs) in coral reef systems. A former AAAS Fellow and NSF grant recipient, Mike has research and policy experience in the United States, Caribbean, Central America, South Pacific, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. He has also provided technical assistance to numerous government agencies, conservation organizations, and donors. Mike holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Politics and Policy from Duke University and a bachelor's degree in Biology and Government from Bowdoin College, ‘93.
Past Events
A Stranger in a Strange Land
Wednesday, Nov. 14 7:00 pm
Schwartz Outdoor Leadership Center
39 Harpswell Rd, Brunswick
Peter Mackelworth is the Coastal Studies Center Scholar for the fall semester. He has a background in biology, but has been undertaking research into the social aspects of marine conservation in Croatia over the last decade. He recently finished his PhD in the Department of Geography at University College London and has been working in a Croatian NGO 'Blue World' (www.blue-world.org) as conservation director since 2001.
This talk will explore the boundaries of activism and academia using Peter's personal experiences to look at the development of the politics of biological conversation. Having worked as an activist in the development of the first marine protected area in the Adriatic Sea, the offer to come to the Coastal Studies Program provided the opportunity of a respite from the continuing politicization of conservation in Croatia. While at Bowdoin, however, it has become evident to Peter that the politicization of conservation is a global phenomenon. Where does that leave the activist and the academic? Is it time that environmentalists, both activists and academics, become politicians? It is important that environmentalists embrace the fact that conservation is political, and that politics is not a ‘dirty’ word. We should recognize that we all have a role to play in the development of the ultimate ‘common good’, the environment. The aim of this talk is to stimulate debate in varied disciplines recognizing that biological conservation is not just the responsibility of biologists.Monitoring Biodiversity in the Tropics: Operation Wallescea Information Session
Wed. Oct. 3 7:00 pm
Searles Hall Room 213
Dr. Kathy Slater, of the field research organization Operation Wallacea will be giving a presentation about the results of biodiversity monitoring programs in Honduras, South East Sulawesi – Indonesia, Egypt, South Africa, Mozambique and Peru. These programs provide opportunities for students next summer to gain tropical biodiversity experience as Research Assistants.
Follow up meetings: Wed. Oct. 10 and Mon. Oct. 15 at 3:00 pm in Boody Johnson House.
Architecture Lecture - Mark Dytham
Thursday, Oct. 10 7:00 pm
Kresge Auditorium
Mark Dytham, Klein Dytham Architects (KDa) of Tokyo, will be speaking. The Tokyo firm of Klein Dytham architecture was established in 1991 when Mark Dytham formed a partnership with Astrid Klein. KDa is a fully bilingual office specializing in architecture, interiors and furniture design. Mark currently lecturers at the Tokyo Science University and at Hosei University. In 2000, he received the Member of the British Empire medal from the Queen in her New Years Honour List, for services to British Architecture.
For detailed information about KDa, their work and program notes, please go to www.architalx.org.
ES Student Advisory Committee (ES SAC)Meeting
Friday Oct. 12 12:30-1:30
Boody Johnson House ( 256 Maine St)
We would like to invite ES majors and prospective majors to become a part of our Environmental Studies Student Advisory Committee (ES SAC). In the past the ES SAC has been involved in the following initiatives:
• Provided input in the design of the ES office and Commons Room in Adams (which we will return to next year!)
• Provided valuable input as part of the hiring process for new ES faculty positions including Dharni Vasudevan (ES/Chemistry)
• Organized brown bag lunch discussions with faculty
• Organized brown bag lunch discussions with ES alumni about career options in the Environmental field
As many of you may know, DeWitt John will be stepping down as Director of the ES program (but will continue as faculty in the program) and we are starting the search process for a new director. The ES SAC will provide a valuable role in this process.
In addition, we would like to talk about other initiatives that you as ES students would like to become involved with including planning co-curricular events for the year.
We have generally met in past years for lunch on Fridays once a month when there is not Common Hour scheduled. If you would like to become involved and can attend this meeting, please let me know. If you would like to become involved but cannot make this meeting, please email me times that work better for you. Eileen (ejohnson@bowdoin.edu)
ES Premajors Meeting
Thursday, Oct. 18 7:30 pm
Boody Johnson House
Meet with ES faculty, staff and students
Hear about ES courses and other opportunities in Environmental Studies
Learn how you can combine the major with off-campus study and fellowships
Enjoy some ice cream and coffee
Questions– Contact Eileen Johnson at ejohnson@bowdoin.edu
University of Minnesota School of Architecture
Tuesday, Oct. 23 12:00
ES Common Room, Boody-Johnson House
Find out about Graduate & Professional Studies in:
-Architecture
-Sustainable Design
-Heritage Preservation
Green 2.0: Growing a Universal Environmental Movement
by Amanda Griscom Little
Monday, October 29, 2007
7:00 p.m., Main Lounge, Moulton Union
Reception to follow
Amanda Griscom Little is one of the leading environmental journalists of her generation, writing regularly for The New York Times, The Nation, The Washington Post, Wired Magazine, and Rolling Stone. She is also a columnist for grist.org.
Ms. Little began her career as a founding editor of Feed, the first online magazine, which was launched in 1996. She also created and wrote a column for The Village Voice called “Urban Upgrade,” which examined the technological improvements in New York City’s institutions and infrastructure. Following this, she became the technology editor for I.D. (Industrial Design) Magazine. Her voice influences the national dialogue on the environment and has a rare credibility in both the mainstream and the environmental communities.
The author of a forthcoming book from Harper Collins about the implications of the approaching end of petroleum as the principal fuel of our civilization, Ms. Little earned her bachelor’s degree in literature from Brown University. (www.grist.org)
Sponsored by the English Department, Environmental Studies, Africana Studies, Gender and Women's Studies, the Writing Project, Sustainable Bowdoin, the Evergreens, and the Cassidy Lecture Fund
Open to the public and free of charge