“Perspectives on the Environment”: Fall 2001

 

Sponsored by the Campus-Community Forum and the Allegheny Institute of Natural History with the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

 

 

September 11:  Ecology and the Bible: Judeo-Christian Ethics and the Environment

 

            David Prather, whose background includes journalism, missionary work in the West Indies, and environmental filmmaking, is the founder of the National Conference on Ecology and the Bible.  He will explore notions of ecology and the environment "rooted in Genesis and fruited in Revelation."  His thesis is that the Creator had a "green paradigm" in mind when he created mankind -- including environmental protection.

 

September 25:  America's Public Lands: Competing Values and the Concept of Multiple Use  

 

             Kevin Elliot, supervisor of the Allegheny National Forest, will talk about the pressures being put on our public lands, as well as the many values --- economic, environmental and recreational -- competing for recognition within the management plans of these lands.  He will talk about the history of the concept of Multiple Use, the contemporary landscape of Multiple Use, and his thoughts on the future of the concept.

 

September 27:  Why Genetic Engineering Can't Save the World: The Case of Fake Forests

 

            Martha Crouch, former molecular biologist and professor of biology at Indiana University -- now activist and consultant, will talk generally about the idea that science and technology can address many of the challenges facing humanity, and specifically about the field of genetic engineering and the hope that genetic engineering will give us better food crops and faster growing forests.

 

October 9:  Occult Ecology: Reading Nature Darkly

 

            Sean O'Grady, associate professor of English at Allegheny College, received an undergraduate degree in Forestry before studying English.  He often examines the "environment" both through the lens of science, and through the lenses of philosophy and the arts.  In "Occult Ecology," informed by Emerson's notion of nature, he asks the question: how would ecological theory need to be reformulated if it took into account the idea of fate?

 

October 23:  The Allegheny Plateau Bioregion?: Biodiversity, Watersheds and Communities

 

            Jim Kleissler, Co-Founder of, and Forest Watch Director for, the Allegheny Defense Project has worked for over ten years in the Allegheny region as an advocate for ecological thinking and forest protection.  He will talk about the concepts of the "bioregion" and the "watershed," including the concept of biodiversity, and whether or not we should use either of these models as management and decision making frameworks. 

 

November 6:  Sustainable Forestry: Forests and Communities In Sustainability

 

            Blaine Puller, professional forester with Kane Hardwood, will talk about the concept/process of sustainable forestry.  With the improvement of the science of forestry and the development of sound management practices, no longer must forestry be viewed as anti-environmental.  He will also talk about how the process extends beyond the forest to include the local community.

 

 

All Lectures are Tuesday (except September 27th) at 7:00 p.m. in Fisher 107