Earth Week, April 23-26
April 16, 2012
Earth Week, April 23-26 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, will explore freshwater resources and car dependency with guest speakers, expositions, a film festival and exciting new technology.
The theme, "Connected by Rivers and Roads," focuses on the value of the natural environment and the risks of it being exploited.
"We're looking at rivers and the history of Wisconsin, and historically, rivers were the transportation highways of the state," said Linda Reid, associate professor of law and Earth Week co-chair. "Over time we switched from riverboats to automobiles and fossil fuels, and that changed the quality of rivers. We want people to realize that it's an ecosystem issue."
Highlights of this year's Earth Week event include:
- A poster session on Tuesday, April 24 in the University Center in room 275 at 2:15 p.m. The posters were created by this semester's Chemistry for the Consumer class and will present topics on global warming, water and air pollution and non-renewable fuels.
- An Earth Week Film Festival featuring six films on vital environmental issues, including pollution in the Gulf of Mexico from the BP oil spill, concerns of the American food system, and the comeback of the electric car, starts at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 25 in the University Center Summers Auditorium.
- An Earth Week Expo focusing on sustainability, which is an important initiative on the UW-Whitewater campus. Businesses and organizations will display their sustainability products and practices starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 26 in UC 275.
- The keynote speaker of Earth Week is Chad Pegracke of Living Lands and Waters. His talk is also on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Hamilton Room of the University Center. Pegracke will be sharing experiences of his years cleaning America's rivers.
- A hybrid vehicle technology car show, also on Thursday, will be held in parking lot 14 near Upham Hall at 1 p.m., and representatives from Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota will lead an Automobile Forum on current and future hybrid technology from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Upham Hall 145.
Wesley Enterline, sustainability coordinator at UW-Whitewater, said even if environmental problems seem too overwhelming to solve, there are issues in our area that we can tackle. "Earth Week is meant to help frame the global issues we face with a local lens to show that we all can make a difference," Enterline said.
For a complete list of events, see http://www.uww.edu/sustainability/earthweek.
All activities are open to the public.