Breakfast Plenary: Environmental Justice and the Poor
Since its inception in the 1980s in North Carolina, the environmental justice movement has drawn attention to the inequitable environmental risks that many African-American communities have long been forced to bear. In Appalachia, these same inequitable risks have been borne by poor white communities. A diverse panel discussed where the movement came from and where it's headed. This breakfast was sponsored in part by Wheeling Jesuit University and West Virginia University. Download PlenaryEnviroJustice (MP3/15.4MB/1:07:24)
Moderator: Brenda Box, Associate Editor, National Public Radio
Panelists:
Robert Bullard, Director, Environmental Justice Resource Center, Clark Atlanta University
Roger Rivera, President, National Hispanic Environmental Council
Marley Shebala, Senior Reporter, Navajo Times
Shirley Stewart Burns, Author, Bringing Down the Mountains: The Impact of Mountaintop Removal on Southern West Virginia Communities
Concurrent Sessions 3
COAL
Coal Around the Globe
Coal's ingredients comprise a devastating global threat: Carbon dioxide is the leading component in global warming, while sulfur dioxide (which leads to acid rain), nitrogen oxide (which produces ozone), and mercury all cause health and environmental damage. Yet China alone consumes more than a billion tons of coal a year, more than virtually all the world's developed nations combined. Throughout the developing world, consumption of coal is accelerating, with ominous implications for the world's environment. This panel will focus on coal use, impacts, and possible solutions outside the U.S., with particular attention paid to China and India, the world's first and third biggest consumers of coal respectively.
Moderator: Jacques Leslie, Freelance Writer
Panelists:
Peter Fairley, Freelance Writer
Roe-Hoan Yoon, Professor of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Tech, and Director, Center for Advanced Separation Technologies
Beyond Corn: Making Biofuels from Grass, Trash and Algae
Corn-based ethanol has fueled a bitter debate over efficiency and the ethics of using a food product to gas up vehicles. But even farmers acknowledge that corn for ethanol and soybeans for biodiesel will likely be replaced someday by other feedstocks that are more efficient and less politically troublesome. This panel isn't about the fight over the wisdom of biofuels in general; we'll leave that to other forums. These authorities will tell about more efficient processes that could mine grasslands, the ocean or landfills for tomorrow's fuel.
Moderator: Perry Beeman, Environment Reporter, The Des Moines Register
Panelists:
Frank Maisano, Bracewell & Giuliani
Julie Sibbing, Senior Program Manager, Agriculture Policy, National Wildlife Federation
Chris Somerville, Director, Energy Biosciences Institute, University of California-BerkleyTHE CLIMATE
Rough Road Ahead: Preparing for Climate Change
Rising sea levels, intensified storms, floods, drought, heat waves...these are some of the unavoidable consequences of our carbon habit. No matter how quickly we manage to cut carbon emissions, scientists say there's already enough heat in the pipeline to alter the Earth's climate. We will need to adapt — and some people have already taken the first steps. This panel will showcase some of the efforts currently under way to prepare for a warming world. From building a more resilient New Orleans, to protecting our nation's rivers, and helping towns and cities plan for the future, our panelists are at the leading edge of what promises to be one of the most critical efforts of the 21st century.
Moderator: Kristin Choo, Freelance Writer
Panelists:
Steven Bingler, Architect, Founder of Concordia LLC, and Coordinator of the Unified New Orleans plan
Andrew Fahlund, Vice President of Conservation, American Rivers
Josh Foster, Manager of Climate Adaptation, Urban Leaders Adaptation Initiative, Center for Clean Air Policy
Are the Oceans Already Lost?
The declining health of the world's oceans is an often unseen, intangible predicament for a land-based human society. But the daily outputs of life on land are having a tremendous impact on life in the sea. A wholesale re-ordering of the ocean's food chain is under way, not only through overfishing but from agricultural and industrial runoff into the seas that makes previously productive areas uninhabitable to marine life. The broader impacts of climate change, another byproduct of human life on land, will continue to have major impacts on the rhythms of life in the sea. What are the most dire issues facing the rich and vast natural resource of our oceans, and what are the practical ways to reverse the trends?
Moderator: Chris Kirkham, Reporter, The Times-Picayune
Panelists:
Dennis Heinemann, Senior Scientist and Vice President for Ocean Climate Change, Ocean Conservancy
Jackie Savitz, Senior Scientist and Pollution Campaign Director, Oceana
Are Suburbs the Next Slums? The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown as an Environmental Story
Peak Oil and the sea of "For Sale" signs washing over the nation's suburbs are setting the stage for a major story as Americans appear to be leaving the 'burbs in record numbers. Gen Xers and empty-nesting Boomers are spearheading the trend toward walkable urbanism. What does it mean for the land of the cul de sac? For the future of commuting? For inner cities? Join in a conversation with two of the nation's deepest thinkers on this topic.
Moderator: Robert McClure, Staff Writer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Panelists:
Parris Glendening, President, Smart Growth Leadership Institute and former Governor of Maryland
Arthur "Chris" Nelson, Presidential Professor and Director of Metropolitan Research, Department of City and Metropolitan Planning, College of Architecture, University of Utah
The Rollercoaster World of Toxicology
Will your baby's bottle give your newborn cancer? Is your Nalgene water bottle putting harmful chemicals in you? What kind of endocrine disruptors have been detected in our food, our waterways and our own bodies? Are these chemicals causing male fish to grow eggs? Scientists have found phthalates, BPA and birth control pills in the waterways. Should we be concerned about the presence of these chemicals? Is it all hype? Experts from the government, industry and academia weigh in.
Moderator: Susanne Rust, Science Reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Panelists:
Richard Becker, Senior Toxicologist, American Chemistry Council
Jerrold Heindel, Scientific Program Administrator, Cellular, Organ and Systems Pathobiology Branch, Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Pete Myers, CEO and Chief Scientist, Environmental Health Sciences
Diversity and Environmental Journalism
In 20 years half of the U.S. population aged 30 and under will be people of color; a decade or two later half of the entire U.S. population will be of color. But will half of the media be, or, more specifically, half the environmental journalism community? Probably not. So, where do (and will) people of color get their environmental news? And, how do white journalists and mainstream media reach this growing, and increasingly empowered, demographic with the environmental information needed to help make informed decisions?
Moderator: Steve Curwood, Host and Executive Producer, "Living On Earth," Public Radio International
Panelists:
Robert Bullard, Director, Environmental Justice Resource Center, Clark Atlanta University
Glenn Proctor, Executive Editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Marley Shebala, Senior Reporter, Navajo TimesTHE CRAFT
Getting the Goods: Using Court Records for Environmental Investigations
Changes in environmental policies and laws often are prompted by legal action. Corporate and government records unearthed during these cases can shine a light on how things really work, and often expose loopholes and flaws in policies and laws intended to protect people and the environment. Meet some of the people who have fought these court battles and learn more about how court records can be invaluable to journalists and the public. The panelists have worked on cases involving a Teflon chemical showing up in humans worldwide, mountaintop removal for Appalachian coal mining and the health effects of toxic substances.
Moderator: Michael Hawthorne, Environment Reporter, Chicago Tribune
Panelists:
Ken Cook, President, Environmental Working Group
Jim Hecker, Environmental Enforcement Director, Public Justice
Concurrent Sessions 4
COAL
Beyond Coal: Strategies for Appalachian Reclamation and Renewal
Government mandated cleanups of closed mines have come a long way from the days when a coal company could simply abandon a site with little to no work. Modern techniques to reclaim mined land often leave vast, open fields where nothing but grasses can grow and can still leave behind streams tainted with sulfuric acid and metals. Four experts offer their solutions for reforesting, reclaiming and finding new uses for once-mined lands.
Moderator: Spencer Hunt, Environment Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch
Panelists:
James Burger, Garland Gray Professor of Forestry and Soil Science, Department of Forestry, College of Natural Resources, Virginia Tech
Joe Lovett, Executive Director, Appalachian Center for the Economy & the Environment
Terry Sammons, Attorney and Chair, Mingo County Redevelopment Authority
Paul Ziemkiewicz, Director, WV Water Research Institute, West Virginia University
Take Two: Nuclear Power Reconsidered
Three journalists who have years of experience covering nuclear power will provide some insight into how the upcoming presidential election could affect the industry's hopes for a renaissance, as well as provide the layman with some reporting tools for getting started and/or taking his/her reporting skills to a higher level. In a reporters' roundtable format, expect a collegial exchange of ideas and news tips, whether it's the latest about Nevada's Yucca Mountain or one of the nation's 104 operating nuclear plants that might be in your area (or even one of the newer breeds of reactors that may be coming soon). Can nuclear power be a panacea for climate change? A reliable source of baseload power? Safe from terrorism? More open to whistleblowers? Come and find out. And bring lots of questions.
Moderator: Thomas Henry, Environmental Writer, The (Toledo) Blade
Panelists:
Margie Kriz, Staff Correspondent, National Journal
Jennifer Weeks, Freelance Writer
Climate Change Litigation: The Flood in the Courts
Absent any federal climate change policy, states and interest groups are turning to the courts. More than two dozen cases already are pending, pursuing legal strategies ranging from the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, energy statutes, National Environmental Policy Act and similar state laws, and common tort law. And the number of suits grows daily. Top attorneys will discuss the legal theories behind current cases, the dangers of letting the courts set global warming policies, and emerging issues like the legal challenges individual states and regions face in implementing climate change policies.
Moderator: Carolyn Whetzel, California Correspondent, BNA
Panelists:
Michael Gerrard, Partner, Arnold & Porter
Cale Jaffe, Senior Attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center
William Snape III, Senior Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity
Robert Wyman Jr., Partner, Latham & Watkins
THE WATER
What's Hot at the Poles: Polar Science and the International Polar Year
The International Polar Year (IPY) is a global scientific research project supported by scientific agencies around the world. A primary goal is to study the impacts of global environmental and social change on polar regions. With the North Polar ice cover shrinking dramatically and new observations showing more movement of ice in Antarctica, these studies will be at the center of our understanding of world climate change. Panelists will discuss the role of polar regions in the global environment, the latest research from the IPY project, and relate some of the major environmental questions that are still unanswered in polar science.
Moderator: Gary Braasch, Photojournalist and Author, Earth Under Fire
Panelists:
Robert Bindschadler, Chief Scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Thomas Wagner, Antarctic Earth Sciences Program Director, National Science Foundation
Animal Business: Wildlife Trafficking and International Law
Illicit wildlife trade has the tragic distinction of being the third top criminal enterprise in the world, just behind drug and human trafficking and in front of weapons smuggling. Pound for pound, the profit margin in some wildlife smuggling often exceeds that of cocaine and other drugs. It is a growth industry that depends on animal populations that are increasingly imperiled. This panel will discuss the impact of illicit trade on animal populations and the species most at risk, the growth of wildlife cybercrime, challenges to law enforcement and where things are going right.
Moderator: Laurel Neme, Freelance Environmental Writer
Panelists:
Crawford Allan, Director, TRAFFIC North America, World Wildlife Fund
Salvatore Amato, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Peter Jenkins, Director of International Conservation, Defenders of Wildlife
Does Environment Trump Genetics? Teasing Out the Factors Affecting Women's Health
For years, evidence has accumulated pointing to the effects of environmental factors on women's reproductive health, cancers, respiratory problems, autoimmune diseases, and other disorders. Now, new scientific tools are helping researchers hone in on interactions between genes and the environment, and specific biological mechanisms and timing. How are environmental exposures affecting risks for an assortment of ailments, including breast cancer, endometriosis, ovarian dysfunctions, uterine fibroids, heart disease and obesity? Does the science change our focus from treating disease after it is detected to preventing it beforehand? If so, what are the policy implications, and what's needed?
Moderator: Francesca Lyman, Freelance Writer
Panelists:
Gwen Collman, Genes and Environment Initiative, Environmental Genome Project
Janet Gray, Editor, State of the Evidence 2008, Breast Cancer Fund, and Director, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Vassar College
Louis Guillette Jr., Zoologist and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, University of Florida
The Clean Air Act's Unfinished Business
The primary story of air-pollution regulation in the last year has been the story of things not happening — an Appeals Court's negation of the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the EPA's rejection of California's waiver request, and the Bush Administration's refusal to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. How should individual states and the next presidential administration proceed? Should the Clean Air Act be re-written? If not, what should be the next steps in the regulation of both traditional pollutants and greenhouse gases?
Moderator: David Fahrenthold, Staff Writer, The Washington Post
Panelists:
Pamela Faggert, Chief Environmental Officer, Dominion
Bruce Nilles, Director, National Coal Campaign, Sierra Club
John Randolph, Program Chair, Urban Affairs and Planning, and Professor, Environmental Planning, Virginia Tech
Not-So-Idle Chatter: How Blogging and Social Media Can Build Your Career
Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, instant messaging, and texting... They're not just noise, and they're far from trivial. Most importantly, they're where a lot of your audience is going. Learn how to raise your online profile, gain professional clout, publicize and enhance your work, cultivate a quality "posse", stay relevant, and attract interesting opportunities — simply by having the courage to engage in public discourse. This session will feature three journalists who have found unique opportunities through digital media.
Moderator: Amy Gahran, Freelance Journalist
Panelists:
Greg Harman, Staff Writer, San Antonio Current
Leonard Witt, Robert D. Fowler Distinguished Chair in Communication, Kennesaw State University
Lunch and Plenary Session: Election 2008 and the Environment
With environment and energy issues hotter than ever this election year, we'll have presidential candidates' top advisers on hand for a head-to-head discussion on the issues. We'll also hear from congressional leaders on the frontlines of the debates in Washington. The session promises to provide key insights into the next generation of federal environmental policies.
Welcoming Remarks: Sharron Quisenberry, Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech
Moderator: Margie Kriz, Staff Correspondent, National Journal
Speakers:
David Hamilton, Director, Global Warming and Energy Program, Sierra Club
David Jenkins, Government Affairs Director, Republicans for Environmental Protection
Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chairman, Natural Resources Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
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