Environmental Studies Symposium promises diverse topics and fascinating presentations
Below is the schedule for the first ever Environmental Studies Symposium which includes presentations by UTPA students, faculty, and community members. Everyone is invited to attend any or all of the fascinating presentations and to join us for refreshments and conversation afterward.
3:00 “The Environmental Impacts of LNG in the Port of Brownsville,” Stefanie Herweck (English) – Four proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in the Port of Brownsville threaten to bring industrial pollution to the Valley, strike a blow to our wildlife corridor, encourage the destructive practice of fracking, and exacerbate global warming. This talk estimates emissions and discusses potential health and environmental impacts.
3:20 “What is a tree worth? UTPA as a Certified Member of Tree Campus USA,” Jorge Cantu (Biology graduate student) and Alex Racelis (Biology) – Understanding the value of trees and vegetation in urban landscapes, and how ecosystem functioning can affect human populations, may help encourage the design of a more healthy, productive urban landscape. This presentation analyzes UTPA’s efforts to understand the role of trees in urban landscapes and our progress towards membership in Tree Campus USA.
3:40 “Leadership in Sustainability and Environmental Management,” Marianella Franklin (Office of Sustainability) – Learn how sustainability practices can be implemented through a management tool based on three key sustainability principles, with methods for bringing significant long-term value. Build on your skills and knowledge to communicate effectively and engage shareholders and stakeholders in making decisions to move toward sustainable development.
4:00 “Using a Planet and a Half Every Year,” George Atisa (Public Affairs) – We are now using about one and a half of our planet every year. Discussions and policies to slow climate change do not get implemented by you and me. Tangible changes must start with the way each person uses environmental resources.
4:20 “Community Participatory Action Research on The South McAllen Benzene Plume,” Lynn Vincentnathan (Anthropology), Denise Deleon (Criminal Justice graduate student), Sarah Chavez (undergraduate), and Hanna Marble (undergraduate) – A 33 acre benzene plume underlies a McAllen neighborhood, causing leukemia and other health hazards. Students and others are interviewing residents and involving organizations to facilitate community action. The community is now developing strategies to press for a clean-up.
4:40 “Exploring Environmental Worldviews: Students’ Perspectives on the New Ecological Paradigm,” Catherine Faver (Social Work), Xiaohui (Sophie) Wang (Mathematics), and Tina Schiefelbein (South Texas Behavioral Health Center) – The New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was administered to 592 UTPA students in four disciplines during the fall 2012 semester. Based on a factor analysis of the 15-item scale, this presentation explores the structure of the respondents’ environmental beliefs and discusses the implications for behavioral change.
5:00 “Building-Integrated Photovoltaics: Distributed Energy Development for Urban Sustainability,”Owen Temby (Political Science) – Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is emerging as a promising alternative in the suite of measures needed for the long-term transition of urban areas to sustainable and resilient places to live. Aesthetically pleasing, carbon neutral, and potentially transformative in how electricity grids operate in urban areas, BIPV has much to offer our cities. But why now, and what are the social and technological constraints on its use?
5:20 “Climate Change, Vulnerability, and Natural Disasters: A Social Science Perspective,” William Donner (Sociology) – Alarming growth in the frequency and scope of hurricanes, tornadoes, and tsunamis raises critical questions about the role of human culture and social organization in the process of climate change. When hazards emerge, populations are increasingly placed in harm’s way due to swelling rates of global poverty, migration, and inequality. In order to mitigate losses, public policy must address the social foundations of both climate change and hazard vulnerability.
5:40 “Impacts of Invasive Species Carrizo Cane (Arundo donax),” John Goolsby (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) – Carrizo cane, or giant reed (Arundo donax), is an exotic plant invasive in the Rio Grande Basin. It has many environmental, agricultural, and political impacts. It competes for water and creates a pathogenic landscape which facilitates the invasion of cattle fever ticks. A bi-national biological control program using specialist insects is underway to reduce the impacts of this invasive species in the US and Mexico.
6:00 “Is Geoengineering the Lesser Evil?” Erik Anderson (Philosophy) – Given that international negotiations on mitigating climate change have stalled for more than two decades, it is increasingly argued that policies of adaptation—especially geoengineering—ought to be embraced as the lesser evil. I will critically examine the moral dangers inherent in shifting attention away from policies of mitigation and toward geoengineering.
6:20 Refreshments, Conversation, and Poster Session
