2006 UMass Dartmouth Earth Day 101
Wednesday and Thursday, April 19 & 20

Events

For questions on a specific event, contact that event's speaker/organizer. For questions about Earth Day events in general, contact the coordinator.

• Wednesday, April 19
• Thursday, April 20

Wednesday, April 19

"Earth Day Is Alive and Well…"
EDU 527: Integrated Instructional Planning, K-12
Cynthia Kruger, Professor of Education
9:00 – 9:50

Earth Day Is Alive and Well through the creative work of future UMD teachers! Although it is anearly morning presentation, the creative display of projects for K-12 classrooms will ensure a lively discussion as to how state-mandated curriculum can be fused with Earth Day activities. There is such a diversity of projects that all interests should be met.

Hubbert's Peak: How The Fundamental Theorem Of Calculus Tells Us That We Can Expect Oil Production To Stop Growing, And Predicts When It Will Begin To Decline
MTH 111: Calculus I
Dana Fine, Professor of Mathematics
10:00 – 10:50

In 1956 a Shell Oil consultant, speaking at a meeting of the American Petroleum Institute, made an startling prediction: despite the booming growth of oil production at that time, the U.S. production of oil would reach its peak between 1965 and 1970 and decline thereafter. Indeed, domestic oil production, though growing by almost 8% per year in 1956, reached its peak in 1971.

The consultant was M. King Hubbert. The phenomenon he described, and the shape of the graph describing oil production, have become known as "Hubbert's peak". Hubbert's peak forcefully illustrates the fundamental environmental fact that production of a non-renewable resource cannot grow indefinitely. The mathematics Hubbert used in making his prediction is the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, a primary topic in the MTH111 curriculum. His 1956 paper includes an intuitive explanation of this theorem, and its application in determing the peak of the oil production curve. For Earth Day 101, we will use use Hubbert's prediction and his explanation to introduce the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus in MTH111.

It’s Getting Hot, Hot, Hot! Or Is It?: Debating Global Warming
PSC 244: Evaluating Public Controversies
Doug Roscoe, Professor of Political Science
11:00 – 11:50

Is the earth getting hotter? If so, what role do human causes play? What, if anything, should be done? Is the Kyoto Treaty a good policy solution? The issue of global warming is a very important public controversy, but the public often has a hard time understanding the debate. Scientists disagree, and the climate data and statistics can seem overwhelming.

Having researched these issues thoroughly, the students will hold a moderated panel discussion to make sense of the evidence and debate the issue(s). Come listen to a group of (nonscientist) students take reasoned positions on the “reality” of global warming, and learn the facts behind the controversy. Following the debate, discussion will be opened to the audience.

Two Songs, One Voice
POR 334: Intro to 20th Century Brazilian Literature
Dario Borim, Professor of Portuguese
12:00 – 12:50

Brazilian popular music has displayed two outstanding aesthetic and thematic trends: poetic sophistication and sociopolitical engagement. Both trends acquire prominence during the 21 years in which the country was run by a draconian military dictatorship that disregarded human rights and ecological concerns. Our class will focus on the lyrics and historical contexts of two songs, “Waters of March,” by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and “Capim,” by Djavan, which present an indictment of environmental degeneration and abuse.

Ecological History: Humankind and the Environment,
c.1400 A.D. to the Present: An historian's perspective of the current environmental crisis
HST 104: Comparative World Civilizations II (1450-present)
Timothy Walker, Professor of History
1:00 – 1:50

An historian's perspective of the current environmental crisis -- the story of humans' abusive relationship with their environment.  Why does modern society encourage, and how do people justify, the dangerous exploitation of the earth?
The lecture will trace Western civilization as it developed from a rural agrarian society, in balance with environmental assets, into our present society:  highly complex, populous, interconnected, urban and industrial -- and a great burden to the natural resources of the planet. 

Yeah, But What Does It Really Cost?
MTS 201: Mechanical Properties of Materials
Steve Warner, Professor of Materials and Textiles
2:00 – 2:50

The Cost of Materials describes the total cost - raw material price, cost to the environment, and salvage value – of materials that you purchase as products. Most products you purchase today do not include the total cost, but someone will have to pay in the future. In this session you will learn about the complex calculations that have been used to assess the true cost of materials. You might be surprised to learn which of these materials actually costs more – cotton vs. polyester, disposable vs. cloth diapers, and carpet vs. wood floors.

What is Sustainability, Anyway, And What’s In It For Me? A Brief Introduction to Sustainabilityand You in the 21st Century -- Open Forum
Various Faculty, Staff, and Students
3:00 – 4:30

“Sustainability” is a much used word these days. You probably come across it quite a bit, from a wide range of sectors. Oil companies refer to “sustainable production” or “sustainable reserves”; corporations refer to “sustainable business practices.” And there’s more. What, though, does sustainability mean from a global, socio-environmental perspective, and what can it mean for you? That is, when we talk about a sustainable future for the planet, all it inhabitants – you, too – , and not just some inhabitants or the practices of some inhabitants, what do we mean?

Come join an open and lively forum to tease out what sustainability really means, means for you.

Motions Of Oceans On A Rotating Planet
PHY 510: Geophysical Fluid Mechanics
Amit Tandon, Professor of Physics
4:00 – 4:50

Note: Due to the equipment necessary for this demonstration, this session will take place in Group II-204 (Computational Physics Lab)

Studying oceanic movements is vital for understanding how climate and weather work on our planet. The motions of these fluids are affected by the rotation of the earth, and by their layered density structure. By affixing a movie camera to a rotating table (so that it rotates along with the table), we will demonstrate from the point of view of a rotating observer how the flows on a rotating planet produce very interesting and strange properties.

Thursday, April 20

We’re Paying for This?  Laws Gone Wild! 
MGT 312: Legal Framework of Business
Adam J. Sulkowski, Professor of Management
8:00 – 9:15

Regardless of whether you care about the environment, your health or just about money, you’ll probably find something interesting among these examples of how businesses and our legal system interact to affect our lives. We will examine several examples of where businesses have altered the content, interpretation and enforcement of laws, with harmful consequences for our economy, our environment and people.  We will also examine how the legal system and businesses can function with positive outcomes.

Sustainability Studies: Writing in the Disciplines
ENL102: Critical Writing and Reading II
Patricia White, Professor of English
9:30 – 10:45

In this "Writing in the Disciplines" Pilot section of ENL102, students will respond to an Earth Day "Call for Papers," concerning a multidisciplinary approach to Sustainability Studies. For most of the students, this will be their first formal look at Sustainability and the possible roles their disciplines can play. For example, the Business major might consider investments in companies that promote sustainability or new ways of approaching commerce, while someone in the Sciences might investigate the environmental issues, or address long-term, realistic sustainable energy alternatives. Both Engineering and Art majors might explore redesigning space, while the Political Science and History majors might examine political ramifications, historical views and global issues. Through peer-review, students will choose a panel to present and discuss their position papers on a variety of sustainability issues.

Artists and the Earth
ARH 150: Studies in Visual Culture: Modern to Contemporary Art
Pamela J. Warner, Professor of Art History
11:00 – 12:15

This lecture will introduce the audience to key figures and concepts in the domain of Land Art or Earthworks. Beginning in the 1970s, a group of artists increasingly sought to call attention to human interventions on the Earth by creating monumental artworks with an enviromental scale. Seeking to reintroduce an element of ritual into humankind's relationship with the Earth, artists such as Michael Heizer, Walter de Maria, Robert Smithson, and James Turrell chose wild, remote locations for their creations. We will explore the complicated relationship of sites such as De Maria's Lightning Field (1970-77) and Smithson's Spiral Jetty (1969-70) to traditional art historical concepts (the sublime and one-point perspective), while evoking the ecological concerns and the technological paradoxes that envelop these fascinating and often beautiful creations.

Marine Microbes And Global Warming: Can Earth’s Smallest Organisms Solve The Environment’s Biggest Problem?
BIO 471/571: Marine Microbiology
Emily Lilly, Professor of Biology
12:30 – 1:45

Think you’re too small to do anything about global warming? How about an organism less than a billionth of your size? It turns out that much of our global climate is regulated by tiny single-celled creatures living in the ocean. Microorganisms in the oceans have regulated our climate for millennia; they created the oxygen in our atmosphere that allowed animal life to evolve.

In this session, we’ll examine the impact of marine microorganisms on climate and consider various plans to use the oceans to counteract global warming.

The Myth of Apolitical Science
SOC 381 Social Impact of Science and Technology
Yale Magrass, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
2:00 – 3:15

Science presents itself as an enterprise above politics: Scientific experts discover universal truths which hold independently of personal values. Yet, most science is funded by the state, primarily the military, and by corporations. Is it possible for those sources of funding not to sway the direction of research and the conclusions reached? For instance, what happens when there is an administration whose commitment to the oil industry overrides its concern for the environment? Whose science “counts”? And to whom, if anyone, should scientists be held accountable?

In this session we will ask some hard questions of “hard science”, and place presumed “objectivity” under the microscope of political analysis.

Purchasing for Sustainability
Mgt 465: Logistics and Supply Management
Laura Forker, Professor of Management
3:30 – 4:45

Purchasing has a direct impact on sustainability because of its role as the source of inputs for conversion processes, whether in the manufacturing or service sector. Organizational buying has advanced from the “buy recycled” policies of the mid-1980s to purchases of more energy- and water-efficient devices, less hazardous sanitizing materials and less polluting sources of electricity.  This presentation will offer 12 purchasing polices that together represent “best practices” for composing, delivering, and monitoring a purchasing program that promotes sustainability.

Other Earth Day Events

Saturday, April 1

Water Watch Beach Cleanup on Gooseberry Island - 10am and Noon
Water Watch will be taking two groups of people down to the beach on Saturday April 1st. The first group will leave campus at 10:00 am and the second group will leave at 12:00 pm. Everyone from the respective groups will meet at least a half hour before they are scheduled to leave for the beach in front of the campus center by the sliding glass doors. The drive that separates the Res Cafe and the Campus Center is where we will all be meeting at the respective times. There will be free food at the beach and Water Watch will supply all the necessary materials for the cleanup. If anyone would like to drive down there themselves then they may do so. For more information contact Jon Curto at 999-8169. FREE

Directions:The best way to get there from the University is to take Old Westport Rd to Route 88 South (take a left at the light for Route 88), continue on Route 88 until it dead ends at a stop sign, then take a right and follow that road about 1/4 of a mile until you see a dirt parking lot and that is Gooseberry Island.