Rich Egger's guests on Emphasis for September 14 are Amy Mossman and Timothy Collins of Western Illinois University. They talk about the fall lineup for the Sustainability Brownbaggers series.
The brownbaggers are billed as “Conversations for the Natural and Social Sciences, Art and Humanities, and Business.”
Mossman and Collins will present the first program, which will focus on “Silent Spring.” This fall marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's book.
“It probably resonates with me most strongly because I feel that she really is advocating for an empowerment of the public. One of the things that she does in her book is take scientific information that was known and make it available to the public,” Mossman said of Carson and “Silent Spring.”
Mossman said Carson also presented issues of scientific uncertainty -- she helped the public understand there is still a great deal that is unknown.
Collins said he first read the book when he was a high school sophomore. He recently re-read it as he prepared for the brownbaggers series.
“What I like about it is her courage. It took a lot of stuff to stand up and write a book that was highly critical of the major chemical industry, the major agricultural industry, and those relationships,” Collins said.
Brownbaggers will be held on Tuesdays, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm, Malpass Library West, 4th Floor, Western Illinois University.
The schedule:
September 18 -- 50th Anniversary of Rachel Carson's “Silent Spring”
September 25 -- Green Chemistry: Retooling of Chemistry and Making it More Sustainable
October 2 -- Sustainability on the Upper Mississippi River
October 9 -- Green Politics
October 16 -- An Overview of Sustainability in the Fashion Industry: Sustainable Technologies
October 23 -- The Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
October 30 -- 150th Anniversary of the Land Grant System
November 13 -- Earth Cafe
