Hosted by the
University System of Maryland, October
9-13, 2002
Note: This agenda is not
complete. Please check back often;
details will be added as speakers
confirm.
DRAFT: All Information Subject to
Change
Baltimore's Inner Harbor
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Photo by
John Makely, Baltimore
Sun
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Main Menu
Wednesday, October
9
Thursday, October
10
Friday, October
11
Saturday, October
12
Sunday, October
13
Please
note: SEJ's
Inaugural Awards Ceremony in
Baltimore has been rescheduled from
Friday, Oct. 11 to Thursday, Oct. 10
at 8:00 p.m.
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Wednesday, October 9:
Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel
The Wyndham Inner Harbor
Hotel is located at 101 West Fayette
Street, Baltimore, Maryland.
Registration
2:00 p.m.
Registration begins in Wyndham's
Promenade at 2:00 p.m.
Pre-Conference
Ice-Breaker
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Come share your stories and meet your
peers. The connections you make here will
last through the conference — and
beyond. New members always welcome.
Facilitator:
Jane Braxton Little, Freelance
Journalist
Location: Carroll Room
SEJ board
meeting
7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Location: E. A. Poe Room
Back to the
top
Thursday, October 10: In
the field
Logistics: A cash-and-carry kiosk
will be located in the Liberty Ballroom
lobby where participants may purchase
assorted breakfast items. Complimentary
coffee, decaf, tea, juice and water are
available. For those wishing to purchase
a full breakfast, the hotel restaurant,
Shula's 2, opens at 6:30 a.m.
Buses stage on Liberty Street
beginning at 6:30 a.m (check your tour
for departure times). Exit doors are
located at the bottom of the spiral
staircase in the Liberty Ballroom lobby.
All tours will conclude at the same
location at approximately 5:00 p.m.
Day Tours:
Advance registration is
required for all tours on Thursday, Oct.
10. Attendance size on each tour is
strictly limited.
Note:The visit to
Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant has
been cancelled. According to the Nuclear
Energy Institute, this is due to the
last-minute scheduling of security
enhancement construction during the tour
day. A nuclear energy
panel has been added at the end of
the energy tour that will be held in the
Wyndham Hotel and is open to all
attendees.
Energy, Security and the
Environment
$15 fee (7:00 a.m.
departure, lunch provided)
This tour will visit British Petroleum
Solar's manufacturing facility in
Frederick, Maryland. The plant, says
BP, produces the world's highest
efficiency silicon cells available in
volume production. On the way, we will
hear from solar experts, who will give
us the ins and out of this technology.
Then we are off to the Brandon Shores
power plant near Baltimore to tour a
coal-fired facility with the latest
pollution control equipment. Along the
way and at the plant, we'll hear from
environmentalists and defenders of
coal-fired plants about efforts to
control power plant pollution through
multi-pollutant legislation as well as
the controversy over new source review.
Then we'll go back to Baltimore for a
nuclear energy
panel that brings together nuclear
power advocates and critics, who will
debate the pluses and minuses of
nuclear energy, including security,
waste, transportation, safety,
economics, and what lies ahead in the
world of nuclear power. The tour is
limited to 30 participants.
Tour
Leaders:
Steve
Cook, Bureau of National
Affairs
Jeff
Johnson, Chemical &
Engineering News
Speakers
on the tour and/or nuclear energy panel
at the end of the tour:
Robert Alvarez, Program
Director, STAR Foundation, and Senior
Scholar, Institute For Policy
Studies
Angelina Howard, Executive Vice
President of Policy, Planning, and
External Affairs, Nuclear Energy
Institute
Bonnie Johansen, Community and
Government Relations Representative,
Constellation Energy
David Lochbaum, Nuclear
Engineer, Union of Concerned
Scientists
William Magwood, Director,
Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology, Department of Energy
Arjun Makhijani, President,
Institute for Energy &
Environmental Research
Bob Perciasepe, Senior Vice
President for Public Policy, National
Audubon Society
Otto Raabe, Professor of
Radiation Biophysics and Environmental
Engineering, University of California,
Davis
Joseph Romm, Executive Director
and Founder, Center for Energy and
Climate Solutions
Eric Schaeffer, Executive
Director, Environmental Integrity
Project, Rockefeller Family Fund
Sandra Schubert, Legislative
Counsel, Earthjustice
Scott Segal, Spokesman,
Electric Reliability Coordinating
Council
John Strauch, Plant Manager,
Brandon Shores coal-fired power plant,
Constellation Energy
The Lord's Oysters, Or The
Genetic Equivalent?
$15 fee (7:15 a.m.
departure, lunch provided)
Get out on the water while learning
about efforts to restore oyster
populations in the Chesapeake Bay.
Visit one of the remaining shucking
houses in Maryland, then jump on board
alongside watermen and the Oyster
Recovery Partnership to plant native
oysters on a local bar. Return to shore
for a tour of Maryland's premier
hatchery at Horn Point. From there,
join regulators and scientists for a
discussion on harvesting, disease,
pollution, and whether the Bay's
salvation lies in importing non-native
C. ariakensis oysters from Asia. Finish
with a real taste of the controversy
— ariakensis on the half
shell!
Tour
Leaders:
Mary Madison, Watermen's
Gazette
Joel McCord, Freelance
Writer
Speakers:
Standish Allen, School of
Marine Science, Virginia Institute of
Marine Science, College of William and
Mary
Charles Frentz, Executive
Director, Oyster Recovery
Partnership
Pete Jensen, Fisheries
Consultant
Christopher Judy, Shellfish
Program Director, Maryland Department
of Natural Resources
Merrill Leffler, Senior Science
Writer, Maryland Sea Grant
Donald Meritt, Aquaculture
Agent, University of Maryland Center
for Environmental Science, Horn Point
Laboratory
Pete Nixon, President, Lower
Chesapeake Bay Watermen’s
Association
Karen Oertel, Harris’
Seafood
Kennedy Paynter, Associate
Professor, Chesapeake Biological
Laboratory, University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Science, and
Director of the Marine, Estuarine
Environmental Sciences (MEES) Graduate
Program
Larry Simns, President,
Maryland Watermen’s
Association
Gerardo Vasta, Center of Marine
Biotechnology, University of Maryland
Biotechnology Institute
Jim Wesson, Department Head,
Conservation and Replenishment
Department, Virginia Marine Resources
Commission
A River Runs Through
It
$15 fee (7:30 a.m.
departure, lunch provided)
Learn about the broad-based efforts to
restore the Anacostia, a tributary of
the nation's river, the Potomac, which
flows from the sprawling affluent
suburbs of the Washington area through
some of the capital's poorest
inner-city neighborhoods. You'll see
effects of development at the
headwaters, then board canoes for a
paddle downriver to witness effects of
channelization and flood control, plus
recent efforts to clean up the river
and restore its natural beauty and
functions. Politicians, biologists and
local restoration leaders will join us
to talk about the river's decline and
their hopes for its future.
Tour
Leaders:
Lynne Cherry, Author
Gary
Lee, The Washington
Post
Speakers:
David Baron, Attorney,
Earthjustice
Robert Boone, founder and
President, Anacostia Watershed
Society
Robert Bullard, WARE Professor
of Sociology and Director,
Environmental Justice Resource Center,
Clark Atlanta University
Jim Connolly, Director,
Anacostia Watershed Society
Bob
Nixon, founder and President, Earth
Conservation Corps
Brenda Richardson, President,
Women Like Us and the Metropolitan
Dialogue
The New Green
Revolution
$15 fee (9:30 a.m.
departure, lunch provided)
See what's cooking at the world's
largest agricultural laboratory —
USDA's 6,700-acre facility in
Beltsville — to shrink the U.S.
food supply's environmental footprint.
See how "algal raceways" (technology
borrowed from the Smithsonian's coral
reef exhibit) treat dairy manure. Learn
how researchers are using nature to
trap E. coli and destroy
hormones in livestock waste so that
they don't enter streams. See where
NASA technology is taking "precision
agriculture" at the world's most
heavily instrumented field site. This
tour involves minimal walking.
Tour
Leaders:
Wayne
Falda, Environment/Farm Reporter,
South Bend Tribune
Janet
Raloff, Science News
Speakers
(Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center, USDA):
Doug Bolt, BARC Birders, and
former Animal Physiologist at BARC
Michel Cavigelli, Soil
Scientist, Sustainable Agricultural
Systems Laboratory
Rufus Chaney, Research
Agronomist, Animal Manure and
Byproducts Laboratory
Ed Clark, Microbiologist,
Insect Biocontrol Laboratory and member
of BARC Birders
Benjamin Coffman, Agronomist,
Sustainable Agricultural Systems
Laboratory
Mark Davis, Agronomist,
Sustainable Agricultural Systems
Laboratory
Lou Gasbarre, Microbiologist,
Immunology and Disease Resistance
Laboratory
Tim Gish, Soil Scientist,
Hydrology and Remote Sensing Lab
Cathleen Hapeman, Supervisory
Research Chemist, Environmental Quality
Laboratory
Phyllis Johnson, Director,
BARC
Laura McConnell, Research
Chemist, Environmental Quality
Laboratory
Pat Millner, Microbiologist,
Sustainable Agricultural Systems
Laboratory
Walter Mulbry, Research
Microbiologist, Animal Manure and
Byproducts Lab
Clifford Rice, Research
Chemist, Environmental Quality
Laboratory
Dan Shelton, Research
Microbiologist, Animal Waste Pathogen
Laboratory
Larry Sikora, Microbiologist,
Animal Manure and Byproducts
Laboratory
John Teasdale, Research Leader,
Sustainable Agricultural Systems
Laboratory
Hold the Mustard: Greening
of the Military
$15 fee (10:00 a.m.
departure, lunch provided)
Visit Aberdeen Proving Ground, one of
Maryland's worst Superfund sites and
one of its largest wildlife refuges.
Here, where the Army once trained for
chemical warfare, a toxic stockpile of
World War II-era mustard agent still
sits in an open field, potentially
endangering surrounding suburban
neighborhoods. Efforts to clean up
contaminated soil and groundwater are
complicated by unexploded artillery
rounds that litter the landscape. See
the trees the Army has planted (very
carefully) to suck up the tainted
groundwater, scan the skies for bald
eagles that nest on and around the
installation and hear how military
scientists plan to render the poisonous
mustard relatively harmless. Speakers
will also describe why military lands
are some of the nation's last havens
for many threatened plants and animals
and explore the threats to these
accidental refuges. This tour involves
minimal walking. Tour attendees will be
required to supply full name and last
four digits of their Social Security
Number by October 1. Each attendee must
bring a photo identification card
(e.g., driver's license) on the
tour.
Tour
Leaders:
Lara Beaven, Defense
Environment Alert, Inside
Washington Publishers
Dave
Mayfield, Norfolk
Virginian-Pilot
Speakers:
Cal Baier-Anderson,
Toxicologist, University of Maryland
Program in Toxicology, and Technical
Advisor to the Aberdeen Proving Ground
Superfund Citizens Coalition
Scott Belfit, Biologist, U.S.
Army Environmental Center and team
leader for Army Conservation
Partnerships and Wildlife
Management
Kevin
Flamm, head of a project to
chemically neutralize mustard agent,
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Steven
R. Hirsh, EPA Project Manager in
charge of the cleanup at Aberdeen
Proving Ground
Aimee R. Houghton, Associate
Director, Center for Public
Environmental Oversight
John Kostyack, Senior Counsel,
Species Restoration Program, National
Wildlife Federation
William Millan, Senior Policy
Advisor, The Nature Conservancy
Ken
Stachiw, Chief, Environmental
Restoration Program, Aberdeen Proving
Ground
Paul Thies, Chief, Conservation
Division, U.S. Army Environmental
Center
John Wrobel, Project Manager
for the cleanup of J Field, Aberdeen
Proving Ground
Science on the
Wing
$10 fee (12:15 p.m.
departure, snack provided)
Visit the USGS Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center, one of the nation's
premiere critter laboratories. Patuxent
specializes in bird and wetland studies
and investigations of environmental
contamination of wildlife. Scientists
at the center keep tabs on endangered
and invasive species, monitor
amphibians and man-made marshes, do
breeding bird surveys and bird banding
and run the nation's only whooping
crane captive-breeding program.
Tour
Leaders:
Peter Berle, President, Sky
Farm Productions, Inc.
Neil Strassman, Ft. Worth
Star-Telegram
Speakers
(USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center):
Don Cahoon, John French,
Marshall Howe,
Robin Jung, Jim
Nichols, Matthew Perry,
Barnett Rattner
Safe
Harbor?
$10 fee (12:30 p.m.
departure, snack provided)
Cruise historic Baltimore Harbor, for
three centuries a bustling industrial
port — home to clipper ships and
canneries, steel plants and smelters.
Today, the harbor has multiple
personalities: it is a working port, a
redevelopment showplace where former
factories have become high-priced
condos, and a toxic hot spot where the
fish are unsafe to eat. Aboard a
research ship, we'll sample for
pollutants and invasive creatures
imported in ships' ballast water.
Guided by a historian and two expert
marine scientists, we'll learn how the
harbor's sediments and seafood became
chronically contaminated and consider
what to do about it. We'll see a gritty
steel mill and hear from all sides in a
controversy about its wastes. And we'll
explore a man-made urban wetland at
Fort McHenry, site of the naval battle
that inspired "The Star-Spangled
Banner."
Tour
Leaders:
Karl Blankenship, Bay
Journal
Heather Dewar, The
Baltimore Sun
Speakers:
Joel Baker, University of
Maryland Center for Environmental
Science, Chesapeake Biological
Laboratory
Steve Bieber, Maryland
Department of the Environment
Kim Coble, Chesapeake Bay
Foundation
Glenn Page, National Aquarium
in Baltimore
Greg Ruiz, Smithsonian
Environmental Research Center
Kelly Shenk, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay
Program Office
John Wennersten, Freelance
Writer and Author, "The Chesapeake: An
Environmental Biography"
Evening
logistics: Thursday evening events
take place at the Wyndham Inner Harbor
Hotel, 101 West Fayette Street,
Baltimore, Maryland.
The Future of Nuclear
Power
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Supporters and opponents of nuclear
energy will debate the pluses and minuses
of nuclear energy, including security,
waste, transportation, safety, economics,
and what lies ahead in the world of
nuclear power.
Moderator:
Jeff Johnson, Chemical &
Engineering News
Speakers:
Robert Alvarez, Program Director,
STAR Foundation, and Senior Scholar,
Institute For Policy Studies
Angelina Howard, Executive Vice
President of Policy, Planning, and
External Affairs, Nuclear Energy
Institute
David Lochbaum, Nuclear Engineer,
Union of Concerned Scientists
William Magwood, Director, Office
of Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology, Department of Energy
Arjun Makhijani, President, Institute
for Energy & Environmental
Research
Otto Raabe, Professor of
Radiation Biophysics and Environmental
Engineering, University of California,
Davis
Location: Mencken Room
Scientists' Poster
Session
4:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Browse a bevy of posters summarizing
environmental research on the Chesapeake
Bay and from across the Mid-Atlantic
region. Some top scientists from the
University System of Maryland and other
leading institutions will be on hand to
discuss their work. Cash bar.
Location: Liberty Ballroom B
Opening
Reception
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Greet old friends and make new ones at
SEJ’s opening reception. There will
be heavy hors d'oeuvres, dessert station,
assorted beverages and a cash bar
available. The Scientists’ Poster
Session will run concurrently, and SEJ's
Inaugural Awards Ceremony will follow at
8:00 p.m. End the day with presentations
about the Chesapeake Bay.
Emcee:
Tim Wheeler, Assistant Metro
Editor, The Baltimore Sun and
Society of Environmental Journalists 2002
Conference Chair
Speaker:
William E. Kirwan, Chancellor,
University System of Maryland
Location: Liberty Ballroom
SEJ Awards for Reporting on
the Environment
8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Join us for the festive presentation of
the first annual SEJ Awards for Reporting on
the Environment. SEJ will honor
award-winners in nine categories covering
print, online and broadcast journalism.
First-place winners get $1,000 and a
trophy, and we'll present special
certificates to the distinguished
finalists. This will be a great chance to
exchange story ideas and reporting tips
with some of the finest journalists in
North America and beyond.
Presenters:
Perry Beeman, Des Moines
Register
Natalie Pawelski, CNN and Nieman
Fellow, Harvard University
Location: International Ballroom
Chesapeake Bay: The National
Estuary
9:00 - 10:30 p.m.
Following the Awards ceremony, sit back
and enjoy a feast for the eyes about the
nation’s largest estuary and the
efforts to restore its fabled natural
bounty.
Emcee:
Tim Wheeler, Assistant
Metro Editor, The Baltimore Sun
and Society of Environmental Journalists
2002 Conference Chair
Speakers:
William Baker, President,
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
David Harp, Freelance
Photographer
Tom Horton, Columnist, The
Baltimore Sun and Author, "Bay
Country," "An Island Out of Time," and,
with David Harp, "The Great Marsh: An
Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake
Wetland"
Location: International Ballroom
Back to the
top
Friday, October 11: Wyndham
Inner Harbor Hotel
All events are at the Wyndham Inner
Harbor Hotel, 101 West Fayette Street,
Baltimore, Maryland, unless indicated
otherwise.
Note: Four limited-space tours
have been added to this evening's
National Aquarium Reception. Please sign
up near the SEJ Membership table on the
Wyndham's Promenade.
The Pride
of Baltimore II
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Photo by
Linda Coan, Baltimore
Sun
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All Day:
A cash-and-carry kiosk will be
located directly outside the
International Ballroom where participants
may purchase assorted breakfast items.
Complimentary coffee, decaf, tea, juice
and water will also be available in the
International Ballroom, in the literature
and display area.
Please note that SEJ members will be
given preference in question-and-answer
sessions.
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Registration
Location: Promenade
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SEJ Membership
Table
Sign-up for Friday breakout lunch
sessions, as well as Saturday
mini-tours and breakout breakfast
sessions. (Breakout meal sessions are
for SEJ members only.)
Location: Promenade
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SEJ Reading Room and
Awards Display
Location: Promenade
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Goodkind of Sound
Conference Session Audio Tapes
Location: Promenade
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Press Room
Location: Douglas Room, Lower
Level
-
Silent Auction to benefit
SEJ’s 21st Century
Fund
Location: International
Ballroom
Literature
Tables
7:00 a.m. – 7:00
p.m.
Browse for information, news and
opinions from a variety of sources.
Location: International Ballroom
Welcome and
Introductions
8:30 - 8:45 a.m.
Emcee:
Tim Wheeler, Assistant
Metro Editor, The Baltimore Sun
and Society of Environmental Journalists
2002 Conference Chair
Speakers:
Parris N. Glendening, Governor of
Maryland
William
E. Kirwan, Chancellor, University
System of Maryland
Location: International Ballroom
Opening
Plenary
8:45 - 10:15 a.m.
Blind Spots: Uncovering the Taboos of
Environmental Reporting
Environmental reporting often describes
symptoms — like air pollution and
toxic waste — but does not analyze
the underlying forces that may cause the
problems. Population growth and
consumerism are two areas that remain
largely unexamined by the media yet are
related to critical global environmental
problems, such as depleted common
resources and loss of habitat. Are these
critical issues taboo subjects because of
pressure from corporate bosses, or do
journalists shy away from them because
they’re too complicated, too big,
too far out? Should we be doing more on
these topics, and how can we tackle them
in ways that are clear, compelling and
not sensationalistic?
Moderator:
Dale Willman, Executive Editor
and President, Field Notes
Productions
Speakers:
Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt
Scholar in Political Economy, American
Enterprise Institute
Paul Ehrlich, Bing Professor of
Population Studies, Stanford
University
Lee Horwich, National Editor,
USA Today
Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day
founder and Counselor to The Wilderness
Society, Co-author "Beyond Earth Day:
Fulfilling the Promise"
Ellen Ruppel Shell, Professor and
Co-director, Knight Center for Science
and Medical Journalism, Boston University
and correspondent, Atlantic
Monthly
Betsy Taylor, Executive Director,
Center for the New American Dream
Location: International Ballroom
Coffee Break
10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Location: International Ballroom
Concurrent Sessions
1
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
THE COAST:
Climate Change: Sea-level Rise and
Carbon Sinks
Water levels are already inching higher
along the Mid-Atlantic coast, including
the Chesapeake Bay. Scientists say most
coastal marshes along the Chesapeake
and Delaware bays could disappear
before 2100 due to global warming. What
are the risks to wildlife and those who
live by the bays? One response to
global warming is reforestation to
capture carbon dioxide, a key
greenhouse gas. But is this "silver
buckshot" approach really
effective?
Moderator:
Mark Schleifstein, New
Orleans Times-Picayune
Panelists:
Ann Fisher, Professor of
Agricultural and Environmental
Economics, Pennsylvania State
University, and Chair of the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Assessment of the
effects of climate change
Tia Nelson, Director, Climate
Change Program, The Nature
Conservancy
J.
Court Stevenson, Professor of
Ecology, University of Maryland Center
for Environmental Science, Horn Point
Laboratory
Location: Pratt B Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CITY:
Where's the Justice in Environmental
Justice?
Has the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s environmental justice
program done anything to address the
problems? What have the courts said
about cases involving these issues?
With the 2nd People of Color
Environmental Leadership Summit
scheduled for just a couple of weeks
after the SEJ conference, what’s
happened since the first Summit more
than 10 years ago?
Moderator: Steve Curwood,
"Living On Earth," National Public
Radio
Panelists:
Robert Bullard, WARE Professor
of Sociology and Director,
Environmental Justice Resource Center,
Clark Atlanta University
Paul Kamenar, senior counsel of
the Washington Legal Foundation and
Clinical Professor of Law at George
Mason University School of Law
Lynn Pinder, Youth Warriors
Tseming Yang, Associate
Professor of Law, Vermont Law School,
and member of the U.S. EPA’s
National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council
Location: Hopkins Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE LAND:
Pharm Pollution: Hormones and
Healthcare Products
Much of any drug administered to people
or animals has a nasty habit of exiting
the body in wastes that traditional
sewage treatment does not remove. New
studies are beginning to quantify these
pollutants and their impacts on animals
and plants.
Moderator:
Janet Raloff, Science
News
Panelists:
Christian Daughton,
Chief/Environmental Chemistry Branch,
Environmental Sciences Division,
National Exposure Research Laboratory,
U.S. EPA
Rebecca Goldburg, Senior
Scientist, Environmental Defense
Louis J. Guillette,
Distinguished Professor of Zoology,
University of Florida
Location: E.A. Poe Room
THE GLOBE:
Ethnobotany Update: New Links Among
Plants, Cultures and Conservation
From the icy mountains of Tibet, to the
lush forests of South Pacific islands,
to the cozy comfort of suburban
America’s backyards,
ethnobotanists are gaining fresh
insight into the relationships among
plants and people. But these
relationships appear increasingly
threatened by markets for herbal
remedies, timber, minerals and other
natural resources. This session will
present recent findings from three
parts of the world where ethnobotanists
are working to unlock the secrets of
plants and human culture even as those
plants disappear.
Moderator: William Allen,
Institutes for Journalism & Natural
Resources
Panelists:
Michael Balick, Director,
Institute of Economic Botany, New York
Botanical Garden
James Duke, former Chief, USDA
Medicinal Plants Laboratory, and
Author, "The Green Pharmacy"
Jan Salick, Curator of
Ethnobotany, Missouri Botanical
Garden
Location: Preston Room, Cabana
Level
THE FEDS:
Insecurity About Homeland Security:
Bioterrorism and Energy Threats
Four veteran journalists offer advice
on how to cover the emerging story of
bioterrorism and threats to America's
energy security. How vulnerable are
nuclear plants, chemical plants and
other possible targets, not to mention
the general public? One of our
panelists spent months in Afghanistan
and was among the first reporters to
enter Kabul.
Moderator:
Tom Henry, Environmental
Writer, The (Toledo)
Blade
Panelists:
John Fialka, Washington bureau,
The Wall Street Journal
Tim Friend, Science Reporter,
USA Today
Eric Pianin, Reporter, The
Washington Post
Location: Pratt A Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CRAFT
I:
Pfiesteria: The Before,
During, and After of a Major (and
Ongoing) Environmental Science
Controversy
The "Pfiesteria hysteria" alliteration
is too much for many editors to resist.
But behind the rhyme lies one of the
festering scientific controversies in
the marine environment today, with
well-known researchers in
uncharacteristically non-scientific
exchanges. At the root: Does the
Pfiesteria piscicida algae that burst
into the headlines five years back have
a mysterious — no, bizarre
— life style characterized by a
series of toxic amoebic phases? This
panel, involving key scientists "for
and against," will explore new and
pioneering findings on the Pfiesteria
mystery, and address whether the media
really are the message in this ongoing
debate.
Moderator: Brad Bell, Reporter,
WJLA TV 7, ABC News, Washington, DC
Panelists:
Donald Boesch, President,
University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science
JoAnn Burkholder, Center for
Applied Aquatic Ecology, North Carolina
State University
Wayne Litaker, Center for
Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research,
National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration and Director, Molecular
Biology and Biotechnology Program,
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
Location: Carroll Room, Ballroom
Level
THE CRAFT
II:
Film at 11: Selling the
TV Enviro Story
We all know covering the environment
for television generates the best
pictures and the most fun shoots. But
how do you convince your editor to let
you get out into nature instead of
covering yet another crime story? Our
panelists have all figured out how to
overcome editor/news director ennui.
They'll offer concrete tips on
everything from how to wade through
hard wonky science in fifty seconds,
how to make a slow-motion disaster
relevant in a medium that only values
visible crises and how to make people
stories out of animals, plants and
inanimate policy issues. We'll show you
some hot clips, too, and tell you about
awards for environmental reporting on
television. This session was organized
by the Radio and Television News
Directors Foundation with funds
provided by the William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation.
Moderator:
Vince Patton, Environment
Reporter, KGW-TV, Portland
Panelists:
Eliene Augenbraun,
President/CEO ScienCentral, Inc., and
the Science and Technology News
Network
Charmaine
Jackson, News Reporter, KOBF-TV,
Farmington, N.M.
Scott
Miller, Environmental Specialist,
KING-TV, Seattle
Location: D'Alesandro Room, Cabana
Level
Network Lunch
12:00 - 1:45 p.m.
A perennial favorite. Plant yourself at
a table or move around as you like and
sample a variety of informal discussion
tables centered on the craft of
environmental journalism. See a list of
topics and discussion leaders in your
conference registration packet.
Discussion
Tables:
1. The Clean Water Act at 30:
Expanding or Contracting?: Robert
Percival, University of Maryland School
of Law
2. Greening Energy Supplies at the
State and National Level: Elizabeth
McCarthy (California Energy Markets),
Anne Marie McShea (Green E)
3. Social Science Resources for the
Environment Beat: Peter Balint and
Jorge Rivera, George Mason University
4. Superfund in Changing Times:
Debra Schwartz, University of
Maryland/PhD candidate
5. SEJ TipSheet: Joe
Davis, TipSheet editor
6. Environmental Noise Exposure
Rising: Millions at Risk: David Bell,
Noise Regulation Report
7. MTBE: The Gas Additive that Won't
Go Away: Jane Kay (San Francisco
Chronicle), Matt Hagemann
(environmental analyst, Komex-H20
Science)
8. Back to the Future: Restoring
Native Grasslands: Pauline Drobney,
National Wildlife Refuge, Iowa
9. Grappling with the Science of
Environmental Reporting: Jackleen de
La Harpe, Metcalf Institute for Marine
and Environmental Reporting, University
of Rhode Island
10. SEJ 2003, New Orleans: Bob
Thomas, Loyola University
11. Environmental Reporting for the
Radio: Dale Willman (Fieldnotes
Productions and NPR), Chuck Quirmbach
(Wisconsin Public Radio)
12. Better Journalism for the
American West: Frank Allen,
Institutes for Journalism and Natural
Resources
13. Covering the Follies of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers: Michael
Grunwald, Washington Post
14. Water Wars in Your Backyard:
Stuart Leavenworth, The Sacramento
Bee
15. Turning Your Ink-Stained Opus
Into Gripping Television: Christy
George (Oregon Public Broadcasting),
Richard Milner (Public Affairs Media,
Inc. and Drake University)
16. Globalization's Impact: View from
the Third World: Rob Taylor,
International Center for Journalists
17. Freelance Environmental
Journalism: Print, TV, and Radio:
David Helvarg (journalist, author, TV
producer), Peter Fairley (freelance
journalist), Peter Thomson (independent
radio producer)
18. Environmental Reporting and SEJ
in Canada: Saul Chernos (freelance
journalist, Toronto), Jacques Rivard
(CBC, Vancouver)
19. Conflicted Journalism: Who's
Buying the Science?: Virginia A.
Sharpe (Center for Science in the Public
Interest), Steve Gurney (NRDC)
20. Covering Environmental
Justice: Valerie Taliman, Indian
Country Today
21. Global Warming and Big Business:
The Next 50 Years: Eileen Claussen
(Pew Center on Global Climate Change),
Tom Yulsman (University of Colorado)
22. Telling Environmental Stories
Online: Interactive Tools and
Databases: Adam Glenn (ABCnews.com),
Richard Wiles (Environmental Working
Group)
Location: International Ballroom
Break-Out Lunch
Sessions
12:00 – 1:45 p.m.
SEJ members only, please sign up near
the registration desk in advance for
these luncheon roundtable discussions in
separate rooms.
EPA PIOs Roundtable
Eager to meet the faces behind the
voices of EPA's media relations people?
Join numerous EPA reps from D.C. and
several regions at this luncheon
question-and-answer session. Learn about
response times and processes, or inquire
about upcoming developments.
Moderator:
Kevin Carmody, Environmental
Reporter, Austin
American-Statesman
EPA
representatives:
Bonnie Piper (HQ)
David Sternberg, Patrick Boyle,
and Roy Seneca (Region 3)
Wesley Lambert (Region 4)
Mick Hans (Region 5)
Cynthia Fanning (Region 6)
Mark Merchant and Leo Kay
(Region 9)
Bill Dunbar and Mark
MacIntyre (Region 10)
Location: McKeldon Room, Cabana Level
(concurrent with Network Lunch, and Department of the Interior
PIOs Roundtable)
Department of the
Interior PIOs Roundtable
Interior houses the Fish &
Wildlife Service, the National Park
Service, the Bureau of Land Management
(the government's largest land
manager), and several other lesser
known agencies. Join reps from across
the country to discuss communications
issues and the Bush Administration's
plans for our public lands.
Moderator: Peter Dykstra,
Executive Producer, Science and
Technology Unit, Cable News
Network
DOI
representatives:
Meg Durham, FWS
Michael Gauldin, Office of
Surface Mining
Scott Harris, USGS
Rem Hawes, BLM
Kip White, Bureau of
Reclamation
John Wright, Interior Sec. Gale
Norton's Office
Location: Schaefer Room, Cabana Level
(concurrent with Network Lunch,
and EPA PIOs
Roundtable)
Concurrent Sessions
2
2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
THE COAST:
Life on the Water: Rescuing
Resources on the Chesapeake, San
Francisco and Florida bays, the
Everglades and the Mississippi River
Delta
Coast to coast, the nation's estuaries
are suffering from loss of wetlands and
clean water, pollution and overfishing.
Delve into the problems and panaceas
unique to the great coastal water
bodies.
Moderator:
Jane Kay, Environment
Writer, San Francisco
Chronicle and Director,
Environmental Journalism Program,
University of California, Berkeley
Panelists:
Donald
Boesch, President, University of
Maryland Center for Environmental
Science
Michael Grunwald, The
Washington Post
Denise Reed, Department of
Geology and Geophysics, University of
New Orleans
Location: Pratt B Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CITY:
Environmental Health: Air Pollution
and Asthma
Air pollution from coal-fired power
plants is blamed for cutting short the
lives of 30,000 Americans every year.
Fine particle soot causes an estimated
600,000 asthma attacks annually. What
is the state of the science concerning
health effects of air pollution? And
what is being done about it? Has the
Bush administration really scuttled
enforcement actions that could
dramatically reduce air pollution? Or
is the Clear Skies Initiative a better
way to regulate some of the
nation’s largest pollution
sources?
Moderator:
Ken Ward, The
Charleston (W.Va.)
Gazette
Panelists:
John Bachmann, Associate
Director for Science/Policy and New
Programs, Office of Air Quality,
Planning and Standards, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
Eric Schaeffer, Executive
Director, Environmental Integrity
Project, Rockefeller Family Fund
Gene Trisko, Attorney, United
Mine Workers and Center for Energy and
Economic Development
Location: Hopkins Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE LAND:
Invading "Frankenfish"
and West Nile Virus: What's
Next?
The discovery of Asian snakeheads in
eastern waterways and the deadly
westward advance of West Nile virus
captured headlines recently while
dozens of other pests, pathogens,
plants, and animals invaded without
fanfare. What makes some invaders
headline news? What potential new
invaders are waiting in the wings? What
new laws and policies do government
agencies have in the works to stop
them? What policies would scientists
and activists like to see?
Moderator:
Scott Burke, The
(Annapolis, Md.) Capital
Panelists:
Yvonne Baskin, Author, "A
Plague of Rats and Rubbervines: The
Growing Threat of Species
Invasions"
Seth Borenstein, National
Correspondent, Washington Bureau,
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
William Gregg, Invasive Species
Program Coordinator, U.S. Geological
Survey, Dept. of Interior
Phyllis Windle, Senior
Scientist, Global Environment Program,
Union of Concerned Scientists, and
Project Director for landmark 1993
Congressional Office of Technology
Assessment report on "Harmful
Non-Indigenous Species in the United
States"
Location: E.A. Poe Room
THE GLOBE:
Dust in the Wind: The
Climate and Health Effects of Airborne
Dust Particles
From climate change to deadly Red
Tides, from human respiratory health to
devastating crop diseases, airborne
dust particles have a wide and
under-appreciated influence on health
and the environment. This session
features one of the country's senior
experts in dust science, along with
experts in satellite monitoring and
computer modeling of dust clouds and
the effects of mineral dust on human
health.
Moderator:
Patrick Barry, Science
Writer, Assistant Editor,
Science@NASA, Space
Science News
Panelists:
Paul Ginoux, Research
Scientist, Goddard Earth Sciences and
Technology Center (GEST), University of
Maryland
Joseph Prospero, Professor and
Director, Cooperative Institute of
Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS),
Rosenstiel School of Marine and
Atmospheric Science, University of
Miami
Marc Schenker, Professor and
Chair, Dept. of Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine, University of
California, Davis
Location: Preston Room, Cabana
Level
THE FEDS:
Big 10 Since 9/11: An
Insider's Look at the Big Ten
Environmental Groups
This panel probes the future of
environmental advocacy during an
ongoing war against terrorism. Is the
public still listening? What can
environmental groups hope to achieve
during the next couple of years of the
Bush Administration?
Moderator:
Ron Bailey, Science Correspondent,
Reason Magazine
Panelists:
Jamie Rappaport Clark, Senior
Vice President for Conservation
Programs, National Wildlife Federation,
and former Director, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
John Passacantando, Executive
Director, Greenpeace
Fred Smith, President,
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Jerry Taylor, Director of
Natural Resource Studies, Cato
Institute
Location: Pratt A Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CRAFT
I:
Alternatives to the
Newsroom: Can You Make a Living Writing
Environmental Books?
We all believe that few topics today
are as important as the environment. So
why are environmental topics a hard
sell with many book publishers? Some
won't touch books on environmental
subjects, saying they are unprofitable.
Are the publishers right? Do readers
just not care enough to invest their
time and money in a book? Or have we
failed to find our audience and refine
our message? We will discuss the latest
publishing trends and offer some tips
on how to package a proposal to catch
an editor's eye.
Moderator:
Marla Cone, Los Angeles
Times
Panelists:
Russell Galen, Literary Agent,
Scovil Chichak Galen Literary
Agency
Noel Grove, Freelance Writer,
Author and former National
Geographic Editor
David Helvarg, Author and
Freelance Writer
Location: Carroll Room, Ballroom
Level
THE CRAFT
II:
Environmental Journalism
Flowers Abroad
Journalists abroad brave grave risks
to report on environmental disasters
that often dwarf the worst seen in
North America. Journalists talk about
the growth in, and hazards of,
environmental journalism in Tasmania,
Perú, Ghana and China.
Moderator: Robert Taylor,
International Center for
Journalists
Panelists:
Joachim Ayiteh, Reporter,
Daily Guide, Accra, Ghana
Jim Detjen, Michigan State
University
Liana John, Science and
Environment Editor, Agencia Estado,
Ltda., Brazilian wire service
Libby Lester, University of
Tasmania, Australia
Location: D'Alesandro Room, Cabana
Level
SEJ Membership
Meeting
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
SEJ members are urged to attend their
annual membership meeting. Eligible
voters will cast old-fashioned
pen-and-ink ballots (no chads) to fill
seats on the board of directors. Members
will also hear brief reports from SEJ
officers and executive director and have
the opportunity to discuss new business
or share concerns.
Location: Carroll Room
Hospitality
Events
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
SEJ welcomes independent hosts of
hospitality events. Please check your
conference folder for locations and
descriptions of these events.
Reception at the National
Aquarium
7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
This remarkable facility, a downtown
Baltimore landmark since 1981, provides a
spectacular setting for the Friday night
event. The Aquarium — including
more than 14,000 different animals in
captivating exhibits, and one-of-a-kind
architecture — is located in the
Inner Harbor, within easy walking
distance of the Wyndham Hotel. The event
is hosted by the University System of
Maryland. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be
served; a cash bar will also be
available.
Note: Four
limited-space tours have been added
to this evening's National Aquarium
Reception. Please sign up near the SEJ
Membership table on the Wyndham's
Promenade.
Speaker: William E. Kirwan,
Chancellor, University System of
Maryland
Reception
logistics: Buses
stage on Liberty Street beginning at 6:30
p.m. Exit doors are located at the bottom
of the spiral staircase in the Liberty
Ballroom lobby. Continuous looping
shuttle service will be available from
6:30 p.m. until 10:15 p.m between the
Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel and the Pratt
Street trolley lane in front of pier 4, a
half-block from the National Aquarium.
Departure will be every 10 -15 minutes
depending on traffic. It is only a
10-minute walk. Check the map in your
conference folder.
New Tours at the
National Aquarium
Reception!
Two Rainforest Guided
Tours
8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
A herpetologist will lead up to 12
people at a time on these two hour-long
tours. Animals in the exhibit include
scarlet ibis, sunbitterns, parrots, and
even the screaming piha, the loudest
bird in the world. You may see poison
dart frogs, smooth sided toads, and
marine toads — and if you don't
see them, you will certainly hear them!
Signed-up attendees should meet their
tour leader five minutes before the
scheduled tour time. The location at
which to meet will be posted here
shortly.
Two Behind-the-Scenes
Tours: Marine Animal Rescue Program and
Hospital Pool
8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Explore the Aquarium's Marine Mammal
Rescue Program in one of these two
50-minute tours. Ocean Health Manager
David Schofield will lead up to 15
people per tour. Just yards away from
the reception, visit the mid-Atlantic's
largest hospital pool, see the tools of
the rescue trade, and learn how animal
strandings are directly related to
declining ocean health. Signed-up
attendees should meet their tour leader
five minutes before the scheduled tour
time. The location at which to meet
will be posted here shortly.
Back to the
top
Saturday, October 12:
Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel
All events are at the Wyndham Inner
Harbor Hotel, 101 West Fayette Street,
Baltimore, Maryland, unless indicated
otherwise.
Adult
osprey and young
|
|
Photo by
Kim Hairston, Baltimore
Sun
|
All Day:
A cash-and-carry kiosk will be
located directly outside the
International Ballroom where participants
may purchase assorted breakfast items.
Complimentary coffee, decaf, tea, juice
and water will also be available in the
International Ballroom, in the literature
and display area.
-
Registration
Location: Promenade
-
SEJ Membership
Table
Sign-up for Friday breakout lunch
sessions, as well as Saturday
mini-tours and breakout breakfast
sessions. (Breakout meal sessions are
for SEJ members only.)
Location: Promenade
-
SEJ Reading Room and
Awards Display
Location: Promenade
-
Goodkind of Sound
Conference Session Audio Tapes
Location: Promenade
-
Press Room
Location: Douglas Room, Lower
Level
-
Silent Auction to benefit
SEJ’s 21st Century
Fund
Location: International
Ballroom
Literature
Tables
7:30 a.m. – 2:15
p.m.
Browse for information, news and
opinions from a variety of sources.
Location: International Ballroom
Beat
Breakfast
7:30 - 8:45 a.m.
Get up to speed and share your
experience covering some of the hottest
topics in environmental journalism. What
are the issues? Who are the key sources?
And how can you sell your audience,
colleagues, and editors on it? Learn and
share in a participatory discussion
moderated by the table leader. Arrive
early so you'll have plenty of time to
enjoy the conversation. A full hot
breakfast buffet will be available.
Discussion
Tables:
1. Hurricanes: How Long Can You Tread
Water?: Mark Schleifstein, New
Orleans Times-Picayune
2. Regional Haze: More Than Meets the
Eye: Julie Thomas, National Park
Service
3. Air Quality: Ozone, Particulates,
Metals, CO2, and Bush's Clear Skies:
Neil Strassman (Ft. Worth
Star-Telegram), Frank O'Donnell
(Clean Air Trust)
4. Greenwashing for the 21st
Century: Phil Bailey,
SustainAbility
5. Indoor Air Quality: Of Mites and
Mold:
Jeffrey May, IAQ investigator and
author of "My House Is Killing Me! The
Home Guide for Families with Asthma and
Allergies"
6. PCBs: New Trends in Health,
Liability, and Cleanup: Elizabeth
Bluemink, Anniston Star and Ted
Scripps fellow
7. Under Pressure in Oz: Challenges
to Australian Environmental
Journalism: Libby Lester, University
of Tasmania
8. Wake Up and Smell the Sludge (on
the Crops): Jeff South, Virginia
Commonwealth University
9. The US: The Most Overpopulated
Nation: Alan Kuper, Comprehensive US
Sustainable Population (CUSP)
10. Teaching Environmental Journalism
Full-Time and Part-Time: Jim Detjen
(Michigan State University), Peter Lord
(Providence Journal and Metcalf
Institute for Marine and Environmental
Reporting, University of Rhode
Island)
11. The Public Health Angle: Get
Better Play for Your Environment
Stories: Emilia Askari, Detroit
Free Press
12. The Trouble with Wildfire
Coverage: Frank Allen, Institutes for
Journalism and Natural Resources
13. Western Public Lands Grazing
Issues: Keith Raether, National
Public Lands Grazing Campaign
14. Brownfields in a New Era:
Patricia Villone Garcia, (CTV News,
Maryland),
Francesca Lyman ("Your Environment"
Columnist, MSNBC, and Author)
15. The Hidden Epidemic: Death and
Disease in the Work Environment:
Scott Schneider, Laborers' Health and
Safety Fund of North America
16. Noxious Weeds: The Battle
Continues: Dr. Deborah Hayes, USDA
Invasive Species Coordinator
Location: International Ballroom
Break-Out Breakfast
Sessions
7:30 – 8:45 a.m.
SEJ members only, please sign up near
the registration desk in advance for
these breakfast roundtable discussions in
separate rooms.
Breakfast Gathering for SEJ
Mentors and Mentees
SEJ's Mentoring Program
matches experienced professionals with
journalists who are newer to the beat.
Mentors offer one-on-one advice, writing
critiques and other assistance. This
breakfast discussion offers a chance to
meet other mentors and mentees, get
involved, and help brainstorm the new
project's future.
Hosts:
Orna Izakson, Freelance
Writer
Dawn Stover, Science Editor,
Popular Science
Location: Calhoun Room, Cabana Level
(concurrent with Beat Breakfast and 1st
Amendment Issues Breakfast Session)
1st Amendment Issues: SEJ
Defending Your First Amendment
Rights
Join SEJ leaders, who have been
working closely with other journalism
groups, at this roundtable discussion
about efforts to protect journalists'
access to information. Discussion will
include the FOIA exemption in Homeland
Security Act of 2002, and more.
Moderator:
Ken Ward, The
Charleston (W.Va.)
Gazette
Panelists:
Jim Bruggers, The
Louisville Courier-Journal, and
SEJ President
Robert Lystad, Baker & Hostetler
and SPJ’s 1st Amendment
attorney
Joe Davis, freelance journalist and
editor
Location: McKeldon Room, Cabana Level
(concurrent with Beat Breakfast and
Mentoring Program Breakfast
Session)
Concurrent Sessions
3
9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
THE COAST:
Whose Fish Are They?
This panel will be a freewheeling
discussion of the top fisheries
management issues of the day, from IFQs
to marine sanctuaries. Designed to help
reporters frame forward-looking
coverage of the fisheries issues in
their communities, the discussion will
also touch on how the upcoming
reauthorization of the Magnuson Act
will address this critical question of
how the oft-competing interests of
conservationists, fishermen, processors
and industry will be balanced in the
future.
Moderator:
Anita Huslin, Bay Reporter, The
Washington Post
Panelists:
Jean
Flemma, Minority Legislative Staff
Member, Committee on Resources
Jerry
Fraser, Editor, National
Fisherman Magazine
Daniel
Pauly, Fisheries Centre
Andrew Rosenberg, Dean, College
of Life Sciences and Agriculture,
University of New Hampshire
Mike Sutton, Director of
Sustainable Fisheries Program, David
& Lucile Packard Foundation
Location: Pratt B Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CITY:
Understanding Cancer Clusters: On
the Verge of a Breakthrough, or Just
Spinning Our Wheels?
Three prominent voices on the issue
— an advocate, an academic and a
state health official — bring
three very different perspectives to
this complex and always controversial
topic. They'll talk about the latest
"health tracking" proposals on Capitol
Hill, discuss new developments in
environmental epidemiology, take us on
a tour of recent cluster hotspots, and
debate whether conventional
investigations of neighborhood clusters
are a waste of time and money.
Moderator:
Dan Fagin,
Newsday
Panelists:
Alan Bender, Section Chief,
Chronic Disease and Environmental
Epidemiology, Minnesota Department of
Health
Thomas Burke, Associate
Professor and Co-director of the Risk
Sciences and Public Policy Institute at
the Bloomberg School of Public Health,
Johns Hopkins University
Shelley Hearne, Executive
Director, Trust for America's
Health
Location: Hopkins Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE LAND:
IQ Test for Smart Growth: Is It
Working?
Maryland is a national leader in the
planning movement known as Smart
Growth. But is Maryland really smarter
than the rest of the country? Are its
policies making a difference? This
session will examine Gov. Parris
Glendening’s record in countering
sprawl and promoting transit-friendly
development, open space and affordable
housing. It will also examine the
record of other states, and whether the
media should get an "A" or an "F" for
its coverage.
Moderator:
Stuart Leavenworth, Staff
Writer, The Sacramento Bee
Panelists:
Robert Bullard, WARE Professor
of Sociology, Author and Professor of
Sociology, Clark University,
Atlanta
Don Chen, Executive Director,
Smart Growth America
Charles D. Ellison,
Developer/Vice President, Miller and
Smith Land Inc.
Harriet Tregoning, Special
Secretary, Maryland Office of Smart
Growth
Location: E.A. Poe Room
THE GLOBE:
The Road from Rio: How a Decade of
Diplomacy has Worked for — and
Against — the Earth
Ten years ago, history's largest
gathering of heads of state, the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro, launched a
new age of high-profile environmental
diplomacy. Journalists who might have
had only a passing familiarity with the
topic suddenly became aware of how
international accords on everything
from trade to global warming might
affect their readers’ and
viewers’ lives. With Johannesburg
just behind us, this panel looks at how
well, or poorly, the big treaties are
working.
Moderator:
Randy Loftis, Dallas Morning
News
Panelists:
Hilary French, Director, Global
Governance Project, Worldwatch
Institute
Karin Krchnak, Population &
Environment Program Manager,
International Affairs Office, National
Wildlife Federation
S. Jacob Scherr, Director,
International Program, Natural
Resources Defense Council
Fred Smith, President,
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Location: Preston Room, Cabana
Level
THE FEDS:
Do Critters Have Rights? Endangered
Species, Wetlands and the Federal
Courts
In recent years, some of the most
important extensions of protection for
biodiversity and ecosystems have come
from federal courts. For more than a
decade, the courts have been friendly
to green litigation, requiring
management changes in broad swaths of
forest or forcing protection of
endangered species. But new arguments,
new cases and a new administration now
are shifting that balance. What
direction are federal courts heading on
matters affecting wildlife? What are
the emerging arguments on endangered
species, wetlands and private vs.
public rights?
Moderator:
Orna Izakson, Freelance
Writer
Panelists:
Eric Glitzenstein, Attorney,
Meyer & Glitzenstein
Steve Nickelsburg, Attorney,
Hunton & Williams
Patrick Parenteau, Professor,
Vermont Law School
Steve Quarles, Attorney,,
Crowell & Moring
Location: Pratt A Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CRAFT
I:
Think Globally, Report
Locally: Strategies for Teaching
Environmental Journalism
Veteran teachers and environmental
journalists share their classroom tips
and secrets on teaching the next
generation of print reporters and
broadcasters. Of particular note is the
idea that although many environmental
stories have national or international
impact, one way to teach students to
handle the big issues is to get them to
start thinking about how to localize
them.
Moderator:
Carol Rogers, Lecturer,
Philip Merrill College of Journalism,
University of Maryland, College Park,
and Editor, Science
Communication
Panelists:
Frank Allen, President and
Executive Director, Institutes for
Journalism & Natural Resources
Jane Kay, Environment Writer,
San Francisco Chronicle and
Director, Environmental Journalism
Program, University of California,
Berkeley
William Kovarik, Associate
Professor of Media Studies, Radford
University
Mark Neuzil, Associate Professor
and Chair, Department of Journalism and
Mass Communication, University of St.
Thomas
Location: Carroll Room
Coffee Break
10:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Location: International Ballroom
Concurrent Sessions
4
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
THE COAST:
Storm Warning — Ocean Science
and Policy: Can They Mesh Before
Disaster Strikes?
Some of the best available marine
science is producing some of the worst
imaginable scenarios on the collapse of
ocean fisheries and wildlife, loss of
habitat, nutrient pollution, coastal
sprawl and climate impacts on the seas,
ranging from intensified hurricanes to
dying corals. Still, ocean policymakers
are failing to heed the warnings of
oceanographers, marine biologists and
others studying our ability to sustain
and benefit from our living seas. Now,
two national commissions have been
established to recommend new policy
approaches to ocean governance. Storm
Warning will have scientist members
from both commissions as well as two
journalists who cover the ocean
addressing why this gap exists and how
it can be bridged.
Moderator:
David Helvarg,
Author, "Blue Frontier — Saving
America's Living Seas"
Panelists:
Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and
Gladys Valley Professor of Marine
Biology, Distinguished Professor of
Zoology, Oregon State University
Andy
Rosenberg, Dean of Life Sciences,
University of New Hampshire, and a
member of the Bush-appointed U.S.
Commission on Ocean Policy
Ken
Weiss, Reporter, Los Angeles
Times, and one of a handful of
U.S. journalists working the "ocean
beat" on a full-time basis
Location: Pratt B Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CITY:
Urban Centers' Crumbling
Infrastructure: From Sewage Spills to
Tainted Drinking Water
America's major cities were built on an
infrastructure that was ahead of its
time. Unfortunately, the future these
systems were designed for has long come
and gone. They have outlived their
designed life and the series of patches
on patches have worn thin. Now, cities
and suburbs face growing pressures to
maintain a quality of life when the key
systems they need can't support them.
This panel will look at the state of
urban infrastructure, where it is
headed, and what that portends for the
future.
Moderator: Roger Witherspoon,
Environment Reporter, The Journal
News, Whiteplains, N.Y.
Panelists:
Lawrence Lang, Deputy Chief,
Operations Division, Civil Works
Directorate, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
Betsy Otto, Senior Director,
Watersheds Program, American Rivers
George Winfield, Director,
Baltimore City Department of Public
Works
Location: Hopkins Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE LAND:
Fossils, Old Maps and
Faded Photographs
Scientists are turning to unusual
sources to learn what degraded
ecosystems once were like. Find out how
paleontology, archaeology and
historical research are shaping
environmental restoration — and
can enrich your stories. Panelists will
describe their work in the Chesapeake
Bay underwater meadows, in the
Everglades' river of grass and among
Hawaii's critically endangered forest
birds.
Moderator:
Heather Dewar, Baltimore
Sun
Panelists:
Helen James, Bird Division,
Smithsonian Institution
Christopher McVoy, Everglades
Research Department, South Florida
Water Management District
Michael Naylor, Maryland
Department of Natural Resources
Location: E.A. Poe Room
THE GLOBE:
NAFTA, FTAA, GATT and
Globalization: Trading Away the
Environment?
Trade liberalization agreements were
ushered in with promises of
environmental protection. With NAFTA
nine years under our belt, prospects
for a wider FTAA, and huge strides made
towards globalization, the effects of
trade and other international economic
agreements continue to be hotly
debated.
Moderator: Saul Chernos,
Freelance Journalist
Panelists:
Laura Lynch, Washington
Correspondent, CBC Radio
Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, Staff
Writer, Claridad, San Juan,
Puerto Rico, and Freelance
Correspondent for Inter Press Service,
La Jornada, Mexico City, and
Report on the Americas
Tseming Yang, Associate
Professor of Law, Vermont Law School,
and member of the U.S. EPA's National
Environmental Justice Advisory
Council
Location: Preston Room, Cabana
Level
THE FEDS:
From TR to W: Tracing
Republican Environmentalism
Does the Bush Administration's
environmental policy reflect a
long-held Republican philosophy on
public lands management and pollution
control or is it forging new ground? An
insider, a critic and a defector debate
the Republican vision of environmental
policy as practiced in the past and
present.
Moderator:
Elizabeth Shogren, Los
Angeles Times
Panelists:
Martha Marks, President,
Republicans for Environmental
Protection
Lynn Scarlett, Assistant
Secretary for Policy, Management and
Budget, Department of Interior, and
former President and CEO of the Reason
Foundation
Eric Schaeffer, Executive
Director, Environmental Integrity
Project, Rockefeller Family Fund
Location: Pratt A Room, Lower Level,
South Tower
THE CRAFT:
Ethics and Environmental
Journalism: Good Decisions and Great
Journalism
Presenter Bob Steele, ethics program
director of The Poynter Institute, will
lead a spirited discussion on the
ethical challenges you face in your
reporting. Bring your issues and your
good thoughts to this very interactive
session. Steele co-authored the ASNE
Newspaper Credibility Report and the
RTNDA Newsroom Ethics handbook.
Presenter:
Bob Steele, Ethics Program
Director, The Poynter Institute
Location: Carroll Room
Lunch and Plenary
Session
12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Voting Green: Politics and
Environmental Policy
With important mid-term Congressional
elections only a few weeks after we meet,
we'll hear from top Democratic and
Republican leaders, as well as
environmental activists and others, on
how environment policy has changed during
the first two years of the Bush
Administration and what impact it may
have on the November elections. A full
service luncheon will be provided.
Moderator: Christy George,
Producer, Oregon Public Broadcasting
Speakers:
James Connaughton, Chairman of
the White House Council on Environmental
Quality
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest,
R-MD
Debra Callahan, President, League
of Conservation Voters
Rep. Edward Markey, D-MA
Media
Panel:
Peter Dykstra, Executive
Producer, Science and Technology Unit,
Cable News Network
John Heilprin, Environment
Reporter, Associated Press
Margie Kriz, Environment and
Energy Reporter, National
Journal
Location: International Ballroom
Computer-Assisted Reporting
Workshop
2:15 - 5:30 p.m.
This session is designed to give
reporters an introduction to
computer-assisted reporting and using it
to find stories in environmental data. It
will focus on Mastering the Spreadsheet,
including: Performing simple calculations
and sorting; importing data from the Web
into spreadsheets; using Excel to analyze
environmental data; and learning pivot
tables, filtering and more. This hands-on
class in a state-of-the-art computer lab
will be led by veteran users of
computer-assisted reporting. Space is
limited. Sign up on-site at the
registration desk.
Moderator: Ron Nixon, Training
Director, National Institute for
Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR),
Investigative Reporters and Editors
Presenters:
Ira Chinoy, Philip Merrill
College of Journalism, University of
Maryland, College Park
Jeff
South, Virginia Commonwealth
University
Logistics: The cap on the attendance size
for this hands-on workshop is 26. The
sign-up sheet is located near the
registration desk. The workshop will be
held in the Health Sciences and Human
Services Library, 601 West Lombard
Street, corner of Lombard and Greene,
Classroom 3, LL05, Lab 26. Please see the
area map in your conference folder for
directions. In the event of inclement
weather, a shuttle bus option will be
available at the Liberty Street exit of
the Wyndham Hotel.
Mini-Tours
2:15 - 5:30 p.m.
Logistics: Space is
strictly limited. You must preregister to
attend. Sign up beginning Wednesday
afternoon at the SEJ membership tables in
Wyndham's Promenade. Last-minute
attendees only as space allows. Buses
will stage on Liberty Street beginning at
2:15 p.m. Exit doors are located at the
bottom of the spiral staircase in the
Liberty Ballroom lobby. All tours will
conclude at the same location at
approximately 5:30 p.m.
Autumn Wildflowers at
Soldier's Delight
Visit a serpentine barren, a dry,
prairie-like ecosystem that supports
dozens of rare, threatened, or
endangered wildflowers including the
purple-blue fringed gentian, serpentine
aster, and blazing star. This tour will
involve about 2 hours of hiking on
gravelly paths over hilly terrain.
Sturdy, closed-toe shoes a must. Find
more information on this site here.
Tour
Leader:
Cheryl
Hogue, Chemical &
Engineering News
Speakers:
Jennifer
Cline, Park Naturalist, Soldier's
Delight Natural Environmental Area
Doug Samson, Director of
Conservation Science, The Nature
Conservancy of
Maryland/DC
Smart Growth and
Brownfields
Learn about Maryland's efforts to make
urban cities more attractive. Tour two
or three former brownfield sites and
see firsthand how the state is using a
variety of smart growth incentives to
encourage redevelopment. Moderate
walking involved.
Tour
Leaders:
Patricia Villone Garcia,
Anchor/Reporter, CTV News-Ch. 76
Francesca Lyman, "Your
Environment" Columnist, MSNBC, and
Author of a forthcoming book, "Twelve
Gates to the City"
Speakers:
Sharon Grinnell, Chief
Operating Officer, Baltimore
Development Corporation
Mary
Heinreicht, Mid-Atlantic Director,
American Farmland Trust
Karl Kalbacher, Administrator,
Environmental Restoration and
Redevelopment, Maryland Department of
the Environment
Josh Neiman, Development
Director, Struever Brothers, Eccles
& Rouse
Baltimore's Urban
Ecology
Tour Baltimore's Long-Term Ecological
Research program site, as well as
portions of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a
major interdisciplinary scientific
study that aims to understand
metropolitan Baltimore as a dynamic
ecological system. Issues to be
discussed include: environmental
justice, greenspace equity, urban decay
and environmental quality.
Tour
Leaders:
Kathie Durbin, Special Projects
Reporter, The (Vancouver)
Columbian
David Padgett, Assistant
Professor of Geography and Director of
the Geographic Information Sciences
Laboratory, Tennessee State University,
and founder/Chief Consultant for
GEO-MENTAL
Speaker:
J. Morgan Grove, Research
Scientist, USDA Forest Service
Lead Poisoning in
Baltimore
Learn what childhood lead poisoning is
really about. We'll take you into the
inner city to look at homes that have
poisoned children and to meet families
of victims. We'll show you how easy it
is to test for lead on painted
surfaces. We'll visit a hospital ward
where poisoned children are treated and
meet activists working to clean up this
insidious problem. We'll also hear from
two history professors from New York
who are publishing a history this fall
of the lead paint industry.
Tour
Leaders:
Jim Haner, The Baltimore
Sun
Peter Lord, Environmental
Reporter, Providence
Journal
Speakers:
Gerald Markowitz, Professor of
History, John Jay College
David Rosner, Professor of
Sociomedical Sciences and History, and
Director, Center for the History and
Ethics of Public Health, Columbia
University
Kayak Baltimore’s
Inner Harbor
Kayak one of the nation's great
industrial ports, Baltimore Harbor at
the mouth of the Patapsco River.
Weather permitting, we will paddle to
Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key
was inspired to write the Star Spangled
Banner, and look at a marsh restoration
project. We'll launch from one of the
last patches of natural waterfront on
the harbor. Kayak rental is $30 per
person. Paddle at your own risk.
Tour
Leaders:
Tom Horton, Columnist, The
Baltimore Sun, and Author, "Bay
Country," "An Island Out of Time," and
"The Great Marsh: An Intimate Journey
into a Chesapeake Wetland"
Van Smith, City Paper
Bike Break
Take an exercise break and hear
national experts discuss how greenways
are designed and developed, sometimes
against great odds. We'll tour the
Maryland countryside by bike on a
scenic section of the North Central
Railroad Trail, a nationally
recognized, 55-mile Rails-To-Trails
greenway linking Baltimore's northern
suburbs with towns and cities in
southern PA. Bike and helmet rentals
are available at the site for $8 per
hour. Discussion will include how sites
are acquired, funded and improved and
what hurdles stand in the way. (Bike at
your own risk.)
Tour
Leaders:
Scott
Broom, Reporter, WMAR-TV
Noel Grove, Freelance Writer,
Author and former National
Geographic Editor
Speakers:
Robert Marconi, Area Manager,
Gunpowder Falls State Park
Karen Stewart, Vice President,
Communications, Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy
Logistics: TBA
Chesapeake Frankenfish:
Fact or Fiction?
Tour the Center of Marine Biotechnology
for a behind-the-scenes look at
cutting-edge — and sometimes
controversial — biochemical
investigations quietly propelling a new
era in commercial fishing and
aquaculture. Against a backdrop of
COMB's huge indoor research aquaria,
we'll explore the feasibility of
restocking the Chesapeake with
hatchery-raised species. And get our
hands wet as scientists, fishery
biologists, and environmentalists
discuss the pros and cons of
domesticating and manipulating the
biochemistries of marine creatures.
You'll also be briefed on the very
latest research with PCB-eating
microbes and tour a fermentation lab
that houses one of the country's
largest collections of "extremophiles"
— the critters normally found in
volcanic deep-sea vents and other
over-the-top marine environments.
You'll even get to feed the stingrays
just like in those cruise-ship
commercials.
Tour
Leader:
Christina Johnson, Science
Writer, California Sea Grant
Speakers:
Steve Berberich, University of
Maryland Biotechnology Institute's
Center of Marine Biotechnology
Shiladitya DasSarma, University
of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's
Center of Marine Biotechnology
Rebecca Goldburg, Senior
Scientist, Environmental Defense
William Goldsborough, Senior
Scientist, Chesapeake Bay
Foundation
Allen Place, University of
Maryland Biotechnology Institute's
Center of Marine Biotechnology
Frank Robb, University of
Maryland Biotechnology Institute's
Center of Marine Biotechnology
John Stubblefield, University
of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's
Center of Marine Biotechnology
Joy Elizabeth Margaret Watts,
University of Maryland Biotechnology
Institute's Center of Marine
Biotechnology
Yonathan Zohar, Director,
University of Maryland Biotechnology
Institute's Center of Marine
Biotechnology
Superfund: Past, Present,
and Future
Toxic tour! Smell it, taste it in the
air! Network with your peers while
socking golf balls on an active,
controversial Superfund site! Only $5
for 50 balls. We'll check out two
Superfund sites, drive past a third,
and also drive past the largest medical
waste incinerator in the world. Learn
about innovative technologies for
cleaning up highly contaminated sites,
new business approaches for enticing
redevelopment, and how changes in
funding for brownfields might influence
Superfund cleanup plans.
Tour
Leader:
Debbie Schwartz, Freelance
Reporter and Editor
Speakers:
Chris Corbett, Senior Remedial
Project Manager, EPA, Region 3
hazardous sites cleanup division and a
former Environmental Scientist for the
U.S. army
Terry
Harris, President, Baltimore
Cleanup Coalition and Attorney,
specializing in environmental law
Mike Hill, Senior Vice
President, TRC Companies, Inc.
Mary Rosso, delegate to the
Maryland State legislature, and
environmental activist
Dinner on your
own
5:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Please check addendum for possible
addition of independent hospitality
events at this time.
SEJ
Coffeehouse
9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Join us in the International Ballroom
Saturday evening at 9:00 pm for SEJ
Coffeehouse, a showcase which will
feature readings of works by local
writers, performers, artists and an open
mike for readings and music jamming by
our inimitable SEJ members! There will be
assorted snacks and desserts available,
as well as coffee, tea and cider. An
international coffee cash bar, featuring
specialty coffee drinks will be
available, as well as a standard cash
bar. Authors, performers and artists will
also have their works available for
purchase. "Prizes" will be awarded to all
those members who take part.
Local
Talent:
Karren Lalonde Alenier,
Yvette Barnes,
Myong-Hee Kim,
Vladmir Levchev,
Miles David Moore,
L. D. Stewart,
Hilary Tham
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Sunday, October 13: USFWS
National Wildlife Visitor
Center
Logistics: Buses will
stage on Liberty Street beginning at 7:45
a.m. for the 30-minute drive to Patuxent.
Exit doors are located at the bottom of
the spiral staircase in the Liberty
Ballroom lobby. Complimentary coffee,
decaf, tea, juice and water will be
available.
Buses will be leaving Patuxent
promptly at 12:15 p.m. to the hotel or to
make drop-offs at the following
locations: Amtrak Station — BWI,
1:30 p.m., BWI, Main Entrance, 1:40 p.m.,
Amtrak Penn Station — downtown
Baltimore, 2:10 p.m., concluding at the
Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel at 2:30 p.m.
Buses will be marked; individuals not
returning to the hotel must place their
luggage on the drop-off bus.
Birding, Nature Hikes and
Tram Rides Around Grounds
8:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Upon arrival at the Visitor Center,
we'll get a 10-minute introduction about
the facility and grounds, and options for
the morning. USFWS leaders will take
attendees on birding and other nature
hikes, and two 40-person, 35-minute tram
tours will also be available, the first
one leaving about 9:00 a.m., and the
second about 9:45 a.m. Attendees can opt
for early breakfast and late tram ride or
vice versa.
Breakfast
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Location: Rachel Carson Conference
Center
Revisiting "Silent Spring":
Rachel Carson’s
Legacy
10:30 a.m. – 12:00
p.m.
A distinguished panel — including
Carson’s biographer, one of the
world’s leading scientists, the
former head of the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service and an environmental
activist who knew and defended Carson
— will examine the works and legacy
of the woman who is often cited as the
font of the nation's modern environmental
movement and environmental journalism.
The panel will also explore how Carson's
most famous work, "Silent Spring," has
withstood time and criticism, which
persists today.
Moderator: Mike Mansur, Kansas
City Star
Speakers:
Jamie Rappaport Clark, Senior
Vice President for Conservation Programs,
National Wildlife Federation, and former
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
Roland Clement, former Vice
President of the National Audubon
Society, who defended Carson against her
critics in the 1960s
Linda Lear, Author, Rachel
Carson's biography, "Rachel Carson:
Witness for Nature," and other
publications on Carson, including the
introduction to the new 40th anniversary
edition of "Silent Spring"
Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys
Valley Professor of Marine Biology,
Distinguished Professor of Zoology,
Oregon State University
Location: Aldo Leopold Auditorium
Post-Conference Tour:
Disappearing Act
Logistics: Bus
will depart the Wyndham hotel at 8:45
a.m. Sunday and return to Baltimore
around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday. You must be
pre-registered to attend the
post-conference tour. Substitutions may
be made until departure.
Spend the night on Smith Island, a
traditional watermen's community 12 miles
offshore in the Chesapeake Bay. Hear
about the island's history, sample its
culture and learn how centuries of
isolation shaped the locals' view of bay
ecology. Hear also about their fading
fisheries and eroding homes. Do a little
fishing, a little kayaking, eat some
seafood, go count cats. Then, journey to
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge to
view bald eagles and tens of thousands of
songbirds and waterfowl drawn to this
sprawling marshland on the bay shore.
Hear from refuge managers about the
challenges to its existence from climate
change — and from voracious furry
foreign invaders, nutria.
Tour
Leaders:
Chris Guy, Reporter, The
Baltimore Sun
Tom Horton, Columnist, The
Baltimore Sun, and Author, "Bay
Country," "An Island Out of Time," and,
with David Harp, "The Great Marsh: An
Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake
Wetland"
Recycling at the 2002
Society of Environmental Journalists
Annual Conference is being provided by
independent initiative of The Coca-Cola
Company, the National Association of
Service and Conservation Corps, Civic
Works, and the Montgomery County
Conservation Corps. (Director's
note: SEJ does not receive funding
from any of these organizations.)
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