2004 Earth Week Celebrations Planned

Common Ground, an environmental and social justice student organization at Plymouth State University, is sponsoring several events on the campus in celebration of Earth Day 2004. All events are free and open to the public. On Monday April 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the HUB, Harry Vogel, Director of the Loon Center in Moultonborough, N.H., will speak on “Loons and Loon Preservation in New Hampshire.” The Loon Center is the headquarters of the Loon Preservation Society, a self-funded project of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.On Tuesday April 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room, Tracy Wood from Durham, will be speaking on “Biodiesel: The Biodegradable, Renewable, USA-Made Fuel Source.” Ms. Wood formerly used her own equipment to produce Biodiesel fuel in her home. She has donated her equipment to the newly-formed Oyster River Biofuel Initiative in the Durham area, and works as their technical support volunteer.The third event of “Earth Week 2004” will examine how environmental pressures around the world can sometimes lead to political crises and violence. Rebecca Field, PSU faculty member in the Biological Sciences Department, will show a documentary entitled “Journey to Planet Earth: On the Brink” and lead a discussion of the issues raised. The showing and discussion will take place on Wednesday April 21, at 7:00 p.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room.On Earth Day itself, Thursday April 22, the fourth event will be an Earth Day and Natural Highs Week Fair. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the HUB, in the lounge and hallway outside the bookstore and snack bar. A number of tables will be set up to celebrate Earth Day and Natural Highs Week. There will be free organic smoothies, lots of current environmental information, a table display from the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and information on how to measure your ecological footprint. Natural Highs Week will also have many tables and activities.The fifth and last event of Earth Week 2004 will be a presentation on genetic engineering, specifically on genetically-engineered foods. Kaitlin Nichols will speak on “Genetic Engineering: The Threat to Farmers, Personal Health, and the Environment” on Thursday April 22 at 5:00 p.m. in Boyd Hall Room 144. Ms. Nichols is the Regional Coordinator for the True Food Network www.truefoodnow.org. The True Food Network works to connect consumers who want to take action to end the use of genetically-engineered (GE) ingredients in our foods. The Network calls on food companies, like Safeway and Shaw’s, to remove GE ingredients from their store-brand products, because of the dangers to health and the environment. True Food Network is a project of the Genetic Engineering Action Network in Somerville, MA www.geaction.org.