History group to explore environmental ethics and activism, March 28-31

The American Society for Environmental History (ASEH) will explore the theme “From the Local to the Global: Ethics, Environmentalism, and Environmental History in an Interdependent World” at its 2012 conference in Madison.

The event, hosted by the Nelson Institute Center for Culture, History and Environment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will take place at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, March 28-31, in Madison.

It will feature more than 100 sessions, several workshops, and 10 field trips, including outings to Aldo Leopold’s shack along the Wisconsin River, John Muir’s boyhood home near Montello, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, and more.

Several events at the conference will honor the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson.

“Silent Spring” launched a new era of environmentalism across the United States and the world,” explains Lawrence Culver, program committee chair for the ASEH conference. “The 2012 conference will link Rachel Carson’s life and work to contemporary environmental issues and explore historical perspectives on land management, disease eradication, atomic energy and other topics.”

The conference will feature a free public lecture by Jennifer Price, author of “Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America,” titled “Stop Saving the Planet, Already! — and Other Tips from Rachel Carson for 21st-Century Environmentalists.”

Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Christof Mauch of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany; Nancy Langston, a UW–Madison environmental historian; Lisa Sideris an associate professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University; and University of Utah historian Lawrence Culver.

The four-day event also links with the Nelson Institute’s environmental film festival, Tales from Planet Earth, which will run March 25-31 in venues on campus and downtown.