Calendar Highlights

Earth Day discussion to feature Gaylord Nelson

Thirty-two years after he founded Earth Day to raise public awareness about environmental issues, Gaylord Nelson is still a resolute voice for the earth.

Nelson will join several faculty members on the eve of Earth Day in a free public discussion at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, Pyle Center. They will discuss: “Environment, Population, Sustainable Development: Where Do We Go From Here?”

As a Wisconsin state senator and governor, Nelson drew attention to issues of land protection, wildlife habitat and environmental quality. Nelson, now 85, is perhaps best known as the founder of Earth Day. Millions of Americans participated in the first observance on April 22, 1970.

Since leaving the U.S. Senate in 1981, Nelson has campaigned for environmental stewardship as a counselor for the Wilderness Society. He advocates protecting America’s national forests, parks and other public lands from development. He also calls for population control and environmentally sustainable development.

His efforts have earned widespread admiration, affection and acclaim. In 1995 Nelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Information: 263-5599.

Climate expert to speak
Daniel Bodansky, coordinator of the federal government’s climate change policy during the final two years of the Clinton administration, will give a free public lecture Thursday, April 18.

“Global Climate Change Law and Policy: The Growing Split Between U.S. and European Climate Change Policies” is the topic of his presentation at 3:30 p.m. in 2260 Law Building, 975 Bascom Mall.

Bodansky, a senior negotiator for the U.S. State Department in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations from 1999-2001, is now a law professor at the University of Washington. While at the State Department, he headed the U.S. delegation to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Plenary (2000) and Working Group III (2001). He also has been a consultant to the United Nations.

Information: 265-4187.

Student art now showing
The annual Student Art Show is on display through May 12 in the Wisconsin Union Art Galleries. Sixty-five pieces from 30 undergraduates artists and 21 graduate artists were selected to exhibit in the Porter Butts, Class of 1925 and Theater Galleries in Memorial Union. The event is sponsored by the Wisconsin Union Directorate Art Committee. Information: 262-7592.