Environmental Studies

Soil and forest resources in Sub-Saharan Africa Julia Berazneva, Assistant Professor of Economics, Middlebury College Most of the world’s poorest billion people live in rural areas, where their livelihoods depend directly on natural capital: soils, forests, and waterways. While these resources are often renewable, overuse or mismanagement leads to their depletion and deterioration. Soil degradation, overfishing and overgrazing, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity are widespread.

Katharine North ‘05, Environmental Hydrogeologist Peter Ryan, Professor of Geology, Interim Director of Environmental Studies Program Working in a Central Asian oil field: Insights from an environmental scientist

Sierra Crane-Murdoch ‘09.5 and Chad Stevens Boom & Bust: Documenting human stories on the front lines of energy extraction Join filmmaker Chad A. Stevens and writer Sierra Crane-Murdoch ’09.5 in a conversation about their work documenting the prolonged impacts of energy extraction on American communities. Stevens’ recent film, Overburden, is an intimate portrait of a small community in Appalachia struggling with the century-old mono-economy of coal.

ENVS 0401 - Senior Seminar Presentations

Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak ‘07, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia Mez Baker-Medard, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies International Marine Conservation: Problems, Practices and Progress

Lydia Beaudrot ‘05, Assistant Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Fellow, Michigan Society of Fellows, University of Michigan Steve Trombulak, Professor of Environmental and Biosphere Studies, Director of Sciences, and Director of the Middlebury School of the Environment Conservation Biology: Looking forward with an eye on the rearview mirror Conservation Biology emerged as a professional discipline in 1985, the year Trombulak arrived at Middlebury College as a new assistant professor.

Amy Horner Hanley ‘97, Office of the Solicitor, Environmental Restoration Branch, US Department of the Interior Chris McGrory Klyza, Stafford Professor of Public Policy, Political Science and Environmental Studies Birds, Turtles, Econ & Law: Adventures in the Federal Government Amy and Chris will discuss Amy’s career path Middlebury through her current position in the Department of the Interior. We will focus on a few specific policy cases, as well as the ups and downs of working for the federal government.

Josh Howe ‘02, Assistant Professor, History and Environmental Studies, Reed College Kathy Morse- John C. Elder Prof of Environmental Studies; Prof of History Telling Stories about CO2: History, Science, and the Politics of Climate Change Josh Howe and Kathy Morse will explore how environmental studies and the discipline of history can productively contribute to the climate change conversation, and what the history of global warming itself can tell us about the way forward.

Bobby Levine ‘08, CEO of Digested Organics and Chief Science Officer of Algal Scientific Jon Isham- Professor of Economics; Director, Center for Social Entrepreneurship Life after Middlebury: An Entrepreneur’s Quest Middlebury prepared me well as a thinker and leader, but I graduated having never really heard the word entrepreneur. In this brief talk, I will discuss how I went from oblivious to the start-up world to a founding member of two fast-growing companies that have products and services aimed at delivering environmental benefits combined with financial savings for our customers.

Lila Buckley ‘04, Senior Researcher, International Institute for Environment and Development Mike Sheridan- Associate Professor of Anthropology What does a liberal arts approach to sustainable development look like? A conversation between Lila Buckley ’04 and Professor Mike Sheridan will explore Lila’s career path in sustainable development work, starting with her coursework and experiences at Middlebury.