Environmental Studies

Anna Ogorodnikova will talk about Lake Baikal (the deepest and the oldest lake in the world), protected areas around the lake, its current environmental problems (logging, overfishing, eutrophication, etc.) and the work of local non-profits to solve or mitigate some of these problems. Anna is the director of the Baikal Interactive Eco-Center, an NGO based in Irkutsk, Russia. She teaches a course on Lake Baikal ecology to students studying at the Middlebury C.V. Starr School Abroad in Irkutsk. She also builds hiking trails in the Baikal region.

MIDD-ES CORE PANEL DISCUSSION: Environmental Studies for an Unpredictably Changing World: An Interdisciplinary Conversation.

Peter Ryan, Professor of Geology and Environmental Studies; Jon Isham, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies; Kathryn Morse, John C. Elder Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of History, Middlebury College.

“Same as it ever was – State leadership on climate change in the post-Obama era” by Jared Snyder, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Air Resources, Climate Change and Energy.

“The Making of The Narrow Edge” by Deborah Cramer, Author, Visiting Scholar Environmental Solutions Initiative, MIT.

“Beyond Moral Fundamentalism: Pragmatic Pluralism in Environmental Ethics” by Steven Fesmire, Visiting Professor of Philosophy, Middlebury College; Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies, Green Mountain College

“Healing the Agricultural Mind” by Bill Vitek, Professor of Philosophy, Clarkson University.

“The Evolution of Private Governance Across Sectors” by Graeme Auld, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University.

“Metropolitan Foodsheds: A Resilient Solution to the Climate Change Challenge?” by Laura Lengnick, Owner and Principal, Cultivating Resilience, LLC and Vice President of Resilience, Climate Optimize, Inc.

“Lions, Wolves, and Bears, Oh My! Reflections on the Past, Present and Future of Conservation Advocacy in the Northern Rockies” by Tim Stevens, Montana Fund Advisor, the Kendeda Fund.

This talk will examine the evolution of place-based conservation advocacy in the Greater Yellowstone and Crown of the Continent Ecosystems and reflect on lessons learned from successful and not so successful efforts to protect grizzly bears, wolves and the largest remaining wildlands in the lower 48.

“Mind the Gap Link: Integrating urban migrants and their hometown ties into conservation policy in Madagascar” by Laura M. Tilghman, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Plymouth State University.