Category: Campus Events

FOLK on campus for Global City

Tonight (Tuesday 25 September) at 6pm….. sponsored by the Global City student organization:

Global Citizens! Join us for the first Global City presentation of the 2012-2013 school year!

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, September 25, 6:00-7:00 pm in Fisher 138.

Linda Rulison and Catherine Paavola, members of the grassroots organization FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw), will discuss the local environmental issues which led to FOLK’s creation over 20 years ago. Their current initiatives and foci not only concern the environment but also involve human rights and social issues, topics which are concerns of people worldwide.

For more information, see the abstract below. Pizza and sodas will be provided! If possible, try and bring your own cups so we can cut down on waste.
FOLK is an active all-volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining a healthy Lake Superior bioregion. Our goals are to educate the public and support activities which recognize the inherent worth of our forest, our land and our watersheds. Please contact FOLK for information on how to join.

Jutting 80 miles into Lake Superior’s cold deep waters, the Keweenaw Peninsula is the jewel of the Great Lakes. A land of small farms and historic towns, clean air and tall pines, clear water and rugged shoreline, the Keweenaw is an area of unparalleled natural beauty. However, it’s beauty and tranquility has been threatened; this is the story of a group of citizens that have united to meet that threat and to always protect the quality of the Keweenaw.

In 1989, the James River Corporation proposed the construction of a 1.2 billion dollar bleach kraft pulp/paper mill near Keweenaw Bay in Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula. If allowed to be built the mill would consume the equivalent of 80 clear cut acres of forest and discharge 41 million gallons of dioxin-laced waste effluent into Lake Superior each day. This threat to the Lake Superior watershed jolted local residents into action and gave birth to Friends of the Land of Keweenaw or FOLK. In less than a year, the tireless efforts of many caring citizens prevailed, culminating in the withdrawal of the mill proposal. These efforts included, Investing in the Keweenaw’s Future – Moving Towards Sustainable Development, a progressive report which introduced the concepts of sustainability that are now widely accepted.

Today, FOLK continues to be a diligent force working together with other state and national organizations to protect and preserve the ecological integrity of the Lake Superior Watershed. FOLK has spent considerable effort dealing with local land issues.

To read more about FOLK, visit their website: http://www.folkup.org/index.php

Ninth Floor Farms

Michigan Tech has launched itself into the urban ag movement with an aquaponics set-up in the ninth floor greenhouse in the Dow. Established by Robert Handler (in the Sustainable Futures Institute) and Nancy Auer (Biological Sciences), the farm is producing basil, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and more than three dozen tilapia (in the large blue bins with the mesh on top). The water from the fish bins (filled with fish poop) circulates to the planted containers, where the plants use the fish fertilizer to grow. The water trickles through the soil, leaving through the bottom as clean water that is then circulated back into the fish tanks. Given the great success of its inaugural year, I can envision a steady flow of fresh, local veggies and fish appearing in the campus dining halls in the near future.

Prof. Nancy Auer and Dr. Robert Handler discussing the aquaponics system at Michigan Tech

Green Film Series: “Into Eternity”

Green Film Series Addresses Nuclear Waste
The Green Film Series presents “Into Eternity” from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, June 21, in Forestry G002.

Admission is free; a $3 donation is suggested. There will be coffee, dessert and a discussion.

The one-hour film explores what the long-term storage of nuclear waste poses for human civilization.

The discussion facilitator will be Wayne Pennington, chair, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

For more information, see Into Eternity.

The Green Film Series is partially funded with a grant from the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw and the UP Environmental Coalition.

Sponsors are Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, the Keweenaw Land Trust, the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society and the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

For the schedule of upcoming films, see Green Film Series.

Food (Green Film Series) – May 17th

Green Film Series Issues & Dialogue:
Food
Date/Time:  7:00-8:30 pm, Thursday, May 17
 Location:  135 Fisher Hall, MTU
Cost:   FREE; $3 suggested donation.  Coffee, dessert, and facilitated discussion with Sarah Salo
 
May 17 Food – Food is a local and a global issue. The film explores whether it is possible to design a food system that ensures health, accessibility and affordability for everyone? (49 min.)

Discussion facilitator:  Sara Salo, School Food Tour. Meet Sara Salo, Founder & Executive Director of the School Food Bicycle Tour. Join us as we welcome Sara back to Houghton (she’s a Houghton HS graduate) after her epic 6,000-mile solo ride with the goal of empowering students, schools and communities to advocate for equitable access to wholesome food. She earned a M.S. in Public Health from Oregon State University. Sara is fascinated with examining and strategizing how the roles of place, community and individual come together to create and maintain sustainable food systems.  School Food Tour http://schoolfoodtour.org/about/
 
The Green Film program is partially funded with a grant from:
♦ League of Women Voters of the Copper Country ♦ Friends of the Land of Keweenaw ♦ U.P. Environmental Coalition
 
Green Film Series is cosponsored by:
Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative   http://lakesuperiorstewardship.org/
Keweenaw Land Trust   http://www.keweenawlandtrust.org/
Michigan Tech Center for Water & Society   http://www.mtcws.mtu.edu/
Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship   http://www.kuuf.net/
 
2012 Green Film Series schedule posted at: http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/news/2012/2012GreenFilmSeries.html

HIV and AIDS awareness event tonight

Just copying and pasting an email here:

This is just a reminder that:

The African Students Organization is partnering with Global City, Houghton High School Model United Nations Club, International Club, National Society of Black Engineers, Masters in Business Administration Association and Society of Intellectual Sisters to host an HIV/AIDS Awareness event  tonight Tuesday, November 29 featuring international HIV/AIDS activist Hydeia Broadbent as the guest speaker.  We are excited to  have a wonderful role model like Ms. Broadbent on our campus and we are looking forward to hearing what she has to share with us tomorrow.

We hope that you will be able to join us as we come together on November 29 in celebration of life and recognition of the accomplishments that have been made over the last thirty years with the advent of anti-retroviral drugs, as well as look forward and discuss some of the challenges pertaining to HIV/AIDS that we still face today in the global society of the 21st century.

                                                                                       Location : Michigan Technological University DOW Building Room 641
                                                                                                     When : Tuesday November 29, 2011 @6PM
                                                                            This is a FREE event & refreshments will be provided by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion
 
The program will begin with a jeopardy game to see what you know about HIV/AIDS, followed by a presentation by guest speaker Hydeia Broadbent :

Ms. Broadbent was named by Ebony Magazine as one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in 2008. She was born with HIV and was not expected to live past the age of 5. Through her numerous appearances on television shows such as Oprah, radio shows, prominent publications such as the New York Times and events, she has become a beacon of hope for those living with the virus and an active voice of reminder to the rest of the importance of responsibility and accountability. Having lived her entire life with the virus, at 27 Hydeia is one of the youngest international HIV/AIDS activists. In her own words she says “even though it’s a struggle, my life has been a blessing, because I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different people and share my story with people.” Her message underscores this year’s theme “How Positive Are You That You’re Negative?”  

This event is sponsored by the Biomedical Engineering Department, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Chemical Engineering Department, Institutional Diversity, Graduate School Government, Undergraduate School Government, Women’s Fund, Housing and Residential Life and this event is supported by the Parents Fund of the Michigan Tech Fund. 


Mining in the UP presentations

Here’s the info on both speakers:

Please join us for a presentation and informal discussion concerning
“The Threat of Metallic Sulfide Mining Expansion in the Great Lakes Region”

Kristi Mills of Save the Wild UP will lead this discussion.  Her presentation will be from the standpoint of a concerned citizens activist group and will cover current and prospective future operations, citizens’ concerns, and the process of organizing against the mines and challenges and opportunities Save the Wild UP has faced.

Date:  Thursday, October 13
Time:  12-1:00
Place: Memorial Union Ballrooms B2/B3
Lunch: Please feel free to bring a lunch

The broader campus community is invited, so please spread the word. We’d like to see this event well attended.  You can find out more about Save the Wild UP at www.savethewildup.org

In a related presentation:
David Anderson from Orvana Resources will discuss mining and community development in the UP from the industry perspective on Tuesday, October 25 from 12-1:00pm, in the Memorial Union Ballroom B2/B3. Please feel free to bring a lunch.

Anyone with questions should contact Prof. Richelle Winkler (rwinkler <at sign> mtu.edu)

Mining in the UP

Prof. Richelle Winkler, a new faculty member in Social Sciences, is arranging for pro- and anti-mining speakers to give short presentations on campus regarding mining in the UP. The information for the anti-mining speaker has been set; no firm details yet on the pro-mining speaker (but stay tuned here for an update!)

Current Mining Activities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Date: Thursday, October 13
Time: 12-1:00
Place: Memorial Union Ballrooms B2/B3

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend an informal lunchtime discussion with Kristi Mills from Save the Wild UP (http://www.savethewildup.org/) about current mining efforts in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the organization’s efforts to protect community and environmental well-being. Kristi will offer a presentation and allow time for discussion.  Please feel free to bring your lunch.  This event is being sponsored by the Social Science Department, Program on Environmental Policy, Program on Industrial Archaeology, and Students for a Sustainable Environment.