Janice Weis, Associate Dean and Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said the conference was groundbreaking given its comprehensive scope.

“The conference moved beyond a discussion of climate change and its causes and tackled the issue of how alternative or renewable energy sources might be used to ‘green the grid,’” Weis said. “The conference looked at the economic, legal, and technical issues involved in employing a variety of different energy sources and, in doing so, allowed us to gain an appreciation for the very complex issues involved in climate change.”

Speakers addressed a wide spectrum of energy sources including ocean wave, nuclear, coal, solar, and wind, as well as the federal and state regulatory landscape that contributes to or impedes renewable energy development.

“It was clear that the speakers have been spending time in their positions giving great thought as to how all sectors—academic, private, government, and non-profit—might contribute to a better understanding of how to address climate change.”

In this video, conference participants share their motives for attending and the rolls they each play toward Greening the Grid.

The Sustainability Education Initiative is a program of professional development coursework and activities for K-12 teachers in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. During three courses offered in 2009, Smith will prepare 50-60 teachers to incorporate sustainability issues into their classrooms and help them implement school or community projects that will enhance local natural and social environments. Participants will be eligible for small seed grants to fund start-up projects. The grant aims to increase the number of teachers implementing sustainability projects in schools, and increase student and educator awareness of local natural systems, ecologies, and social needs.

In this video, Smith visits Zenger Farm with the first cohort of teachers, and discusses the importance of teaching sustainability using place-based education.

“One of the great things about the Eco-Olympics is that it encourages people to take action,” said Eco-Olympics organizer Kiel Johnson, a senior economics major. “It’s been really interesting just talking with students. People seem really excited and engaged in doing things to protect the environment.”

The competition, which is sponsored by Lewis & Clark Sustainability Council, Campus Living, Facilities Services, and SEED (Students Engaged in Eco-Defense), wraps up on March 5.

Listen to this podcast to learn more about the project and Johnson’s goals for increasing environmental awareness on campus.

To combat these unhealthy trends, psychologists are discovering the benefits of connecting people to nature to treat depression, stress and addictions, as well as attention deficit disorder in children. Interacting with nature not only benefits people, but also creates stronger connections to our environment, which can lead to a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling is serving as a catalyst for the burgeoning field known as ecopsychology, developing new eco-based therapies that promote mental health and strengthening the field by teaching and training practitioners.

In this video, Adjunct Faculty Member Thomas Doherty and his students discuss the effects ecopsychology can have on the human psyche and the healing powers of nature.

At the end of October, Young had gathered more than 750 signatures, putting Lewis & Clark in the top five among colleges with the highest percentage of student participation.

Why did you take up this project ?

I took up this project for a few reasons. I saw it as the perfect opportunity to merge the elections with the over-arching environmental movement. Young voters have such an opportunity to change the direction this election is going, and I was looking for a way to let my peers know that we have power in numbers that no other generation has. Also, the Power Vote Campaign stands on a platform of morals and ideals that correlate to what I believe in. I strongly believe that the only solution to the economic crisis that we face in America, and the climate crisis our planet faces, is through a new “green” economy and training in green jobs.

Why do you think Lewis & Clark students have been so responsive to PowerVote.org?

I think that students at LC have a strong urge to be engaged and voice their opinions and Power Vote is the perfect way for us to get involved. Also, LC is a progressive school filled with intelligent students who are incredibly politically conscious. Generally, LC students are liberal, highly aware of the environmental movement, and concerned about the direction our country is headed. As a community, I believe we know there needs to be a change, and we are ready to tell politicians what we want changed.

What do you hope to see from the next president and Congress in terms of policy reform, actions?

Washington needs to seriously reconsider three  aspects of policy and the American society: transportation, food, and architecture. We need to look critically at where we are getting our food from and how we are growing food; the technology we are using to transport ourselves; and the sort of heating and electricity we are using in our buildings and homes. All these things need to become clean, renewable, and sustainable.

In the next president, I hope to see priority put on solving our economic crisis using new green jobs and a new system of educating people about their environmental impact. I want to see money invested in creating new technology that harnesses our renewable resources that are plentiful and non-polluting. We need to get out of this “bridge fuel” mind set. Alternative fossil fuels are not the answer. Specifically, I want investment in educating people on new technology and resources being put into training people to create and install these new technologies. I also want to see district-wide localization planning put into action. We must customize energy resources to the area a community is located and do what makes sense economically for that specific community. I believe that real reform is needed, and if America doesn’t become an example for the rest of the world, then the planet Earth we are accustomed to will be gone.

Leading animal law experts will convene at the 16th annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark Law School on Oct. 17-19 to explore the interconnections between domestic and international animal law and a broad array of issues such as religion, farming, environmentalism, and homeland security. The conference, titled One Earth: Globalism & Animal Law, has sold out with more than 200 lawyers, law students and animal advocates registered to attend from across the United States, Europe, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong.

“Animal law intersects with many different fields of law, and our conference offerings have grown over these many years to reflect that,” said Pamela Frasch, executive director of Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies, one of the conference organizers. “As this specialty takes root, experts from fields as diverse as environmental law and immigration law recognize the need to pay greater attention to animal law both in a domestic and international setting.”

Joyce Tischler will deliver the keynote address on Oct. 18, offering a perspective of the past, present, and future trends in animal law. She is the co-founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit law organization that works to advance animals’ interests through the legal system and a sponsor of the conference.

Other speaker highlights include:
•    Dr. Paul Waldau, director, Center for Public Policy and Animals at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
•    Steven Wise, author and founder/director of the Center for Expansion of Fundamental Rights
•    Peter Sankoff, professor of law, University of Auckland, New Zealand
•    Kathy Hessler, clinical professor of law, Lewis & Clark Law School

Megan Lemire, Lewis & Clark law student and conference organizer representing co-host Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, said the conference offers formal and informal opportunities for experts and practitioners to share ideas and strengthen the growing network among professionals in the field.

“This conference is the oldest animal law conference in the world, so it has come to represent the who’s who of animal law experts and advocates,” Lemire said. “Whether you are just starting your career in animal advocacy or are a veteran of animal law, this is a unique opportunity to learn, network, and find innovative approaches in a quickly evolving area of the law.”

Visit the Center for Animal Law Studies for a schedule of events, waitlist registration information and downloadable podcasts after the conference.

Environmental studies researchers at Lewis & Clark believe the possibility of such connections is worth closer examination. They are conducting focus groups with Oregonians from urban, suburban, rural and intentional communities to ask them to define their connection to nature and how it affects them personally. The research title, Ecotopia Revisited, plays on the 1975 novel Ecotopia, which portrays a future ecologically sustainable society located in the Pacific Northwest.

“Most utopian and dystopian discourse points outward to the worlds it describes—in the ecological realm, for instance, the dream of a sustainable society and the nightmare of global warming typically emphasize how to achieve sustainability, how to stop global warming,” writes Jim Proctor, research lead and director of environmental studies. “Yet the key question we ask in Ecotopia Revisited is: what do our contemporary utopias and dystopias tell us about ourselves?”

Along with Proctor, postdoctoral fellow Evan Berry and CAS ‘08 graduates Meagan Nuss and Amber Shasky are blogging about their discoveries and insights as they talk with Oregonians.

Nuss says she hopes her speech will remind graduating seniors that, despite their diverse backgrounds and the innumerable journeys they will take in the future, their shared experiences at Lewis & Clark unite them.

“We’ll all be taking something common from our experience here,” Nuss said. “And we’re all at a very powerful time in our lives.”

Nuss was selected by a committee of seniors, faculty, and staff, from a field of eight students.

“Meagan Nuss has crafted a speech that will resonate and challenge, enlighten and inspire. She’s an extraordinary representative of an outstanding class,” said Michael Ford, associate vice president for Campus Life.

Typifying the value of liberal arts education, Nuss completed her senior thesis by integrating work in the realms of science and art. Nuss’s capstone project for environmental studies revolved around the creation of twine displays throughout campus, which she designed to engage passersby in a consideration of the meaning of boundaries within one’s environment. The twine, which formed abstract installations, appeared around the Fir Acres campus in displays that migrated every couple of days.

“Creating these pieces with the same medium encouraged a sense of familiarity with this unknown thing, because it got people used to seeing twine around campus, but it also insisted that you continue to see it and think about it because it moved around,” Nuss said. “I want to get people thinking about what they mean to their environment, and what it means to them. Most importantly, it’s just about responding and participating. The project showed that boundaries not only invite you to engage your environment, but sometimes force you.”

After graduation, she will work with Jim Proctor, director of the Environmental Studies program, on an extended grant to study planned residential communities’ relationships with nature; Nuss will conduct research and interview individuals throughout the Northwest.

Commencement for the College of Arts and Sciences takes place Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 10 a.m. at Griswold Stadium.

“We’re thrilled to receive this honor once again,” said Robert Klonoff, dean of the law school. “Our faculty and students offer the very best to the public and private sectors, as well as the judiciary, in the way of innovative environmental policies and programs to address one of the most critical and pressing issues of our time.”

Lewis & Clark Law School has served as a leader in the field of environmental law since it founded the program in 1970, the first of its kind in the country. In addition to its environmental law curriculum, the law school offers students hands-on opportunities to put their coursework into practice through one of its three clinical programs: the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), International Environmental Law Project, and Animal Law Clinic.

Beyond the educational value to students, the clinics develop persuasive legal strategies to affect environmental policies and how federal, state and local agencies carry them out. PEAC, named the “winningest” clinic in the country in 2007 by National Jurist, provides law students the opportunity to work on important environmental cases.

“Before coming to Lewis & Clark, I hardly knew anyone outside my local environmental community,” said Katie Strong, a law student who, through PEAC legal action, helped successfully argue for the reinstatement of Endangered Species Act protections for the Sonoran eagle population. “Now, I have connections with attorneys and environmental advocates across the country.”

The highly competitive environmental and animal law moot court programs offer students the opportunity to practice legal research skills, write briefs, and deliver oral arguments. Lewis & Clark moot court teams have won the National Center for Animal Law Moot Court Championship two years in a row and the Pace National Environmental Moot Court Championship five times in the past 15 years.

The law school also boasts seven environmental organizations or student-driven projects, such the Public Interest Law Project and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, which are designed to enrich students’ educational experience and serve the greater community.

“The opportunities we offer outside the classroom are incredibly valuable,” said Janice Weis, associate dean and director of the environmental and natural resources law program. “Students are learning from each other, working closely with faculty on real cases, and engaging Portland organizations on projects that make this city a better place. Collectively, these experiences make for an outstanding educational program and a tight-knit community.”

In addition to the first place finish in the environmental law field, the legal writing program ranked 18, the intellectual property program ranked 22, and the law school jumped from 82 to 73 out of 195 American Bar Association-approved law schools in the country.

The alternative spring break project, from March 22 to March 29, was collaboratively developed by Associate Professor of History and Borderlands teacher Elliott Young, a transnational historian of the Americas, specializing in race and national identity, and the Office of Student Leadership and Service. The trip is designed to bring U.S. immigration policy and history of the U.S.-Mexico border to life.

In the last 20 years, immigration of indigenous Oaxacans to Oregon has grown exponentially, and yet very little is known about how these trans-border communities function. Rather than the classic model of immigrants leaving behind their home countries and assimilating into the United States, Oaxacans maintain strong ties to their home communities, sending money, and returning to fulfill political posts in their villages.

“This is not only about studying a relatively small group of Mexican migrants,” Young said. “Understanding the way these transnational communities function is key to understanding our increasingly globalized world.”

For Young’s students, recognizing the complexities of these immigration patterns not only enriches their classroom experience, it prepares them to be better global citizens and leaders by providing the level of understanding that will be critical to developing effective policies at the local, state and national level.

“Immigration is about economics, health care, international relations, politics, arts, and culture, as well as a social justice issue for citizens of Mexico and the U.S.,” Young said. “This affects all of us, and it’s important to me that students get to see this issue first-hand in all of its complexities. Our elected leaders have failed to come up with a viable immigration plan, so it is my hope that our students can be leaders in helping to solve this vexing issue.”

During spring break, seven students will head to Oaxaca, Mexico—one of the country’s most southern and most indigenous states—to learn why thousands of people leave their homes, families, and communities to travel to Oregon. Another seven students will spend a week in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico—a make-or-break border town for many Mexican migrants. All students in the class will also work in and around Portland to document the stories of migrant workers and their families.

Oaxaca City: Understanding the need to leave home

Myriah Heddens, a junior from Fort Collins, Colorado and class participant, directs a student-run organization that offers advocacy and English tutoring for Spanish-speaking custodial staff at the college, and she interns at a Portland-based law firm specializing in immigration law. With such a strong interest in Latin American and immigration issues, Heddens is looking forward to talking with community advocate groups and their constituents in Oaxaca City to understand the challenges Oaxacans face and what support they need to facilitate solutions.

“Both sides (of the immigration debate) are quick to jump to simplistic conclusions,” Heddens said. “This class exposes us to the complexity of the immigration debate and offers a more holistic understanding of the reasons for and affects of immigration. When you learn about the U.S. policies and agreements made with Mexico in the 1920s, you come to understand that there is a historic dependence on immigrant labor in this country. To reduce the debate to ‘Mexicans steal American jobs’ is incredibly short sighted. Poor policy decisions are fundamentally altering both Mexican and American demographics.”

Ciudad Juárez: Examining development at the border

Farther north, Hedden’s classmate Martin Frye, a sophomore from St. Louis, Missouri, will be working with a Mexican labor organization to map maquiladoras—assembly plants that have sprung up along the border and take advantage of migrants in desperate search of jobs and the low wages in Mexico.

Frye, an environmental studies major, said digital mapping programs help social service organizations situate environmental problems on the border. Free and accessible programs like Google Earth are key to raising public awareness of the environmental and social impact of American consumption on the region. Other classmates will document the experiences of Mexicans who try to cross the border into the United States by volunteering time with trans-border organizations.

Frye, who has been to Ciudad Juárez twice before to build houses, said he is looking forward to working on behalf of a community-based organization.

“This class and our trip are designed to help Mexican migrants tell their story as opposed to us imposing our identity on them or coming in telling them what we think they need,” Frye said.

Portland, Oregon: Documenting migration experiences for better policy, better citizens

Here in Oregon, students in the class have been working with a variety of non-profit organizations, including a housing complex in northeast Portland and a farm-workers union in Woodburn, to document the experiences of migrants in the United States. Collectively, students will be able to map the migration route through the words of Mexican workers who endure unimaginable challenges and dangers in search of financial security. While students will use these stories as the basis for their research projects, they will also archive them online to provide the broader community with a fresh perspective on immigration.

As migrant communities continue to grow across the U.S., sharing these stories can be valuable to developing better policies at the local and state level, as well as with Mexico.

“Not only does this class offer a new way to teach immigration policy, we’re offering social service organizations, government leaders, and corporations a vital perspective about the migration experience and the needs of rural Mexico that force workers to and across the border,” Young pointed out. “If we listen to the people living through the migration experience, we can develop more effective immigration policies and social services, and, ultimately, more vibrant economies north and south of the border. Most importantly, these stories help us to understand the immigrant experience through their eyes, allowing us to see the people who work in our fields, factories, and restaurants as fellow human beings and not as illegal aliens.”

Halfway through the semester, both Heddens and Frye are still trying to make sense of the connections between history and the political twists and turns of relations between these two countries.

“What does a border mean in a globalized world?” Heddens asks. Frye echoes, “Concepts of identity are tied to borders. Governments define you by borders but what does that mean when we’ve learned that borders are so arbitrarily set and used to the advantage of powerful people and entities?”

While Heddens and Frye may not find easy answers to such heavy questions, they will come through the class as better-prepared global citizens, and that, Young points out, is a worthwhile outcome for a spring break experience.