TOWARDS A HEALTHIER HUDSON
Barnard College to Host River Experts in Discussion of Water Clean Up
Updated 09.12.08
WHEN
September 15, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served starting at 6:00 p.m.
WHERE
James Room, 4th Floor,
Barnard Hall
3009 Broadway at 117th Street
This event is free and open to the public.
New York, NY — As a conduit for commerce, the Hudson River has helped industry thrive in the Northeast. Industry, in turn, has not been so kind. Years of dumping and pollution have made the water unhealthy and unsafe, affecting not only wildlife but the public water supply and the region’s ecology. Now, environmental activists and scientific researchers have joined forces to educate the public about how we can -- and why we must -- act to clean up our water.
On September 15, Barnard College kicks off a semester of environmental science events with a lively evening of debate and discussion on what it will take to achieve cleaner water. The Hudson: How Clean is "Clean"?, a panel discussion open to the public, will bring together two key environmental leaders who are at the forefront of efforts to research and protect the river.
Barnard President Debora Spar will introduce the participants: Alex Matthiessen, President of Riverkeeper, and Liesl Hotaling, Chief Education Officer at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries. The panelists will discuss the efforts of their organizations to protect the river, and will field questions from the audience. Tim Kenna, a member of Barnard’s Environmental Science faculty, will moderate the event.
An independent, member-supported organization, Riverkeeper serves as a "citizen's patrol" to protect the Hudson by monitoring its ecosystem and stopping pollution in action. Under the leadership of Matthiessen, formerly a Special Assistant at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Riverkeeper has instituted a full-time enforcement presence on the Hudson, expanded its reach from north of Albany to New York Harbor, and seen its membership and budget skyrocket.
The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries is a non-profit environmental research organization. Hotaling, an educator with a background in marine biology and maritime systems, leads the educational component of the Institute's River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON). The first technology-based monitoring and forecasting network for a major American river and estuary, REON is being developed in conjunction with IBM and will allow scientists, policy-makers and educators to observe the river's physical, chemical and biological changes in real time.
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