ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM NEWSLETTER

November 5, 2007

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In this issue:

** UPCOMING ES PROGRAM EVENTS: Two Tuesday events: lunch with Green Corps, evening colloquia -- Andrew Fisk, Director DEP

** IN THE NEWS: Plastic to reusable cloth: Mainers urged to switch their bags

** GRAD PROGRAM: Brown University

** BEYOND COLBY: National Wildlife Federation Fellowships, AiDemocracy

** JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS: Sierra Student Coalition, Grassroots Campaigns, Inc.,

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** UPCOMING ES PROGRAM EVENTS:

Learn more about Green Corps

Info Session with current Green Corps organizer Colin Beckman in the Bullock Room, Dana, 11:30 am Tuesday, November 27th.

Green Corps is the non-profit Field School for Environmental Organizing, founded by leading environmentalists in 1992 to train environmental organizers. Our program includes intensive classroom training, hands-on experience running urgent environmental campaigns, and placement in permanent positions with leading environmental and social change groups.

Classroom Training. Our intensive classroom training combines issue briefings, workshops and skills trainings to prepare you to run a grassroots campaign. Issue briefings include Clean Cars, Renewable Energy, Forests and Endangered Species. Strategy workshops include The Legislative Process, Social Change Methodology and Effective Media: Messaging and Framing. Finally, hands-on skills trainings include Leadership Development, Training Volunteers and Running Effective Meetings. Training is run by the Green Corps Central Staff, as well as environmental and social change experts such as John Passacantando, Executive Director, Greenpeace USA, Bill McKibben, author and climate change expert, and Wendy Wendlandt, Political Director, U.S. PIRG.

Field Training. Our field training puts you on the front lines of today's most urgent environmental campaigns. With Green Corps, you will work in multiple cities nationwide, chosen for their ability to make an impact on critical environmental problems. Potential locations include, but are not limited to, San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC and Boston, MA. You must be willing to relocate during your year with Green Corps.

Dates. The program begins in August 2008 and concludes with graduation in August 2009.

Qualifications. Each year we select 35 recent college graduates to join Green Corps. We are looking for people who are serious about saving the planet, have demonstrated leadership experience, and want to work for change over the long haul at the grassroots level.

Salary & Benefits. Salary of $23,750. Optional group health care coverage, paid sick days and holidays, two weeks paid vacation, and a student loan repayment program for qualifying staff.

To Apply. To apply to Green Corps, fill out our online application by the Early Application Deadline of Dec. 8, 2007. Deadlines, 2nd round interview locations and our online application are at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from " mail.bowdoin.edu" claiming to be http://www.greencorps.org.

Contact. Colin Beckman, Green Corps organizer, at colin@greencorps.org , 301.767.5411.

ES Colloquia

Andrew Fisk

Director, Department of Environmental Protection

Tuesday, 7:00, Olin 1

The Clean Water Act in Maine - stretch goals and stretch finances

Dr. Fisk has been director of the Bureau of Land & Water Quality at Maine DEP since 2003. He has served in a variety of natural resource policy positions in state government at the Land Use Regulation Commission and the Department of Marine Resources prior to his work at DEP. His academic training is in biology, soils, and environmental science and policy with degrees from University of Rochester and Rutgers University.

** GRAD PROGRAM:

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Graduate School, Division of Biology and Medicine

Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry

Program of Study - The Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry (MCB) is an interdisciplinary program, with faculty members drawn from the areas of biochemistry; molecular, cell, and developmental biology; neurobiology; pathology; pharmacology; chemistry; and medicine. Students enter the program with strong undergraduate backgrounds in biology, calculus, physics, and chemistry, including organic chemistry and biochemistry. Students rotate in different laboratories in the first year to sample various projects and experimental approaches. Advanced students participate in one year of teaching as an assistant. Five years are generally required to complete the Ph.D. degree. The research interests of the faculty encompass a broad range of investigations at the molecular and cellular levels, using a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell types. Areas of current investigation include gene expression and targeting, RNA functions, carcinogenesis, developmental genetics, photosynthesis and bioenergetics, cell differentiation, organelle development, pattern formation, cellular and molecular immunology, receptors and signal transduction, and ultrastructural studies. To supplement research activities, the program provides regular opportunities for outside speakers, campus faculty members, and graduate students to give seminars on their current work.

Research Facilities - Graduate student research is conducted in faculty research laboratories, both on campus and at nearby affiliated hospitals and research buildings. In addition to the basic research equipment and facilities within each laboratory, major shared facilities include a computer graphics imaging and microscopic core facility with high-resolution transmission and scanning electron microscopes and laser-scanning confocal microscopes; a professionally staffed animal-care facility fully equipped for animal maintenance, large-animal surgery, and experimentation; a transgenic mouse core facility; a micro array core facility; typhoon digital imagers for radioactive, fluorescent, and chemiluminescent samples; an automated DNA sequencer; a fluorescence-activated cell sorter; a phosphoimager; a facility for histologic tissue examination, including frozen sections; a greenhouse; X-ray crystallographic instrumentation; a 600-MHz NMR spectroscope; a hybridoma laboratory; a 100-liter-capacity fermenter; and a molecular modeling center. The fourteen-story Sciences Library houses approximately 4,000 current periodicals, 530,000 bound volumes, and study space for 300 students. A campuswide broadband communications network provides high-speed data communications on campus, and a very high-speed connection to the Internet backbone is maintained by the University.

Financial Aid - All Ph.D. students in this program are supported by University fellowships, teaching or research assistantships, or traineeships awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the program. Stipends for 2006 were $25,000 for twelve months in addition to full remission of tuition and health insurance costs.

Living and Housing Costs - Apartments in pleasant residential areas nearby are available for about $700 to $1000 per month; rents are often lower for students who share apartments.

Student Group - Approximately 5,400 undergraduates and 1,500 graduate students are enrolled in the University. Students come from all regions of the United States and from more than fifty countries worldwide. About 52 full-time students are working for the Ph.D. degree in this graduate program.

Student Outcomes - Graduates typically accept postdoctoral research appointments, followed by academic careers in teaching and research, or governmental research positions. Brown University also has close ties to many biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms, where some graduates pursue careers in industry.

Location - Brown University is in a Colonial restoration district at the head of Narragansett Bay, within walking distance of downtown Providence, the capital of Rhode Island. The city offers many cultural activities, including concerts, theater, museums, parks, and art galleries, which complement Brown's seminars, colloquia, and social and cultural events. In addition to the University's athletic facilities, many students enjoy ocean sports and the various recreational opportunities available throughout Rhode Island. Boston and New York are easily accessible by car, bus, or train.

The University and The Division - Assembled in 1764 as the seventh college in America and the third in New England, Brown University began offering graduate courses in 1850. The first Ph.D. was awarded in 1889. In 1903, a Graduate Department was created, and in 1927 the Graduate School was established as a formal organization. Currently, all education and research in medicine and the biological sciences are administered by the Division of Biology and Medicine. Faculty members from all elements of the Division participate in one or more graduate programs that offer research degree.

Correspondence and Information -

Director, MCB Graduate Program

Box G-J364

Brown University

Providence, Rhode Island 02912

Phone: 401-863-1661

Fax: 401-863-1348

E-mail: mcbprogram@brown.edu

Web site: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Molecular_Biology/Grad_Program/

** IN THE NEWS:

Plastic to reusable cloth: Mainers urged to switch: A Bar Harbor lawmaker wants to lessen oil use and help the environment

Excerpted from the Portland Press Herald, November 25, 2007

San Francisco banned them. London may, too. Ireland charges a fee to use them, and so do Denmark and Switzerland. Now, Mainers may soon join the global assault on the ubiquitous plastic grocery bag.

A lawmaker from Bar Harbor wants Mainers to switch from the thin plastic bags to reusable ones that aren't as harmful to the environment and don't contribute to our addiction to oil. And he's got the attention of the grocery industry, which is pledging to help create a bring-your-own-bags ethic in Maine.

Rep. Ted Koffman, a Democrat and co-chairman of the Legislature's Natural Resources Committee, said a fee of 20 cents or so, added to each plastic bag, could help shoppers make the switch to reusable cloth bags and help pay for the development of inexpensive alternatives, such as plastic made out of Maine potatoes instead of oil.

"The whole idea is to reduce the amount of plastic bags being used and put into the system," Koffman said. "There's an international movement in this direction." It used to be that the grocery bag debate focused on paper versus plastic. That one pretty much ended in a draw, since neither is a clear winner from an environmental perspective. But now plastic bags are coming under intense pressure worldwide, mostly because they are everywhere and a significant amount of oil is used in their production. Plastic bags also have

been maligned around the world because they are a persistent form of litter that clogs storm drains and chokes sea turtles that mistake them for jellyfish. For his part, Koffman wants to reduce their use as a small step toward curbing global warming.

"Why wouldn't we say to ourselves as a society, 'What little things can we do to reduce our reliance on foreign oil?' " he said. If we can't stop using oil to make grocery bags when there are alternatives, Koffman said, how will we ever stop using it to fuel our cars and heat our homes?

San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban the bags last spring. The ban took effect last Tuesday. Officials in Boston, as well as other cities, have also considered a ban. Koffman came up with a different plan, based in part on the approach taken by Ireland. He would place a 20-cent fee -- or something like it -- on each bag used by customers of large retailers and use the money for incentives to switch to reusable bags. Those using reusable bags could get discounts on their groceries and qualify for lottery drawings, such as $1,000 in cash or groceries, he said. Revenue from the fees could also helps pay for research into plant-based bioplastics, as well as for education about the costs of disposable plastic bags.

Koffman said it should not be labeled a tax on the bags, because he doesn't think the government needs to be involved in handling any of the money. He conceded that the plan would cost people upfront, but he argued that people who switch to canvas bags will eventually save money because of the discounts on groceries. Koffman proposed his idea in a bill presented this fall, but legislative leaders voted against bringing it forward during the upcoming session, which is reserved mostly for emergency legislation. "I get chuckles on this from some of my legislative colleagues," he said, "but I'm getting very serious support from the citizenry." Still, some of the citizenry is less enthusiastic. "What are we going to use for diapers?" was Jeff Dice's reaction to the idea as he loaded his car with plastic bags full of groceries from the Hannaford store on Forest Avenue in Portland. The plastic bags are great for sealing up stinky diapers, he said. They're also handy for lining his trash can and holding his recyclables, Dice said.Other shoppers said the bags are great for cat litter and dog waste. "I don't actually throw them out without reusing them," said Eliza Eastman of Portland. But Betsy Graves of Portland said using fewer plastic bags is not really as hard as people think at first. Graves emerged from Hannaford carrying most of her groceries in canvas bags, which she said can be used over and over. "We use them for lugging everything around," she said. She picked up the cloth-bag habit while living in Ireland, where everybody carries their own bags, she said.

Maine's grocers have not jumped behind the fee idea, either. Koffman is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Maine Grocers Association this week. "We really want to proceed over this next year with an educational program letting people know what their current choices are," said Amie Joseph, executive director of the association. The rejection of Koffman's bill provides more time for the industry to take voluntary action, Joseph said. "But we're still going to head down this path and let people know this is on the radar screen," she said. "We don't think this issue is going to go away."

Major grocery chains, such as Hannaford Bros. Co. and Shaw's, already are selling and promoting reusable bags. Hannaford gives shoppers a 5-cent discount on groceries for each reusable bag they use. All Maine stores that offer customers the plastic bags also are required to collect those bags for recycling. Bags collected by Hannaford stores, for example, get recycled into composite

decking, said Megan Hellstedt, Hannaford's environmental manager. Koffman, whose son is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and now works as an engineer in Baghdad, compares giving up plastic bags to sacrifices his parents made during World War II. "If we could make sacrifices then," he said, "why couldn't we make a small sacrifice now?"

BEYOND COLBY:

Check out this opportunity to get $500 for a fair trade campaign on your campus!

http://www.aidemocracy.org/rca.php

Would you like $500 to organize a campaign or series of events on your campus this Spring to address these issues or other related human rights issues? Take action and start a campaign to protect human rights at your school with AID's "Rights Camera Action" project!

What is Rights Camera Action? You propose innovative campaigns around a global human rights issues and document your experiences on film. Your proposal will be evaluated on its potential to create substantive change at your university and to guide similar efforts on other campuses. Potential campaign issues and ideas include, but are not limited to: getting your university to divest from Darfur, getting fair trade food served in your university's dining services, labor rights, immigration and immigrant rights, access to health care and medicines, extraordinary rendition, and a number of different fundraising events.

AID will select up to 10 winning ideas and provide you with:

* $500 grant

* Trip to Washington D.C. for one person from each campus group to meet human rights campaigns experts, video production experts, and congressional staff on February 1-2. (In special circumstances, two representatives may be invited to this training.)

* Video camera for students to document their campaign.

Each campus group will return to their school, conduct the campaign, and create a short film or video toolkit showing how others could replicate their campaign idea on another campus.

The top video toolkit will be chosen from the ten finalists by a nationwide vote on the AID website. The students with the most innovative and successful campaign will win an additional $500. Other campus groups can then apply for a $200 mini-grant to bring the winning campaign to their campus.

Are you ready to be an agent for change, to take action to promote human rights? To submit a proposal, please go to http://globalscholar.org/rca.

The deadline for applications is January 10, 2008!

JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS:

Sierra Student Coalition Directors and Spring Interns Wanted!

SPROG Directors

Become a director of one of the SSC's award-winning summer programs (SPROGs)! You know lots of young people care, about the climate, the environment, energy, sustainability, but so many don’t know what to do about it. This is your chance to be a leader in the program that teaches them how to get involved, build grassroots power, and be effective advocates.

Summer program directors are responsible for setting up logistics for a week-long environmental training program, recruiting potential student activists, and managing a staff of trainers during an amazing week of activist training, issue briefings, networking, and bonding in an inspiring outdoor setting.

Apply today! SPROG Directors will be accepted on a rolling basis until December 3rd. Early applicatios are more likely to be accepted. Spring Interns

The SSC hosts interns each semester and during the summer. We are now accepting applications for spring semester interns! Interns work alongside staff in the SSC’s national office in Washington, DC, completing a wide range of projects, from organizing the SSC's national gathering to providing support to a nationwide network of youth activists. To apply, please send a resume, cover letter, and 2-5 page writing sample to jpd@ssc.org.

Campaign Job Opportunities

The 2008 Election is just around the corner. At stake are the White House, Congress, and the Senate, and the ability to solve the great

problems of our day. We're hiring graduating seniors to direct campaign offices around the country. Students who are interested

should apply directly to:

Vanessa Macoy

vmacoy@grassrootscampaigns.com

617-338- 7812

WEBSITE: http://www.grassrootscampaigns.com

Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. (GCI) is a national political consulting firm specializing in building grassroots support for causes, political

candidates, public interest campaigns, and non-profit fundraising operations. We are currently interviewing potential staff for our

campaigns. Grassroots Campaigns' current and past clients include Environmental Action, MoveOn.org, the Democratic National Committee, the ACLU, and the League of Conservation Voters.

We are hiring for the following positions:

Position: Citizen Outreach Director

Citizen Outreach Directors and Assistant Directors manage grassroots fundraising offices. They work with a team of other directors to

recruit, train, and work with a staff of up to 100 paid canvassers to build support for the 2008 elections and a wide range of nonprofit

organizations.

Position: Field Organizer

Field Organizers work in targeted Congressional districts and major metropolitan areas around the country. They will recruit, train, and

work with volunteers to build the support needed to win on critical issues and get good candidates elected. In fall 2008 Field Organizers

will help run one of the largest get-out-the-vote drives in the country.

For all positions:

Qualifications:

Sound communication and motivational skills, strong desire for political change, and work ethic are essential. We are looking for

people who have a strong leadership background, and who are ready to take on a lot of responsibility. Previous field organizing or canvass experience is a plus, but not a pre-requisite.

Salary/Benefits

Annual salary begins at $24,000, and increases commensurate with

experience. Staff may opt into our health care plan. Student loan

assistance repayment program offered.

Locations:

Nationwide, ask recruiter for more details.

To Apply:

Vanessa Macoy

vmacoy@grassrootscampaigns.com

617-338- 7812

WEBSITE: http://www.grassrootscampaigns.com

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Beth Kopp

Coordinator, Environmental Studies Program

Colby College

5356 Mayflower Hill Drive

Waterville, Maine 04901

Office: 208 Diamond Building

207.859.5356