Science Seminar for News Editors
Environment Beyond Politics

Public Lecture

Introduction
Cornelia Dean, The New York Times

The Environment in American Politics and Who Cares?
Roger Kennedy, Director Emeritus, National Museum of American History
Land use and its consequences - who owns the land, how the national interest relates to private interests, which voters care about what, and the silent religious majority. Kennedy, former director of the National Park Service and advisor on environment for the Kerry and Dean campaigns, draws on his 50 years in and around politics and as author of more than a dozen history books, to put current bickering into a longer-term context.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2004
The Providence Journal Building

Welcome

Joel Rawson, The Providence Journal

Lecture

Environment in the Election Year: Will Kerry Take Advantage of Bush's Environmental Record?
Robert B. Semple, Jr., The New York Times

Lecture

Realities and Challenges of Moving Environmental Legislation through Congress
U.S. Senator Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI)
With Democrats and Republicans locked in a prolonged partisan struggle, Congress has effectively ceded the environmental policy agenda to successive administrations. Senator Chafee discusses the prospects for any new environmental statutes and the public policy implications of allowing regulations to supplant legislation.

Panel Discussion

Public Understanding of the Environment: Who Delivers?
Christina Zarcadoolas, Brown University, Moderator; Robert B. Semple, Jr., The New York Times; Eugene Linden, Time; Louis DiNatale, Center for Economic and Civic Opinion, University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
While public opinion polls rank environment as a priority issue for voters, environmental news coverage seems to be shrinking. What is the relationship between poll results, political platforms, and science reporting? The panelists talk about underreported stories on the environment and innovative approaches to news.

Field Trip

Living With Your Industrial Heritage: A Look at Urban Waterfront Reuse
Kim Boekelheide, Brown University; Thomas Deller, Department of Planning and Development, City of Providence; Terrence Gray, Air, Waste and Compliance, RI Department of Environmental Management; Eric Suuberg, Brown University
Brownfields, building renovation, liability, water and soil degradation–what’s involved in redeveloping contaminated and deteriorated waterfront property? What are the science and policy issues? Who bears the costs and risks? A guided tour of Providence waterfront by duckboat addresses these questions and provides insights into urban waterfront redevelopment as a great story.

Editors' Roundtable

Environmental News in the Near Future
Joel Rawson, The Providence Journal
Open discussion among participants about coverage ideas or plans for the future.