For Alumni & Friends of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison SPRING 2010

Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day, and the Nelson Institute Looking back…and ahead…in a milestone year

ENERGIZED! Good chemistry recharges a 30-year-old certificate program

A SENSE OF PLACE Immersion experiences shape perceptions

PREPARING TO ADAPT Strategizing for climate change in Wisconsin

NO HIGHER CALLING Q&A with Christine Thomas

Students assemble a five-story replica of Earth on Washington’s National Mall in 1995 for the Students assemble a five-story replica of Earth on Washington’s National Mall in 1995 for the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. Inset: Gaylord Nelson greets a constituent. 25th anniversary of Earth Day. Inset: Gaylord Nelson greets a constituent Together. For the planet. News and events It was a remarkable event. Twenty million Americans came together in small towns and major cities to take action on April For more news from the Nelson 22, 1970. The first Earth Day was the largest grassroots dem- Institute and details of upcoming onstration in American history. Almost overnight, the right to a events, visit our home page: clean and healthy environment, championed across time and nelson.wisc.edu the political spectrum by the likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Locate other alumni - and Rachel Carson, became the nation’s chorus. A decade of sweep- ing environmental legislation and reform followed. help us reach you Forty years later, diverse coalitions—concerned about cli- The Wisconsin Alumni Association mate change, food security, health, energy supplies, and clean offers a free online service to help water—again address local and global environmental challenges. locate UW–Madison graduates. Visit As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the uwalumni.com and log in to the Alumni Nelson Institute, the past informs our present and future. Directory. Use the “Update Profile” Walter Cronkite, anchor of CBS News, described the first Earth Day activists as “predomi- page to keep your own listing and nately young, predominately white.” But Cronkite’s impression was not all that Wisconsin mailing address current. This helps Senator Gaylord Nelson, Earth Day’s founder, hoped for. “Any national policy on the environ- ensure that you continue to receive ment that is worth its name,” Nelson argued the week before Earth Day, “must mean attack- In Common. ing the problem of our cities and the poor as much as it means providing national parks and scenic rivers.” Alumni networking online At a Denver gathering on that first Earth Day, Nelson repeated that the “environment is all Nelson Institute alumni can find of America and its problems. It is rats in the ghetto. It is a hungry child in a land of afflu- opportunities for social networking ence. It is housing that is not worthy of the name; neighborhoods not fit to inhabit.” Nelson on Facebook.com and for professional understood that the environment encompasses more than wild and scenic lands. It reaches networking on LinkedIn.com. Visit beyond dying songbirds, burning rivers, and sulfur-ridden skies to include the problems of nelson.wisc.edu/community/alumni poverty, inadequate housing, hunger, and disease. In Nelson’s words, “the ironclad connec- and click on the appropriate links. tion between the environment and economy” affirms that environmental problems are also problems of economic and social injustice. The Institute for Environmental Studies was established just months before Earth Day to grapple with these same problems in innovative ways. Renamed for Gaylord Nelson in 2002, In Common is published by the Nelson the institute today is driven by his broad vision. More than ever, our programs and activities Institute for Environmental Studies at are aligned toward the common goal of building sustainable communities and enhancing life the University of Wisconsin–Madison. for all. Funding for production and distribu- Last May, a group of our faculty members, students, and alumni boarded a bus to Chicago. tion is provided through the generosity We sought to understand how historical interactions between people and land have shaped of our alumni and friends. In Common the city’s cultures, values, traditions, infrastructure, and quality of life. is available online in PDF format at We visited Packingtown and its Bubbly Creek, made famous by Upton Sinclair’s nelson.wisc.edu/community/alumni. The Jungle. We explored the Indiana Dunes, a birthplace of ecology. And we met with Little Tom Sinclair, Editor Village Environmental Justice Organization and Growing Home on Chicago’s west and south Nancy Rinehart, Designer sides. Believing that environmental quality and economic development are inextricably Jenny Klaila, Production Editor intertwined, both groups use integrated approaches to bring renewal to communities fac- ing some of the city’s highest rates of diabetes, asthma, crime, poverty, and unemployment. Nelson Institute Growing Home sees vacant land not as blight but as space with the potential to provide fresh, for Environmental Studies organic produce to neighborhoods often described as food deserts because they lack access 30B Science Hall, 550 N. Park St. to healthy, fresh food. Madison, WI 53706–1491 Across the United States and the globe, similar community experiments seek solutions to (608) 263–5599 poverty and unemployment in ways that also address climate change, health disparities, and [email protected] energy needs. These efforts affirm Gaylord Nelson’s message that economic renewal depends COVER PHOTOS: WISCONSIN HISTORICAL on restoring the environment in which we live, work, and play. It is a message worth resurrect- SOCIETY ARCHIVES ing as we work together. For the planet.

Gregg Mitman Interim Director

2 In Common AROUND THE NELSON INSTITUTE

Origins of environmentalism People around the globe will media from Nelson’s three terms “Anyone interested century,” says CHE director th mark the 40 anniversary of as a U.S. senator and his subse- in Nelson or the history William Cronon. “Anyone inter- Earth Day this spring. quent work as counselor of the ested in Nelson or the history How did this unique annual Wilderness Society. of environmentalism of environmentalism will want observance come to pass? How Links from primary pages will want to explore to explore this site, which also did it change the course of take the reader to original docu- this site.” offers a treasure trove of online political life across the country ments that can be viewed online documents as a model for how and around the world? Why does or printed. The documents are American environmentalism,” archival materials can be made it continue to resonate with so from the Wisconsin Historical says Gregg Mitman, interim more widely available over the many people? Society’s extensive collection of director of the Nelson Institute. Web.” A new Web site, “Gaylord papers from Gaylord Nelson’s The Web site is a cooperative The historical society is Nelson and Earth Day: career donated by the former venture of the Nelson Institute staging two companion exhibits The Making of the Modern senator 20 years ago. An index Center for Culture, History, this spring: one about Gaylord Environmental Movement,” tells of the site’s material and links and Environment (CHE); the Nelson and Earth Day, at the the story of Earth Day founder to more online resources are historical society; and the Nelson Wisconsin Historical Museum in Gaylord Nelson and how his available. family. downtown Madison, the other idea, conceived as a “national “’Gaylord Nelson and Earth “Gaylord Nelson is today about Gaylord Nelson’s life and teach-in on the environment,” Day’ is a remarkable resource best remembered as the father career, at the society’s headquar- became a historic turning point. for teachers, students, scholars, of Earth Day, but his politi- ters on Library Mall. The site, at nelsonearthday. and citizens wanting to learn cal career offers a wider and For further details about the net, contains more than 200 more about the values, people, more revealing window on the Web site, visit nelsonearthday. Web pages with more than 500 ideas, and social movements transformation of American net/about. For information about original documents, images, that have come to shape environmental politics during the exhibits, visit nelsonearthday. quotes, video clips, and audio the changing landscape of the middle decades of the 20th net/exhibits. w

Home page of “Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day: The Making of the Modern Environmental Movement”

Spring 2010 3 AROUND THE NELSON INSTITUTE

Earth Day at 40

It was, according to American Heritage magazine, “one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.” The first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, inspired 20 million people to participate in environmental “teach-ins” across the United States. we learned since 1970, and Margaret Atwood, SC Johnson The event realized the goal what should be our pathways chairman and CEO Fisk that its founder, U.S. Senator to environmental change in the Johnson, Wilderness Society Our national parks Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, 21st century? How can we har- president William Meadows, and If you’ve seen Ken Burns’ had set for it: to put the environ- ness new ideas, technologies, environmental justice scholar latest documentary film, ment firmly on the national social networks and other tools Dorceta Taylor. The event also about America’s national agenda. Today it is observed in to bring positive change? will form part of the celebration th parks, on PBS, you prob- almost every country on Earth. “Earth Day at 40: Valuing of the 40 anniversary of the ably noticed that environ- Wisconsin has long been Wisconsin’s Environmental Nelson Institute, established in mental historian William a leader in environment and Traditions, Past, Present and 1970 and renamed for Gaylord Cronon appears frequently conservation, home to indi- Future,” the Nelson Institute’s Nelson in 2002. Several promi- in the six-episode series. viduals such as John Muir, Aldo annual Earth Day conference, nent alumni of the institute are Cronon, who directs Leopold, and Gaylord Nelson, will explore these questions by on the program. the Nelson Institute and a laboratory of innovations revisiting the popular movement The celebration includes a Center for Culture, History, in environmental ethics, law and that launched an era of environ- special concert, “Ecotones: A and Environment, told policy, institutions and research mental reform, by surveying a Musical Ecology of Wisconsin,” Madison’s weekly newspa- that have contributed to national broad range of current environ- at 8 p.m. April 20 in Madison’s per Isthmus when the film and global environmental protec- mental issues, and by envision- Overture Center for the Arts. The premiered last fall that tion and quality of life. ing a more just and sustainable performance, featuring con- he received e-mails from Yet despite remarkable future. The conference will take temporary compositions about people across the coun- progress over the past 40 years, place April 20–21 at Madison’s Wisconsin’s environment by try—many of them com- we face enormous challenges Monona Terrace Community and UW–Madison musicians, is free plete strangers—thanking in climate change, population, Convention Center. and open to the public. him for his contributions to energy, land use, water, and Featured speakers include For complete details visit the program. other related issues. What have Robert F. Kennedy Jr., author nelson.wisc.edu/earthday40. w Said he, “I am proud UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS UNIVERSITY to have a small role in a series that is focusing so much public attention on a topic—the national parks and more broadly our national landscape and its importance to all Americans—to which I’ve devoted my whole life.”

Naturalist Nathan Larson (far left) plays a guitar and sings “I’m Gonna Reach,” a song about being a tree reaching for the sky, with families attending the UW–Madison Arboretum’s Earth Day activities in 2001.

4 In Common AROUND THE NELSON INSTITUTE

Film + engagement = progress

The Nelson Institute’s second Tales from Planet Earth commu- nity and film festival took center stage in Madison for three days last November with something new: a built-in call to action. “When the lights come up, we want people to take the energy and inspiration of great storytelling to build community and effect positive environmental and social change,” said festival director Gregg Mitman. “We’ve worked hard to include commu- nity engagement as part of the festival’s mission.” Featuring some 50 environ- mental films from around the world, Tales from Planet Earth again sought to illustrate how stories told through film can influence our understanding of, and relationships to, the environ- ment. More than 4,600 people attended the screenings, related lectures and discussions, and a host of community events. But Filming of a scene from “What’s on Your Plate?,” which follows two New York City pre-teens who investigate the sources of their food. After the film screened at the Tales from Planet Earth community and film festival, that was just the beginning. chef Tory Miller of Madison’s L’Etoile restaurant led audience members to the final Dane County farmers Students in Nelson Institute market of the season for a cooking demo, interactive ingredient display, and some tasty local treats. courses on environmental film- making and community engage- kitchens. And a local build- These and more success state—Baraboo, Milwaukee, ment taught by Mitman and ing supply company helped stories set Tales from Planet Dodgeville, and Ashland— artist-in residence Judith Helfand, organize a fundraiser to enable Earth apart from other film as part of the Wisconsin a filmmaker, activist, and educa- Porchlight to buy a commercial- festivals, benefited the commu- Humanities Council’s Making it tor, partnered with area nonprofit scale convection oven to boost nity, and enriched the students’ Home initiative. w organizations working on issues its productivity. Increasing sales educations. addressed in the films. The of Porchlight’s products—mostly “Some of these students students produced their own bottled goods such as jams and have lived in Madison for years Student Trailers short films about the organiza- pickled veggies, baked goods, but have never left the isthmus,” Tales from Planet Earth tions and helped them tackle and salads—permits more hiring said Mitman. “They are seeing audiences enjoyed sev- challenges ranging from home- and training. that the issues in the films are eral trailers produced by lessness and hunger to wildlife Meanwhile, a supermarket, very real, and real right here. UW-Madison students in rehabilitation and community- a local foundation, and individ- They are also learning new an environmental filmmak- based conservation. ual donors agreed to purchase ways to think about community ing course. Two of these The outcome was impres- food shares from the Madison service—where they learn about were chosen for this year’s sive. For example, several Area Community Supported doing things ‘with’ people, not Environmental Film Festival grocery stores and sororities, Agriculture Coalition to donate to ‘for’ them. That builds relation- in the Nation’s Capitol. All the Wisconsin Union, and a food pantries, which otherwise ships, trust, and follow-through.” are viewable at nelson.wisc. local brewpub agreed to stock would rarely have fresh vegeta- Echoes of Tales from Planet edu/tales/student_trailers. products made by Porchlight, bles for their clients. The store Earth continue this spring with a nonprofit that hires and trains also donated fresh fruits through screenings of selected films in homeless people to work in its the winter to help fill gaps. four communities across the

Spring 2010 5 AROUND THE NELSON INSTITUTE

Wanted: Climate solutions AGU to honor Liu The Climate Leadership Zhengyu Liu, director of the Challenge (CLC), now in its sec- Nelson Institute Center for ond year, means business. Climatic Research (CCR), Sponsors of the competition, has been elected a 2010 which encourages UW–Madison fellow of the American student solutions to climate Geophysical Union (AGU). change, doubled the amount of Liu, a professor of cash to be awarded to help the atmospheric and oceanic winning teams put their products sciences and environmen- or programs into action. tal studies, joined the With prizes totaling up to UW–Madison faculty in $100,000, this year’s CLC is the 1993 after earning a Ph.D. most lucrative college or uni- in physical oceanography versity competition of its kind in Ben Nyquist (right), a finalist in last year’s Climate Leadership Challenge, from the Massachusetts the country, according to Tracey shows off a prototype electric power-assisted commuter bicycle. Institute of Technology and Holloway, director of the Nelson has directed CCR since Institute Center for Sustainability will receive awards of $15,000 UW–Madison is fertile ground for 2002. He studies global and the Global Environment, each, and the runner-up for the innovative ideas. climate modeling; ocean- which is staging the contest. most action-ready idea will win Eight student finalists will atmosphere-land interac- “We really want to see $10,000. present their proposals at the tions; climate change and implementation of the best ideas The Global Stewards Society, institute’s Earth Day conference climate variability in the offered,” says Holloway. “The a group of Madison-area bene- in April. Keith Cronin, student past, present, and future; purpose of this competition is factors, is again sponsoring the coordinator of the CLC, says modeling and dynamics of to make an impact on climate competition. Members include with hundreds of public officials, general oceanic circula- change.” John F. and Mary Cooper; Gary business people, environmental tion; and dynamics of The contest is open to all and Ellora Cooper; Christine professionals, and other notables geophysical fluid. UW–Madison students. The Cooper; John and Mary K. attending the conference, the The AGU is an inter- most action-ready idea will Noreika; Peter Vogel of Vogel venue will give the projects national organization of win its creators $50,000 plus Brothers Building Company; invaluable exposure. scientists working together a $5,000 promotional trip and David Beck-Engel, J.H. Findorff A panel of judges composed on a broad spectrum of an option for a free one-year & Son; and Scott J. Repert of of high-profile business people, scientific topics that span lease in the University Research Superior Health Linens. government officials, educators, all of the Earth and space Park’s new Metro Innovation With 168 academic depart- and activists will announce the sciences. The organization Center on Madison’s east side. ments, more than $900 million awards on the closing day of the elects just one of every The most innovative techni- spent annually on research, conference. For more informa- thousand of its members cal and non-technical ideas and a student body of 42,000, tion, visit sage.wisc.edu/clc. w to fellowship each year. Lui will be honored with other 2010 fellows dur- ing the organization’s fall Climate change and health meeting in December. Nelson Institute professor Jonathan Patz appeared in a feature report on public televi- sion’s NewsHour in late December about the human health repercussions of climate change. Patz, who has degrees in medicine and public health, told the NewsHour that more intense storms expected as a result of global warming will increase the risks of drinking water contamination in communities with wastewater management systems that combine stormwater with sewage. He said when systems of this kind that are designed for more moderate precipitation overflow, the unhealthy mix often spills into surface waters that serve as public water supplies. While acknowledging that some people and regions may benefit from climate change, Patz said losers will outnumber winners.

6 In Common AROUND THE NELSON INSTITUTE

Unheeded lessons AAAS cites Kutzbach Nelson Institute professor Nancy are not rare. They are among Professor Emeritus John Langston has written a new book the most common chemicals Kutzbach (atmospheric that explores why our environ- produced today and include and oceanic sciences/ ment has become saturated with pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and environmental studies) synthetic chemicals that disrupt plastics such as BPA. Endocrine was elected a fellow of hormones and asks what we disruptors are widely used to the American Association can do to protect human and fatten beef, to package foods for the Advancement of environmental health. and beverages, and throughout Science (AAAS) late last year. Toxic Bodies: Hormone our homes. They are found in He received his award in Disruptors and the Legacy of our rivers and streams and in the February at the organization’s DES, published this winter by tissues of almost every person. annual meeting in San Diego. Yale University Press, recounts These chemicals are under- The AAAS cited Kutzbach the public health catastrophe studied and misunderstood, for “distinguished contribu- created by the hormone-disrupt- Langston warns, contending tions in the field of climate ing drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). that today’s assurances of safety change, particularly for Langston, an environmental are based upon the same faulty studies of how changes of the appropriate studies, ignored or historian, explains how this estro- assumptions that kept DES Earth’s orbit produce ice ages concealed existing data, and genic drug, promoted for use on the market. Our regulatory and monsoon variations.” He declined to restrict DES without in every pregnancy beginning model assumes that all chemi- was director of the Nelson proof that it caused harm. in the 1940s, caused cancer in cals are more toxic at high doses Institute Center for Climatic What have we learned from exposed fetuses and is still caus- than at low ones and that toxicity Research for 32 years until DES and from other hormone ing reproductive problems in is immediately apparent. Yet his retirement from the fac- disruptors such as DDT that their children and grandchildren. endocrine disruptors can cause ulty in 2002. He continues have damaged human health? DES was also widely used great harm at very low doses, his work as associate director Are adequate precautions in to fatten chickens and beef especially to developing fetuses and senior scientist at CCR. place today to prevent new cattle. Residues in meat and and infants, and the effects of The world’s largest general disasters? In , poultry were ingested by nearly Toxic Bodies exposure may not be apparent scientific society, AAAS is Langston shows that the every American from the 1950s until maturity or even until future an international nonprofit answers to these questions are through the 1970s. Even though generations show problems. organization that publishes frightening. While DES has been workers who handled DES at How can we learn from the the journal Science as well banned, we are awash in a sea processing plants developed past and protect ourselves and as many scientific newslet- of similar chemicals, and the reduced virility, disturbed our children from endocrine ters, books and reports, impacts on human health are menstrual cycles, and cancers, disruptors? The key, Langston and spearheads programs likely to be profound. government agencies assured argues, is the precautionary dedicated to advancing Endocrine disruptors— the public that DES was safe. For principle: Chemicals should science around the globe. 30 years, says Langston, regula- chemicals that disrupt hormones be proven safe before they are tory officials failed to demand and alter sexual development— approved and distributed. w

In Memoriam

Two early Nelson Institute faculty Governor’s Coordinating Committee the dynamics of plant communities ecology in this country.” The Nelson and staff members died last year. for the Kickapoo River and the Nelson and won him citations including a Institute’s Cottam Distinguished Grant Cottam, emeritus professor of Institute’s Lake La Farge Project, a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was a Graduate Fellowship was established botany and environmental studies, series of impact studies of a large member and chair of the university’s during the 1990s in his honor. was 91. James Jondrow, a research dam-building project on the Kickapoo Arboretum Committee and a trustee Jondrow was UW–Madison’s administrator in the institute for 10 River in western Wisconsin. of the Wisconsin Chapter of The assistant director of student affairs years, was 87. A student of renowned UW– Nature Conservancy. before moving to the Nelson Institute Cottam chaired the institute’s Madison plant ecologist John Curtis, When he retired in 1985 after in 1973. He served as program academic programs from 1974 to Cottam twice chaired the Botany 36 years at the university, Cottam coordinator for the Environmental 1978 and directed its Center for Biotic Department and helped develop earned praise from then-Chancellor Remote Sensing Center and other Systems, which no longer exists. courses on general ecology and Irving Shain for having “a major influ- centers, departing in 1983 to join a During the 1970s, he also chaired the vegetation. His research focused on ence on the development of plant North Carolina computer firm. w

Spring 2010 7 Energized! Faculty cluster creates good chemistry for EAP certificate program

BY TOM SINCLAIR hen then-Chancellor David Ward announced plans in 1998 to hire new UW–Madison professors in interdisciplinary “clusters” W with shared scholarly interests, the academic world took note. The so-called cluster-hire initiative turned the traditional faculty hiring process—one by one, department by department—on its head by creating a campus-wide competition for new positions requiring unprecedented collaboration between departments and colleges. Nearly 50 proposals for clusters of two or more members won approval over the ensuing years. Scores of professors were hired to fill them. The Nelson Institute, a natural partner with many departments, was a major beneficiary. And one youthful cluster of energetic professors has played a key role in revitalizing the Nelson Institute’s oldest graduate-level certificate program. WARRENNATIONAL GRETZ, LABORATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY

Lights of many colors illuminate an oil refinery at night, but the world is hungry for other sources of energy.

8 In Common Focal point UW-MADISON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING OF COLLEGE UW-MADISON Paul Wilson was a postdoc at UW–Madison in 2000 when the university solicited applicants for a cluster in energy sources and policy. He soon became the first of four young scholars hired into the cluster. Today, as an associate professor of engineer- ing physics and environmental studies, he chairs the 30-year-old Energy Analysis and Policy Program (EAP). “It was always a goal of this particular cluster hire to bring in faculty to enhance EAP,” says Wilson. “And it was clear from the way we were hired, and as we searched for other candidates, that we wanted people who would be committed to the program. That has been a focal point to keep us together.” Reacting to issues raised by the energy crisis of the 1970s, enterprising leaders in the Nelson Institute had launched EAP in 1980 as an optional certificate in three UW– Madison graduate programs. The program thrived in its first decade—enrollments climbed as high as 30 students—and held its own in the early 1990s. But as many of the founders, includ- ing professors Charles Cicchetti, George Bunn, and John Steinhart, departed for Paul Wilson other opportunities or retired, EAP strug- gled for survival and a sense of direction. The cluster-hire initiative was the “I would like it to Meanwhile, with energy supplies seemingly remedy. The Nelson Institute, the College be such that if any abundant and prices low, public interest in of Engineering, and other academic units student in EAP goes the subject waned. jointly proposed a cluster of four profes- By the mid–1990s, EAP counted just sors with combined expertise in energy- to a seminar and sees three students, raising the question: Should related science, technology, and policy. one of us in the audi- the Nelson Institute pull the plug on the Their proposal made the cut, and long-time ence, they know who program? Absolutely not, said the institute’s engineering/environmental studies profes- Board of Visitors, insisting that energy issues sor Erhard Joeres was named to lead the we are and that we would resurface as a major concern in the interdisciplinary search committee. are part of the EAP 21st century. The board called the revival of “We expect them to work together,” faculty.” EAP a top priority. said Joeres in 2000 as the committee To jump-start the program, the institute began screening applicants. “We expect brought alumnus Richard Shaten (LR Ph.D. them to be a nucleus on campus that will ’98) on board in 1998 as EAP coordinator, attract other people to work on energy opened the curriculum to all UW–Madison issues.” graduate students, and trimmed it from 42 to 18 more tightly focused credits. Interest and enrollments began to climb again. Yet with a diminished faculty core, EAP still wasn’t whole.

Spring 2010 9 Building community

It didn’t happen overnight, but one by one, “We have expanded enrollment con- the cluster took shape. Wilson was the first siderably in the past couple of years, and to join the faculty, in 2001. Then came students are coming from many different Tracey Holloway, in 2003. After an extended departments” says Nemet, noting that the pause, Bernard Lesieutre and Gregory Nemet introductory EAP class he now teaches completed the group with their arrivals in recently attracted students from 15 different 2007. graduate programs. “We have all been active members of Cluster members also have created more the faculty executive that administers EAP, informal opportunities for students to meet which is a nice injection of new people,” and socialize and made special efforts to be says Wilson. “We’re not just new blood but present when students gather. more blood. A lot of the people who were “I would like it to be such that if any stu- traditionally involved were running out of dent in EAP goes to a seminar and sees one steam.” of us in the audience, they know who we The foursome’s academic backgrounds are and that we are part of the EAP faculty,” Tracey Holloway are diverse. Wilson is a nuclear engineer; explains Wilson. “It gets back to the idea of Holloway, an air quality modeler; Lesieutre, community. This is such a big campus.” an electrical engineer; and Nemet, an While gaps in academic expertise can energy policy analyst. But their interests occur as participating faculty members reach well beyond their specialties, coalesc- come and go, Wilson believes the current ing around the same theme that attracts 18-credit EAP study plan—an introductory students from many graduate degree seminar, courses in energy policy, technol- programs to EAP. ogy, environmental studies, economics, and “We all have an interest in the policy side a capstone seminar—is well designed and of things and, to the extent that we have unique. energy policy at different levels of govern- “I think on paper we have all the pieces ment, how it comes to be,” says Wilson. “It’s of a very good program,” says Wilson, important that policy decisions are informed pointing out that new courses on campus by the right level of technical understanding in recent years, especially in renewable and economic understanding and by other energy technologies, such as biofuels, have elements we cover in the program.” enriched student choices. Holloway, who now directs the Nelson “It’s ironic,” he adds, “given how Institute Center for Sustainability and the important energy is, that there are so few Greg Nemet Global Environment, believes EAP is well universities with really focused programs suited to its mission. where people can study it, especially “It’s a great program because it can sup- broad-based ones, like ours, that are truly port any graduate student in any department interdisciplinary.” on campus,” she says. “Graduate students Nemet believes such offerings will grow don’t have to choose whether they will study in importance even if public attention to public policy or energy or engineering or energy wavers. energy. EAP allows students from all parts “One thing we know from the past sever- of campus to pursue their degree of choice al decades is that societal interest in energy and energy.” issues is extremely volatile—it peaks with The cluster has taken steps to fortify the crises and energy prices and fades from program. Most notably, EAP faculty mem- view the rest of the time,” he says. “That’s a bers teach more of the required courses and challenge because addressing energy prob- shoulder more of the student advising. The lems will require persistence and patience. results have been gratifying. Training more analysts and future leaders with a broad set of skills in this area is the best way to position our society to make good decisions when opportunities arise.”

10 In Common Exerting influence

The faculty energy cluster has exerted influence well beyond the EAP certificate program. Wilson and Holloway were instru- mental in founding the Energy Institute, which integrates energy-related activities at UW–Madison and promotes collaboration with government and industry leaders to address energy challenges. Nelson Institute alumnus Paul Meier (Ph.D., LR/EAP ’02) directs the institute. More recently, the cluster won a three- year grant from the university’s Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy to explore the future of globalization and global governance as it relates to energy. More than a dozen people, mostly professors, now meet biweekly to discuss topics such as the tradeoffs between energy and water consumption, how multinational environ- mental treaties affect energy and economic Ankie and Wes Foell development, and the unequal worldwide distribution of energy technologies. The group also hosts lectures and seminars on related subjects by visiting guests. A gift … and a challenge “The not-entirely-covert but ulterior Wes Foell has spent a lifetime trying to solve complex energy problems. He under- motive of this collaborative is to reach out stands the potential consequences of not solving them. from the Energy Institute to social scientists “Global warming, international security, economic prosperity, and public health and humanists and include more of them all have deep dimensions tied to our patterns of energy use,” says Foell, an early in the work we’re doing,” says Wilson. “The member of the Nelson Institute faculty. “It has become painfully obvious that funda- Energy Institute was formed to be a cam- mental changes in these patterns are critical for the very health and well being of our puswide umbrella for all things energy, but planet and society.” it has been populated, for maybe obvious Now a retired energy consultant with extensive international experience, Foell and natural reasons, primarily by physical says the EAP program helps meet the growing need for people who grasp the intrica- scientists. cies of energy issues and can steer them in positive directions. “We haven’t necessarily closed that “There is a great demand for broadly educated energy researchers, profession- connection, but we’ve certainly gotten more als and practitioners—a demand that is fast outpacing the supply of people with the people from other parts of campus inter- background, education, and skills required,” says Foell. ested in energy, including political scientists, “The EAP program is exactly the type of interdisciplinary program needed to historians, and applied economists who produce graduates who can step directly into these careers. One of EAP’s strengths have been participating and become affili- is that it provides practical experience and exposure to the most important tools of ates of our collaborative.” energy analysis, policy development, and management within a broad array of institu- That’s progress. Working across disci- tional settings.” plines is still the exception, rather than the With this in mind, Foell and his wife, Ankie, have pledged $25,000 annually for rule, in academia. the next two years to create an award supporting graduate students in EAP. The Foells “Interdisciplinary teaching and research have offered an additional $25,000 if another donor pledges to match or surpass their almost always requires additional effort initial two-year contribution and create a second EAP student award. because individuals bring with them differ- “We have witnessed the important roles played by graduates of this program ent assumptions, methodologies, language, over the past several decades,” says Foell. “Many have had outstanding careers in and even types of questions they tend to Wisconsin and elsewhere.” ask,” explains Nemet. But, he adds, there is a shortage of financial aid for qualified graduate students Continued on page 12 who could enter this program. “Greatly increased financial support is urgent!”

Spring 2010 11 WARRENNATIONAL GRETZ, LABORATORY RENEWABLE ENERGY Continued from page 11 “These differences are usually unspo- ken, and successful collaboration often requires explicitly addressing them. One can have the discouraging feeling of starting off by going backwards. But it’s worthwhile because the problems associated with energy demand this type of interdisciplinary approach. We really don’t have a choice.” The faculty energy cluster also has secured one of a handful of cluster- enhancement grants from the university to help build a stronger sense of community around energy on campus and to make UW–Madison, as Wilson puts it, “a destina- tion for energy scholars.” To Nemet, all this synergy is, well, energizing. “My work is focused on how to design public policy to create incentives for the development and deployment of new energy technologies, especially those that have the potential to address environmental prob- lems associated with energy use,” he says. “The issues involved include institutions, engineering, and understanding of physical processes in the environment. For me, it’s ideal to have the opportunity to work in close collaboration with engineers and physical science professors as well as with students.” Holloway agrees. Besides establishing a UW–Madison faculty position for her, the energy cluster “has provided a cohort of peers to advance projects requiring our mul- tiple areas of energy expertise,” she says, and “created connections that have opened up research and teaching opportunities for me that probably wouldn’t have taken shape otherwise.”

For more information about the Energy Analysis and Policy Program, visit nelson.wisc.edu/eap.

Rows of electricity-generating wind turbines are an increasingly common landmark in the nation’s heartland.

12 In Common Where are they now?

More than 130 people have earned graduate-level certificates in energy analysis and policy since the Nelson Institute launched the EAP program 30 years ago. Not all have pursued energy-related careers, but those who have are making their mark in many places, in many ways, as evidenced by these selected EAP alumni profiles. (EAP completion dates are in parentheses.)

Lynn Hobbie (’84) began he managed the collection and publication of Andy Olsen (’96) is a working part-time for energy statistics, policy and technical analysis, senior policy advocate at Madison Gas and program administration and dissemination of the Environmental Law Electric Company while a public information related to fuel use in and Policy Center, student in EAP. After Wisconsin. He currently serves on the boards running its Madison completing her master’s of the Solar Rating and Certification Corpora- office. Olsen is a degree and certificate, tion and Wisconsin’s Citizens Utility Board. national leader in she was hired full-time building constituencies as an analyst. Today, she Dan York (’87) is deputy among farm and rural is senior vice president at the company. Her director of the Utilities development groups for clean energy funding. management responsibilities include Program at the He also managed the Governor’s Alternative marketing, energy efficiency programming, American Council for an Fuels Task Force and led several collaborative renewable energy programming, new products Energy-Efficient renewable energy efforts in Wisconsin. He has and services, corporate communications, and Economy (ACEEE). He been board president of RENEW Wisconsin economic development. She is in her researches, analyzes, and currently serves on the board of the twenty-fifth year with MGE. and writes about energy state’s Citizens Utility Board. Olson was a efficiency policy and three-term Dane County supervisor and has Yogo Pratomo (’84) is chief commissioner of program issues for electric and natural gas served the county’s Lakes and Watershed Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company, utilities. Example projects include studies of Commission and on the Madison Common PT-PLN. He has recently headed the energy efficiency program best practices and Council. Indonesian government’s accelerated power tracking of state-level energy efficiency sector development program, which seeks to program trends. York joined ACEEE in 2001 Paul Denholm (’03) is a build 35 new power plants to generate 10,000 with more than 15 years of experience in the senior analyst in the megawatts of additional power across the energy efficiency field, including five years as Energy Forecasting and country. He also has served as director general a senior project manager at the Energy Modeling Group at the for electricity and energy utilization at the Center of Wisconsin. He was a Fulbright National Renewable Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Fellow at the University of Oslo–Center for Energy Laboratory as director of electric power planning and head Development and Environment in conjunc- (NREL), the nation’s of its planning bureau tion with his dissertation research in primary laboratory for 1989–90. renewable energy and Don Wichert (’87) is energy efficiency research and development. director of renewable Bobbi Tannenbaum (’88) is a senior principal His key research interests are the effects of energy programs at the consultant with KEMA, Inc., a global energy large-scale renewable energy deployment in Wisconsin Energy consulting, testing, and certification firm. She electric power systems, and renewable energy Conservation Corporation is responsible for planning and managing enabling technologies including energy storage (WECC) and recently research projects for utility and government and long distance transmission. joined WECC’s strategic clients. Her work focuses on evaluation and planning department. market research in support of energy efficiency From 2004 through and renewable energy programs. Tannenbaum 2009 he directed Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy specializes in designing and implementing Renewable Energy Program, which encour- qualitative and quantitative data collection. Her aged customer applications of renewable studies have included focus groups, in-depth energy by providing information, education, interviews, and surveys to evaluate all program training, assessments, project facilitation, aspects, including marketing messages and feasibility and business development grants, delivery. Before joining KEMA, she was a project financing, and barrier-reduction principal project manager at the Energy Center services. Previously, Wichert was chief of of Wisconsin. energy resources at the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Division of Energy, where

Spring 2010 13 A SENSE OF PLACE ‘Place-based’ workshops help participants explore, perceive world in new ways

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM CRONON

14 In Common A SENSE OF PLACE ‘Place-based’ workshops help participants explore, perceive world in new ways

odern societies, including our own, tend to view culture and Menvironment as distinct entities. Our institutions, from education to govern- ment to the nonprofit world, routinely treat the “human” and “natural” worlds separately. Yet culture and environment are tightly intertwined: Environments shape the people within them. People shape the environments around them. What’s more, human cultures and envi- ronments are dynamic. With both, change is constant. And with both, understanding fully the hows and whys of current change, and predicting future change, requires an appreciation of past change. The Nelson Institute Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) brings together faculty, staff, graduate students, and others from a wide array of academic fields at UW–Madison to investigate the ties between cultural and environmental change over the full sweep of human history. Classroom lectures, readings, and research papers all have their value. But for students, in particular, there is no better way to grasp the intermingling of culture and environment than through an immersion experience. CHE’s place-based workshops make this kind of experience possible. Every year, the center takes a new group to a unique locale for several days to examine how history, culture, and nature converge. The initial workshops explored relatively remote or rural locales: the Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands, Yellowstone National Park, and Wisconsin’s Kickapoo River Valley. But the most recent destina- tion was as urban as it gets: metropolitan Chicago.

Workshop participants tour Lurie Garden, an oasis of perennials amid the steel and glass towers surrounding Chicago’s Millennium Park. PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM CRONON

Spring 2010 15 Powerful tool

hree dozen students, professors, and guests—including several Nelson TInstitute alumni—began the tour at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, an ecological and recreational treasure on Lake Michigan. Moving to the heart of the city, they delved into environmental justice issues, including the devastating 1995 heat wave that took hundreds of lives, mostly among the poor. The itinerary included looks at urban agriculture, food accessibil- ity, and city infrastructure. The participants left with a deeper sense of how the nation’s third largest metropolitan area became what it is today. “The workshop was wonderful,” says Charlotte Zieve (LR Ph.D.’86). “I come from Chicago and was amazed that I had never seen most of the places we visited. Having experts join us at the various stops gave us insight we would not otherwise have had.” Within CHE, students gather from diverse academic disciplines—including anthropology, ecology, environmental stud- ies, forestry, geography, geology, history, history of science, landscape architecture, law, literature, and sociology—to under- stand and redefine how people relate to place. They learn about the consequences of planning and design decisions. They see, because they can look from a variety of perspectives, how today’s decisions affect people’s well-being over time, and because of this they are better able to seek sustainable and ethical solutions for com- plex environmental problems. Place-based workshops are a powerful tool that helps students explore and per- ceive their world in new ways. They provide important bonding experiences, encourag- ing students to share perspectives and to work together.

For more information about place-based workshops, visit the Web site of the Nelson Institute Center for Culture, History, and Environment at che.nelson.wisc.edu.

16 In Common Above Left: Ascending a mountain of sand at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, southeast of Chicago on Lake Michigan.

Left: A mural graces the outer wall of the Joseph E. Gary Elementary School in a Latino neighborhood of Chicago.

Above Right: History doctoral student Andrew Case and Professor Bill Cronon enjoy lunch in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.

Right: On to the next stop.

Spring 2010 17 Right: Nelson Institute alumni Andrew Stuhl and Charlotte Zieve stand with interim director Gregg Mitman during a tour of Growing Home’s Wood Street Urban Farm.

Second right: Growing Home staff member Orrin Williams.

Far right: Gallery at Chicago History Museum.

Greenhouse at Wood Street Urban Farm operated by Growing Home, a Chicago nonprofit that provides job training for homeless and low-income people through a social enterprise business based on organic agriculture. All proceeds from sales of the farm’s produce support the training program and farm sites.

18 In Common The Crawford Station, one of two coal-fired power plants in Chicago, stands four blocks from an elementary school in the city’s Little Village neighborhood. Its emissions have been blamed for high asthma rates in the area.

Spring 2010 19 Preparing to adapt BY STEVE POMPLUN, RICHARD LATHROP, and ALISON COULSON

20 In Common UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS UNIVERSITY

University researchers and natural resource managers focus on strategies to adapt to Preparing to adapt climate change in Wisconsin

ong-time Wisconsinites believe they’ve seen it, and new research proves them right: Our state’s climate is changing. A team of scientists in the Nelson Institute has documented a L significant shift in temperature and precipitation patterns over the past few decades, and what they’ve found might be a small taste of what lies ahead. The researchers say far greater changes are likely over the next 40 years—changes that could profoundly affect our natural resources, economy, health and sense of place. Working as part of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), Nelson Institute climatologists analyzed a wealth of weather data collected across the state since 1950. Daily temperature and precipitation readings gathered from scores of cooperative weather stations show that temperatures have risen, in keeping with the global trend. The numbers might seem modest. Statewide, the annual average tem- perature has risen by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 56 years, and average precipitation has increased by about 10 percent. But the devil is in the details, with big differences across the seasons. For example, tempera- tures have risen fastest in winter and spring, while summer and fall have actually cooled a bit. Add geography to the mix and you see even greater variation: Winters in northwestern Wisconsin have warmed by as much as 4.5°F. “We’re not seeing as many extended subzero stretches in our winters, and the nights have gotten milder,” says Chris Kucharik, an assistant profes- sor of agronomy and environmental studies and one of the lead researchers on the project. The increase in precipitation is concentrated in the south-central and western regions, while northern Wisconsin has been drier, especially in summer. “The increases in precipitation are generally due to an increase in the number of days each year with measurable rain or snow,” Kucharik explains.

Impacts of the changing climate are being felt in a variety of ways. UW-Madison lim- nologist John Magnuson has documented a steady decline in the length of time that Wisconsin lakes are frozen over, affecting ecological conditions in and near lakes and recreational activities like ice fishing, as seen here on Lake Mendota during an unusually mild day in February 2009.

Spring 2010 21 FEMA/BARRY BAHLER FEMA/BARRY

Resorts on Wisconsin’s popular Lake Delton took a big financial hit after high water from heavy rains in June 2008 breached the saturated shoreline and the lake drained into the Wisconsin River. Average annual rainfall across the state increased by more than three inches from 1950 to 2006.

Feeling the effects state bird, the robin. These kinds of changes rainfall in April. have been recorded by Nina Leopold Bradley, Although no single weather event can Impacts of the changing climate are being Aldo’s daughter, who is building a valuable be attributed to climate change, climate felt in a variety of ways. Lake ice cover, for collection of phenological observations at the models project an increase in the frequency example, has been declining. UW–Madison Leopold Foundation in Baraboo. In simplest of the most intense rainfall events as the limnologist John Magnuson, who co-chairs terms, spring is coming earlier, and while this world warms. Stormwater system designs the WICCI Science Council, has documented might sound nice, it could upset the delicate throughout the state have been based on a steady drop in the length of time that balance of many important ecosystems. hydrologic data that have not been updated Wisconsin lakes are frozen over. This can And then there’s the flooding, perhaps in 40 years, and with “100-year” flood affect ecological conditions such as nutrient the most obvious of the changes we’re see- events occurring with greater frequency, cycling and oxygenation within the lakes as ing. Wisconsin has smashed records for the the statistics, terminology, and engineer- well as habitat for shoreline birds and other frequency and severity of floods in recent ing to manage stormwater may need to be species. Ice fishing has also been affected by years, resulting in hundreds of millions of redefined and redesigned. shorter ice duration. dollars in damage to property, crops, and Other indicators of climate change are infrastructure. The most astounding and Modeling Wisconsin’s fu- seen in the earlier emergence and blossom- iconic of these recent events was the shore- ture ing of native plants such as forest phlox and line failure that emptied Lake Delton in June false indigo and in the spring arrivals of some 2008 following a succession of heavy rain- The climate researchers also developed migrating birds, including the eastern phoebe, storms that fell on ground already saturated a set of future projections as part of their the rose breasted grosbeak, and Wisconsin’s from record winter snows and excessive state-based analysis. They used an innova-

22 In Common tive technique to “downscale” (localize) COMMUNICATIONS UNIVERSITY 14 global climate models used by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fourth assessment report, issued in 2007. The global models, while effective at depicting worldwide climate trends and projections, lack the high resolu- tion needed to analyze regional or state impacts. The Nelson Institute team over- came this limitation by combining the results from these global climate models with the same fine-scale weather information used in the historical analysis to predict the range of probable climate change that can be expected in Wisconsin. The goal was to produce analyses on a scale that would be useful to natural resource managers, municipal leaders, busi- ness planners, and other decision makers. Both the recent trends and future projec- tions are mapped to a five-by-five-square- Questions from Wisconsin legislators about the potential consequences of global warming mile grid. The historical data were used to in the state prompted creation of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts. validate the modeling and “ground-truth” the projections. uncertainty. The researchers cannot say, for effects, too. The models imply that winters in “We’ve produced a unique resource example, what summer rainfall will look like Wisconsin will shorten by an average of four that combines the world’s best estimates of by mid-century; the models widely vary. But weeks. future climate change with historical data they can say that winter and spring precipi- What’s at risk if we experience changes collected here in Wisconsin. The result is tation is likely to increase across Wisconsin; of this magnitude? Natural resources and a remarkably flexible data set that can be the average of all 14 model predictions is seasonality support a significant portion of used in a wide variety of assessments,” 20 percent. Combined with the warming Wisconsin’s economy, including tourism says Dan Vimont, an assistant professor of winter, this increase in precipitation points and outdoor recreation, hunting and fish- atmospheric and oceanic sciences and a toward more frequent freezing rain events, ing, forest products and paper, Great Lakes member of the Nelson Institute Center for and even rainstorms, in the middle of winter. shipping, agriculture and the dairy industry, Climatic Research. “We need to take the Higher temperatures may also lead to and water intensive manufacturing. Winter next step now and use these data to identify more springtime thunderstorms and heavy recreation—including snowmobiling, skiing, how our state’s natural and built environ- downpours. and ice fishing—means economic survival ments can better adapt to the inevitable for many northern Wisconsin communities, climate changes we will face.” Facing big changes where the social fabric and sense of place is The projections themselves are stunning. inextricably tied to our seasonal climates. Based on a carbon emissions scenario that These projections, when viewed alongside In addition, a wide range of plants, assumes continued heavy reliance on fossil the changes of the last five decades, give animals, and ecosystems are adapted to fuels well into the future, climate change a sense of the challenges Wisconsin could our cold winters. As winters become milder, is predicted to accelerate over the next 40 face. Think of it this way: If an annual the natural boundaries of many plant and years. These findings predict the state’s temperature increase of a degree or two has animal species in the region will be forced annual average temperature will warm by already caused observable changes across northward, and unfamiliar species from far- four to nine degrees Fahrenheit by the the landscape in recent years, what will an ther south, including pests, could move in to middle of the century. Winter will continue increase of four or seven or nine degrees replace them. Milder winters with less snow to warm the most, especially in the north- bring? Models predict an earlier arrival of our also allow deer populations to swell, mean- western counties, and nights will warm more last freeze in spring and delays in our first ing more deer browsing damage to forests than days, also mirroring a recent historic freeze in fall; this could translate to a longer and crops. Endemic pests such as ticks and trend. growing season, potentially benefiting agri- harmful crop and forest pests could also Precipitation changes are harder to culture and other activities, but longer and proliferate as winter kills are reduced. So, a model, and the projections are loaded with warmer summers would have many negative long list of questions emerges:

Spring 2010 23 l How will our northern forests fare under agencies, several UW System schools, tribal for climate change impacts, even as we much warmer conditions? organizations, businesses, and nonprofit work to reduce them.” groups. WICCI is organized to combine scientific l How will climate change affect outdoor recreation, especially in winter? The initiative is distinct from the research with practical management. The Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming, initiative is governed by a science council l Does municipal stormwater infrastructure which was formed to recommend ways whose 22 members represent the DNR, need to be redesigned? to mitigate climate change, primarily by the UW System, and other state and federal l Will coldwater fisheries withstand curbing carbon emissions. WICCI, on the agencies. A stakeholder advisory committee increases in air and water temperatures? other hand, was established as an indepen- of utility companies, agriculture, tour- dent effort to identify and prepare for the ism, forestry, public health, environmental l Will more invasive species migrate north- consequences of climate change regardless organizations, and Native American interests ward into the state and affect aquatic of its cause. The operating principle is that helps identify information decision makers and terrestrial ecosystems? climate change is underway and gain- will need to respond to climate change. An l How will warmer weather and heavier ing momentum. Even if we stop emitting outreach committee recently formed to help rains affect air and water pollution and all greenhouse gases tomorrow, changes develop ways to disseminate WICCI findings ultimately human health? that are already in the system will continue and recommendations. In an attempt to find answers to to develop for at least another century. these and countless other questions, the Adapting to these changes is critical to Assessing the impacts Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Wisconsin’s future, regardless of how the Impacts (WICCI) was formed as a collabora- state decides to reduce the causes of cli- Key to WICCI’s mission are working groups tion between the Nelson Institute and the mate change. that have been created to assess and antici- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources “Wisconsin is taking steps to address the pate how climate change will affect specific (DNR), both of which had begun to examine causes of climate change, including creation Wisconsin natural resources, ecosystems the issue of climate change impacts. Since of the Governor’s Global Warming Task and regions; evaluate potential impacts DNR Secretary Matt Frank and then-Nelson Force and the signing of a Greenhouse Gas on industry, agriculture, tourism and other Institute interim director Lewis Gilbert signed Reduction Accord with 10 other Midwestern human activities; and recommend practical an agreement to form WICCI in the fall of states,” says the DNR’s Frank. “WICCI strategies and solutions that businesses, 2007, the initiative has grown to include complements these actions by helping com- farmers, public health officials, municipali- representatives from other state and federal munities, businesses, and citizens prepare ties, resource managers, and other stake-

Most of Wisconsin has warmed since 1950. Averaged across the state, From 1950 to 2006, the frequency at which daily low temperatures the warming has been +1.1°F, with a peak warming of 2‐2.5°F across have fallen below 0°F has diminished by about four to five days across northwestern Wisconsin. The state is becoming “less cold,” with the southern Wisconsin and 14 to 20 days across northwest‐central greatest warming during winter‐spring and nighttime temperatures Wisconsin. For much of the state, this represents a 10-30% reduction increasing more than daytime temperatures. in the frequency of such cold nights in less than six decades.

24 In Common holders can implement. heat wave emergencies, and other factors And the idea is spreading. WICCI is More than 200 scientists, resource man- unique to the urban environment. Another widely viewed as a model for stakeholders agers, experts, and practitioners participate place-based working group focuses on to assess climate change, and requests for in the 16 working groups that have formed Green Bay and its surrounding watershed. meetings and presentations have come in so far to address soil conservation, water The release last September of WICCI’s from across Wisconsin and from other states resources, public health, agriculture, cold- study of recent climate trends and future and Canada. water fisheries, stormwater, wildlife, coastal projections will be followed by the produc- Nelson Institute and DNR staff members communities, forestry, loss of winter, and tion of several more reports. The working are working to develop new information plants and natural communities. Other work groups are compiling their initial assessments tools, including print materials and online groups are investigating climate adapta- this spring and will publish their results in a resources, to spread the word about WICCI tion, Central Sands hydrology and ecology, comprehensive assessment report this fall. It and to educate the public about climate and Green Bay and Milwaukee community will show which resources are most vulner- change impacts. The project’s Web site issues. able to climate change and suggest strategies holds a growing collection of reports and Some working groups focus on relatively for adapting to these predicted changes. The presentations, including a full and interac- specific questions. The coldwater fisher- comprehensive assessment will be updated tive set of detailed maps of recent and ies group, for example, is looking at the over many years, much as the IPCC updates projected climate change in Wisconsin. To potential consequences of warming for its findings every few years. access these resources and to learn more, Wisconsin’s 10,000 miles of trout streams visit wicci.wisc.edu. as well as coldwater lake species such as Thinking regionally cisco and lake trout. The group is not limit- Steve Pomplun directs community ing its focus to issues of ecology. The health Climate change does not stop at the state and alumni relations for the Nelson of these trout stream resources could influ- border, and Wisconsin is building rela- Institute and coordinates outreach ence the economies of scores of Wisconsin tionships with neighboring states to work for WICCI. Richard Lathrop is a DNR communities that depend on recreational together on its impacts. WICCI participants research limnologist and co-chair of the fishing for income. are collaborating with agencies, universi- WICCI Science Council. Alison Coulson Other working groups are tackling a ties, and organizations in Minnesota and (WRM’07) is the WICCI program broader array of issues. One based in Michigan. They are also seeking federal manager and is employed by both the Milwaukee is considering stormwater man- support to develop a regional version of the Nelson Institute and the Department of agement, beach contamination, air quality, Wisconsin initiative. Natural Resources. WISCONSIN INITIATIVE CLIMATE ON IMPACTS WISCONSIN CHANGE

From 1950 to 2006, Wisconsin as a whole became wetter, with an Daily high temperatures currently exceed 90°F about 12 times observed increase in annual precipitation of 3.1 inches. This has a year in southern Wisconsin and only five times a year in north- occurred primarily in southern and western parts of the state, while ern Wisconsin. By the mid‐21st century, the frequency may northern Wisconsin has experienced some drying. double to about 25 times per year in the south and triple to about 12 times per year in the north.

Spring 2010 25 No higher calling Creating an atmosphere to help students improve the world PAUL SMITH, MILWAUKEE PAULSMITH, SENTINEL JOURNAL Q&A with Nelson Institute Alumna Christine Thomas

BY JULIA STEEGE

Christine Thomas (LR Ph.D. ’89) is dean of the College of Natural Resources and a profes- sor of resource management at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. The college’s first female tenured full professor, she was appointed dean in May 2005.

In addition to her role as a univer- sity educator, Thomas launched Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW), a highly successful national program that teaches women outdoor skills. Since 2004 she Christine Thomas with her dog, Sunny. Photo: PAUL SMITH, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL has chaired Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board, a citizen In Common: What led you to become a pro- What are your most important goals panel that helps guide the state fessor of natural resources? as dean? Department of Natural Resources. Her 1989 doctoral dissertation Thomas: In college, I had intended to be Like everywhere, there’s a huge transition of for the Nelson Institute examined a high school biology teacher. The things faculty members into retirement right now. the board’s role in environmental that influenced me in that direction were So first, by the time I finish as dean, I want decision making. Thomas also is my childhood experiences like fishing and to have a new young committed faculty in a published author, a member of boating and Girl Scouts and my high school place that is going to take the college well many outdoor organizations and biology teacher, who was a great role model. into the next century and turn out students advisory councils, and the recipient But I graduated college, got married, and who have a great foundation in natural of numerous teaching, conservation, moved to a small community in south- resources management. Right now we’re and writing awards. western Michigan, where the local biology working hard to make great hires, which teacher was firmly entrenched in that posi- might be one of the most important things tion. So, like most people, one thing led to I do while I’m dean. Second, I’m hoping to another. I had the chance to take a teaching leave the college in good financial shape. position at a community college. Then, I We’re fundraising and analyzing budget moved to positions as a product develop- issues all the time. Last, I’m hoping to leave ment chemist and as a water chemist. the college facilities in good shape by doing Then, for my husband’s career, we moved room and lab renovations and bringing our to central Wisconsin, which was an oppor- field stations up to snuff. tunity for me to get my master’s degree at UW–Stevens Point. I was a first-generation college student, so the idea of a master’s degree didn’t occur to me until I worked at the community college and everyone there had a master’s degree or a Ph.D. Finally, as a staff member at Stevens Point, I earned my doctoral degree. Then I was converted to faculty.

26 In Common Where do you think environmental fields are emotions about it. You go to a BOW work- Which of your professional accomplishments headed? shop and you’re surrounded by people who makes you most proud? I think there will always be a huge demand are being positively impacted by something Becoming dean of the College of Natural for students that have an integrated knowl- that you and others have created, facilitated, Resources at UW–Stevens Point. I served edge of the basic fundamentals of natural and grown. Then you think to yourself, this as assistant to the former dean, Dan Trainer. resource management across disciplines. is so much fun! This is way more fun than Under his tutelage, I came to love the There will also always be a huge demand dealing with personnel issues. Why am I not college. Our students are wonderful and for students who are grounded in both skills doing this all the time? they do important things to make the world and theory. However, technology and the better. There is probably no higher calling in engineering aspect of natural resource man- While writing your Ph.D. dissertation, what higher education than creating an atmo- agement are going to be fields that grow. did you learn about the Natural Resources sphere that will best help students improve Programs need to maintain their base while Board’s role in state conservation and envi- the world. being flexible enough to prepare students to ronmental protection? evolve in their careers and with the issues. I concluded that the role of the board was Which Wisconsin conservation figure has to create as much public participation in as influenced your life the most? During this economic recession are you open and transparent a way as possible. For Dan Trainer. He was a person that always seeing more students or fewer students in my dissertation, I interviewed more than 40 looked for the best in everything, who tried natural resources? people who had been involved in natural to solve problems, who gave generously We had the largest freshman class in history resources policy from 1967 to 1988. The of this time to hundreds of conservation come into our college last fall, preceded by overwhelming majority of them believed that efforts around the state, who had fun in his the second largest freshman class the year the secretary of the Department of Natural life while he was doing it, and who never before. Resources was better appointed by the needed to take any credit for it. board than by the governor. What has it been like for you to watch the Editor’s note: The Natural Resources Board Anything else you’d like to add? Becoming an Outdoors Woman program start appointed the DNR secretary until 1995, I’m very proud of my Ph.D. from the Nelson from scratch and expand into almost every when the state legislature transferred this Institute. I knew exactly where I was going state? power to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. A bill with it, but when we sat at the table at It has been amazing because we never that would have returned appointing author- my first committee meeting—I think this intended for the program to be so far- ity to the board was approved by the legisla- demonstrates the schizophrenia of inter- reaching and successful. The year we did ture in 2009 but vetoed by Gov. Jim Doyle. disciplinary programs—one of the people the conference that ended up spawning said, “Well, what is she going to be?” One of BOW, I was a brand new assistant professor What’s your perspective on that now that you them replied, “Well she’s not going to be an casting around for my niche in life like brand not only serve on the board but also you chair attorney.” And somebody else said, “She’s new assistant professors do. I had been it? not going to be a planner.” And someone involved in at least three other conferences I’ve always been a very vigorous advocate else said, “Well, she’s not going to be an or outreach efforts that year. My specialty that the board should appoint the secretary. historian. But what is she going to be?” could have become any one of those things In living my dissertation, I understand that Yet I got exactly what I needed from the that I had participated in or none of them, there are good reasons for the governor to program by immersing myself in all of these but it became BOW. When we did the first appoint the secretary and there are good disciplines, and it put me in a position to do workshop, we had already identified barriers reasons for the board to appoint the secre- many interesting and good things. to woman’s participation in outdoors skills tary. I happen to come down on the board’s activities. But the question “does anyone side. If the governor appoints the secretary, want to participate?” remained unanswered. the discussions between the two of them With that first workshop, we answered our can happen behind closed doors. In this question. Yes! Then the program got legs. case, you are trading control for transparen- I’m actually not doing this project anymore. cy. When the secretary reports to the board, Not that I’ve abandoned it, but it’s only occa- everything has to happen in the open. sionally that I get to participate in it. It’s been Citizen participation is much more facilitated an interesting transition, and I have mixed in the second scenario.

Spring 2010 27 Thank you to our supporters We sincerely thank all of the following individual and organizations that contributed to the Nelson Institute through the University of Wisconsin Foundation in 2009.

Leadership Gifts William P. and Rebecca J. Haack-Deetz Barbara A. Klos Judith A. Colby-George Wesley F. Halverson Claudia Knab-Vispo John F. and Mary I. Cooper Brenda A. Cole David L. Hargett Martha H. Kohler Wesley K. and Ankie C. Foell Mathias J. Collins and Robin A. Harrington Catherine O. Koning Theodore G. and Katherine S. Jennifer Mallette Gekas Donna J. Harris Bernard Koteen Amy S. Conklin Dennis M. and Marise A. Hussey David A. Hart Michael A. Koutnik Johnston P. Connelly, II Linda L. Nelson Brauna J. Hartzell John E. and Gisela Kutzbach Chad M. and Jennifer L. Cook Kathie Z. Norman Richard F. Hasselman Scott H. Laich Sandra A. Cota Jewel M. Parker Hahn William D. Helsabeck, Jr. Sandra J. Lange Aaron I. Crane Laura E. Hewitt Steven C. Leovy Supporting Gifts Andrew F. Dane Susan D. Hill Ellen R. Levin Somnath Daripa Joseph T. Hoke, Jr. Robert O. Linck Maura K. Adams Bruce G. Douglas John P. Holm John H. Loewy Michael R. Allen Charles P. Dykman Barbara J. Holtz Nadine Lymn Hugh N. Anderson Patrick D. and Lloyd L. Eagan Daniel J. Homblette Jose J. Madera and Peter N. Anderson Eric K. Ebersberger Stephen K. Hopkins Kimberly A. Santiago Marian B. Ashman Katherine Eickenberg John N. Howard George E. and Anna D. Magnin Timothy R. Asplund and Michael J. Enders Doris A. Marlin Barbara S. Pietz Richard B. Howarth Richard M. and Jane D. Evans Craig A. Mataczynski Douglas J. Bach Linda M. Howe Martin E. and Theresa A. Evanson Douglas B. Mc Laughlin Brian J. Bader William C. Hoyer Michael J. and Mary P. Feifarek William H. Meadows and Carol Barford David C. Hubanks and Franklin F. Fetter Melissa A. Hornung Sally Brooks Meadows Jill S. Baron Edward L. Fick Thomas C. and Nancy D. N. Hunt Tim W. Meikle Tara M. Barrett Timothy L. Filbert Emma R. T. Ingebretsen Ronald E. Meissen Laura M. Bartovics John E. Fletcher, Jr. and Gregory P. Jackson Jeanne R. Merrill Steven J. Berkowitz Tara A. Hamilton Monica A. Jaehnig Rachel E. Michaels William R. Bernhagen Jonathan A. Foley Valerie F. Jakobi Robert E. Miller Ethyle R. Bloch Thomas R. Frank Michael D. Jawson Robert H. and Vivian E. Miller Rodney J. Boatman and Frederick G. Freitag and David P. Misky Frances A. Reese Fan Jiang Lynn N. Stegner Charlotte Moats-Gallagher John S. and Therese L. Brasino Dale O. Johnson John R. Gabriel Dana M. Moore Sue R. Brauer Lowell S. Johnson Charles A. Gates Charles, Sr. and Susan A. Munkwitz Kenneth M. Brown Roberta S. Jortner Steven B. Gelb Juniper R. Nammi Warren J. Buchanan, Jr. Michael and Sonia L. Kachel Katherine A. Gensler Jeffrey G. Neidinger William A. and Helen J. Kahn Gilbert C. and Lynn C. Gerdman Jacqueline S. Buehring Roman and Svetlana Kanivetsky Pixie A. B. Newman Leo J. Getsfried Andrew D. Burish Gary M. Kaszynski Robert E. Nightingale Herman L. Gilman Charles G. Burney James M. Kendell Erin L. O’Brien Mark M. Gosink and Robin R. Cornelia A. Burr James F. and Liesa L. Kerler Andrew A. Olsen Franklin Kimberly N. Cahill Bruce A. Keyes Scott D. and Michelle M. R. Olsen Edward M. and Rhoda F. Green Kevin G. Carroll Stephen M. and Nancy Kidwell Donald M. and Victoria A. Olson Ollie R. Green Patricia L. Cicero John A. Kincaid Travis R. Olson Julie R. Greenberg Kathleen A. Clark Michael J. Kinney Julie S. Ott Jerry R. Griswold Daniel J. Cloutier and Kathryn Kirk Jonathan A. Patz Stefan and Mindy R. Gutow Joan M. Bouril-Cloutier John E. Peck

28 In Common UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS UNIVERSITY Lynn A. Persson Judith F. Wilson Brent N. Petrie David S. Wise Steven J. and Marcia L. Pomplun Brian S. Yandell and Derek J. Popp Sharon L. Lezberg Your gift makes a difference Lewis A., Jr. and Vicki M. Posekany Terry L. Yonker Gifts are a crucial source of financial support Ray Potempa Dan W. York for the Nelson Institute. Cynthia M. Poth Michael J. Zak and Private contributions enable us to provide Cynthia L. Potter Roxanne K. Eigenbrod-Zak more scholarships, fellowships, internships, Laura K. Pugh David T. Ziemann and special opportunities for students; offer innovative community programs; launch new Elizabeth E. Quinn Charlotte R. Zieve research initiatives; and much more. Robert G. Ribe Nancy R. Zolidis Please support the Nelson Institute. You can Jean A. Robinson contribute through the University of Wisconsin Lynne Rosenthal Corporate and Organizational Gifts Foundation, the official fund-raising organi- Michael L. Rupiper zation for UW–Madison. Contributions are David W. and Joan Sample Alliant Energy Corporation tax deductible, as allowed by law. For more Services Inc. Jeffrey A. Schimpff information or to give online, visit our Web site Dale D. Secher American Family Insurance Group at nelson.wisc.edu/about/giving. Donald A. Servais and Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Constance Kane Bradshaw-Knight Foundation Inc. Jeffery S. Shaw Clean Wisconsin Heather A. Shumaker Cooper Family Foundation Brent A. Sieling Dane County Bicycle Association Jean M. Smiles County of Dane Walter J. Smolenski Evjue Foundation Inc. Bart A. Sponseller Gathering Waters Conservancy Inc. Katie A. Sternberg The Gottesman Fund Yonggang Su Grant Thornton LLP Bridget M. Swanke Green Charter Schools Network Inc. Glenna J. Temte Hoffman LLC Christine L. Thomas IBM Corporation Rebecca L. Thorman Johnson Controls Inc. Raymond I. Tierney Madison Gas & Electric Co. M. Kate B. Tisdal Wisconsin Department of Natural Joe W. Tisserand Resources Andrews L. and Susan S. Tolman Michael J. Till Associates David L. Tulloch Superior Health Linens LLC Laura J. Van Slyke Torch Club of the Fox Valley Barbara B. Vander Wende United Way of Dane County Paul H. Vastag Wisconsin Energy Conservation Stephen J. Ventura Corp. Randall E. Wade and Wisconsin Farmers Union Marilyn Garbaty-Wade Yahara Lakes Association Leonard W. Weis Zieve Foundation Stacey S. White Mary F. Whiteford-Verrilli Donald B. Wichert

Spring 2010 29 Alumni Notes What’s new in your career and life? Write us at [email protected] or at In Common, c/o Tom Sinclair, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, 30B Science Hall, 550 N. Park St., Madison, WI 53706–1491.

If trees could talk, what stories would they tell? Author and arborist R. Bruce Allison (LR Ph.D.’92) tackles this question in his latest book, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. If Trees Could Talk is WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESS an engaging children’s companion to his 2005 adult title, Every Root an Anchor. Allison offers readers aged 7 to 12 stories about noteworthy trees, both past and present, across the Badger state. From Kenosha’s buried forest on the shores of Lake Michigan to the Wyalusing maple that saw the last of the passenger pigeons, from Aldo Leopold’s “good oak” to the disappeared elms of State Street in Madison, the stories open up a Nelson Institute alumni gather outside Memorial Union on a balmy evening last September for the institute’s fascinating ecological and social third Rendezvous on the Terrace. history of Wisconsin to young readers. Others showcase the state’s and the Environment: Addressing Maasai’s chief source of liveli- Bruce Kahn (LR Ph.D.’02), a history. Readers encounter Chief Environmental Change in the 21st hood—are scarce, having died or senior investment analyst with Black Hawk hiding in a hickory, Civil Century. been led far away, which means the Deutshe Bank Group in New War soldiers enlisting for battle under that any alternative employment for York, is co-author of a new report John Francis (LR Ph.D.’91) is fea- “sign-up” trees, and trees used to tribesmen is more than welcome. from DB Climate Change Advisors: tured in a new one-hour Australian hang criminals without a trial. They Leela understands that the best way Investing in Climate Change television documentary, The Art of also learn of large and unusual trees forward in conservation is to involve 2010: A Strategic Asset Allocation Walking, about the Great Ocean like the Columbus Cottonwood, the local community, get people Perspective. Walk spanning the state of Victoria’s which was more than 26 feet in invested in the outcome, and turn it southwest coast. Francis, known Puneet Kishor (LR M.S.’90) last year circumference—so large, writes to their economic advantage. She is as the “planet walker,” has devoted became a Science Commons Fellow Allison, that “it would take you and adamant that the Maasai colleagues much of his life to traveling the world at Creative Commons, a nonprofit eight of your friends with your arms she has hired be trained to run on foot promoting environmental corporation that promotes free, outstretched to reach all the way the Lion Guardians program once stewardship. legal sharing of creative cultural, around it!” Told in compelling she moves on. ‘It’s a Maasai-run educational, and scientific materials. narrative style and supplemented Last November’s issue of Vogue project,’ she says. ‘We will leave it He says his goal is to “evangelize” with historic photographs and magazine profiledLeela Hazzah in their hands. That’s how it will be open access to geospatial data, sci- illustrations, the stories also carry an (CBSD’07) for her efforts to protect sustainable.’” Hazzah continues her ence, and technology—an interest environmental message encouraging African lions, whose numbers have education at the Nelson Institute, stemming from a stint as a science children to appreciate and manage declined more than 85 percent in pursuing a Ph.D. in environment and technology policy fellow at natural resources wisely and the past 20 years. An excerpt: “On and resources. the National Academy of Sciences respectfully. a pleasant afternoon in late July—it John Hingtgen (LR/EAP M.S.’03) and as an elected charter member is winter in Kenya, which means Kathryn DeMaster (LR M.S.’03; ER works in Sacramento for the of the Open Source GeoSpatial chilly mornings before the clouds Ph.D.’09) joined Brown University’s Research and Development Division Foundation. Creative Commons are burned off by lazy sunshine— Center for Environmental Studies last of the California Energy Commission, tries to lower barriers to creativity Leela is presiding over a group of July as a visiting assistant professor. which awards research and develop- posed by standard copyright restric- Maasai tribesmen sitting at a table Her research and teaching explore ment grants for energy demonstration tions, and Science Commons is a in an open hut at her camp on the local and sustainable agro-food projects. Hingtgen manages projects subdivision of Creative Commons. Eselenkei conservation area, close systems, organic farming, global in renewable energy generation. In Educated at the Indian Institute of to the Porini eco-tourism and safari agriculture issues, European Union his spare time, he is re-landscaping Technology, Kishor has worked as an camp and Amboseli National Park. agricultural-environmental policies, his yard with native plants and enjoy- engineer in a small New Delhi NGO, The region is in the grip of its worst environmental sociology, and politi- ing folk dancing and exploring north- internationally as a GIS specialist drought in decades. Though giraffe cal ecology. At Brown, she teaches ern California. He can be reached at at the World Bank in Washington, and antelope abound, cattle—the a course called Humans, Nature, [email protected]. D.C., and at a private GIS consult-

30 In Common ing firm in Madison. He currently alumni to visit Washburn, the nation’s vice president, strategic partner- College. He has spent much of his works for UW–Madison’s Forest first “ecomunicipality”; Bayfield, ships; and Stephanie Lindloff (ES’94, adult life in Costa Rica, first with the and Wildlife Ecology Department, Wisconsin’s “greenest” community; WRM’98), senior director, river Peace Corps, then as a teacher and helping build an open Web-based and, of course, national treasures restoration. scholar at the University of Costa application for modeling biome-level including the Apostle Islands Rica. He left to earn his doctorate in Triet Tran (LR carbon sequestration. He also is National Lakeshore. “Believe me, it’s the Nelson Institute, then taught at Ph.D.’99), pursuing a Nelson Institute Ph.D. in worth the trip,” she writes. “We’ve got UW–Madison as an adjunct associ- Southeast Asia environment and resources, where theater and fine dining amongst the ate professor of forest and wildlife Program his doctoral research focuses on the incredible natural resources. Find out ecology. coordinator for the nexus of public policy, geospatial why Bayfield County is Wisconsin’s International information, and entrepreneurship. Crown Jewel...and how we plan on Katy Warner (LR M.S.’07) is a Crane Foundation keeping it that way!” research associate at Colorado Don Last (LR Ph.D.’92) has pub- (ICF), has returned to the Nelson State University, where she collects lished online what he calls an “up Ashok Sarkar (LR Ph.D.’97) is Institute this year as an honorary and analyzes acoustics data for close and personal account” of the a senior energy specialist in the fellow. Since 1999, he has overseen the National Park Service’s Natural formative years (1993–1997) of Energy, Transport and Water ICF’s crane research and conservation Sounds Program (www.nature.nps. 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin. Last Department of the World Bank, activities in Cambodia, Laos, gov/naturalsounds), which seeks was the founding board president of based in Washington D.C. He has Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. He to protect, maintain, or restore the nonprofit group, which advocates more than 19 years of international is a lecturer at the University of acoustical environments throughout wise land use and spearheaded energy sector development experi- Science in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the national parks. “We work in adoption of the state’s Smart Growth ence. In recent years he has focused where he served as dean of the partnership with parks and others law. His publication is available at on climate change mitigation and Biology Faculty (2007–2009) and to increase scientific understanding www.history1000wi.net. energy efficiency development initia- head of the Department of Ecology and inspire public appreciation of tives across many countries. He cur- and Evolutionary Biology (2002– Mary Mercier (LR the value and character of sound- rently works and provides advice on 2009). His research interests include M.S.’99) retired scapes,” writes Warner. “Working energy and climate change opera- tropical freshwater wetland vegetation, last summer after with the Natural Sounds Program tions in Bangladesh, Mali, Mexico, mangrove ecology, invasive alien 19 years as a has increased my awareness of Pakistan, Rwanda, and Turkey. plants, and community-based wetland member of the noise pollution in protected areas. As the thematic leader for energy conservation. Tran is a member of the Nelson Institute’s Next time you are out for a hike, stop efficiency, he also coordinates the International Union for Conservation academic and listen. I am willing to bet that World Bank’s overall efforts and of Nature’s Commission on Ecosystem UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS programs staff in Science Hall. you will be surprised how much of strategic initiatives for scaling up its Management and Invasive Species Among many other things, Mercier the time human-caused sounds are energy efficiency portfolio. He served Specialist Group. advised undergraduate students in audible!” as an international member of the the institute’s Environmental Studies Clean Development Mechanism Charlotte Zieve (LR Ph.D.’86) chairs Certificate Program and provided Methodologies Panel to the U.N. the UW–Sheboygan foundation information about funding and Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, board and serves on a committee career opportunities to the institute’s Germany, from 2005 to 2007. that is building a children’s garden graduate students. Along the way, Since 1997, he has been a regular on the two-year UW System campus. she earned her own graduate degree visiting summer faculty member at She also serves on the UW–Madison in land resources. A published poet, the University of Oslo’s program in Women’s Philanthropy Council. Mercier planned to devote more time Energy Planning and Sustainable to her craft. Development. ES = Environmental Studies Justin Mog (LR M.S.’99/Ph.D.’03) Undergraduate Certificate Program; Amy Singler (WRM’08) joined and Amanda Fuller (LR M.S.’02) CBSD = Conservation Biology and American Rivers, a national non- have settled into a new home this Sustainable Development Graduate profit conservation organization, year after moving to Louisville, Program; EAP = Energy Analysis in 2009 as associate director of its Chris Vaughan (LR Ph.D.’02) last Kentucky, last August. He is now and Policy Graduate Certificate; river restoration program in New year became the director of the assistant to the provost for sustain- ER = Environment and Resources England. Based in Northampton, Associated Colleges of the Midwest ability initiatives at the University of Graduate Program (after 2007); Mass., she works closely with The Costa Rica Program (www.acm. Louisville. She is interim director of LR = Land Resources Graduate Nature Conservancy to provide edu/costarica), which provides the education and advocacy group Program (through 2007); technical assistance on restoration field research opportunities in Bicycling for Louisville. They also WRM = Water Resources efforts in the Connecticut River environment, social sciences, and are involved in a local urban farming Management Graduate Program watershed. Singler is one of several humanities for students from more project that turns coffee grounds into Nelson Institute/Water Resources than a dozen liberal arts colleges in For more alumni notes or to leave compost to grow food. Management alumnae who work the United States. “I have returned a note of your own, visit the Nelson Mary Besenjak Motiff (ES’92), for American Rivers. Others are home,” writes Vaughan, who Institute alumni Facebook site. tourism and recreation director for Rebecca Wodder (WRM’78), participated in the program himself Look for the Facebook link at Bayfield County, Wisconsin, invites president; Betsy Otto (WRM’99), while an undergraduate at Grinnell nelson.wisc.edu/community/alumni.

Spring 2010 31 Fourth Annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference

Featuring Appearances by:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Margaret Atwood H. Fisk Johnson

Dorceta Taylor William Meadows John Francis Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin William Cronon Governor Jim Doyle Adam Rome Rebecca Wodder Curt Meine and many others.

Explore lessons learned over the past four decades and pathways to environmental sustainability in the 21st century. www.nelson.wisc.edu/earthday40