“Emerging Futures” forum held on environment

By Eric Townsend, staff

January 22, 2008

The first of three summit-style discussions on future world issues was held Jan. 22, 2008, with students in six Winter Term courses sharing their research findings – and making suggestions for change – on environmental topics ranging from global warming to organic food.

Seniors Drew Martin (left) and Ben Vellani were two of more than 100 students at a Jan. 22 forum on future environmental issues.
The afternoon gathering in the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center brought together classes that shared a common theme for the 2008 winter session – “Emerging Futures: Foresight for the Global Good.”

One such course is “From Acid Rain to Zebra Mussels: Making Sense of How We Are Affecting the Natural World.” The students enrolled in this environmental science course are investigating sustainability and the ability of the consumer to create change through the products they buy, namely food.

“Most of our problems come from food,” Michelle Cawley, an adjunct instructor, said. “We’re looking deeper into what makes organic food, what makes sustainable food, because most of the time organic doesn’t necessarily mean sustainable.”

Using NPR radio broadcasts, articles, ecological grocery store visits and Michael Pollen’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” students examine the food they eat everyday and where it comes from.
 
Students explore methods of food acquisition and environmental impact through interactive games and lectures. To discuss the sustainability in the fishing industry, Cawley had the students go fishing for Hershey’s Kisses in paper cups.

“Now, more than ever, it’s becoming a big deal for people to be educated about what they’re eating and buying,” said Elon junior Katie Pressly, a student in Cawley’s course. “I figured I should take this class to learn about it.”

Participating classes included the following:

  • BIO 105 Biology of Climate Change: Impact and Solutions
  • BUS 170 Business and Sustainability
  • ENS 175 Acid Rain to Zebra Mussels: How We Are Affecting the World
  • GST 329 Sustainable Development in a Global Economy 
  • PHY 173 Global Warming and Climate Change 
  • ENS 175 Climate Change

The Tuesday afternoon forum included poster presentations by students. Forums on violence and conflict, and on the portrayal of the future in literature and film, are scheduled for the afternoon of Jan. 23.

– Bethany Swanson ’09 and Eric Townsend (University Relations)

The Winter Term 2008 theme is “Emerging Futures: Foresight for the Global Good.”
Randy Gyllenhaal, a university sophomore, was part of a class that presented information on transit issues at Elon.

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