Environmental Seminar Series highlights regional research
A series of lectures highlighting faculty and student environmental research activities at the University of Washington Tacoma began this month and will continue throughout the fall. The year-long Environmental Seminar Series will be held every other Monday, from 12:30–1:20 p.m., in room 309 of the Science Building on the Tacoma campus.
The next talk in the series will be given by John Stark, professor and director of Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center, who will give a presentation on Nov. 2 titled, “Pesticide mixtures: Do they have a negative effect on salmon and other aquatic organisms?” Stark, an ecotoxicologist, runs a salmon toxicology research laboratory and also studies the effects of pesticides on endangered butterfly species.
John Banks, associate professor of biology at the University of Washington Tacoma, will lecture on “Farming practices and arthropod biodiversity in the coffee fields of Tarrazú, Costa Rica” on Nov. 16. Banks, also an ecotoxicologist, studies the effects of pesticides on insects and is currently researching how farming practices in a Costa Rican coffee farm are influencing coffee yields and quality and affecting the health of the environment.
On Nov. 30, Eric Cheney will present a lecture on “The future availability of hydrocarbons: Hubbert’s Peak or a plateau?” Cheney, a professor emeritus of economic geology at the University of Washington, Seattle, studies the geology of mineral and fuel resources.
The fall series will culminate on Dec. 4, in the UW Tacoma Energy Summit, with student presentations and a talk by Erica Cline, assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Tacoma. Cline, who studies forest ecology and the environmental implications of forestry practices, will give a lecture titled, “Food energetics: Why ‘eat less meat’ is the new battle cry of the environmental movement.” The summit will be held between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the Tacoma campus; room location is to be announced.
Community members are welcome to attend and refreshments will be provided.
