MIDDBRIEFS

Author: ANNIE ONISHI

College hosts climate crisis symposium

The 2005 Nicholas R. Clifford Symposium Review, titled, "Renewal: Perspectives and Possibilities in an Age of Climate Crisis," is being held at Middlebury College this weekend. This year's symposium marks the 40th anniversary of the College's Environmental Studies program.The symposium is an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the Earth's climate, to examine the human impact on the environment, and to seek solutions to the climatological problems facing people today. It will include the dedication ceremony of the College's new wind turbine, a dance performance called "The Birdhouse Project," lectures and panel discussions.

Bill McKibben, scholar in residence in environmental studies and the author of "The End of Nature," will give the keynote lecture "How Big is Too Big? Global Warming and Moral Choices" to open the symposium this evening at 7:30 p.m. in Mead Memorial Chapel.

In addition to McKibben, the symposium will feature experts from many fields including paleoclimatologist and marine geologist Bill Ruddiman, regional wildlife biologist Craig Fleener and Meg Boyle, the executive director of The Climate Campaign. Other notable participants include Enele Sopoaga, ambassador to the United Nations from Tuvalu and the director-general of the Naskapie Nation of Kawawachikamach, John Mameamskum.

More information and a schedule of events are available on the Middlebury College Web site under "Administration" and "Environmental Affairs."



Middlebury graduate Lauren Throop '04 was awarded the Nuquist Award on May 5 for her 2003-2004 senior thesis, "A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Wind Energy Potential at Middlebury College's Worth Mountain." Director of Education Technology, Library & Information Sheldon Sax accepted the award on Throop's behalf.

The Nuquist Award is sponsored by the Center for Research on Vermont, out of the University of Vermont. It is awarded every year to an undergraduate culminating study in memory of UVM Political Science Professor Andrew E. Nuquist. Judgment for the award is based on analysis, creativity, presentation quality and the thoroughness and legitimacy of the research.

Throop's project was nominated for the award by Benjamin F. Wissler Professor of PhysicsRichard Wolfson. The project combined a physics-based analysis of the wind on Worth Mountain with a research project about the impact of wind turbines on local bird and bat populations.

Since winning the Nuquist Award, Throop has continued her career in the field of Environmental Studies and recently completed a five-month avian research project in the Galapagos Islands with UCLA.



Middlebury College was one of 81 American undergraduate institutions to be recognized in the new book, "Colleges with a Conscience: 81 Great Schools with Outstanding Community Involvement." The book was published by Random House and Princeton Review in June, and it features schools that are notably accomplished in offering social service and service-learning programs to their students.

"Colleges with a Conscience" features detailed profiles about each included school. The profiles offer advice for prospective students about the specific college, including how to obtain financial aid for community service, how to get involved in service at the school and specific advice on the application process.

More than half of Middlebury students are involved in service in the community. Projects and initiatives last year varied widely from helping out at the Vermont Special Olympics, to participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life and assisting local schools in the wider Middlebury community.

Middlebury's inclusion in "Colleges with a Conscience" comes amid other public recognition from Princeton Review and "US News & World Report."