cas: initiative 2006-2007 Mega-Disasters: Science, Policy and Human Behavior Destructive hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and tsunamis have occurred throughout human history often causing vastly more loss of life and disruption of human activities than events orchestrated by terrorists. Natural disasters will keep on occurring, but their effects are increasingly amplified by the presence and policies of humans. Stealth mega-disasters, caused almost solely by humans, are new phenomena that affect the future of civilization itself. These natural and stealth mega-disasters will become increasingly devastating socially and economically because the population of the planet is rapidly increasing and because of human actions and policies. CAS Resident Associate and Professor of Geology, Susan Kieffer coordinates this initiative that will include a series of panel discussions and invited speakers throughout the academic year. CAS Resident Associate Robert McKim (Religious Studies and Philosophy) and Kieffer will be teaching a related course: CAS 587 Environmental Sustainability; Scientific and Ethical Perspectives 1:30-2:50 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays Levis Music Room, 2nd Floor Cross-listed with CHP 395 D, GEOL 497 and RLST 494. Events held in anticipation of the Initiative year included "Katrina and Other Megacatastrophes: Science, Policy and Human Behavior" (September 26, 2005) and "The Pakistan Earthquake: A Wake-up Call for Mid-America?" (February 15, 2006). Cosponsorship provided by the Walgreen Endowment courtesy of CAS Professor of Geology Susan Kieffer. Spring Lecture Series Solidarities Across Borders: Gender, Race, and Class in Post-Disaster Reconstruction Monday, February 5, 2007 Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana The aftermath of major natural disasters, like the 2004 tsunami, Hurricanes Katrina, Andrew and Mitch, often reveal socially constructed disasters of gender, racial, and class inequalities of equal magnitude. These inequalities are also evident in the post-disaster reconstruction. This symposium focuses on the solidarities that emerge across these inequalities to rebuild communities and hope with speakers representing a spectrum of experience in different socio-economic contexts during disasters around the world. Morning Session 9:30am - noon Solidarities Across Borders in Tsunami and Hurricanes Andrew and Mitch Reconstruction Fatima Burnad (Society for Rural Education and Development, India) Juanita Mainster (Centro Campesino - Farmworker Center, Inc., US) Yamilet Mejia (Women's Network Against Violence, Nicaragua) Afternoon Session 1:30pm - 3:00pm Solidarities Across Borders in Katrina Reconstruction Margaret Prescod (Crossroad's Women's Center, US) Curtis Mohammad (Community Labor United and the People's Hurricane Fund) Brenda Robineaux (Principal Chief of the Houma Nation, US) Beverly Wright (Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Xavier University of Louisiana, US) 3:00pm - 4:00pm Roundtable Discussion This symposium is cosponsored by the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program with additional support from African American Studies and Research Program, Asian American Studies Program, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, Center for Global Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society, Department of Sociology, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Environmental Council, Fire Services Institute, Gender and Women's Studies Program, Global Crossroads Living/Learning Community, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, Latina/Latino Studies Program, Native American House/American Indian Studies, Program in South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, School of Social Work, Transnational Seminar Series in Sociology, and Unit for Cinema Studies. From Science to Time to Vanity Fair: Global Warming Becomes a Hot Topic February 8, 2007 Thursday, 3:30 p.m. Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana Amy Gajda Assistant Professor of Journalism and Law, UIUC The cover of the May 2006 issue of Vanity Fair featured movie stars Julia Roberts and George Clooney alongside political luminaries Al Gore and Robert Kennedy, Jr. A stylist had dressed the four in complementary shades of green and set designers posed them Hollywood-style in front of a mossy, ivied backdrop. Some consider this special environment-focused "Green Issue" a crucial tipping point in journalism's coverage of global warming and the environmental movement generally. This talk will explore that notion, look at the history of related environmental news coverage in the United States, and consider the power of celebrity in the environmental movement and its effect on news coverage and public salience. The Dignity of Persons and the Value of Nature April 11, 2007 Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana William C. French Department of Theology, and Interim Director, Center for Ethics and Social Justice Center for Ethics and Justice, Loyola University Chicago In much modern Christian theology we find highly human-centered modes of discourse that focus attention on the value and dignity of the person and that eclipse attention to the "order of creation," to nature, and to our place within it. Moral value has unfortunately come to be understood as the sole possession of human beings. The sources of, and consequences of, this very constricted perspective will be discussed, as will compelling alternatives to it. Professor French's presentation is also part of the Religion and Environmental Thought series sponsored by the Program for the Study of Religion. Fall Lecture Series Tom Casadevall Director, Central Region, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Natural hazards include a wide range of earth processes that are often perceived as risky or dangerous such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildland fires. In the absence of people and property, these natural events may go unnoticed. As the global population grows, more and more people and our supporting infrastructure are being built in harms way and are at risk from these natural earth processes. Natural disasters often bring out the best behaviors in the global community to assist with disaster relief efforts and post-disaster recovery. Tom Casadevall offers two case studies to explore in depth how mitigating the threat of disasters often brings together scientists and managers to assist with pre-disaster planning and development activities. Working effectively in these challenging situations requires that we be actively aware of the social and cultural environments in which we work. September 25, 2006 Monday, 7:30 p.m. Third Floor, Levis Faculty Center 919 West Illinois Street, Urbana Tom Casadevall Director, Central Region, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver The 1994 Rwandan Refugee Crisis: Cultural Awareness in Managing Natural Disasters The 1994 Rwandan refugee crisis was one of modern history's most complex humanitarian crises. In addition to the political, cultural, and military background to the crisis, volcano hazards had to be addressed when establishing temporary refugee camps in Zaire. This talk looks at the role earth scientists played in mitigating the volcano threat to the 800,000 Rwandan refugees who fled their country and settled temporarily in Zaire. September 26, 2006 Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum 600 South Gregory Street, Urbana Tom Casadevall Director, Central Region, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver The December 26, 2004, Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami: Field Perspectives on the Impacts to the Peoples, Cultures, Politics, and Economies of One of the World's Most Vibrant Regions In addition to the tens of thousands of relief workers who responded to the Sumatran earthquake and the related tsunami, earth scientists, including those in the USGS, were a part of the post-disaster assessment and recovery planning efforts. The USGS provided real-time earthquake information to government authorities in the Indian Ocean and freely distributed many types of tsunami-related satellite imagery and geospatial data to support the needs of U.S. and international aid organizations. USGS scientists participated in post-disaster field studies in the Indian Ocean basin, working to assess impacts and assist in the creation of systems to deal with possible future events. October 26, 2006 Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum 600 South Gregory Street, Urbana Grant Heiken Independent consultant, author, geologist (retired) Los Alamos National Laboratory Was the Bronze Age Volcanic Eruption of Thira (Santorini) a Megacatastrophe? A Geological/Archeological Detective Story Akrotiri was an island town located along the southern coast of Thira (Santorini), Greece. It was but one of many Minoan towns scattered across the Aegean that were part of a powerful kingdom centered on Crete. Life on the island and possibly across the Aegean was shattered in the 17th Century BCE by a large volcanic eruption. The eruption preserved evidence of the sophisticated lifestyle of the people of Akrotiri in the same way that the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius preserved Pompeii. Clues about daily life are evident in the frescoes found in some of the larger houses that portray well-groomed people, large galleys, agriculture, domestic animals, and abundant sea life. There are no written records describing the destruction of Akrotiri during the Bronze Age eruption, but many oral histories within cultures around the eastern Mediterranean carried the memory of this catastrophic event for centuries. Was this eruption a turning point in Minoan history or but one event in the natural political/cultural evolution of a culture? Grant Heiken's presentation to the Geology colloquium on Oct. 27 is open to the public. November 29, 2006 Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum 600 South Gregory Street, Urbana Peter Huntoon Professor, Dept of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, retired Chairman Mao, the Great Leap Forward and the Deforestation Ecological Disaster in the South China Karst The south China karst belt has been profoundly and detrimentally impacted by massive post-1958 deforestation, especially by cutting associated with Mao's 5-year Great Leap Forward Campaign. The annual food-drought cycle has been sufficiently intensified by the loss of the green reservoir of the forests that desertification has occurred over large areas. A primary impact of deforestation has been lost water retention in the uplands. The immediate impact of the deforestation was massive starvation, the residual is continued impoverishment of some 100 million people. Reforestation efforts are underway, but they are gradually losing to human encroachments. Two phenomena need to be addressed to accomplish recovery: (1) the heavy dependence of the local population on wood for fuel, and (2) the population explosion.

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