December's Sustainable Tuesdays schedule set

Sustainable Tuesdays, a weekly presentation on topics related to environmental and sustainability issues presented by Bemidji State University’s Sustainability Office, will feature discussions on Canadian oil sands, the 1984 Union Carbide disaster in India, and carbon trading.

Sustainable Tuesdays are held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Rail River Folk School, located at 303 Railroad St. SW in Bemidji. They are open free to the public.

Dec. 4 – Remembering the Bhopal Disaster
Caitlyn Schuchhardt, a MNGreenCorps member hosted by the BSU Sustainability Office, will present on the 28th anniversary of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India. Considered one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, nearly 3,000 people were killed and tens of thousands more were seriously injured by a toxic gas leak from a Union Carbide chemical factory. Schuchhardt will discuss the ongoing legal battles surrounding the disaster, and will share photos and anecdotes from her own visit to Bhopal.

Dec. 11 – Canadian Tar Sands
Marty Cobenais from the Indigenous Environmental Network will discuss social and environmental issues surrounding mining of bituminous material used to create synthetic crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands. The impact of mining on indigenous communities surrounding the tar sands and on the environment will be explored.

Dec. 18 – Carbon Trading
Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, will discuss carbon trading, which is increasingly being viewed as a way for countries to meet their greenhouse-gas reduction goals. Goldtooth will focus on REDD, a notable carbon trading framework, and discuss the balance between using carbon-trading systems for emissions reduction and corporate profit-taking.

Sustainable Tuesdays are a partnership between Bemidji State’s Sustainability Office, the Indigenous Environmental Network, MN GreenCorps and the Rail River Folk School.

For more information, contact Caitlyn Schuchhardt in the BSU Sustainability Office, (218) 755-3765, cschuchhardt@bemidjistate.edu.

LINKS
• Green Living Bemidji: http://greenlivingbemidji.areavoices.com