Highlights: Top experts, lively discussions and a 70-pound frozen Asian carp

DATE: 9:15 a.m.-noon, March 25, 2010. Refreshments at 9 a.m.

EVENT: University of Michigan will mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a Teach-In to address critical issues affecting the planet and give voice to the university’s new sustainability initiative.

“Our 40th Anniversary Earth Day Teach-In provides a good example of the University of Michigan’s strong commitment to sustainability,” said Don Scavia, the U-M president’s special counsel on sustainability. “Engaging the community and building public awareness at a local level is essential for positive progress toward sustainability on a global scale.”

The event, which is free and open to the public, will bring together students, faculty, staff and the community to learn from experts, share ideas and inspire action.

The Teach-In will kick off with four concurrent panel discussions addressing urgent issues of sustainability: energy/climate, sustainable mobility, food/health and water/Great Lakes. U-M faculty and other experts will lead the one-hour panels, and students will moderate them, with time for participant questions and discussion.

A 70-pound frozen Asian carp will be on display. Biologists say Asian carp could pose a devastating threat to the Great Lakes and its $7 billion fishing industry, but they differ on how fast they could establish a breeding population. Great Lakes governors, including Michigan’s Gov. Jennifer Granholm, have asked the federal government to close canals near Chicago to keep the fish out of the lakes because DNA evidence suggests that electronic barriers haven’t stopped them.

Following the panels, Scavia will lead a plenary session to extend the conversation among participants.

BACKGROUND: The event recalls a massive Teach-In at U-M 40 years ago that served as inspiration and model for the first national Earth Day. The U-M events drew more than 15,000 people, with participants who included Gordon Lightfoot, Barry Commoner, Ralph Nader, Edmund Muskie and many more. Then, as now, the April 22 date for national Earth Day conflicted with final exams, and student organizers scheduled the four-day-long Teach-In during mid-March. Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, and organizer of national Earth Day, credited U-M with providing a model that inspired many organizations to participate when the national celebration occurred a month later.

PLACE: Michigan League, 911 N. University Ave., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

SPONSORS: The Teach-In is sponsored by the Alumni Association, the Office of Vice President for Communications, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the School of Public Health, the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, the Office of Campus Sustainability, and Planet Blue.

The future meets the past: U-M marks 40th anniversary of Earth Day