Yours sincerely,
Peter Likins
President

Date of this update: Sept. 18, 1997

THURSDAY Oct. 2: On the Road

• 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Full-day tours
• "The Border Environment." SOLD OUT. Examine the environmental impact of industrial and population growth on the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, known as Ambos (both) Nogales. Included are visits to maquiladoras (foreign-owned factories) and a colonia (neighborhood) on the Mexican side. On the U.S. side, visit the Nogales Wash, the binational wastewater treatment plant, and other sites dealing with cross-border air and water pollution.
• Media leaders: Miriam Davidson, Arizona Republic; Tony Paniagua,KVOA-TV, Tucson
• Confirmed speakers: John Audley, National Wildlife Federation; Hugh Holub, attorney, City of Nogales; Dick Kamp, Border Ecology Project; Michele Kimpel, environmental engineer, City of Nogales; Wendy Laird, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Teresa Leal, Proyectos Comadres de Nogales; Gerardo Monroy, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Placido dos Santos, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; Sherry Sass, Friends of the Santa Cruz River; Molex S.A. de C.V. representative; Nogales Maquiladora Association representatives.
• "Ranching and Rural Development in the Southwest: The Complexity of Conflict:"
  Travel to the San Raphael Valley and the crossroads town of Sonoita to hear different perspectives on ranching, development, mining and the future of those "wide open spaces" of the semiarid Southwest.
• Media leaders: Mark Muro and Keith Bagwell, Arizona Daily Star ;
• Confirmed speakers: Kurt Bahti, Arizona Department of Fish and Game and Crown C Homeowners Association, Patagonia, AZ; Bill Branan, Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch; Sue Chilton, Chilton Ranch, Arivaca, AZ; Mac Donaldson, Empire Ranch; Brian Friedman, Santa Cruz County Planning Department; Diana Hadley, Arizona State Museum; Jake Kittle, Southern Arizona Planning Department; Mickey McArthur, Save the Scenic Santa Ritas; Nancy McCuistion, San Antonio Ranch, Patagonia, AZ; Jim McManus, Ki-He-Kah Ranch, Patagonia, AZ; Rod Mondt, The Wildlands Project; Ann Patton, Lone Mountain Ranch, Patagonia, AZ; Luther Propst, Sonoran Institute; Bob Sharp, rancher, San Raphael Valley; Tom Sheridan, Arizona State Museum; Karen Simms, U.S. Bureau of Land Management; Jeanne Wade, U.S. Forest Service, Sierra Vista District.
• Noon to 5 p.m.: Half-day tours
• "Sonoran Desert Ecology:"
  Visit the University of Arizona's Desert Laboratory at Tumamoc Hill, one of the longest continuously studied sites in the world, and trace the ecological and cultural changes over the past century. The tour will include an examination of impacts on the desert ecology from a proposed development.
• Media leader: Tony Davis, Arizona Daily Star ;
• Confirmed speakers: Julio Betanchurt, U.S. Geological Survey; Lisa Harris, Harris Environmental Group; Rob Kulakofsky, local environmental activist.
• "TCE-Contaminated Groundwater: Cleanup of a Community's Drinking Water:"
  Tour Tucson's predominantly Latino Southside, stopping at U.S. Air Force-owned Hughes Missiles Systems' four different plume cleanup sites, followed by a roundtable discussion on health effects, lawsuits and environmental justice at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center.
• Media leaders: Jane Kay, San Francisco Examiner; Judy Donovan, Arizona Daily Star ;
• Confirmed speakers: Felicia Marcus, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Craig Cooper, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Raul Grijalva, Pima County Board of Supervisors; Melinda Bernal, Tucsonans for a Clean Environment; Dennis Scott, U.S. Air Force; Col. John Selstrom, Environmental Restoration Branch, U.S. Air Force; Paula Johnson, Arizona Health Sciences Center; Martyn Thomas Smith, University of California, Berkeley; Richard Padilla, Hughes (invited).
• 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Special Sessions (Rincon Room, Univ. of Ariz. Student Center)
• "Science Writing Workshop:"
  How often do you find yourself working on a straightforward story when suddenly you're swept away in a blizzard of scientific data and impenetrable jargon? Many of the stories we cover deal with intense scientific controversies that turn on the most arcane bits of science, statistical analysis and medical research. The aim of this workshop is to give you the tools you need to interpret scientific data, write intelligently about it -- and dazzle your friends with your penetrating insights. Veteran science writers will dissect the reporting that led to some of their own stories and provide a few examples from among current breaking stories.
• Moderator: Paul Raeburn, Business Week ;
• Confirmed speakers: Jim Detjen,Michigan State University; Gary Paul Nabhan, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• "Collaborations Between Environmental Scientists and Journalists: Protocols and Possibilities"
  Environmental media campaigns can be extremely successful in calling public attention to environmental issues. Collaborations between journalists and scientists enable the effective presentation of scientific information to a wide range of media. Using the Forgotten Pollinators Campaign as a case study, this panel will discuss these collaborations as they relate to the ethics, strategic planning, targeting of audiences, and scientific accuracy of any environmental topic.
• Moderator: Gary Nabhan,Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Confirmed speakers: Stephen Buchmann, USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Laboratory; Chris DeCardy, Environmental Media Services; Mrill Ingram, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; Paul Larmer, High Country News; Lisa Magnino, Natural Resources Defense Council
• 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Welcome Reception (Arizona Historical Society Museum)
• Welcome: Dr. Peter Likins, President, The University of Arizona

In addition to the events listed below, Friday's and Saturday's program also features:

Small-group sessions with government policy makers. Confirmed guests: Robert Stanton, director, National Park Service; Michael Dombeck, chief of the USDA Forest Service; Thomas (Tad) McCall, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for environment, safety and occupational health; and Jamie Rappaport Clark, director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Salons for discussions among conference attendees on any topic of interest. A list of pre-arranged salons will be posted in the registration area. Additional salons may be organized on the spot by any SEJ member.

Press room, computer kiosks featuring daily conference news from UA journalism students; literature tables, an academic interests table, vendors, a room for print media reprints and video and audio clips. Also, the UA Student Center bookstore will be selling books by conference speakers plus other books of interest to SEJ members.

• 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.: Registration and Continental Breakfast
• 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
• Russell Clemings and Randy Lee Loftis, 1997 National Conference Chairs
• Kevin Carmody, President, SEJ
• Terrence Bracy, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Morris K. Udall Foundation
• 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Opening Plenary

"Four years after NAFTA: Was the Environment Protected?"
Side accords to the North American Free Trade Agreement were supposed to prevent environmental problems on the border. Have they worked? And what does the NAFTA experience portend for similar trade pacts in the future? 
• Moderator: Steve Curwood, Living on Earth, NPR
• Panelists: John Audley, National Wildlife Federation; Werner Braun, Dow Chemical; Congressman Jim Kolbe, R-AZ; Teresa Leal Proyectos Comadres de Nogales; Victor Lichtinger, Commission for Environmental Cooperation; Carl Pope, Sierra Club; Congressman Esteban Torres, D-CA
• Noon to 2:00 p.m. Lunch and Presentations
• "Interior and Exterior: Then and Now"
  A discussion on endangered species, public and private land management, recreation and tourism, and the need to serve a changing public..
  • Moderator: Randy Lee Loftis, Dallas Morning News
  • Confirmed speakers: Stewart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior; Robert Stanton, Director, National Park Service (invited)
• 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. ;
• Late afternoon exploration and special presentations by award-winning storytellers, artists, and scientists, followed by evening reception and dinner in the garden terraces. 

• 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.: Registration and Continental Breakfast
  

• 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Concurrent Sessions 1
• "Is Deregulation the Death of Big Nukes?"
  The changing economics of electric power and its effects on the environment and energy efficiency. 
• Moderator: Eric Niiler, The Patriot-Ledger 
• Confirmed speakers: Margie Kriz, National Journal; J.A. Savage, California Energy Markets and San Francisco Examiner; Alan Nogee, Union of Concerned Scientists; Louis Long, Southern Nuclear Operating Company
• "Kids, Clusters and Contaminants."
  With cases of asthma and allegations of cancer or birth defect clusters on the rise, the need for accurate and fair coverage of these issues is greater than ever.
• Moderator: Steve Cole, Environmental Science & Technology 
• Confirmed speakers: Miriam Davidson, Arizona Republic; Janet Phoenix, M.D. National Lead Information Center; Don Wall, WFAA-TV, Fort Worth, Texas
• "Organized Religion and the Environment."
  Leaders of major organized religions are becoming involved in debates over endangered species, forestry, population growth and environmental justice. 
• Moderator: Larry Stammer, Los Angeles Times ;
• Confirmed speakers: Calif. State Sen. Tom Hayden, author, "The Last Gospel of the Earth;" Rev. John Fife, Tucson Southside Presbyterian Church and national spokesperson; Paul Gorman, National Religious Partnership for the Environment
• "Covering the Environment in the Americas."
  The view from reporters south of the border. 
• Moderator: Ignacio Ibarra, Arizona Daily Star ;
• Confirmed speakers: Pedro Enrique Armendares, Periodistas de Investigacions, Mexico City; Martha Patricia Giovine, Diario de Juarez; Susana Guzman Ortega, Televisa, Mexico City
• "The Environmental Movement in the 21st Century."
  Does the future of the environmental movement lie in Washington or the grass roots? Which agendas, strategies and tactics will be most effective in the future? A roundtable on alternative directions.
• Moderator: Phil Shabecoff, author, A Fierce Green Fire
• Confirmed speakers: Daniel Kemmis, author, Community & the Politics of Place; Michael McCloskey, Sierra Club; Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund; Peggy Shepard, West Harlem Environmental Action
• "Collaborative Efforts at Sustainable Ranching: How the Media Contributes to Conflict"
  Ranchers involved with collaborative efforts to make cattle ranching both environmentally and economically viable highlight their efforts to forge local cooperation and discuss their experiences with the media.
• Moderator: Kirk Emerson, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy
• Confirmed speakers: Kelly Cash, The Nature Conservancy; Wendy Glenn, Malpai Borderlands Group; Bill Miller, Malpai Borderlands Group; Howard Hutchinson, Catron County Citizens Group; Hugh McKeen, Catron County Citizens Group; Dennis Moroney, Santa Maria Mountains Group
• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Introduction to Spreadsheets"
  Sick of writing out lsits by hand, or wondering whether your percent changes are right? Let a spreadsheet do the repetition for you. This class is an introduction to spreadsheets for journalists who may have seen the tool, but never used it in stories.
  • Instructor: Sarah Cohen,National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting

• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Introduction to the Web"
  Learn the basics of the World Wide Web and other internet tools. Topics include using search engines, bookmarks, and online resources, and how to navigate effectively around the web. Also covered are e-mail basics and how to get online. Intended for people who have never been online.
  • Instructor: Amy Gahran, E Source



• 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: Break
  
  
• 10:30 a.m. to Noon: Concurrent Sessions 2
• "Waste is a Terrible Thing to Mind."
  How to cover the ongoing debate over Ward Valley, Yucca Valley, WIPP and other nuclear waste repositories across the nation. 
• Moderator: Mary Manning, Las Vegas Sun. ;
• Confirmed speakers: Peter Dykstra, CNN; Joel Cehn, radiation safety consultant; Daniel Hirsch, Committee to Bridge the Gap; Eric Olds, Department of Energy
• "Viewers, Readers and Other Influences on Environmental Coverage."
  When TV stations and other media seek outside advice, does the environment get short shrift? 
• Moderator: Rod Jackson, ABC News One
• Confirmed speakers: Willis Duff, Magid Audience Research & Development; Steve Curwood, Living on Earth, MPR; Lawrence McGill, Media Studies Center of the Freedom Forum
• "Whistleblowers on the Environment."
  Who are whistleblowers and how do you find them? What are they saying and what should you watch out for? Representatives from two government watchdog groups and government whistleblowers on the Tongass National Forest and Hanford nuclear facility share their stories.
• Moderator: Meg Walker, environmental reporter, Federal Times 
• Confirmed speakers: Jeff DeBonis, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility; Mary Dalton, USDA Forest Service; Andy Stahl, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics; Casey Ruud, formerly U.S. Department of Energy
• "Using computers to produce environmental stories."
  >From quick-hit stories to giant projects, your environmental journalism can be better focused and more thorough if you let your personal computer help you. Two experts in the field will show you how.
• Moderator: Steve Doig, Arizona State University
• Confirmed speakers: Jim Bruggers, Contra Costa Times
• "Sprawl for All?"
  Urban and suburban sprawl may be the biggest environmental topic of the next generation. Cities and towns are threatened with unprecedented development and its consequences, including increased traffic, loss of open space, and pollution problems. How are some communities coping?
• Moderator: John Daley, KTVX-TV, Salt Lake City 
• Confirmed speakers: Kathleen Ingley, Arizona Republic; David Crockett, Chattanooga City Council; Erik Vink, American Farmland Trust; Michael Brandt Chapman, National Association of Home Builders
• "New Ways to Cover the Old Debate About Endangered Species"
  What is the reporter's role in the continuing ESA debate? Why should readers and viewers care? What are the questions that no one bothers to ask? Where are the hidden traps and red herrings?
• Moderator: Jack Hamann, CNN
• Confirmed speakers: Dan Ashe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; David Hancocks, former director, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; Pat Parenteau, Vermont Law School; Joan Moody, Defenders of Wildlife
• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Intermediate Spreadsheets"
  There's all this great data on the Web, but now you're stuck. How to convert petrified information on the Web into dynamic spreadsheets and small spreadsheet-based databases that you can use any way you want. Plus tips and tricks for journalists with a little spreadsheet experience.
  • Instructor: Sarah Cohen,National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting

• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Surfing with a Mission"
  Explore advanced techniques and strategies for using the Internet effectively for news reporting. Covers the web, listservs, ftp sites, Usenet newsgroups, bookmark management tips, strategies for using search engines, and tips for getting around error messages like "404 file not found." Intended for people who have some web experience.
  • Instructor: Amy Gahran, E Source



• Noon to 1:30 p.m. Networking Lunch
  
  • Tables will include a variety of topics, geographic areas, reporting tips, newsmakers, SEJ workshops. Plant yourself at a table or move around as you like.
    
    
• 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mini-Tours
• University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
  This world-renowned lab uses tree-ring chronologies to determine historical climatic conditions. The tour will include a look at a core taken in 1956 from a 4,175-year-old bristlecone pine, part of a continuous chronology for the West that goes back to 6707 B.C.
  • Guide: Rex Adams, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
• Desert Permaculture
  Permaculture gardeners aim for sustainability by mimicking nature's canopy layers -- for example, mixing fruit trees in with garden variety vegetation -- and by using renewable resources, such as gray water for irrigation, solar ovens for cooking and straw bales for housing. This tour will visit two backyard examples near downtown Tucson.
  
• Guide: Dan Dorsey, permaculture gardener
• Civano Sustainable Development
  Visit Global Solar, a photovoltaic cell factory, and site of a planned development where designers propose to build 2,600 dwellings for workers and other community members, with the intention of creating a sustainable village.
  
• Guide: Kevin Kelly, Civano Managing Director
• The Science of Garbology
  An anthropology professor and self-described garbologist will discuss the results of 25 years of sifting through other people's trash, including finding 40-year-old newspapers as readable as the day they were buried. The tour will include a visit to the on-campus facility where students sort through modern-day garbage seeking data on household waste.
  
• Guide: William Rathje, University of Arizona

• 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Concurrent Sessions 3

• "Covering Disasters Without Becoming One."
  A how-to workshop focusing on forest fires, floods, oil spills, hazardous waste emergencies and other risky business on the environment beat. 
• Moderator: Scott Miller, KING-TV, Seattle 
• Confirmed speakers: Lee Wilkins, University of Missouri; Matt Hammill, WQAD-TV, Moline, Illinois; Steve Shumake, North Carolina News Network
• "This Year's Award Winners:"
  How the best environmental reporters of the past year did their best work.
  • Moderator: Jane Kay, San Francisco Examiner 
  • Confirmed speakers: Bill Finch, Mobile (Alabama) Register; John McQuaid, New Orleans Times-Picayune; Sandy Tolan, Homeland Productions

• "To Cut or Not to Cut: Is That Now the Question?"
  With increasing public scrutiny of time practices on National Forests, panelists present a spectrum of views on what's best for taxpayers, rural economies and the environment.
• Moderator: Orna Izakson, Bangor (Maine) Daily News
• Confirmed speakers: Chad Hanson, Sierra Club; Michael Dombeck, chief, USDA Forest Service; Karyn Moskowitz, Thoreau Institute; Joe Hinson, Intermountain Forest Industry
• "Changing Economics of Water."
  If the era of big dams is over, what comes next? Hear from all sides in a controversial southern California water deal, plus additional perspectives from Arizona and from a former commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
• Moderator: Jim Bruggers, Contra Costa Times 
• Confirmed speakers: Dan Beard, National Audubon Society; Gene Brister, co-chairman, Coalition for a Fair Water Policy; Michael Clinton, general manager, Imperial Irrigation District; Edward McGrew, Western Farms, Holtville, CA; Katherine Jacobs, Arizona Department of Water Resources
• Getting the Drift on Ozone Transport."
  Acid rain was just the beginning. Now Northeastern states are looking upwind for solutions to their intractable smog problems. Stringent controls have been recommended to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from upwind coal-burning power plants -- but politicians and industrial leaders from those states are fighting back.
• Moderator: Randy Edwards, Columbus Dispatch
• Panelists: Bruce Carhart, Ozone Transport Commission; Patrick Dal Porto, American Electric Power; John Fialko, Wall Street Journal

• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Introduction to Database Managers"
  Let a database scour through public records for you. Want to see all of the hazardous materials spills in Arizona, or search for a permit holder to phone? A database can help.
  • Instructor: Sarah Cohen, National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting

• "Computer-Assisted Reporting: Creating Your Own Web Page"
  The basics of making a web page are surprisingly easy to master. In this session, participants will create a simple web page. Also discussed will be some of the issues to be considered with web publishing, such as writing style and link etiquette.
  • Instructor: Amy Gahran,E Source

• 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. SEJ Membership meeting.


• Greenwire trivia contest at end of meeting. SEJ Board meeting to follow in same location. 
• Evening: Dinner on your own. Special events and private receptions TBA.

• 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
• Biosphere 2 Tour
  Research members and Biosphere 2 Operations staff will lead interior tours of Biosphere 2, giving participants an opportunity to view the facility's technical, mechanical and wilderness elements. (Will repeat at 11:15 a.m.)

• Biosphere 2: Then and Now
  Scientists discuss the challenges of the changing mission of Biosphere 2, now being run as an earth sciences laboratory of Columbia University. (Will repeat at 11:15 a.m.)
  • Panelists: Tony Burgess, site naturalist, Biosphere 2 Center and University of Arizona; Debra Claire Colodner, education and academic affairs, Columbia University; Bernd Zabel, engineering and biospheric operations, Biosphere 2 Center

• "Advocates, Journalists or Both?"
  Does having a point of view cost you your journalistic credibility? Or does neutrality make you ineffective? 
• Moderator: Kevin Carmody, Chicago Daily Southtown 
• Confirmed speakers: Jim Detjen, Michigan State University; Karl Grossman, State University of New York; David Helvarg, author and TV producer



• 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.: Brunch
  
  • Welcome: Dr. William Harris, executive director, Biosphere 2 Center

• 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Biosphere 2 tours and panel discussion (repeat)
• "Writers on Writing: Focus on Edward Abbey and Environmental Radicalism"
  Writers familiar with Abbey and his work discuss Abbey's influence on the environmental movement and environmental journalism.
• Moderator: Dick Manning author, Grassland and Last Stand
• Confirmed speakers: Chuck Bowden, author, Blood Orchid; Susan Zakin, author, Coyotes and Town Dogs; Mike Lacey, editor, New Times Inc.


• 12:30 p.m. Conference Adjourns

Buses go to Tucson Airport or return to hotels.

Post-conference trip:

"The Grand Canyon. "Are We Loving It To Death?"

SOLD OUT

Join our distinguished group of experts on this visit to one of the world's environmental jewels. Subjects to be covered include: Air pollution and visibility, managing people and cars in the park, experimental flood results, and the impact of tourism, including overflights.

• Confirmed speakers: Robert Arnberger, superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park 

Founded in 1990 by a small group of award-winning reporters, the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is a not-for-profit educational organization dedicated to improving the quality, accuracy and visibility of environmental reporting. SEJ works through a variety of programs and services to encourage information sharing and discussion among journalists, scientists, educators, government officials, industry representatives, environmental advocacy groups and concerned citizens regarding important environmental issues. SEJ's annual operating budget is funded by private foundations, media company sponsors, universities, conference fees and individual contributors. SEJ's membership of more than 1,100 includes journalists working for newspapers, television and radio stations, broadcast and cable networks, magazines, newsletters, wire services, on-line publications, and photo agencies as well as educators and students. Non-members are welcome to attend SEJ's national conferences. 

SEJ is grateful to 1997 National Conference sponsors and hosts:
THE MORRIS K. UDALL FOUNDATION
THE UDALL CENTER FOR STUDIES IN PUBLIC POLICY
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

The Morris K. Udall Foundation was established by the U.S. Congress in 1992 to honor Udall's thirty years of service in the House of Representatives. Among the purposes of the Foundation, as prescribed in its establishing law, are to establish a program for environmental policy research and environmental conflict resolution at the University of Arizona's Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.