Special Speakers - Baton Rouge Conference

Opening Reception Speaker, Wednesday Evening, February 28, 2007:  Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Babbitt, author of Cities in the Wilderness, served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1993 to 2001, as Governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987, and as Attorney General of Arizona from 1975 to 1978.

Banquet Speaker, Saturday Evening, March 3, 2007:  Mark Davis 

Mark Davis is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of Center on Water Resources Law and Policy, Tulane University Law School.  He is a recent director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana - a primary advocate for public policy supporting coastal restoration.  He is also a Member of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Conservation and Restoration and a Member of the Mineral Management Service Advisory Committee on Outer Continental Shelf Activity.

Rolling Seminar Speakers - Wed., Feb. 28, 2007

Ron Hagelman (Texas State University) taught for a number of years at the University of New Orleans and joined the exodus, like so many others, when Katrina approached. While at UNO, he worked on a number of projects related to evacuation planning for the Center for Hazards, Assessment, Response, and Technology. He is a hazards geographer with a research interest in urban flooding and public response. He will meet with the Rolling Seminar at the Lakefront/17th Street Canal stop.

Richard Campanella (Tulane University) is a New Orleans resident who rode out the storm in the historic Bywater neighborhood. He is Assistant Director of the Tulane-Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research. He has published three books on New Orleans including Geographies of New Orleans: Urban Fabrics before the Storm (2006). Richard merges his interest in historical geography and computer cartography to produce stunning images of historical landscape change in New Orleans. He will meet with the Rolling Seminar at the Lower 9th Ward stop.

Ari Kelman (University of California Davis) lived in New Orleans for several years and has been called on by the national media to discuss the relationship of the city’s historical legacy and the impact of Hurricane Katrina. His book, A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscapes in New Orleans (2003) examines the city’s long-term relationship with the Mississippi River. He will meet the Rolling Seminar at the French Quarter/River Front stop.

Additional representatives from local organizations and the Corps of Engineers will be on hand as well.

Plenary Speakers, Thursday Evening, March 1, 2007

The plenary speakers at the Baton Rouge meeting bring diverse expertise to the conference theme “Living on the Edge: Human Desires and Environmental Realities.”

Robert Twilley. Director, Wetland Biogeochemistry and Professor, Department of Oceanography and Coastal Science. Dr. Twilley Brings an expertise in ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal wetlands. He has been a key figure in the Louisiana Restoration Authority’s planning process to repair the state’s wetland buffer. He is coauthor of Biogeochemistry of Gulf of Mexico Estuaries (1999). He will address Living on the Edge of a Disappearing Wetland.

Barry Keim. Louisiana State Climatologist and Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Anthropology. Dr. Keim is an expert on water resources, hydrology, and climate of the eastern United States. He is one of principal advisors to the Office of Emergency Preparedness when hurricanes approach the state. Dr. Keim recently published New England Weather, New England Climate (2003). His comments will focus on Living on the Edge of a New Climatic Era.

Barbara Allen is Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Science and Technology Studies at Virginia Tech's National Capitol Region Campus. She has been investigating environmental justice issues in Louisiana for several years and recently published Uneasy

Alchemy: Citizens and Experts in Louisiana's Chemical Corridor Disputes (2003). Her comments will consider Living on the Edges of Poverty and Industrial Fencelines.

S. W. Verstegen is Lecturer in Economic and Environmental History at the Free University in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has expertise in economic and environmental issues in the Netherlands and has two chapters in Northern Europe: An Environmental History (2005). His comments will offer a comparative view of Living on the Edge in Holland and the Lower Mississippi River valley.