Jess Creighton
Dr. Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth and philosophy department Alumnus, discussed the university's role in solving the earth's problems in two lectures sponsored by the philosophy department. The lectures, on October 30th and October 31st, focused on the problems facing the environment today and why the university is a good place for a change to begin.
Blackwelder announced the Friends of the Earth plan for the U.S. to achieve indepednence from foreign oil resources within two decades, comparing the situation to President Nixon's race to the moon in the 1960s. "We have the power to change. The problems and barriers are institutional. The technology is available," Blackwelder said.
The first lecture addressed basic environmental problems, while the second centered on the university's role and ways to get the university mobilized. Politics are directly related to environmental issues, Blackwelder said, because political funding by corporations has negatively affected the success of environmental bills.
Blackwelder also stressed that the nation's dependence on oil fuels also directly affects international relations, especially in the Middle East. "The politics of oil are driving this nation from start to finish, and it creates a climate that fosters instability."
In Blackwelder's view, recent events make clear that many of these issues are not just environmental, but also have security implications. The nation's centralized system of distributing power is prone to terrorist attacks, in addition to being detrimental to the environment, Blackwelder said.
Since the 1970s, there has been a decline in support and recognition of ecology's concerns, Blackwelder noted, citing as recent examples the Kyoto Treaty and Bush's stance on arsenic levels in drinking water.
According to Blackwelder, the University is key in solving the environmental issues concerning our nation, because the University is considered by the press and the public to be impartial and informed, Blackwelder said.
Universities could help facilitate public understanding and conduct research in a number of different areas, Blackwelder suggested. These areas include biotechnology and genetic engineering of food, economic globalization issues, and the taxing and budgeting of environmental projects.
Blackwelder received his doctorate in philosophy from the University
of Maryland in 1975, and received the Arts and Humanities Distinguished
Alumnus Award this year.
