For those who missed out on Earth Week, there is still a chance to celebrate Earth Day (Apr. 22). There are still four events sponsored by Earth Emerson remaining. The group will welcome three specialists to lead a panel on global warming tonight at 6:30 p.m. in room 210 of the Walker Building. The panelists are Kristen Graf of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Lauren Miller from Clean Air-Cool Planet and Dr. Kent Curtis, an author and associate professor of environmental studies at Emerson.
After the panel, in the same room at 8 p.m., Earth Emerson will show the film “Darwin’s Nightmare” as part of its ongoing in Alan Hankin Film Series, named for the late science professor and advisor to Earth Emerson who passed away last year. The film is a documentary on the environmental and social justice effects of fishing the Nile Perch in Tanzania’s Lake Victoria. Earlier this week the organization screened “Instinct” (based on Ishmael, a book Hankin taught in his classes) and “Pale Male” (a documentary about a hawk, an animal species Hankin loved).
Emily Carlson, a senior writing, literature and publishing (WLP) major and member of Earth Emerson, reflected on why this film series is so important to the club.
“I had three classes with Alan, and honestly [he] made my time at Emerson worthwhile, and he taught me more about life, the environment and integrity more than anyone has before,” said Carlson.
Earth Emerson holds Common Clean-ups most Sundays, picking up trash and recyclables scattered around Boston Common and using the opportunity to socialize with other students. But the club has not been able to start up the clean-ups since last fall, so it’s having a special Common Clean-up on Saturday, Earth Day.
The last event will be the Lyme Hike, which senior theater and WLP double major Rachel Dutcher, president of Earth Emerson, said came out of her desire to teach students about Lyme Disease. Hankin had the disease, along with one of Dutcher’s best friends. It is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks and can cause several painful symptoms.
Freshman Sasha Brown, an organization and political communication major who started participating in Earth Emerson last month, said she is looking forward to events.
“The Global Warming Panel will be really interesting because it’ll explain how global warming affects me and [other] students,” Brown said.
“I think it’s amazing that at Emerson College we don’t just celebrate the Earth on one day but for a whole week, and within our group for the whole year,” said Melissa Gittelman, a freshman journalism and WLP double major, I hope that this week helps people to see the importance of celebrating and respecting the Earth.”
-Ryan Weaver and Jonathan Schwab contributed to this article.