You Can Celebrate Earth Day All You Want, But... Is It a Wake for Environmentalism?

April 15, 2005

What: A talk and panel debate the week of Earth Day that asks: "Since the November defeat of the Democratic Party, the environmental movement has taken a knife to itself with a series of essays proclaiming the movement to be a massive failure. But is it really dead?"

Who:

• Mark Dowie, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth Century
  
• Joshua Holst, California League of Conservation Voters
  
• Dr. Jeremy Jackson, World Wildlife Fund board
• Mary Nichols, director, UCLA Institute of the Environment
• Barry Nelson, National Resources Defense Council

When: Wednesday, April 20
4:30 p.m. Talk by Mark Dowie: "Environmentalism: D.O.A. or just a little organ failure?"
6 p.m. Catered food and drinks
6:30 p.m. Panel debate

Where: Davidson Conference Center, corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street. Enter campus through Gate 4 on Jefferson Boulevard. Parking is free with valid press credential.

About the Speaker: Mark Dowie's 1995 Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, Losing Ground, predicted a crisis in the environmental movement if the problems he identified were not addressed. They were not, and the movement finds itself on the defensive following a series of essays since November proclaiming "The Death of Environmentalism." In a stormy time for environmentalism, Dowie is one of the most rational voices in the crowd. For more on Dowie, see www.mediachannel.org/views/interviews/dowie.shtml.