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Volume 128 Issue 65
Altaf Nanavat
Staff Writer On Earth Day we don’t just celebrate the planet that gives us air to breathe and land to stand on — we recognize our responsibility to protect those essentials. The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, along with Eco-Vols and UTOP, will celebrate Earth Day with a discussion on climate change presented by John Nolt, a philosophy professor, in the Toyota Auditorium Wednesday afternoon. As a professor, Nolt mostly focuses his lectures around logic and environmental ethics. In addition to his professorship, Nolt also serves as the chair of the Committee on the Campus Environment. Organized in 1999, the committee works to advise the university administration and push environmental initiatives to the forefront.
Diana Howell, a Baker Ambassador and sophomore in political science, said she believes Nolt will provide a unique perspective to the conversation about environmental issues. “Dr. John Nolt was the perfect fit to provide a new outlook on climate change and discuss its moral implications,” Howell said. “I am very excited to hear Dr. Nolt speak and create this dialogue.” The celebration is also being held in conjunction with the UT’s Earth Month, in which the university showcases the achievements made in solving environmental issues on campus throughout April. With this celebration, Howell said she hopes to foster an engaging and educational environment amongst students and other attendees. “We decided we wanted to make an event centered around Earth Day to help inform students about climate change,” Howell said. “My hope for this event is for every student
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to feel welcome to come learn about how UT students can help solve this problem.” In addition to the discussion, UTOP will also be hosting events on Thursday, including a biking powered service project from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. and a cleanup at Fort Sanders from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Both activities will be free of charge and everyone is invited to participate. Attendees can pick up trash bags and gloves from the Baker Center beforehand. Associate Director at the Baker Center Nissa Dahlin-Brown explained why the center is strongly encouraging students to attend the event. “The Baker Center works to educate students and the community on issues related to energy and the environment as we work to develop policy that addresses issues in these areas,” Brown said. “Students are at the core of improving the future for all of us, and that starts with education about the problem.”
Wednesday, April 22, 2015