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California State University,
Fresno will mark the 39th worldwide celebration of Earth Day on
Wednesday, April 22, with a teach-in on three key environmental
challenges and a Sustainability Fair offering information and volunteer
opportunities.
The university celebration – scheduled from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the
Peace Garden just north of the new Henry Madden Library – is free and
open to the public. Relaxed parking will be available in Lot S, south of
Bulldog Stadium, a short walk to the Peace Garden.
The Earth Day teach-in will be composed of a series of 45-minute panel
discussions near the statue of César Chávez:
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Water resources
sustainability (groundwater and surface water) will be the topic at
12:30 p.m., moderated by Dr. John Constable, a biology professor.
Offering perspectives will be fellow Fresno State faculty Dr. John
Suen and Dr. Peter Vandewater (earth and environmental sciences) and
Chris Acree of Revive the San Joaquin.
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At 1:30, David Moll,
Fresno State assistant vice president for risk management and
sustainability, will moderate a panel on transit. Participants will
include Steve Lewis of the Fresno Bike Coalition, John Downs of the
Council of Fresno County Governments and Thomas Gaffrey, a projects
coordinator at the university.
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The final discussion at
2:30 focuses on air quality, led by Dr. Don Hunsaker, director of
the Institute for Climate Change, Oceans and Atmosphere at Fresno
State. He’ll be joined by James Quan of Advanced Energy Systems
Inc., chemistry professor Dr. Alam Hasson, Joseph Oldham, the city
of Fresno interim sustainability coordinator, and Laura Stout,
campaign and outreach associate of the Coalition for Clean Air in
Fresno.
The Sustainability Fair will
be held on the walkway just north of the Peace Garden. Campus,
government, community and business organizations will provide
information about such topics as organic agriculture, compositing, solar
energy, water conservation, native habitat and species protection, air
quality, recycling, transportation and green building.
As part of Earth Day at Fresno State, library Dean Peter McDonald will
provide Starbucks gift cards to the first 100 students who bring their
own mugs to the Starbucks café in the library’s Table Mountain Rancheria
Tower. McDonald said the goal is to “spare a tree” by not having coffee
served in paper cups.
The Earth Day celebration will follow the ribbon-cutting ceremony to
officially re-opened Peace Garden (11:45 a.m.) and dedication of the
Richard Ford Memorial Grove just west of the garden.
The Earth Day celebration is sponsored by the sustainability
subcommittee of the campus Planning Committee. The subcommittee –
composed of university faculty, staff and student members and a city of
Fresno Green Team representative – is part of the university’s
commitment to environmental sustainability on campus and in the
community.
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