Greg Watson, the current Director for Policy at the Schumacher Center for a New Economics, gave a Log Lunch talk that focused on the question of how to reconcile environmental quality with economic equality and equity. He emphasized the importance of equity, because it is not enough for… Continue reading »
May 10th, 2019 At the last Log Lunch of the semester, Karen McComish from Mt. Greylock High School, Pres. of Youth Environmental Squad and Caroline Weinberg ’19 gave talks on their respective work on climate activism. Karen and a group of dedicated seniors have gotten involved in the Sunrise… Continue reading »
May 3rd, 2019 Today, Paul Bierman ’85 of the geology department at University of Vermont gave a Log Lunch talk on his work on 26 of Cuba’s rivers. Paul Bierman (left) with his daughter Marika, a student at Williams With a small cohort of Cubans and American scientists and… Continue reading »
April 19th, 2019 Last Log Lunch, Cynthia Espinoso Marrero gave a talk on the history of Holyoak, MA, and the work she does there to make the city a better place. Cynthia (right) with new baby Xineri and husband Osmar (left) A food systems scholar and activist, Cynthia grew… Continue reading »
April 12th, 2019 Dr. Art Gold, a professor of watershed hydrology at the University of Rhode Island, spoke at Log Lunch today about the degradation of Fiji’s coral coast due to excess nitrogen. High levels of nitrogen entering the coastal waters results in Sargassum… Continue reading »
April 5th, 2019 Julia Goren ’01 (left) with Diane Fish Diane Fish, Deputy Director of the Adirondack Council, and Julia Goren ’01, Director of the Adirondack VISION Project, gave a Log Lunch talk on the Adirondack Park, NY–the largest park in the lower 48 U.S. states. This is the only… Continue reading »
March 8th, 2019 At this Log Lunch, Judith Schwartz gave a lecture on the research she’s been doing as a freelance writer and journalist. Her most recent book, Cows Save the Planet, is about soil, in short. But it is also about busting environmental myths, like the common argument that… Continue reading »
March 1st, 2019 Last Log Lunch, Gemma Holt ’17 told a crowd munching on scallion pancakes and sesame noodles about the Fulbright she spent in Finland, right after graduating Williams. During her senior year, Gemma wrote a thesis about Arctic governance, which is a topic that doesn’t get a lot… Continue reading »
February 22nd, 2019 At the last Log Lunch, Professor Ron Bassar told the crowd about the four years he spent before joining the Biology department at Williams last year. He studies the guppy–a popular pet fish in the U.S., which actually derives from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. He… Continue reading »
February 15th, 2019 Topher Sabot ’99 gave a Log Lunch talk on Friday about his dairy farm, Cricket Creek. He brought along three of his cheeses for the crowd to try, a special treat for a rapt audience. Topher spoke about his roots as the son of an Economics professor,… Continue reading »
February 8th, 2019 On Friday, Professor Apotsos gave a Log Lunch lecture on the Fulbright Fellowship he did last year in Cape Town, South Africa. Using his background in coastal oceanography and work at the USAID (US Agency for International Development), Professor Apotsos aimed to work with regional planners to… Continue reading »
January 18th, 2019 At the last log lunch, visiting economics and sustainability professor Don Carlson gave a talk on the benefits and disadvantages of capitalism in the context of climate change. Professor Carlson is teaching at his alma mater as a “reverse sabbatical” from a fruitful career in investment banking… Continue reading »
January 11th, 2019 At the last log lunch, sophomore Wyndom Chace presented on her CES-funded summer internship at the University of Rhode Island. She conducted research on how nutrients used for fertilizer, like nitrogen and phosphorus, behave throughout riparian zones. A riparian zone is any land adjacent to a… Continue reading »
January 4th, 2019 At the last log lunch, Dr. Karl Korfmacher of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) gave a talk on the ways in which we can use GIS programs to analyze the potential health impacts from transport and well emissions generated by HVHF operations in the Marcellus Shale… Continue reading »
December 7th, 2018 Seniors Will Keating, Shauna Sullivan, and Drew West presented at Log Lunch on their work this semester in the environmental studies senior seminar, taught by Sarah Gardner. (From left) Sarah Gardner, Drew West, David McGowan, Bob Hatton, Shauna Sullivan, and Will Keating The project was commissioned… Continue reading »
November 30th, 2018 Thomas Bernard has a long history in the Berkshires. Born in raised in North Adams, he graduated from Williams College and has worked at Mass MoCA, MCLA, and is currently the Director of Special Projects at Smith College. He was elected mayor of North Adams in November… Continue reading »
November 9th, 2018 At last week’s Log Lunch, Jenny Hansell, President of the Berkshire Natural Resources Council, gave a talk on her work at the BNRC. The BNRC is a land trust, conserving parcels of land through trail-making and also providing human access to the wild. In particular, the… Continue reading »
November 2nd, 2018 Last Log Lunch, architect Tessa Kelly ’07 spoke about her ongoing project in her hometown, Pittsfield. She is working with students in Sarah Gardner’s Environmental Planning senior seminar to design a park in the west side of Pittsfield. This is a historically black neighborhood with culture that… Continue reading »
Log Lunch worker Jane Tekin with Chris Varrone October 26th, 2018 Chris Varrone ’85, Managing Director in the ESG group at Silver Leaf Partners, raises money for clean tech companies, projects, and funds. He gave a talk at the last Log Lunch about the future of offshore wind energy… Continue reading »
October 19th, 2018 Cedar Blazek ’13 gave a talk at Log Lunch last Friday about why energy efficiency in buildings matters. Buildings use 40% of the country’s energy, and while advances have been made in renewable energy sources to power large buildings, it is more logical to think about ways… Continue reading »
September 28th, 2018 On the second Log Lunch of the academic year, Drew Jones of Hopkins Memorial Forest introduced the event that would be happening there the coming weekend: the Berkshire Bioblitz. (from left) Drew Jones, David McGowan, Elizabeth Orenstein, Eric Doucette Eric Doucette of MCLA, Elizabeth Orenstein of… Continue reading »
September 20th, 2018 Last Friday’s Log Lunch featured Dr. Noël Bakhtian, the Director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a research and education consortium bringing together the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory and the four public research universities in Idaho and Wyoming. She shared her educational and professional career road-map… Continue reading »
Ben Hellerstein, the state director of Environment Massachusetts, gave a log lunch talk on the progress MA has made on clean energy and what’s left to do. Growing up in Westchester, NY, Ben reminisces on the glory of vacationing in the mountains and a consequent love of nature. He went… Continue reading »
Ben Hellerstein, the state director of Environment Massachusetts, gave a log lunch talk on the progress MA has made on clean energy and what’s left to do. Growing up in Westchester, NY, Ben reminisces on the glory of vacationing in the mountains and a consequent love of nature. He went… Continue reading »
Professors Nicolas Howe and John Kleiner, both part of the Campus Environmental Advocacy Committee, gave an informative log lunch talk about carbon offsets and what the College is doing to decrease them. Though both professors definitely slipped in hints of their personal opinions on the topic, they also conveyed essential… Continue reading »