Over 3,000 students, attorneys, scientists and citizens have begun to arrive on campus for the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, beginning today and ending March 4.
Jeff Adams, law student and conference organizer, said issues relating to logging, activism, toxic pollutants and labor relations are just a few of the many that will be discussed at the conference.
“It really hits on so many issues that affect almost everyone’s life,” he said.
More than 100 panel discussions are planned, Adams said. The topics were chosen on a first-come, first-serve basis to prevent any bias in preference, he said.
The organizers said they expect visitors from more than 30 countries to attend, and one from as far away as Madagascar. Law student Courtney Brown, one of last year’s organizers, said the conference is the largest and oldest environmental gathering in the nation.
Some of the speakers this year include Ward Churchill, associate professor at the University of Colorado, Bill Gould, labor law expert and Stanford professor, and Palo Zilincik, co-founder of Slovakia’s Center for Environmental Public Advocacy.
“We’ve got a tremendous mix of speakers,” law student and organizer Erin Landis said. “Some of them are pretty controversial so I wouldn’t be disappointed if no one heckled them but I kind of almost expect it to happen.”
Last year proved that the conference can have heated discussions. During what is now being referred to as the “Hill Incident,” Julia Butterfly Hill, forest activist and tree sitter, was heckled while delivering one of her speeches.
Hill lived for two years on a 200-foot-tall ancient redwood tree in northern California before coming down in exchange for an agreement by Pacific Lumber Company, the area’s landowner, to save the area and $50,000 donated toward university science research. Some in attendance called the arrangement a sell-out.
“There is nothing we can do as far as preventing that other than asking people to respect each other’s ideas and to keep an open mind about things and allow other people to speak,” Landis said.
Law student Jennifer Soice, one of the four organizers this year, said she felt the hecklers acted within reason.
“I hope people take away acceptance of other people’s ideas, and understand that it is a forum and you don’t have to agree with everything that is said,” she said. “But I think it was the right thing to do.”
She said many new organizations and ideas have begun at previous conferences. Owl Litigation, protection for owls, and E-Law, environmental protection through the law, were created here, she said.
Adams said he is encouraged by the number of ideas that come from the conference. He said it is easy to forget about the important issues in the environment.
“When you’re doing your own work, it is easy to become focused on one thing and forget about the big picture,” he said. “When you come here and there are 20-plus panels, you get your eyes opened to so many new ideas.”
“There is a sense of urgency,” Landis said. “The environment is not going to get any better by itself. It has got to be something that takes work on everyone’s part to make sure it is there for our grandchildren to enjoy.”