UF hosts conference on law, environment, humanities, policy and children

March 7, 2006

WHO: The University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law, UF’s Center for Children’s Literature and Culture, and the National Association of Environmental Law Societies (NAELS), a nationwide coalition of more than 50 law student groups devoted to environmental issues, are sponsoring the 2006 Public Interest Environmental Conference. The conference features more than 50 experts, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Carol Browner, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” and a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and Parents magazine, and Philippe Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau and president of Earth Echo International.

WHAT: The 12th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference, “In Fairness to Future Generations,” is the nation’s first conference combining humanities, law, policy, children and the environment. At the invitation of UF’s Environmental and Law Use Law Society, NAELS will hold its annual conference at UF in conjunction with the Public Interest Environmental Conference. The conference, which drew more than 400 participants last year, includes panel discussions on environmental issues in law, watershed, global warming, children’s culture and ecocriticism, science, politics and sustainable development. The conference, except for the banquet, is open to the public and free for UF students, faculty and staff. The conference registration fee for the general public is $85, and banquet fee is $35. The registration form may be downloaded from www.ufpiec.org. Registration deadline is Friday, March 10, at 8 a.m.

WHEN: March 8-11. The conference begins with a speech by Kennedy at 8 p.m. March 8 at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts, sponsored by ACCENT Speakers Bureau.

WHERE: University of Florida, Gainesville. The Kennedy speech on Wednesday at 8 p.m. is at the Phillips Center for Performing Arts. The reception on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. is at Emerson Alumni Hall. The Friday and Saturday panels and plenary discussions are at Reitz Student Union.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Barbara Serokee, Finance Chair, at (352) 273-0856 or bserokee@ufl.edu, or go to www.ufpiec.org or www.naels.org for the complete conference agenda.

FOR MEDIA ACCESS: Check in on the Friday of the conference to receive a pass for the panels and plenary discussions. E-mail ACCENT@sg.ufl.edu for media access to the Kennedy speech on March 8.