Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Sweet Lecture at 4:30pm in BiHall 216

What goes down our drains? Out of sight, out of mind?

Rapidly urbanizing regions often face unique challenges related to water quantity and water quality. For example, research indicates that a number of endocrine disrupting compounds, personal care products and pharmaceuticals are released to the environment by wastewater treatment plant effluents. These “emerging” contaminants have been detected in groundwater, streams and lakes and drinking water supplies. Subsequently, this presentation will explore the potential human and ecological aspects of “emerging” aquatic contaminants.


SPEAKER BIO: Bryan W. Brooks serves as an Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Dr. Brooks holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of North Texas, and a M.S. and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Mississippi. Research in the Brooks lab is interdisciplinary, often integrating aspects of water quality, environmental toxicology and chemistry, applied aquatic ecology and risk assessment. Current research projects focus on water reuse, aquatic impacts of emerging aquatic contaminants (e.g., pharmaceuticals and personal care products, endocrine disrupting and modulating chemicals, harmful algal toxins) and other water quality aspects of watershed and reservoir linkages, particularly in rapidly urbanizing and effluent-dominated systems. Specifically, Dr. Brooks’ research with pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and endocrine disrupting/modulating chemicals in effluent-dominated streams has received attention from the international scientific community and has been featured by various media groups (e.g.,
CNN, NPR Science Friday, Washington Post, Discovery Channel). Since arriving at Baylor in 2002, Dr. Brooks and his students have contributed over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and technical reports, and over 80 professional research presentations. His research program (~$3M) has been supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 3M Foundation, WateReuse Foundation, Altria Foundation, and the US Army. Dr. Brooks is a Past President of the South Central Regional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Gulf Coast Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology, Past Chair of the Freshwater and Marine Sciences section of the Texas Academy of Sciences and Past President of the Texas River and Reservoir Management Society. In addition to serving as a peer-reviewer for numerous journals, he routinely reviews grant proposals for various entities and has served as an expert witness. He also serves as the academic representative from North America on steering committee for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry’s Pharmaceuticals Advisory Group and a recent Pellston workshop on Veterinary Medicines in the Environment. Dr. Brooks is currently editing a book entitled “Human Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Current and Future Perspectives.”

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Tuesday's Talks

Two Phenomenal Talks Today....

12noon in Chateau Grand Salon"Who Owns Vermont's Water?"
- Jon Groveman, Water Program Director, VNRC
(http://vnrc.org/article/view/18780/)

4:30pm in Hillcrest"Water and Climate Change: What Should We Expect?"
-Peter Murdoch, Research Hydrologist"Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases"- Lindsay Wheeler, Neglected Tropical Diseases Institute
(http://ny.cf.er.usgs.gov/ws/info2.cfm?ID=Murdoch,%20P.S.)

Sunday, March 30, 2008

FRESH WATER SCREENING (PLANET EARTH)

Get pumped,

come kick-off your Water Week with free fish and some planet earth...

Come tonight to BiHall 216 and watch Planet Earth

A free fish for first 1000 people to show up (of gold and Sweedish variety)

Monday, March 24, 2008

Water Week 2008

WATER WEEK 2008
SCARCITY • CONFLICT • DISEASE


Location: Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tuesday, April 1st, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:30 p.m. “Who Owns Vermont’s Water?”
Jon Groveman, Water Program Director, Vermont Natural Resource Council
Chateau Grand Salon

4:30 p.m. “Water and Climate Change: What Should We Expect”
Peter Murdoch, USGS Hydrologist
&
“Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases”
Lindsay Wheeler, Research Associate, Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease
Hillcrest Colloquium Room


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4:30 p.m. “What Goes Down Our Sinks?”
Dr. Bryant Brooks, Director, Ecotoxicology & Aquatic Research Laboratory, Baylor University
McCardell Bicentennial Hall Room 216


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thursday, April 3rd, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:30 p.m. “Freshwater Sustainability”
Tom Pariss, Director of Sustainability Programs, ISciences
Hillcrest Colloquium Room

6:30 p.m. "Water as a Human Right"
Professor Ken Cline, Environmental Law & Policy, College of the Atlantic
Hillcrest Colloquium Room

7:30 p.m. HYDRO JAM: OPEN MIC WATER POETRY
The Grille @ McCullough Student Center

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Friday, April 4th, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:30 p.m. "Mono Lake, Water, and the California Dream"
David Carle, Author,
Hillcrest Colloquium Room

4:30 p.m. CHINATOWN
A complex web of deceit involving murder, incest and municipal corruption all related to the city's water supply. Directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway
Dana Auditorium


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Saturday, April 5th, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3:00 p.m. WATER FESTIVAL
Music and Water Solutions and Debra Lapidus, National Campaign Director,
“Think Outside the Bottle”, Corporate Accountability International
Battel Beach


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sunday, April 6th, 2008~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:00 p.m. "China's Stake in Rivers of Southeast Asia”
Professor Darrin Magee, Environmental Studies & Geography, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Rohatyn Center for International Studies, Robert A. Jones ’59 Conference Room