Environmental Studies

Addressing environmental concerns requires a comprehensive and rigorous understanding of the relationship between humans and their environment. We achieve this understanding through the intersection of knowledge and expertise from the natural and social sciences, arts and humanities, as applied to the study of the intellectual and physical connections that define our role in the environment. We strive to contribute to an understanding of biological and physical processes, responsible policy and practice, imaginative thinking, and ethical reflection in both local and global communities.

Environmental Studies at St. Olaf offers both a major and a concentration. As an interdisciplinary department, it draws upon faculty and courses from a number of the traditional departments, though quite a number of our offerings are courses specifically designed for our Department. The Department's strengths arise from faculty and participants' grounding in traditional disciplines, and an interdisciplinary perspective on environmental problems and issues derived from course work within the department.

News

Check out the St. Olaf news piece highlighting how the international experiences of Environmental Studies major Caryn McKinney '13 helped frame her education on-campus as well as inform her future path. The piece is titled, International experiences pave postgrad path.

St. Olaf College’s Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences is highlighted in The World’s Greenest Buildings, a new book from Routledge Publishing. The authors, Jerry Yudelson and Ulf Meyer, examined hundreds of the highest-rated “green” buildings around the world and profiled what they believe to be the top 49 examples of sustainable architecture, design, and performance. Regents Hall, which the book notes “is perhaps the most prominent expression of the college’s 23-year-old sustainability agenda,” is one of just five U.S. academic buildings highlighted. See St. Olaf news story here.

WISSARD Antarctic Team makes news! The success of the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project has been featured by NBC, BBC News, Nature magazine, and the New York Times, among others during Jan 2013. EnvSt faculty members Bob Jacobel and Knut Christianson have been responsible for determining the geophysical characterization of the subglacial lake. The data they've gathered, which shows the dimensions and hydrology of the lake, played a crucial role in helping the team determine where to drill. At St. Olaf, the WISSARD project is part of the college's Center for Geophysical Studies of Ice and Climate. See St. Olaf news stories here.

 

2012-13 Events

01 May 2013, 7:30 - 9 pm, Viking Theatre
Earth-Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key
Larry Rasmussen '61, St. Olaf Regent and Professor Emeritus Union Theological Seminary. Larry recently published a book by this same title and will be speaking about earth ethics and faith.

05 May 2013, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm, outside the science library in Regents
Phenology Walk with Student Naturalists
This week, we'll check out the activity that happens at dusk! Meet us by the Science Library on the first floor of Regents for a lovely evening walk outside!

06 May 2013, 4-5 pm, RNS 410
Can we feed the world and sustain the planet? Agricultural intensification and global environmental change.
Nathan Mueller '07, Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment.

08 May 2013, 7-8:30 pm, Viking Theatre
FILM SHOWING: Chasing Ice
Introduction by St. Olaf professor and leading climate scientist, Bob Jacobel (CEGSIC).
About the film: acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog was once a skeptic about climate change. But through his Extreme Ice Survey, he discovers undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Click the titel to go to National Geographic Chasing Ice.

16 May 2013, 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm, outside the science library in Regents
Phenology Walk with Student Naturalists
Take a study break and join the student naturalists for our weekly walk around the Natural Lands to look for signs of spring..

Finals week - May 2013
EnvSt 399 End of Year BBQ

 

Recent/Past Events

15 Sep 2012, 9 am - Noon
4th Annual Cannon River Watershed Cleanup
Come improve the water quality of the Cannon and Straight Rivers by volunteering a little bit of your time as we come together to clean up the watershed! Contact Kathy Shea, Curator of Natural Lands, to volunteer.

17 Sep 2012, 4 pm, RNS 410
A Journey with the Environmental Science in Australia 2012 crew.
Come hear your fellow Oles share experiences from the spring 2012 study-travel program in Australia. You can check out their blog.

24 Sep 2012, 4 pm, RNS 410
Science on Ice: Photographing Polar Expeditions. Christopher Linder, Research Associate at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Awarding winning photographer/digital multi-media artist. See Chris' work at: Art for Conservation, Science on Ice, International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and his Facebook page.

29 Sep 2012, 1 pm - 7 pm, Northfield Area
Farm Bike Tour: A Pedal-Powered Tour of 7 Northfield Farms
For more details see: www.facebook.com/farmbiketour

01 Oct 2012, 7 pm, Tomson 280
Should you believe it? Statistics & the Media. Rebecca Goldin, Assoc Professor, George Mason University and the non-profit organization STATS. Despite our need for clear rendering of numerical information, many media accounts using statistics are misleading. I will tell a humorous story about media misrepresentation, and the importance of being a numerical thinker in creating a narrative about the world. Numbers can be powerful when we move past politics and morality to clarify what science actually tells us, what it does not, and what it cannot.

03 Oct 2012, 6:30 pm, Viking Theater
Innovation in the Liberal Arts Panel featuring Gary Smaby (Entrepreneur, Photographer and Technology Analyst and Jim Collins (Ecologist, Former Director of the Directorate for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation and Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education at NSF)

04 Oct 2012, 5 pm, RNS 150
Extinction in Our Time: Global Amphibian Decline
Jim Collins, Ecologist at Arizona State Universty and Former Director of the Directorate for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation. His book, by the same title, is published by Oxford University Press. Hear an interview with Jim via the radio program, Inquiry.

05 Oct 2012, 2-5 pm, Baseball Pond
Join the student naturalists for a buckthorn pull south of Baseball Pond and east of the baseball field. Walk down the trail through the woods behind Ellingson. Come for as long or as short a time as you have available. We will have the equipment you need: weed wrenches and gloves. Just wear long pants and sturdy shoes.

07 Oct 2012, 1-4 pm, STOGROW (James Farm)
Join the STOGROW Farmers for treats and great music that celebrate the fall harvest season!

11 Oct 2012, 7 pm, RNS 150
A Voyage Around the North Pole: Modern Exploration and Climate Change.
Thorleif Thorleifsson, Norwegian marine explorer who sailed around the Arctic in 2010.
Mari Sæther, environmental counselor at the Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

18 Oct 2012, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, RNS 400
Info Session: The Experiential Component in Environmental Studies
Join the EnvSt Chair, The Piper Center staff, and students to explore how to meet the experiential requirement and lay the ground work for future employment and areas of study.

18 Oct 2012, 7:30 pm - 9 pm, Holland 307
Organizing for Social and Environmental Justice Workshop RSVP HERE
Ryan Doyle '09, Assistant Organizing Director, Green Corps
Carl Samuelson '08, Energy Efficiency Program Coordinator, Eureka Recycling
Nate Jacobi, Associate Director, Civic Engagement, The Piper Center
Come to this alumni led community organizing workshop to learn to plan and carry out strategic efforts to make social change. These skills are highly applicable for all campus, community or political organizing and social justice minded students who desire to further their skills as social change agents.

19 Oct 2012, 2-5 pm, St. Olaf Prairie
Join the student naturalists for a prairie seed collection project. Seed collected will be sorted over the winter and then planted in areas of the St. Olaf prairie that need more prairie species. Just wear long pants and sturdy shoes. Take the road to the composting facility; just prior to arriving at the compost facility take the trail to the west - we'll meet there.

24 Oct 2012, 2-3 pm, RNS 210 - SUSTAINABILITY DAY!
Water Beneath the Ice - Investigations of an Antarctic Subglacial Lake
Professor Bob Jacobel, St. Olaf College, Physics and Environmental Studies
Center for Geophysical Studies of Ice and Climate CEGSIC

24 Oct 2012, 4-5 pm, RNS 310 - SUSTAINABILITY DAY!
Aquaponics and Sustainable Food Supplies
SustainAbilities is hosting Future Farms (Baldwin, WI), one of the nation's leaders in aquaponics, and a Farm-to-Fork Partner with Bon Appetit. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. Come hear about the science and creativity behind aquaponics and its implications for creating a most sustainable food supply. Check out a summary article here.

24 Oct 2012, 6:30 pm, RNS 310 - SUSTAINABILITY DAY & NATIVE AMERICAN WEEKS!
Protect Our Manoomin, Robert DesJarlait
Protect Our Manoomin is a grassroots organization, co-founded by DesJarlait, that strongly opposes changes in environmental laws that affect the natural wild rice stands and ecosystem in northern Minnesota. The group believes that these changes are culturally and ecologically irresponsible. Robert DesJarlait, an Anishinaabe, writer, journalist, artist, and a member of the University of Minnesota Council of Elders, will explain into more depth about his organization and explain his environmental ethics from a tribal perspective. Listen to DesJarlait on WTIP radio or read some of his articles in Native News. Co-sponsored with Talking Circle.

26 Oct 2012, 12-1 pm, Boe Memorial Chapel
Cheri Honkala, Green Party vice presidential candidate
See event details from St. Olaf Greens

26 Oct 2012, 2-5 pm, Baseball Pond
Join the student naturalists for a buckthorn pull south of Baseball Pond and east of the baseball field. Walk down the trail through the woods behind Ellingson. Come for as long or as short a time as you have available. We will have the equipment you need: weed wrenches and gloves. Just wear long pants and sturdy shoes.

12 Nov 2012
Application due for The Piper Center Connections Program in Houston, TX. Juniors & Seniors join in networking events and site visits alongside Ole alumni working in environmental sustainability, aerospace and energy. Applications available through Ole Career Central

13 Nov 2012, 7-8 pm, RNS 290
Panel Discussion on Food Production: Asia and the World. Environment-Asia Connections is hosting Kris MacPherson, Nathan Mueller, and Carleton prof David Hougen-Eitzman. David does research about small sustainable farms in China, Kris is researching about Japan, and Nathan has a global perspective. Please come and ask your own questions or just stop by to listen.

15 Nov 2012, 3 pm, RNS 390
Natural Food Colorants from Corn.Robert DeMaster '63, Chief Technical Advisor, Suntava. Suntava has established itself as a supplier of natural food colorants derived from proprietary non-GMO hybrids of purple corn. In addition, the grain products of these corn hybrids are commercially available for use in foods such as chips, cereals, flours and baked goods that contain exceptional levels of antioxidants. Previously Bob served as Managing Director, 3M Switzerland and Director of Corporate Research and Patent Liaison. He received his BA in Chemistry from St. Olaf College and PhD degree in Organic and
Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota.

MN Regional Citizen Forums, sponsored by the MN Environmental Quality Board and the upcoming MN Environmental Congress (Feb 2013)

  • Rochester: Nov. 27, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon at Wood Lake Meeting Center
  • Bloomington: Nov. 27, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. at Normandale Community College
  • Duluth: Nov. 28, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Lake Superior College
  • Worthington: Dec. 10, 3:30 – 6:00 p.m. at Worthington High School
  • St. Cloud: Dec. 12, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Stearns County Service Center
  • Moorhead: Dec. 14, 3:00  – 5:30 p.m. at Minnesota State University

29 November 2012, 11:30 am, RNS 150
Insights from the Expedition to Hudson Bay. Natalie Warren '11, Wild River Academy
Natalie Warren '11 and Ann Raiho '11 were the first two women to paddle the 2,000 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay in 2011, following Eric Sevareid's route from Canoeing With the Cree. They were nominated for Canoe & Kayak's 2012 Expedition of the Year and were written about in Outside Magazine, Canoe&Kayak, and theStar Tribune. Visit their website at www.hudsonbaybound.com.

30 November 2012, Ted Mann Concert Hall, Univ of Minnesota - Minneapolis, 6 pm
Do the Math Tour in partnership with MN350.org
Join Bill McKibben and 350.org to build the movement that will change the math of the climate crisis.

16 Jan 2013, 7:30-9 pm, Olin 149, Carleton College
Global Warming and the Fate of the Land Carbon Sink
Professor Stephen Pacala, Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, will present Carleton College’s 27th Annual Frank G. & Jean M. Chesley Lecture.

30 Jan - 03 February, Houston TX (interim break)
The Piper Center Connections Program. Juniors & Seniors join in networking events and site visits alongside Ole alumni working in environmental sustainability, aerospace and energy. APPLICATION DUE 12 NOV 2012!

07 Feb 2013, 7:30-8:00 pm, Black Ballroom
Green Corps Information Session

07 Feb 2013, 8:00-9:15 pm, Black Ballroom
Social Change Workshop, RSVP here
Ryan Doyle '09, Assistant Organizing Director, Green Corps

19 Feb 2013, 6:30 pm, Dittman 305
Creating Kolams: A Sacred Tradition
Karil Kucera, Mike Swift and Ranee Ramaswamy, Ragamala artistic director. This residency activity will feature an introduction to kolam by Karil Kucera illustrated by Mike Swift's photographs of kolam in India. Ramaswamy will discuss her experiences with creating kolam while growing up in India as well as how kolam and Warli paintings are used in "Sacred Earth."  The second part of the event is a hands-on opportunity for participants to create their own kolam.

19-23 Feb 2013
Health and Inequality: Social Determinants of Health
Join St. Olaf community members for this multi-day conference exploring issues of public health, policy, enviornment and justice. For a complete schedule, click here.

20 Feb 2013, 7-9 pm, Univ St. Thomas - Anderson Student Center, Woulfe Hall
Cool Planet Presents...Bill McKibben...Celebrating and Preserving Winter

21 Feb 2013, 12:30-2 pm, Macalester College - Weyerhaeuser Chapel
Cool Planet Presents...Bill McKibben...Celebrating and Preserving Winter

23 Feb 2013, 8 am - 4:30 pm, Normandale Community College Auditorium
Watershed-Water Management Solutions Policy to Action Summit 2013
9700 France Ave. S, Bloomington, MN 55431
Students $15, Working Adults $30 includes box lunch
Registration at www.minnesotaikes.org

23 Feb 2013
Sacred Earthby Ragamala, incorporates Warli paintings and Kolam rice flour drawings in a work featuring bharata natyam dance. Tickets for the concert will be available starting February 8 through the box office (507) 786-8987 or by ordering online athttp://fusion.stolaf.edu/tickets

Monday, 25 Feb 2013, 4:00 pm, RNS 410
What happens in the Bahamas over interim?
Students from Island Biology (Bio 287) and Drawing from Nature in the Bahamas (Art 106) will present.

28 Feb 2013, 3:15 pm, RNS 390
Chemistry of Deicers and Performance Enhancing Additives
Scott Koefed '87, Cargill

Friday, 01 Mar 2013
Natural Lands Winter Photo Contest submissions due!
Submit your photos to Emma Cornwell; view winning photos from the past here.

Saturday, 02 Mar 2013
Recipes for Social Change Cookbook submissions due!
Submit recipes here or here.

04 Mar 2013, 7 pm, RNS 150
Everything but the kitchen sink: Disease transmission in Bighorn Sheep as a mixing bed for cross-disciplinary collaboration
Kezia Manlove '06, Graduate Student, Penn State University

07 Mar 2013, 7 pm, Dittman 305
Arnold Flaten Memorial Lecture by Nathan Knutson, Architect & Managing Principal of VJAA.

12 Mar 2013, 7:30 pm, Pause Mane Stage
The Responsible Company: Lessons from Patagonia
Vincent Stanley, Marketing Chief, Patagonia
See Mr. Stanley's work in the following: Chicago Business Blog on Sustainable Apparel, a book about Patagonia, footprint chronicles here and essays here.

15 Mar 2013
Minnesota Environmental Congress
Bloomington, MN

23 Mar 2013, 8:30 pm
Earth Hour 2013 Info click here.

05 Apr 2013, 3:15 pm, RNS 390
Toxicology and Careers in Science
Dr Robert Roy, Lead Toxicology Specialist at 3M

15 Apr 2013, 7:00-8:15 pm, RNS 310
The Green Chemistry of Polyesters
Marc Sholten, Staff Scientist at XL Terra/Reluceo Inc.

15-16 Apr 2013
Gary Marcuse, Film-maker and Principal, Face-to-Face Media
Seen through the eyes of activists, farmers, and journalists Waking the Green Tiger, a documentary feature film, follows an extraordinary and unprecedented campaign to stop a dam project on the Upper Yangtze river in the high mountains of southwestern China and details a history of the growing environmental movement in China. The film includes footage shot over a six year period by one of China’s first environmental filmmakers, Shi Lihong, of Wild China Film.

16 Apr 2013, 7:00-8:30 pm, TOH 280
FILM Showing: Waking the Green Tiger followed by Q&A with film-maker Gary Marcuse.

19-20 Apr 2013
Earth Day Events in Northfield
Click here for details or go to Transition Northfield web site

20 Apr 2013, 8 pm, Viking Theater
Film Showing:Bidder 70

22-30 Apr 2013 (to be confirmed)
Visit from colleagues at Lanzhou University, China

22 Apr 2013
Earth Day! Info click here.

27 Apr 2013, Lions Pause
STO Talks! stotalks.com