From tdrew@u.washington.edu Thu Apr 22 18:12:23 1999 Received: from jason01.u.washington.edu (root@jason01.u.washington.edu [140.142.70.24]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW99.02/8.9.3+UW99.01) with ESMTP id SAA58590; Thu, 22 Apr 1999 18:12:21 -0700 Received: from dante16.u.washington.edu (tdrew@dante16.u.washington.edu [140.142.15.42]) by jason01.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW99.02/8.9.3+UW99.01) with ESMTP id SAA17396; Thu, 22 Apr 1999 18:12:20 -0700 Received: from localhost (tdrew@localhost) by dante16.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW99.02/8.9.3+UW99.01) with ESMTP id SAA71020; Thu, 22 Apr 1999 18:12:20 -0700 Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 18:12:20 -0700 (PDT) From: "T. Drew" To: community@u.washington.edu, polmajors@u.washington.edu, consbio@u.washington.edu Subject: Union of Concerned Scientists Talk - May 4 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Dear Friends, Please forward to all who might be interested. The Union of Concerned Scientists released its latest book this month. **The Consumer's Guide To Effective Environmental Choices** To introduce the book, authors Warren Leon and Michael Brower will tour the US, with appearances at college campuses and community organizations across the United States. Warren Leon will give a talk and present the book in Seattle on May 4th at 7pm In the Forum, 3rd floor Parrington Hall University of Washington Refreshments Provided The Talk is hosted by the Graduate Environmental Policy Forum of the Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. The new book debunks some prevalent myths and offers a quantitative appraisal of the relationship between consumers and the environment. It identifies significant consumer-related environmental problems, harmful consumer activities, priority actions for American consumers, and rules for responsible consumption. Denis Hayes, Chair of Earth Day 2000, says of the book: "Too many people drive their Land Rovers to the grocery store and think that 'paper or plastic' is a meaningful choice. The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Action will help you distinguish the crucial from the trivial and make choices that are congruent with your values." Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmentalist, calls it a "clear and concise call to action sure to create controversy in many circles." Proposed Discussion: "Consumers' Most Important Environmental Choices" Do consumers cause more environmental damage by driving cars or throwing out paper and plastic? Is it important for the environment to avoid meat? Is it better to buy a microwave or a television? Does it matter if parents use cloth diapers rather than disposable ones? Some consumer decisions have a huge impact on the environment, while others are of negligible importance. Based on the findings from his new book, Warren Leon Deputy Director of Programs for the Union of Concerned Scientists will identify those practices that must be changed if we are to have a healthier, more sustainable environment. He will identify eleven priority actions individuals should take in their personal lives to reduce environmental damage, but will also discuss the roles of community projects and government policy. Because some decisions--such as the choice of a car-have such a disproportionately large effect on the environment, there is no reason to feel "green guilt" over, for instance the occasional paper cup tossed into the trash. Find out what you should worry about and what you can ignore. Find out how you can most effectively improve the environment. ******************************************************************************* T i m D r e w Evans School of Public Affairs (206)568-8754 University of Washington ******************************************************************************* .