On an early summer day, a dozen Lewis & Clark faculty membersstand on a levy at the Columbia Slough, quizzing a flood-controlengineer about the maze of equipment and channels laid out before them.The slough, a lazy backwater that runs parallel to the Columbia Riverin north Portland, is a complex 18-mile-long system ofless-than-pristine wetlands and drainage ditches. It is definitely nota scenic gem. But according to Jim Proctor, director of environmentalstudies, this "industrial sanctuary" is precisely the kind of placefrom which to glimpse the future of environmentalism.Nearly a dozen academic departments are represented in thisgroup of denim-clad undergraduate faculty who are participating inProctor`s environmental studies workshop. Their purpose is to learn howto infuse the concepts of the emerging new environmentalism into theirteaching and research.They come from the predictable academic areas-biology, geology,environmental studies-but also from some unexpected departments andoffices: mathematics, computer science, history, sociology, philosophy,athletics, and the college chapel. Among them is Andrew Bernstein,associate professor of history, who is about to embark on a trip toJapan to research a book on the role of Mount Fuji in Japanese culture.He`s here, he says, because "I want to be able to look at Fuji in aholistic way."Holistic" is precisely the aspiration Proctor is promoting atthe workshop. Because, as with any ecological hot spot, sizing up theslough in an all-encompassing way gives you the bigger story-in thiscase, the story of how Portland`s development has affected the naturalenvironment. Proctor believes that only by understanding "theenvironment" as a product of nature and myriad human endeavors,from industry to recreation to religion, can today`s coming-of-agegeneration hope to be effective in addressing the ecological challengesawaiting it.The point of traveling to the slough, Proctor explains later, isto toss professors into the same intellectual swimming pool as newenvironmental studies students. The first step is to complicateeverything, to become immersed in the reality that saving the planetgoes well beyond 20th-century approaches like stanching the flow ofpollutants from the end of a pipe. As Lewis & Clark`s environmentalstudies program asks, what deeper human processes created that pipe andthe factory of which it is a part?"The Columbia Slough isn`t really `natural,` " Proctor reflects,"but it`s not entirely human-made, either. When you experience itfirsthand, you find it`s a hybrid entity with interestingcontradictions and complexities. We`re hoping that these professors,just like our students, build an appreciation of the non-black-and-white nature of environmental issues."The ColumbiaSlough isn`t really `natural`, but it`s not entirely human-made,either. It`s a hybrid entity with interesting contradictions andcomplexities. We`re hoping that these professors, just like ourstudents, build an appreciation of the non-black-and-white nature ofenvironmental issues."Jim Proctor, director of environmental studiesLewis & Clark, a committed environmental leader, factorssustainability into its decisions about the design and construction ofbuildings; the food served in campus dining facilities; the energy usedto heat and light classrooms, residence halls, and offices; and the waystudents, staff, and faculty commute to campus. President TomHochstettler has made Lewis & Clark part of the American Collegeand University Presidents Climate Commitment, dedicated to achieving"carbon neutrality." In addition, Lewis & Clark is home to Focusthe Nation, a national initiative led by economics professor EbanGoodstein that links students and citizens directly with politicalleaders to discuss solutions to global warming.Environmental concerns permeate Lewis &
www.lclark.edu/dept/chron/newenvirons08.html