Two days ago, Paul R. Ehrlich, one of world's most prestigious population biologists, came to speak at Tufts. He was introduced by President Larry Bacow and spoke to an audience that filled Barnum 008. Surprised that you did not hear about the event? Perhaps that is because the lecture was not covered by any of campus' student publications.
This recent example demonstrates a trend among campus publications that ignore major environmental speakers who come to Tufts. Last year, David Orr, a Oberlin professor on the forefront of environmental curriculum and campus environmental issues, spoke at Tufts without any news coverage.
The year before, ECO brought Adam Werbach, former president of the Sierra Club, to speak. Again, this speaker was denied coverage by the press. Campus publications have been alerted about each one of these speakers well before their arrival, and yet none received media attention. We must ask ourselves why.
Perhaps, you say, it is that these people are not so important, especially when compared to other speakers at Tufts, like Tommy Hilfiger or Hank Azaria. To that I say, we are a university and our academic interests should not be overshadowed by the influence of popular culture.
Let's learn a little about Paul Ehrlich. He is the author of the influential book on human overpopulation, The Population Bomb (1966). He has been awarded practically every honor in his field, including the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (given in lieu of a Nobel Prize in areas where the Nobel Prize is not given). He has taught at Stanford University for over 40 years. I would venture to say that Paul Ehrlich's contributions to population biology and environmental science are analogous to Bill Gates' contributions to the technology industry.
He was the first to warn of the overpopulation problem and its implications and has voiced criticisms of science and politics that normally go unspoken in fear of offending the generally apolitical scientific community.
Then, perhaps, you allege, his talk was not geared toward the general public; it may have been slightly over-technical for coverage by a newspaper with a readership of mostly non-biologists. However, Ehrlich's speech was surprisingly non-technical; he spoke for all to hear, and his lecture topic concerned us all.
Ehrlich spoke about the influence of genetic and cultural evolution on human behavior and how the problem of overpopulation is rooted in human nature. He addressed current political, economic, and social issues as well as environmental issues. Anyone with a background in any of these subjects knows that they are all closely bound together; one could argue that the current political and economic issues are a result of human rights issues, and many human rights issues are a direct result of overpopulation.
Perhaps, then, the readers of campus publications are not interested in these speakers or their topics. Here is an idea we must seriously consider. I cannot believe that Tufts students are blind to the importance of environmental issues.
I believe that the lack of coverage is demonstrative of the vicious cycle between public attention and media validation. It is the chicken and the egg all over again: Which comes first, the concern or the coverage?
I cannot answer that question, but I know that something has got to give. Environmental issues need to be talked about in our academic community. The environmental research done by industry, non-profit, and government cannot be trusted because each body has inherent biases. Academics, those pure truth-seekers, are the ones in position to seek evidence of and solutions to complicated environmental problems.
I am disappointed that the campus media has continually turned a blind eye. I doubt very many editors of Tufts publications or many Tufts students would argue with the reality that the environmental issues that we face today are of extreme importance and will surely shape our future, but passive acknowledgement does not further the search for solutions to problems of overpopulation, global warming, and species extinctions.
I say to the Tufts community and the Tufts media: It's our future. Let's do something about our issues! Let's learn from those who come to teach us. We must pay attention to those knowledgeable and distinguished scholars in environmental fields who come to share their wisdom.
Keryn Bromberg is a senior majoring in biology and environmental studies. She is the former co-chair of Environmental Consciousness Outreach.
