Timothy Ford, associate professor of environmental microbiology in the Faculty of Public Health, and Louise Ryan, professor of biostatistics in the Faculty of Public Health, participate in a panel discussion about environmental justice at the Gutman Conference Center. Photo by Kris Snibbe.

The Working Group on Environmental Justice convened a workshop April 11-13 on environmental justice in this country and around the world.

Participants from Europe, Asia, and the Americas gathered to discuss both particular cases of environmental injustice and practical steps to extend scholarly research in and public awareness of the emerging field of environmental justice.

Government officials, environmental activists, business leaders, foundation officers, research scientists, and journalists came together to share insights and explore new strategies for action.

"The enormous success of this workshop sprang from both the timely subject it addressed and the creative, new format it used throughout the meetings," said one participant.

The workshop focused specifically on promoting encounters and provoking conversations across disciplinary and professional boundaries. As another participant put it, "The workshop worked because the people did the work. Participants had to confront one another without piles of bibliography or reams of paper. They had to say what they thought -- not just what they knew."

Workshop sessions covered five different topics. After a welcoming reception on Sunday evening, participants convened on Monday morning for two intensive sessions, "Environmental Justice and Science" and "Environmental Justice and Economic Development."

The "Environmental Justice and Science" discussion was facilitated by Louise Ryan, professor of biostatistics in the Faculty of Public Health, and Timothy Ford, associate professor of environmental microbiology in the Faculty of Public Health, as well as Professors Patricia Hynes from Boston University and Sheldon Krimsky from Tufts University.

"Environmental Justice and Economic Development" was introduced by Preston Williams, Houghton Professor of Theology and Contemporary Change at the Divinity School, and had contributions from Lois Adams from the Environmental Protection Agency, Region I, and Veronica Eady from Alternatives for Community and Environment.

The workshop continued Monday afternoon with a discussion of "Environmental Justice, Public Policy, and the Media," facilitated by Dianne Dumanoski, former Boston Globe science writer, and Stephen Curwood, producer and director of National Public Radio's weekly environment program, Living on Earth.

On Tuesday morning, "Globalization, the Third World, and Environmental Justice," was introduced by Anne Custer of the Divinity School, Managalam Srivinasen from India, and Caroly Schumway, a specialist in Third World marine biodiversity at the New England Aquarium.

The workshop concluded with a session entitled "Real Problems, Virtual Communities, and Environmental Justice" in which Benjamin Williams, an instructor and research assistant in the Graduate School of Education; Professor of Education Don Oliver; and Timothy Weiskel, director of the Harvard Seminar on Environmental Values at the Divinity School, launched a group discussion about ways in which the Internet and the World Wide Web might both help and hinder the growth of scholarship and public concern on environmental justice issues.

The workshop was the final activity for this year of the Working Group on Environmental Justice, which is an interfaculty initiative. This group was formed under the direction of Weiskel and James Hoyte, assistant to the president/associate vice president, lecturer on environmental science and public policy, and adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government, with support from the University Provost's Office.

In addition to support from the Provost's Office, the group received support from the University Committee on Environment, under the leadership of Michael McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies and chairman of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. McElroy is also director of the new environmental science and public policy concentration.

The working group draws together faculty from a broad range of departments, disciplines, and professional schools at Harvard, including the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Divinity School, the School of Public Health, and the Graduate School of Education. The group expects to expand its activities in the coming years. Faculty throughout Harvard's schools and departments are welcome to join the group.

More information can be found from the working group's Website at: http://divweb.harvard.edu/csvpl/ee/ecojustice.