"The Fate of the River" Symposium

Bard students, faculty, staff, and members of the Hudson Valley community are welcome to attend a free symposium centering on two environmental threats facing the Hudson/ Mahicantuck River. The primary purpose of the symposium is to facilitate public discussion— informed by science, environmental law, and best citizen advocacy  practices—about how members of the community can effectively address  and work together to curtail these threats.  Morning presentations will be followed by an afternoon panel and public  discussion. 

The Threats:

• High levels of PCB contamination due to General Electric’s dumping of  toxic material for 30 years and G.E.’s clean-up of PCBs between 2009 and  2015 that does not meet agreed upon environmental benchmarks.  Continuing PCB contamination poses human health risks, causes ongoing  extinction and disease to fish and wildlife, and damages river ecosystems, wetlands, and ground water.  
• “Bomb Trains”—overloaded freight trains carrying Bakken shale oil and unidentified chemicals along the eroding west bank of the river. A  derailment would spell catastrophe.  

Schedule:  

10:00 - 10:10 Introduction to “The Fate of the River” symposium.  
10:10 - 10: 35 Introduction and screening of Jon Bowermaster’s film "A Toxic Legacy about General Electric’s Contamination of the Hudson/ Mahicantuck River" 
10:40 - 11:00 Jeremy Cherson, Associate Director of Government Affairs,  Riverkeeper 
11:05 to 11:25 Erin Doran, Faculty in Environmental Law, Bard Center for  Environmental Policy, and Senior Staff Attorney, Food & Water Watch
11:35 -11:55 David Carpenter, Director of Institute for Health and the  Environment, SUNY. Albany 
Noon to 1:00 LUNCH BREAK 
1:05 - 1:25 Eli Dueker, Associate Professor of Environmental and Urban  Studies, and Director of Bard Center for Environmental Sciences and  Humanities 
1:25 - 1:40 Introduction to and screening of Jon Bowermaster’s film Bomb  Trains  
1:45 - 2:05 Florence Murray, Partner of Murray & Murray Law Firm,  represents stakeholders affected by the toxic aftermath of the 2023  derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio 
2:15 - 2:35 COFFEE BREAK 
2:40 - 4:00 Panel and Public Discussion: “Next Steps Toward a Healthier  River” 

Speakers:

Jon Bowermaster is a writer, filmmaker, and six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council.

Jeremy Cherson earned his MS in Environmental Policy at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and now serves as the Associate Director of Government Affairs working to advance Riverkeeper's priorities in Albany and Washington, DC. 

Erin Doran is a Senior Staff Attorney at Food & Water Watch focusing on climate  and energy matters. She was previously a Senior Attorney at Riverkeeper, where she advocated for clean water, healthy ecosystems, and resilient climate solutions in the Hudson Valley. 

David O. Carpenter is a public health physician and is Director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, as well as Professor of Environmental Health Sciences within the School of Public Health at the University at Albany. His research focuses on the environmental causes of human disease, both those directly caused by chemical exposure and those mediated via endocrine disruption. 

Eli Dueker is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard College and former executive director of Project Underground, an  international environmental and human rights organization.
 
Florence Murray is a partner at Murray & Murray, Co. L.P.A., where her areas of  practice include primarily traumatic brain injuries and wrongful death actions, civil  rights violations with severe injuries, and trucking collisions. She is active with the Ohio Association for Justice, National Lawyers Guild, and the Brain Injury Association.

The Fate of the River symposium is the first in a series of public discussions on "Environmental Injustice Across the Americas" that  focuses on state-sanctioned pollution, the poisoning of water, destruction  of the commons, and the fight for justice. The Fate of the River is co-sponsored by Bard College’s Human Rights Program, Center for Civic  Engagement, Center for Environmental Policy, Environmental Studies, and the Office of Sustainability. 

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For more information, call 845-758-6822.

Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT/GMT-4

Location: Olin Hall

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