Invasive Species Panel at U of O Environmental Law Conference

Joining the list of exciting subjects discussed at this year's
Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) at the
University of Oregon, running March 4-6 in Eugene, will be a panel
entitled "Environmentalism Gone Awry: The war on invasive species -
the need for a rational assessment of the costs and benefits of
invasive species control." The panel, organized by Nahcotta, WA
resident Fritzi Cohen and the Fearless Fund, and scheduled for
4:00-5:15 pm on Saturday, March 5, will feature talks by several
prominent scientists in the national debate on invasive species.

Sydney Ross Singer, a medical anthropologist and biologist living
on the Big Island of Hawaii, director of the Good Shepherd
Foundation and the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease,
will give examples from Hawaii's invasive species control programs
to show that the cure can be far worse than the problem in his talk
entitled "Attack of the killer environmentalists." Singer is the co- author of "Panic In Paradise: Invasive Species Hysteria and the
Hawaiian Coqui Frog War" (ISCD Press, 2005).

Dr. James Morris, director of Belle Baruch Institute for Marine and
Coastal Sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences, Distinguished
Professor of Marine Studies at the University of South Carolina,
and an AAAS Fellow, will talk on "Invasive Spartina grass- ecological disaster or high value ecosystem service provider?" His
talk will address the role of science in informing policy as it
pertains to invasive species and the predicament that policymakers
have when confronted by uncertainty.

Boyce Thorne Miller, Science and Policy Coordinator of the
Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, will speak on the "View from
the Looking Glass: the dangers of categorizing species as worthy or
unworthy - a contemplation of ethical, biological, and ecological
implications of our battles against invasive species." Miller has
authored two books on marine biodiversity - "Ocean" and "The Living
Ocean: understanding and protecting marine biodiversity."

David I. Theodoropoulos directs the Las Sombras Biological Preserve
in La Honda, CA and is the author of "Invasion Biology: Critique of
a Pseudoscience, the first comprehensive refutation of invasion
biology." His talk is titled "Invasion Biology - Science or
Pseudoscience?, a brief overview of invasion biology's scientific
failings, and current scientific perspectives on invasive species."

The PIELC is the premier annual gathering for environmentalists
worldwide, and is distinguished as the oldest and largest of its
kind. The conference historically unites more than 3,000 activists,
attorneys, students, scientists, and concerned citizens from over
50 countries around the globe to share their experience and
expertise. The Conference is organized solely by the volunteers of
Land Air Water (LAW), a student environmental law society, and is
sponsored by Friends of Land Air Water (FLAW), a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization.

The four-day Conference includes over 125 panels, workshops, and
multi-media presentations addressing a broad spectrum of
environmental law and advocacy. Topics include: forest protection
and ecological restoration, grazing and mining reform, labor and
human rights, air and water pollution, Native American treaty
rights, globalization and "free" trade, environmental justice,
corporate responsibility, marine wilderness, international
environmental law, water rights and dam removal, oil and gas
litigation, genetic engineering, and urban growth.

Each day of the conference culminates with keynote presentations
from preeminent activists, scientists, politicians, philosophers,
and authors. This year's lineup includes Rep. Earl Blumenauer and
Dr. Vandana Shiva.

For more information on the invasive species panel, contact Fritzi
Cohen at nahcotta2@aol.com or Fearless Fund at
info@fearlessfund.info. Conference information is available from
the PIELC website at http://www.pielc.org/.