SPECIAL EVENT: Hair Today, Chemical Analysis Saturday
All evening
You might be able to wash a man (or a woman) out of your hair, but chemical contaminants like mercury, lead, PBDEs and other harmful substances require a much tougher rinse. Now you can find out how much one of these substances, mercury, has bio-accumulated in you. John Spengler of Harvard School of Public Health will be on hand to oversee the snipping of hair samples and report the results on Saturday at a panel discussion on what the personal testing revolution will mean for environmental policy and public health.
Location: Schenley Room (tentative)

Opening Plenary
7:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Celebrity, the Media and the Environment
This panel will examine celebrity roles and impacts on how the public views some environmental issues. Critics have charged that high-profile "glam" advocacy has added little to the understanding of those complex issues, while polarizing debates and giving undue influence to movie, stage and television stars with little environmental knowledge. But the attention and publicity they attract can be tremendously beneficial to under-funded environmental organizations, and can focus public attention on important issues in ways that even objective, thorough and compelling environmental journalism often cannot.
Moderator: Andy Revkin, Environmental Reporter, The New York Times
Speakers:
Ted Danson, Actor
Myron Ebell, Director, Global Warming and International Environmental Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Franco Harris, ex-Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back
Glen Prickett, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, Conservation International
Location: Pennsylvania Room

SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment
9:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Why save the best for last? We'll open our conference with it! Celebrate with the stars of environmental journalism from print, TV, radio and online. SEJ presents its third annual Environmental Journalism Awards with $1,000 prizes for each top winner in nine categories. Come meet some of North America's best journalists, see their exemplary work and grab some great story ideas for yourself.
Presenters:
Vince Patton, Environmental Reporter, KGW-TV, Portland, OR
Tim Wheeler, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Location: Pennsylvania Room

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Thursday, October 21: In the field
Shuttle buses begin departures from conference hotels at 6:00 a.m. and will transport tour attendees to CMU's University Center for registration and tour departures. CMU campus map. Please check your shuttle schedule carefully to see when your hotel is scheduled for pick-up. Buses will return to hotels at around 5:00 p.m. and you'll have only a few minutes before you need to board a shuttle for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. If your tour bus returns later than 5:30 p.m., it will proceed straight to the museum for the evening reception.

Registration
6:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Location: Wean Commons, University Center, First Floor, Carnegie Mellon University, 5032 Forbes Avenue

SEJ Membership Table
6:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sign up here for Friday lunch breakout sessions, Friday evening Beat Dinners, Saturday morning breakfast breakout sessions and Saturday afternoon mini-tours. You will also find the new SEJ/IRE book: "Covering Pollution" for sale, as well as information about SEJ membership and programs.
Location: Wean Commons, University Center, First Floor, Carnegie Mellon University, 5032 Forbes Avenue

The North Coast (South Coast for Canadians)
$20 fee, 7:00 a.m. departure, lunch provided
Erie's Presque Isle Bay is the first Great Lakes Area of Concern to be declared in a recovery stage. We'll explore cleanup of the Great Lakes from both a local and bi-national perspective and the continuing threats, including invasive species and ecosystem change. On Presque Isle State Park, which receives more visitors annually than Yellowstone, we'll focus on resource management, balancing public desires and recreation against protection of the park's unique ecosystems.
Tour Leaders:
John Bartlett, Reporter, Erie Times News
Karen Schaefer, Reporter/Producer, WCPN Ideastream
Speakers:
Jim Bissell, Curator of Botany and Director of Natural Areas, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Lori Boughton, Chief, Office of the Great Lakes, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Hunter Carrick, Associate Professor of Aquatic Ecology, Pennsylvania State University
Jim Grazio, Aquatic Biologist, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Gail Krantzberg, Director, Great Lakes Regional Office, International Joint Commission
Mike Mumau, Assistant Park Manager, Presque Isle State Park
Chuck Murray, Fisheries Biologist, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Eric Obert, Extension Director, Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Pennsylvania State University

Longwall Mining: Subsidence and Social Upheaval
$20 fee, 7:15 a.m. departure, lunch provided

Photo by Pam Panchak. Courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Click to enlarge.

Longwall mining is a controversial high-extraction deep mining technique that causes widespread surface subsidence and damage to streams, forests, farmland, homes and historic sites. This tour will visit southwestern Pennsylvania's rich coalfields to examine the economic, environmental and social impacts of the massive mines, taking journalists 600 feet underground in a rare opportunity to see an active longwall mining operation. Back on the earth's surface, we will tour subsided homes and creeks and visit with local people who have felt the earth move under their feet, and are living with the ramifications.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Cindy Bailey, Editor and Publisher, GreeneSpeak Publications
Terri Taylor, Reporter/Producer, TA Taylor Productions
Speakers:
Beverly Braverman, Youghiogheny Riverkeeper and Executive Director, Mountain Watershed Association
Dianne and Roy Brendel, Homeowners
George Ellis, President, Pennsylvania Coal Association
Anna Filippelli, Administrative Director, Tri-State Citizens Mining Network
Brandon Hudock, Owner, Hothouse Floral
Jennifer Kagel, Fisheries Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jody Rosenberg, Staff Attorney, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
Leigh Shields, Owner, Shields Herb and Flower Farm
Laurine and Murray Williams, Homeowners
Plus 3-4 coal industry and government representatives TBA

Dammed If You Do...
$20 fee, 7:30 a.m. departure, lunch provided
With 65 dams removed since 1995, Pennsylvania (along with Wisconsin) leads the nation in restoring rivers to their original course. Weather permitting, we hope to see the practice in action. Several dams in the Conemaugh watershed are on the chopping block, and planners are working to schedule one of the removals to occur the day of our tour. We'll see a selection of old mill and water-supply dams. Also on the agenda is a visit to historic Johnstown, site of one of the worst disasters in modern U.S. history: the 1889 flood that killed more than 2,200 people. We'll see the well-regarded museum that chronicles the deadly flood, along with the dam that breached.
Tour Leaders:
Tom Avril, Staff Writer, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Patricia Kennedy, Associate Professor of Communications, Clarion University
Speakers:
Richard Burkert, Executive Director, Johnstown Area Heritage Association
Scott Carney, Fisheries Biologist, Division of Research, Pennsylvania Bureau of Fisheries
Edward Englehart, Manager, Highland Sewer and Water Authority
Mike Faher, City Reporter, The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat
Arlene Johns, Deputy Editor, The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat
Charles Karpowicz, Civil Engineer, Park Facility Management Division, National Park Service
Mark Mansfield, Chief, Planning Resources Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Sara Nicholas, Associate Director, Dam Programs, American Rivers
Kathy Penrod, Natural Resources Management Specialist, Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Jeff Reardon, New England Conservation Director, Trout Unlimited
Brian Rheinhart, Project Manager, Embrey (VA) Dam Removal, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Doug Richardson, Park Ranger, Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Ann Safley, Historic Preservation Specialist, Bureau for Historic Preservation, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

A Bird in the Hand
$20 fee, 7:45 a.m. departure, lunch provided
We'll visit the Powdermill Nature Reserve in Donegal, one of the largest and longest standing bird-banding operations in North America (in continuous operation since 1961, with over 10,000 birds of 150 species banded annually). The date of our tour coincides with the busiest time of year, with daily banding totals sometimes exceeding 300 birds. Attendees will view and partake in the full capture, banding and release program with opportunities for close-up photographs. Speakers will discuss banding projects and other wildlife research efforts. Details about the banding program.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Doug Oster, Garden Columnist, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Robert Thomas, Director, Center for Environmental Communications, Loyola University New Orleans
Speakers:
Marilyn Heiman, Director, Boreal Songbird Initiative
Michael Lanzone, Assistant Project Coordinator, Breeding Bird Atlas, Powdermill Nature Reserve
Bob Leberman, Bird Bander Emeritus, Powdermill Nature Reserve
Adrianne Leppold, Bander-in-charge, Powdermill Nature Reserve
Robert Mulvihill, Project Coordinator, Breeding Bird Atlas, Powdermill Nature Reserve
Theresa Rohall, Education Coordinator, Powdermill Nature Reserve
David Smith, Director, Powdermill Nature Reserve

Almost Level, West Virginia? Mountaintop Removal Flyover
$20 fee, lunch provided

A massive dragline, dwarfed by the huge scale of the operation, at work on a mountaintop removal operation near Kayford Mountain, W.Va.

8:00 a.m. Pake Room, University Center, Second Floor
This tour will begin with a multi-media presentation at CMU, where we'll introduce you to the issue of mountaintop removal. You'll hear from coalfield residents about the environmental and community impacts of this "strip mining on steroids."
9:00 a.m. Van departure from CMU to Allegheny Airport
We'll fly SEJ members to Charleston, W.Va. From the air, we'll see what mountaintop removal coal mines really look like. Once on the ground, we'll hear from industry officials who support this efficient form of coal mining. Over lunch, we'll hear from regulators who say they are limiting the environmental impacts. The group will return to Pittsburgh by 4:30 p.m.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Ken Ward Jr., Staff Writer, The Charleston Gazette
Tim Wheeler, Reporter, The Baltimore Sun
Speakers:
Judy Bonds, Director, Coal River Mountain Watch
Roger Calhoun, Director, Charleston Field Office, Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Department of the Interior
Joe Lovett, Attorney and Executive Director, Appalachian Center for the Economy and Environment
Bill Raney, President, West Virginia Coal Association
Cindy Rank, Mining Chairwoman, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
Ben Stout, Associate Professor of Biology, Wheeling Jesuit University
Stephanie Timmermeyer, Secretary, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

Old Nukes and New Wind Turbines: Today's Energy Choices
$20 fee, 8:00 a.m. departure, lunch provided

Nuclear power plant courtesy CMU. Wind farm by VWH Campbell Jr./ courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Visit the site of the nation's first nuclear accident at Waltz Mills, a Westinghouse research facility where they are just finishing the cleanup of a partial core meltdown of a research reactor in 1960. We'll hear experts discuss the state of commercial nuclear power today, including some new reactor designs. Then we'll travel to a commercial wind farm for a discussion on alternative energy generation.
Tour Leaders:
Debra Erdley, Reporter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tom Henry, Environment Writer, The Toledo Blade
Speakers:
Dan Boone, Spokesperson, Citizens for Responsible Wind Power
Jeanne Clark, Director of Communications, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
Eric Epstein, Coordinator, EFMR Monitoring Group
Larry Foulke, Chief Scientist, Bettis Lab (immediate past president of the American Nuclear Society)
Vaughn Gilbert, Manager of Public Relations, Westinghouse Electric Company
Scott Peterson, Vice President of Communications, Nuclear Energy Institute
Jim Riccio, Nuclear Policy Analyst, Greenpeace

Origins of Environmental Architecture: The Wright Stuff
$20.00 fee, 8:30 a.m. departure, lunch provided
At the end of the nineteenth century, Frank Lloyd Wright was already integrating his house designs with the natural environment, employing local materials and climate-wise mass and orientation. We'll visit his 1937 masterpiece, Fallingwater, and its near-neighbor Kentuck Knob, to see how Wright's architectural philosophy foreshadowed the current green building movement. We'll also spend some time discussing possible green building stories that may hit home with your readers and audiences.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Judy Ostrow, Freelance Journalist
Chuck Quirmbach, Environment Reporter, Wisconsin Public Radio
Speakers:
Cara Armstrong, Curator of Buildings and Collections, Fallingwater
Jennifer Constable, Media Relations Officer, Rocky Mountain Institute
Keiran Murphy, Historic Research Specialist, Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, Taliesin Preservation, Inc.
Clinton Piper, Museum Programs Assistant, Fallingwater

The Mon Valley: From Hell With the Lid off to Brownfield Redevelopment
$20.00 fee, 10:00 a.m. departure, lunch provided

View of Donora as deadly smog envelops the Washington Co. community. Photo courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Travel to what was once the heart of the American steel industry. We'll tour U.S. Steel Corp.'s coke works in Clairton, the largest coke-making facility in the world and the self-proclaimed cleanest. On the way, we'll hear from the Group Against Smog and Pollution, a 35-year-old citizen watchdog group that has pressed local and state regulators to stay on top of air pollution. In Donora, we'll visit the historical society building and meet some of the survivors of the 1948 smog episode that killed 22 people and hospitalized 600. The episode was the first post-war pollution emergency, and is seen as an historical turning point for public concern about environmental issues. Top off the tour at the Pump House in Homestead, all that's left of U.S. Steel's huge Homestead Works, where Pinkertons fought a bloody battle with striking steelworkers in 1892, and where a successful brownfield redevelopment project has replaced the old mill with big box stores, housing and office space.
Tour Leaders:
Mark Collins, Environmental Studies Coordinator/Lecturer, Department of Geology and Planetary Science, University of Pittsburgh
William Kovarik, Professor, Media Studies, Radford University
Jim McKay, Business Reporter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Speakers:
John Armstrong, Manager, Public Affairs-Operations, U.S. Steel Corporation
Dan Belack, Environmental Engineer, Clairton Coke Plant, U.S. Steel Corporation
June Beveridge, Donora resident, and former founding member, Webster Citizens for Better Living
Scott Beveridge, Writer/Photographer, Observer-Reporter
Devra Davis, Director, Center for Environmental Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Author, "When Smoke Ran Like Water"
Steffi Domike, Video Producer, Artist, History Instructor, and former Clairton steelworker
Rachel Filippini, Executive Director, Group Against Smog and Pollution
Russell Gibbons, retired Public Relations Director of the United Steelworkers of America, and President of the Battle of Homestead Foundation
Walter Goldburg, founding Board Member and Second Vice President, Group Against Smog and Pollution
Charles Stacey, Donora resident and former Principal, Donora High School
Jack Withrow, Manager, Battery Preservation, Clairton Coke Plant, U.S. Steel Corporation
Michael Wright, Director of Health, Safety and Environment, United Steelworkers of America

Rachel Carson: Homestead and Legacy
$10.00 fee, 12:15 p.m. departure, snack provided
In 1962, Rachel Carson created a sensation with the publication of her book, "Silent Spring." Many say "Silent Spring" galvanized the modern environmental movement, spurred the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and changed the way people view public health issues. We'll make the pilgrimage to the place this all began — Carson's family home in Springdale — for a look at the life and times of this western Pennsylvania writer and scientist. Following the tour, we'll discuss her legacy at her Pittsburgh alma mater, Chatham College.
Tour Leaders:
Ann Murray, Producer/Reporter, The Allegheny Front, WYEP-Pittsburgh
Paul Wiegman, Freelance Writer/Photographer
Speakers:
Julia Brody, Executive Director, Silent Spring Institute of Boston
Ellen Dorsey, Environment Program Officer, The Heinz Endowments
Mary Kostalos, Professor of Biology, Chatham College
Kathleen McGinty, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Rivers Run Through It: The Rebirth of Pittsburgh's Rivers
$10.00 fee, 12:30 p.m. departure, snack provided
Half of the tour will be spent discussing chemical plant security in the wake of 9/11, on a boat that steams past several sites that report potentially catastrophic amounts of toxic chemicals on-site, including one facility featured on a recent telecast by CBS's "60 Minutes." The second half will include unique interactive presentations to teach you how to take water, sediment, soil and fish samples so you can grade the health of your community's wet places.
Note: This tour is filled — waiting list only.
Tour Leaders:
Kevin Carmody, Environment and Science Writer, Austin American-Statesman
Carl Prine, Investigative Reporter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Speakers:
Ted Buckwalter, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Joseph Davis, Freelance Journalist
Martin Durbin, Security Team Leader, American Chemistry Council
John Fulton, Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Rick Hind, Legislative Director, Greenpeace USA
Gerald Poje, Board Member, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
John Spengler, Professor of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health

Evening logistics:
Shuttle buses pick up attendees at conference hotels beginning at 5:30 p.m. for transport to the Carnegie Museum, site of the evening reception and keynote address. Please check your bus schedule to see when your hotel is scheduled for pick-up. Buses will run continuous loops between the museum and hotels until the final bus leaves the Carnegie Museum at 11:00 p.m. Guests staying at the Holiday Inn and University Club are within easy ten-minute walking distance.

Reception and Keynote Address at the Carnegie Museum
4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15213
5:45 - 11:00 p.m.

Courtesy Plan Pittsburgh.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History, founded in 1895 by Andrew Carnegie, has a rich tradition of stewardship, preservation and scientific inquiry. It displays one of the world's finest collections of dinosaur fossils and skeletons, and has 21 exhibit halls containing noteworthy collections of minerals and gems, architectural reproductions and Native American cultural artifacts. Its permanent collections contain more than 20 million objects and specimens, including the moth collection featured in the Jodie Foster film, "Silence of the Lambs."

Drinks and hors d'oeuvres will be served in the Romanesque Architectural Hall beginning at 5:45 p.m.

Then we'll move into the Carnegie Lecture Hall for a keynote address and Q&A on the Bush Administration environmental record from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, President of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a clinical professor and supervising attorney at the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University School of Law in New York, and author, "Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy." The session will be moderated by David Shribman, Executive Editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Following the keynote, desserts and cash bar will be available as attendees stroll through the museum. Many of the Carnegie Museum exhibits will be open to us, special behind-the-scenes peeks will be available and maybe even an expert or two.

Last bus leaves the Carnegie Museum at 11:00 p.m.

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Friday, October 22: CMU's University Center
All events are at CMU's University Center, 5032 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, unless otherwise indicated (phone 412-268-2107). CMU campus map. Shuttles will transport attendees from hotels to CMU's University Center beginning 6:30 a.m. and running continuous loops between the University Center and the conference hotels until 8:00 p.m. Please check the shuttle schedule in your conference folder for details.

CMU's University Center is a huge complete gathering place for students, faculty, alums and visitors. It is a facility containing dining halls, an auditorium, meeting rooms, a ballroom, an art gallery, two swimming pools, a gymnasium and other athletic facilities, a bookstore, art store, post office and chapel. In short it's the heart of the campus. Many of the SEJ conference events will be held here. Photo courtesy CMU.

Please note that SEJ members will be given preference in question-and-answer sessions.

All day, 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Keynote Address
8:45 - 10:00 a.m.
Environmental Progress: A View From the Administration
Governor Michael Leavitt was sworn in as the 10th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in November 2003. A pioneer of collaborative environmental management during his term as governor of Utah, Gov. Leavitt will present the Bush Administration's view on environmental policies and progress, followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.
Moderator: Rick Rodriguez, Executive Editor, The Sacramento Bee, and incoming President, American Society of Newspaper Editors
Speaker: Governor Michael Leavitt, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Location: McConomy Auditorium, First Floor

Coffee Break and Exhibits
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Browse for information, news and opinions from a variety of sources.
Location: Wiegand Gymnasium, First Floor

Concurrent Sessions 1
10:30 - 11:45 a.m.

THE LAND:
Can't See the Forest for the Trees: Eastern Forest Issues
The national and state forests of Pennsylvania and the rest of the East are maturing and there is increased pressure to cut more wood at the same time that there is increased pressure for expanded recreation areas. The conflicts are heated and the positions well represented by groups around the Allegheny National Forest.
Moderator: Dan Nephin, Environmental Reporter, Associated Press, Pittsburgh Bureau
Panelists:
Jack Hedlund, Executive Director, Allegheny Forest Alliance
James Kleissler, Forest Watch Director, Allegheny Defense Project
Susan Stout, Research Project Leader, U.S. Forest Service
Location: McConomy Auditorium, First Floor

THE CITY:
Middle-Age Spread: Older Cities and Sprawl
Some regions are losing population and green space. How do we manage sprawl in a region with declining population? As the Rust Belt cities empty out to the burbs, what happens to the cities left behind and to the erstwhile farm fields where the people are moving? How is the infrastructure impacted in these regions, and can this trend turn around?
Moderator: Michael Hawthorne, Environment Reporter, Chicago Tribune
Panelists:
Scott Cannon, President, Pennsylvania Builders Association
Thomas Hylton, Journalist, and Author, "Save Our Land, Save Our Towns"
Deborah Lange, Executive Director, Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research, Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Connan Room, First Floor

THE AIR:
Emerging Clues to Air Sickness
Breathing air laden with soot or other tiny airborne pollutant particles can sicken — even kill. Although early data suggested lungs were the target, our speakers will provide data indicating why the heart and other organs can suffer independently. Especially troubling, they'll note: The most dangerous particles appear smaller than those typically seen, monitored, or regulated — and can be abundant even on seemingly clear days.
Moderator: Janet Raloff, Senior Editor, Science News
Panelists:
Peter Adams, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
Timothy Nurkiewicz, Department of Interdisciplinary Research in Cardiovascular Sciences and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University School of Medicine
Renaud Vincent, Head, Inhalation Toxicology and Aerobiology Section, Department of National Health, Health Canada
Location: Rangos Hall One, Second Floor