Texas A&M To Be A Major Player At Earth Day Texas

Originally published at today.tamu.edu

Texas A&M University will once again be a major player in Earth Day Texas, with numerous academic departments and speakers participating in projects and programs that impact the environment. The three-day environmental expo is set for April 21-23 at Fair Park in Dallas.

Earth Day Texas has grown into the world’s largest annual forum for sharing the latest discoveries, policies, products and corporate practices that are shaping the world. The event will host a wide variety of government agencies, academic institutions, businesses, environmental organizations and speakers during the Earth Day Texas festival.

Texas A&M is the largest educational exhibitor for the second consecutive year. Texas Aggies continue to increase their participation in Earth Day Texas and are able to showcase diverse research and innovation, as well as community partnerships and outreach initiatives.

“As the largest educational exhibitor at Earth Day Texas, Texas A&M is poised to take center stage,” says Casey Oliver '02, regional manager with the Provost Office of Texas A&M’s Public, Partnership & Outreach division.

“We’ve been working together all year with more than 12 colleges, agencies and departments, and we are eager to share our work and to show others what makes Texas A&M so unique. With informative presentations and specially designed architectural structures and displays from accomplished faculty members like Negar Kalantar from the College of Architecture, Texas A&M will help educate attendees with interactive exhibits and hands-on demonstrations.  

"Kalantar has designed two large retractable structures that will provide the visual display for the comprehensive campus exhibit at Earth Day Texas. These structures are highly efficient, are more durable and require less energy and fewer materials to build. Working with students from different disciplines to bring the design to life, this is just one example of how Texas A&M is transforming education through innovation and action.”

As a major partner of Earth Day Texas, Texas A&M and its affiliates will be well-represented at the event, with booths, speakers and interactive displays from the College of Geosciences, College of Architecture, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the Texas A&M School of Public Health, the Texas A&M Center for Applied Science, Texas A&M AgriLife, the Texas A&M Health Science Center and others.

Notable speakers and participants this year will include:

• Texas A&M President Michael K. Young.
• Sec. of Energy and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry '72.
• JB Straubel, co–founder and CTO, Tesla Inc.
• Susan Eisenhower, president of The Eisenhower Group and granddaughter of President Eisenhower.
• Ryan Sitton, Texas Railroad Commissioner
• Retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, Sr.
• Sylvia A. Earle, world-renowned oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer.
• Katharine Hayhoe, atmospheric scientist and director of the Climate Science Center.
• Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., president of the Republic of Palau.
• Laura Turner Seydel, chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation.
• Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
• Kate Williams, CEO of One Percent for the Planet.

Earth Day, established in 1970, is considered the birth of the environmental movement. Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, was inspired to start Earth Day after he witnessed a massive oil spill in 1969 off the California coast.  His goal was to get people thinking and energized about the environment, the effects of water and air pollution and other issues impacting Earth.

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was a huge success and is credited with leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species acts.

Earth Day Texas is free and open to the public.  For more about Earth Day Texas, including daily schedules, events, booths, displays and other key information, go to http://earthdaytx.org/.