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Lecture series kicks off with environmental advocate

November 16, 2008 by News Staff 

By Zach Brake

Thomas FitzGerald wants UK students to see green.

FitzGerald, the director of the nonprofit environmental advocacy group the Kentucky Resources Council since 1984, is the first speaker of the Sustainability Lecture Series. He will speak Monday at 7 p.m. in the Worsham Theater in the Student Center.

FitzGerald said students should take a sense of responsibility toward the environment from his lecture, recognizing the power they have to create lasting, positive change. Being informed about sustainability is a big part of that, he said.

“For students, who will inherit the mantle of leadership from those currently making decisions in boardrooms and staterooms, becoming informed is the first step,” FitzGerald said.

UK President Lee Todd funded the lecture series with $25,000. Todd gave the President’s Sustainability Advisory Committee money for the program over the summer after administration officials asked for a list of initiatives students wanted to see funded, Todd said in an e-mail to the Kernel earlier this semester.

The next lecture in the series will most likely be in April, series coordinator Taylor Shelton said.
Shelton said organizers did not yet know what FitzGerald would talk about, but he is not worried.

“He has 30 years of experience in environmental law, and I’m sure he has plenty to say,” Shelton said. “I am looking forward to what he has to say. He is a great speaker, great guy and always a pleasure to listen to.”

UK has many bad habits that need to be corrected, such as overconsumption and lack of thought about where our resources are coming from, UK Greenthumb President Scott Beckmeyer said.

“People don’t pay attention to how much they use … and what kind of impact it will have on Kentucky,” he said.

The lecture series hopes to compensate for that and turn around these bad habits, Beckmeyer said.
Shelton said he thinks FitzGerald will go in the direction of how the role of our state and UK factor into the bigger picture of sustainability.

“So far our university has made a bad name for itself as far as sustainability goes, and this is the first step to do the right thing, to fix the negative reputation UK has with sustainability,” Shelton said.

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