Western Washington's Conservation Challenge

Sometimes, in environmental studies, the goals are so big that they are overwhelming. Maybe that was Mark Powell's inspiration for the highly focused challenge he just threw out to students in a guest lecture at Western Washington University.

Powell, a former university professor and scientist with a focus on conservation and sustainable fishing who blogs now at "Blogfish", calls his idea "3 C conservation". The first C is for change--picking out the conservation change you want to see happen. The second is for context--make it easy for people to understand and embrace. And the third is for compelling--using the best tools new media has to offer to get the most people involved and contributing.

Western Washington seems a good place to issue such a challenge. The Bellingham-based institution offers both a B.S. and a B.A. in environmental studies, the latter with a concentration in either environmental education or planning and policy through its Huxley College of the Environment. Nicholas Zaferatos, one of its professors, has just been named the principal investigator of a European Union project to build sustainable economy trade ties in the Mediterranean. The university also has a green car project through its Vehicle Research Institute.

Image, credit: Viking 32, Western Washington University