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Gabriela Foster ’18 is engaged in a research project that goes beyond mere academics this summer. Foster, who is researching the different political and environmental interest groups that are impacting policy on Higgins Lake in Roscommon, Michigan, has been visiting the lake for her entire life. Her research is being conducted with Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavo and is sponsored by the Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center.

Peter Cannavò, associate professor of government and director of the environmental studies program, discussed the views of political theorist Hannah Arendt, author of The Human Condition, as well as his own perspectives on the politics of place on KPFA’s Against the Grain radio program on Oct. 7. During the hour-long broadcast, Cannavò stressed the importance of democratic deliberation and pointed to an overemphasis on development to the detriment of preservation.

Three Hamilton professors, Professor of Sociology Dennis Gilbert, Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavo and Assistant Professor of Government Erica de Bruin have participated recently in interviews in their areas of expertise with media outlets based in New York, California and London. Here are brief summaries and links to them. 

Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavò was a member of a panel that explored ways to discuss environmental issues without the conversation becoming polarized. The session, “Depolarizing the Environment: Thinking Broadly about Science Policy and Politics,” was Feb. 13 at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse.

Engaging Nature: Environmentalism and the Political Theory Canon, co-edited by Associate Professor of Government Peter Cannavò, was recently published by The MIT Press. The publisher calls the book “the first comprehensive volume to bring the insights of Green Theory to bear in reinterpreting” canonical theorists such as Plato, Aristotle, Du Bois and Confucius.

USA Today published an opinion piece written by Associate Professor of Government Peter F. Cannavo titled “Global warming reveals our own Game of Thrones” on Oct. 16 in both its online and print editions. In his piece, Cannavo compares the manner in which many in the United States have overlooked or minimized the dangers related to global warming or, in fact, questioned its very existence, to that of the behavior of warring factions in the television show “Game of Thrones.”

Associate Professor of Government and Director of Environmental Studies Peter Cannavò presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Australian Political Studies Association in Sydney, in September.

Roughly every five or six years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes a report that indicates the current impact of climate change and consequent policy recommendations. The most recent report, the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, contains three separate reports based on the IPCC’s working groups. Ming Chun Tang ’16, under the guidance of Professor of Government Peter Cannavo, is researching online news media’s coverage of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report for his Levitt Fellowship this summer.

In speeches and debates, contemporary politicians often relate their values back to the principles of America’s founding fathers. However, how well they actually represent those ideals is disputable. In her Emerson Foundation project, “What Would Jefferson Do? The Jeffersonian Ideal and Modern Day Environmental Policy,” Claire Zurlo ’14 is examining how Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy relates to today’s environmentalism.

Many Hamilton students consider themselves environmentally conscious and aware of the consequences of putting profits ahead of environmental conservation. Oil extraction, whether it is from shale deposits, sea floors or sands, can threaten natural habitats and introduce environmental pollutants. This summer, Nicholas Anastasi ‘15 is researching government transparency and rhetoric surrounding oil sand development in Alberta, Canada.