Moorpark College studies 'Year of the Environment'

Moorpark College seeks to prepare students to be responsible members of the global community. The academic year 2007-08 is dedicated to inquiry, dialogue and action toward the goal of protecting and sustaining the environment with the theme "The Year of the Environment: From Awareness to Action."

The college will sponsor the following events for the fall semester. All programs are free and open to the public except "O Mother Earth" performances, which are $10 per person.

•Sept. 10, 1 to 2 p.m., Performing Arts Center: Sandra Steingraber, author of "Living Downstream," this year's One Campus One Book selection. She will speak about the connections between environmental pollutants and her cancer. For information: www.steingraber.com.

•Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Performing Arts Center: Fine-tooning the Planet: Environmental Cartoons by Steve Greenberg , an editorial cartoonist and news artist for the Ventura County Star. Greenberg has worked for the Seattle PostIntelligencer, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Daily News. His cartoons have earned honors, including the 1994 Global Media Award. For information: www.greenberg-art.com.

•Oct. 14, 2 p.m. and Oct. 18, 8 p.m.: "O Mother Earth, O Father Sky. Fiftyminute multimedia performance that uses the images, poetry and prose of Native Americans to celebrate the beauty of the natural world and inform about the current environmental crisis. Followed by a lecture on saving two species of endangered butterflies. Proceeds from these performances will benefit the Butterfly Project.

•Nov. 14, noon, college television studio: Faculty lecture by Dr. Lori Clark, "The Impact of Urbanization on a Coastal Estuary." Clark will review research she conducted with the Hudson River Foundation on the environmental state of the New York and New Jersey harbor estuary and will relate those findings to Southern California coastal areas. For information, e-mail loriclark@vcccd.edu.

•Nov. 19, 1 p.m., Performing Arts Center: Guest lecture by Fran Pavley, "The Future of AB32 and AB1493." For information: www.franpavley.com.