3/03/20
NORTH ADAMS, MASS.—Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announces the seventh event in its spring
Green Living Seminar series will take place on Thursday, March 12. The talk, “Too
Much of a Good Thing: Nutrient Pollution in New England’s Waters,” will be given by
Emma Gildesgame, an environmental analyst with the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission (NEIWPCC).
This and all subsequent Green Living Seminars will take place on Thursdays, at 5:30 p.m., in room 121 of the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation on the MCLA campus. The theme of this semester’s series is “Environmental Pollution,” and all talks are free and open to the public.
In her talk, Gildesgame will discuss what nutrient pollution is and why it matters, where this pollution comes from, and ways that New England is working to reduce it.
Every living thing, from algae to humans, relies on nutrients to grow and survive. But when it rains, excess nutrients from fertilizer, pet waste, sewers, and many other sources end up in our rivers, lakes, and streams. New England states are all working hard to reduce this nutrient flow to prevent harmful algal blooms and other threats to human health and aquatic life.
Gildesgame serves as the project manager for NEIWPCC’s Water Quality Standards and nutrient criteria, TMDL, and Mercury programs and their associated workgroups. As part of this work, she coordinates a national webinar series for state and EPA personnel whose work relates to Clean Water Act section 303(d) and TMDLs. Her responsibilities also include management of the Peconic Estuary Program and Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan.
Prior to joining NEIWPCC in 2019, Gildesgame worked in coastal wetland restoration with Audubon California; in GIS and communication strategy for the National Parks Conservation Association; and as an environmental and outdoor educator across New England, Colorado, and California. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Colby College.
This semester’s Green Living Seminar events will take place through April 16, 2020. Following Emma Gildesgame’s talk on Thursday, March 12, the next Green Living lecture will be on Thursday, March 26, when Jim Murphy, former public affairs specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will discuss PCBs and the Housatonic River.
Each semester, the MCLA Green Living Seminar Series hosts lectures by local, regional, and national experts organized around a central theme related to the environment and sustainability. The 2020 series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies Department and the MCLA Berkshire Environmental Resource Center.
Podcasts will be posted online following each presentation at www.mcla.edu/greenliving. For more information, visit www.mcla.edu/greenliving or contact Elena Traister at (413) 662-5303.
