WWU College of the Environment’s weekly speaker series open to all

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WWU College of the Environment's weekly speaker series open to all

November 7, 2025

The weekly Environmental Speaker Series, organized by the College of the Environment's Environmental Studies department, presents topics of environmental concern for the WWU and Bellingham communities.

Fall quarter speakers include voices from around campus and beyond. Talks are at 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays in Academic West 204. More info about these talks and more on the Environmental Speaker Series web page.

Thursday, Nov. 13

"Sustainable and Inclusionary Planning: from Odysseus' Island to Washington's Ceded Territories"

Presenter: Professor Nicholas Zaferatos, Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning, WWU College of the Environment

Topic: Zaferatos will discuss two of his most recent research endeavors. The first presents the culmination of a twelve-year global education summer program on the Island of Ithaca, Greece, promoting sustainable development in remote island communities. Then, he'll discuss his research, funded by a Bullitt Foundation grant, on advocacy for tribal rights throughout Washington's ceded areas and the imperative for inclusionary planning under the Growth Management Act.

About the speaker: Professor Nicholas Zaferatos teaches urban planning, sustainable development, and Native American reservation planning and policy in the Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy Department at WWU. Over the past two decades, Zaferatos has directed several service-learning programs regionally and internationally. His academic and professional practice spans more than 45 years and includes positions as planning director, executive positions, and appointments to boards and commissions with local, tribal, and international organizations.

Thursday, Nov. 20

"The most contaminated and dangerous area in North America: the health, safety and environmental risks from nuclear weapons production at Hanford and the struggle to protect Treaty rights"

Presenter: Washington State Rep. Gerry Pollet, instructor, Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning, WWU College of the Environment

Topic: Hanford, where most of America's plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced in Washington state, is the most contaminated area and dangerous facility in the Western Hemisphere. The Columbia River runs through Hanford for 50 miles past nine nuclear weapons production reactors and hundreds of waste sites, where at least three massive high-level nuclear waste tanks are leaking right now. Pollet will discuss potential catastrophic and long-term risks, the advocacy efforts to require the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up, and the fight to have treaty rights and the health of Native Americans considered in cleanup decisions.

About the speaker: Rep. Gerry Pollet has represented the 46th district (north/northeast Seattle) in the Washington State House of Representatives since 2011 and is the executive director of Heart of America Northwest, the region's leading citizens' group dedicated to the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Pollet is an instructor in Western's Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning Department and is on faculty at the University of Washington's School of Public Health.

No speaker on Thursday, Nov. 27

Thursday, Dec. 4

"Climate Obstruction, the Dismantling of Environmental Justice, and the War on Wokeness:

Presenter: Professor Laura Pulido, Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, University of Oregon

Topic: In the early months of Trump 2.0, we have seen the dismantling of federal environmental justice infrastructure and a rollback of climate initiatives. While the Republican Party has had four years to plan its policy assault, more was required to reach this point. Specifically, they had to undermine public support for climate action and environmental justice. It did so by linking these issues to DEI. In this talk, Pulido will talk about how the war on wokeness facilitated the Trump administration's current attack on the environment.

About the Speaker: Professor Laura Pulido is the Collins Chair and professor of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon and the Centennial Professor of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics. Her research and teaching center on race, Latina/o studies, environmental justice, cultural memory and the right. A central goal of her work is understanding how white supremacy and resistance to it inform the U.S., in both the past and present.

For more information including details about location and parking, disability accommodations, and archived talks, visit the Environmental Speaker Series web page.