University of Virginia Library

Earth Week
Plans Attack
On Pollution

By Phil Kimball
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Conservation, ecology, and overpopulation
will be the subjects of numerous speeches,
discussions and films to be sponsored by
various organizations throughout the University
in the observance of "Earth Week," April
19-23.

Mercury pollution will be the subject of two
speeches this afternoon to be given in the
Medical School Amphitheater. At 2 p.m. Walter
Kiechel Jr., U.S. Deputy Assistant General, will
discuss "The Legal Problems of Mercury
Pollution."

Mercury Pollution

Following Mr. Kiechel's speech will be a
lecture at 3 p.m. by Dexter Hinkley, Associate
Professor of Environmental Science, who will
lecture on the "Ecological Aspects of Mercury
Pollution."

Mr. Kiechel has been concerned with legal
aspects of pollution problems since the
mid-1950s, when he assumed duties with the
land and natural resources division of the U.S.
Department of Justice. The mercury
controversy is the most recent in a line of
pollution investigations his division has been
involved in.

Mr. Hinkley, who joined the faculty last fall,
has had more than a decade of research
experience in Hawaii and the South Pacific. He
has written 24 research papers dealing with
various ecological problems.

Air Pollution

Tomorrow night, William R. Meyer of the
State Air Pollution Control Board will speak on
"Virginia and Air Pollution." The speech will
be given at 7 p.m. in the Aero-Mechanical
Auditorium.

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Chapters of
Zero Population Growth will sponsor a "Movie
Marathon" tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. in the
South Meeting Room of Newcomb Hall. The
movies, donated by various non-profit
organizations, will deal specifically with
conservation, ecology and overpopulation. A
discussion will follow the two and a half hour
film presentation.

Charlottesville Pollution

At 8 Thursday night there will be a showing
of color slides depicting examples of pollution
in the Charlottesville area. The 80 slides,
compiled by three architecture students, will be
shown in Room 4A of Newcomb Hall. Several
of the slides show the University's boiler
factory and its effects upon a nearby stream
and on the atmosphere.

The program was first presented in February
to the Governor's Council on the Environment,
at which time the public was allowed to air its
views on the pollution problem. Since then the
program has been presented to various clubs
and civic organizations throughout the
Charlottesville area.

Steve Bingler, one of the three architecture
students who compiled the slides, is a
Charlottesville resident who spent much of his
youth around many of the streams shown in
the presentation.

Streams Are Sewers

He explained that ten years the streams were
clean enough to support aquatic life, but have
since deteriorated into nothing more than
sewers. Mr. Bingler further stated that he
considers neighborhood streams to be the most
valuable playgrounds available. He said he
regrets the trend "toward more asphalt
basketball courts" as a remedy to the problem.