By BENJAMIN FOX
Student Reporter
CORE, Conserving Our Ranger Environment, will host an hour-long Skype session at noon Friday with eco-activist Peter Galvin who has participated in world-wide campaigns to preserve biological diversity.
The hour-long Skype session will be held across all NWOSU campuses in Alva EC 209, Enid E 221, Woodward WW 114 and Ponca City PC 130. Lunch will be provided on the Alva and Enid campuses, but attendants are asked to bring their own non-disposable plates and drinks.
Galvin, co-founder and director of programs for the Center for Biological Diversity, is a longtime friend of CORE club sponsor Steven Mackie. “We go far back,” Mackie said, “I’ve known Peter for 20 years.” As part of a presentation series CORE hosts every semester, Mackie sought out Galvin for his work with the Center for Biological Diversity.
Founded in 1989, The Center for Biological Diversity, according to their mission statement, works “to secure a future for all species, great and small… with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive. We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.”
A strong eco-activist, Galvin recently participated in The People’s Climate March in New York Sept. 21, which is being hailed as “the largest environmental march of its kind,” boasting an impressive 400,000 head count. The march acted as a lead-in to the U.N. Climate Summit Sept. 23, in which Galvin also participated. An unprecedented number of world leaders, including 100 heads of state and government, attended that event. They were joined by more than 800 leaders from business, finance and civil society.” It aimed to build support for a universal climate agreement in 2015 and spur action in all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the effects of climate change.
Galvin also attended the subsequent Flood Wall Street protest. For both events, Galvin attended in a polar bear suit.
With the alias “Frostpaw the Polar Bear,” Galvin showed his support for both marches, and even ended up being arrested for the sit-in at the Flood Wall Street protest for being “conspicuous.” His arrest became a viral sensation, where social media users said, “Protesters booed police when it was in the process of arresting a man dressed as a bear, chanting ‘Don’t arrest the polar bear!’” During the Q and A part of the Skype session, Mackie hopes to learn why Galvin wore the costume.
For more information on CORE or the upcoming speaker, contact Curtis Cook, coordinator of Sponsored Programs and staff sponsor of CORE, at cwcook@nwosu.edu or (580) 327-8110, or Mackie at swmackie@nwosu.edu or (580) 213-3121.