April, 2007
Environmental Ethics and Space policy: We are holding a conference April 11 - 14, 2007 on questions lying at the intersection of space science, environmental ethics, and policy. This conference, funded by the National Science Foundation Social and Economic Sciences Program, "Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering, and Technology," will revisit many of the themes first explored in a previous 1985 NSF-sponsored conference on "Environmental Ethics and the Solar System," the proceedings of which were published as Beyond Spaceship Earth: Environmental Ethics and the Solar System (1986), a book which for two decades has been a primary reference for discussions of ethical issues related to the space program. See website for more information.

January, 2007
Chile Workshop: The University of North Texas (UNT) and the Chilean Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB) are holding a workshop March 17-23, 2007 in southern Chile on themes involving conservation biology, environmental philosophy, and policy. Participants will consist of 24 researchers (half North American, half South American), plus approximately 30 graduate students (25 South American, 5 North American) who will have taken a three week course at IEB on Conservation and Society: Bio-cultural diversity and environmental ethics March 5-18). The workshop has two overall goals, one specific and one general: to make progress in understanding the challenges of managing frontier ecosystems, especially in Chile; and to improve our understanding of the challenges facing attempts at interdisciplinary problem solving.  See Chile Workshop website for more information.

August, 2006
Technology in Society to publish a special issue on Katrina and New Orleans, with essays by New Directions Katrina Workshop participants. More details coming soon.

June, 2006
The Center for Space Exploration and Policy Research (CSEPR), with New Directions and the University of North Texas Center for Environmental Philosophy, has been awarded an NSF grant to study questions lying at the intersection of space exploration, environmental ethics, and policy. The conference will be held in the spring of 2007, to be followed by the publication of an edited volume of conference papers. More information will be forthcoming at the CSEPR website: http://www.boulder.swri.edu/CSEPR/

Spring, 2006