Environmental Justice Teaching Radiation, Technology and Energy
Savannah State University (SSU) hosted its annual Teaching Radiation, Technology and Energy (TREAT) workshop at the New Ellenton Technology Center, New Ellenton, South Carolina, July 21 through 23, 2008. The workshop is one of SSU's Environmental Justice (EJ) activities under a grant funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Local teachers who participated gained education, training, and learned about Savannah River Site activities and environmental radiation. They also developed activities and a study unit for classroom
utilization.

The TREAT Workshop was covered by local TV station WJBF and local newspaper The Augusta Chronicle.

Securing Our Future: The Nuclear Alternative
On August 21 to 23, 2008, the Department of Energy's Environmental Justice Program co-sponsored an alternative energy conference with the Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and former Savannah River Site contractor URS Washington Division.

With increased reliance on foreign oil threatening national security and economic development, the United States must, as a matter of national policy, examine and develop alternative energy resources. These may include but are not limited to conservation, domestic oil and gas exploration, abundant domestic coal, biofuels, wind and solar, hydrogen fuel cell technology, and nuclear energy. While in the immediate future no single technology or policy can eliminate America's dependence on foreign oil, a combination of approaches holds great potential for ensuring our nation's energy independence. The purpose of the conference was to examine possibilities to ease America's dependence on foreign oil and present practical solutions.

Savannah State University Students Tour Savannah River Site
Students in the Environmental Science undergraduate degree program at Savannah State University (SSU) had an opportunity to tour the Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, decontamination and decommissioning activities, M-Area Dynamic Underground Stripping, and the Defense Waste Processing Facility. The tour is part of the scope of SSU's Environmental Justice grant funded by the DOE Headquarters and the EPA.

Thirty-Eighth Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, Environmental Justice Braintrust
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Annual Legislative Conference was held in Washington, D.C., September 24 through 27, 2008. Congressman James Clyburn
(D-SC) chaired the CBC Environmental Justice Braintrust during the conference. The Office of Legacy Management, along with other members of the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, will attend.

Realizing the Vision: Congressional Black Caucus Leadership in the Environmental Justice Movement
On September 26, 2008, a session about the Environmental Justice Movement was held as part of the Congressional Black Caucus. The session was hosted by Dell, Inc., and featured Kevin Brown, Vice President, and Chief Procurement Officer of Dell. Also in attendance were special guest James E. Clyburn, House Majority Whip (D-SC), and keynote speaker Representative Harold Mitchell, Jr., South Carolina State Representative (D) and Founder of ReGenesis, Inc., Environmental Justice Demonstration Project.

The session included a dynamic discussion of the past, present, and future of African American environmental activism. Calling national attention to the disproportionate burden of pollution on the most vulnerable members of our society and challenging the myth that African Americans are not concerned with the environment, CBC members have been at the forefront of the environmental justice movement. Their efforts to protest the location of toxic waste sites in minority and low-income areas, consistently high environmental voting records, advocacy for new and revised standards for clean air and water, and promotion of environmentally progressive energy policies have brought about significant changes in environmental policy and oversight.