The Pacific Northwest is home to pressing environmental issues, including coal and oil exports, loss of habitat, water quality, fisheries, and effects of global warming. The coal industry wants to use Northwest ports for shipping to Asia, which could result in 100 million tons of coal being shipped through the region by rail. A dozen oil pipelines are proposed, and trains carrying oil have derailed in other regions. Will these projects, as opponents contend, endanger both Northwest peoples and the environment?  Or as proponents--including many labor unions--argue, would they bring critical jobs to economically dislocated and disadvantaged areas?  What entities have the power to decide whether these projects will be built? What methods can be used to get clear information to those who are affected?  What are the human health and environmental risks from coal dust, train wrecks, and potential oil spills? How do citizens become engaged? What is the role of indigenous communities?  What are the roles of advocates, allies, and supporters--on both sides--and how do these positions grow out of environmental and other histories?

In engaging with these issues, we will ask, how do we speak meaningfully about our relationship to the natural world? We will learn how stories and ethnography empower individuals and communities to understand their connection to place. Through a practice of writing, and study of both eco-criticism and natural history literature, we will examine concepts and values around wilderness and the human connection to the natural world.  We will consider the traditional division between labor and environmental interests, its roots, and whether these two groups may be able to foster collaborations that address both jobs and environmental protection.  Our work will include analysis of disparate views and values, and common ground among environmental groups, tribes,