Conservationists Plan to Teach- In On Problems of the Environment

On April 21 and 22, just about the time when the Charles begins to smell, the Harvard Conservation Club will gather speakers, circulate a petition, and canvass Harvard classrooms for an environmental teach- in.

The club's efforts are part of a national teach- in suggested by the National Teach- In Committee, an organization recently formed to deal with environmental problems. Many other colleges are expected to participate, including the University of Michigan- where the idea for the teach- in originated.

"We want to make known the concrete things people can do to combat the environmental problems, such as putting pressure on Congress to pass pending environmental legislation." said Anne E. Steckel'71, president of the club.

A number of prominent people interested in the environmental situation will speak on April 21 in Sanders Theatre at a meeting co-sponsored by the Business, Law, and College Conservation Clubs. The speakers will include Barry Commoner, professor of Botany at Washington University, and editor-in-chief of Environment magazine, and George, Wald, Higgins Professor of Biology at Harvard.

Ralph Nader, Rep. Allard K. Lowenstoin (D.N.Y.), and William Lear, designer of the Lear jet and a steam- engine car faster than commercialized gasoline- powered cars, have not yet replied to their invitations.

On the following day, representatives of the club will go from instructor to instructor, trying to persuade professors to discuss the environmental situation in their classes.

In addition, volunteers will distribute literature and circulate petitions for specific legislation- although the Conservation Club has not yet determined the exact content of the petition. Commoner will conduct a seminar, and the Conservation Club will show films loaned by the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society.

A mass rally is planned for the third or fourth week in February to "organize people to help with the teach- in," Miss Steckel said.