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Indecent Acts – Demanding Corporate Accountability Conference

A Conference on Dow Chemical and Organizing Skills on April 5

Activists working to hold Dow Chemical accountable for its effects on the environment and public health will converge with students and concerned community members for a conference on corporate accountability at the University of Michigan. Conference attendees will learn about how corporations impact our health and the environment. Five student organizations at the University of Michigan and four environmental groups, including the Ecology Center, are co-sponsoring the conference. The conference is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done online at: www.umich.edu/~enact/conference.html

The presentations at the conference will look at Dow Chemical as an example of the kind of negligent behavior towards the environment and public health that plagues the chemical industry. Keynote speaker, Sheldon Rampton, editor of PR Watch, will speak about how corporations use experts and the public relations industry to manipulate information and mislead the public. The conference workshops will provide attendees with valuable organizing skills like researching corporations, recognizing greenwashing and poster and prop making.

The conference will take place at the Michigan Union, 530 S. State Street. Onsite registration will start at 9:00 AM outside of the Anderson CD room. The conference will run from 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM. To view the agenda, speaker information or to register, please visit the conference web page - www.umich.edu/~enact/conference.html.

Additional events related to the conference are Exposure. Portrait of a Corporate Crime an exhibit of photos from Bhopal, India by Ragu Rai, at the Pierpont Piano Lounge on North Campus. The exhibit is open March 30 – April 12, with a special reception after the conference at 6:30 PM, April 5th.

On Sunday April 6th, the student group, Justice for Bhopal, is holding a 3K run to re-enact the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster and bring attention to the needs of the survivors. The event is titled "Run for Your Life." Participants will race from the Dow Laboratories on campus through the Arb and end at the University Hospitas. This event starts at 2:00 PM outside of the Dow Laboratories at the University of Michigan.

Conference and Photo Exhibit Contact:
Rebecca Meuninck 734.663.2400 ext. 115
rebecca@ecocenter.org.

Run for Your Life Contact:
Ryan Bodanyi – rbodanyi@umich.edu

For further information on Dow and environmental health:
Dow/Dioxin page