Don't Waste South Carolina

This seminar is open to the public and features two of the country’s most preeminent environmental thinkers. They will discuss concerns regarding nuclear fuel reprocessing and the hazards of nuclear waste facing our state and country.

Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies

Robert Alvarez is a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C., where he is currently focused on nuclear disarmament, environmental and energy policies.

Between 1993 and 1999, Mr. Alvarez served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Security and the Environment. In 1994 and 1995, Bob led teams in North Korea to establish control of nuclear weapons materials.

He coordinated nuclear material strategic planning for the department and established the department’s first asset management program. Bob was awarded two Secretarial Gold Medals, the highest awards given by the Department.

Prior to joining the DOE, Mr. Alvarez served for five years as a Senior Investigator for the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, chaired by Senator John Glenn, and as one of the Senate’s primary staff experts on the U.S. nuclear weapons program.

In 1975 Bob helped found and direct the Environmental Policy Institute (EPI), a respected national public interest organization.

He helped organize a successful lawsuit on behalf of the family of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear worker and active union member who was killed under mysterious circumstances in 1974.

Bob Alvarez is an award winning author and has published articles in prominent publications such as Science Magazine, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Technology Review and the Washington Post. He has been featured in television programs such as NOVA and 60 Minutes.

Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth

Brent Blackwelder has served as an environmental advocate in our nation’s capital for over 30 years. In 1994 he became president of Friends of the Earth and is the most senior environmental lobbyist in Washington. He has testified in front of Congress on pressing environmental issues more than 100 times.

Brent was founder and first chairman of the board of American Rivers, our nation’s leading river-saving organization. He also founded the Environmental Policy Institute, which merged with Friends of the Earth in 1989.

As a leader in the effort to save rivers, Brent helped expand the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System from eight rivers in 1973 to over 160 today. He also worked to eliminate over 200 dams and stream channelization projects, which would have destroyed rivers, wetlands, wildlife and areas of special scientific value.

Brent initiated campaigns to reform the World Bank and succeeded in getting Congress to enact a series of significant reforms directing the Bank and other multilateral lending institutions to pay more attention to the environment.

Brent serves on the board of directors of the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and 20/20 Vision. He graduated summa cum laude from Duke University and received an M.A. in mathematics from Yale, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Maryland.