NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2005

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

DOCUMENTARY PROMOTES ENVIRONMENTAL REFORM FOR MEXICO-U.S. BORDER
UH Hosts American Society for Environmental History Annual Meeting

A documentary that addresses global pollution along the Rio Grande border will be featured March 19 at an environmental history conference sponsored by the University of Houston.

The American Society for Environmental History (ASEH), in partnership with Humanities Texas, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), and the UH Center for Public History, will screen “Borderline Cases: Environmental Matters at the United States-Mexico Border” in the Brown Auditorium at the MFAH from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Produced by Lynn Corcoran in 1997, “Borderline Cases,” which was filmed in three border regions in Texas and California, documents pollution along the Rio Grande border in the last 25 years. The opportunity for cheap labor and minimal environmental regulation in Mexico has become increasingly attractive to American-owned companies, contributing to the trend of maquiladoras (or manufacturing factories) along the border. The film analyzes the border situation and explores possible solutions to restore its environment and establish a humanitarian partnership between Mexico and the United States.

Following the screening, a panel of activists will lead a discussion with the audience. Speakers include Lynn Corcoran, “Borderline Cases” producer; Monica Perales, assistant professor of history at UH and fellow in UH Center for Mexican-American Studies; Domingo Gonzalez, scientist and environmental health activist; Angus Wright, professor emeritus of history at California State University, Sacramento; and Bob Currey, associate director of the Center for Environmental Resource Management of the University of Texas at El Paso.

The event is one of several events during ASEH’s annual meeting at the Warwick Hotel, March 16-19. The meeting is hosted by UH and funded in part by a grant from Humanities Texas. Those who wish to participate in ASEH’s other events must register for the conference. The conference program is available at:
www.h-net.org/~environ/ASEH/conferences.html.

To view the ASEH conference media advisory, go to http://www.uh.edu/admin/media/nr/2005/03march/030805asehmtg.html

For more information about the conference or the film, contact Kathleen Brosnan at (713) 743-3120 or kbrosnan@uh.edu.

WHAT:    “Borderline Case: Environmental Matters at the United States-Mexico Border”

WHO:      American Society for Environmental History (ASEH), Humanities Texas, MFAH

WHEN:    10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m., Saturday, March 19, 2005

WHERE:  Brown Auditorium at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH)

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.