SF State's environmental studies program brought environmentally conscious students together last night to discuss the deforestation of tropical rainforests at their second colloquium of the fall semester. The event, which was organized by Glen Fieldman, environmental studies assistant professor, is one in a series of colloquiums that mix films, guest speakers and discussion. The potluck-style event was held at 7 p.m. in HSS building, Room 248.

“The main purpose of these colloquiums is to attract student discussion about environmental issues, to allow room for questions,” Fieldman said.

This is the first semester the environmental studies department has put on these colloquiums, which are all designed around a different environmental topic. The first colloquium of the semester was focused on climate change, and according to the event's organizers, they are open to ideas about the topics of future discussions. Environmental studies majors and non-environmental studies majors alike are invited to participate.

Last night's colloquium featured two guest speakers that spoke to a room of approximately 30 students. The first was biogeographer and author Barbara Holzman. Holzman gave a slideshow of her experience in the rainforest of New Guinea, and offered her expert opinion to students who had questions about saving the world's rainforests. “My goal is to make students fall in love with rainforests just as much as I have,” Holzman said.

The second guest speaker was SF State alum Sumer Huntley from the Rainforest Action Network, an organization that aims to make corporations more accountable for their impact on the environment. She spoke about the network’s current campaign against companies that use palm oil, a product that is cultivated from plantations that have replaced a vast amount of rainforest in Indonesia. According to the Rainforest Action Network, at least 87% of the Borneo Rainforest in Indonesia has been destroyed.

Huntley hopes to inspire students to get involved in the fight to save rainforests. “We believe every individual can make a difference,” Huntley said.

The speakers invoked a lively discussion amongst the students about the problems of deforestation, such as the increased rates of species loss and global warming. Students suggested ways they could help, like only buying products that don’t contain palm oil. The evening came to a close with a raffle to win an autographed copy of Holtzman’s newly published book, “Tropical Forests.”

“I thought the colloquium was really informative,” said Angela Tsao, an environmental studies student. “I take classes in this subject matter, but it’s good to hear more extensive information about these issues.”

Organizers of the event would like to see these colloquiums continue in future semesters. “We’re going to do this same sort of series of discussions next semester,” said Carlos Davidson, environmental studies program director. “There will be new films and guest speakers - be sure to keep an eye out for us.”

For up-to-date information about topics and dates of future colloquiums, visit http://bss.sfsu.edu/envstudies.