Today in Geography - Celebrating Earth Day with Leo Baldiga

<p>Today, we welcomed <a href="https://geo.msu.edu/directory/baldiga-leo.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Leo Baldiga</a> to the show. Leo is a dual-major PhD student in the MSU Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences and the Environmental Science and Policy Program. His research interests include the areas of Agrarian Change, Natural Resource Rights, Commons Politics, Development, and Demographic and Cultural Shifts in Southeast Asia. Leo graduated with a BA in Comparative Cultures and Politics from MSU&#39;s James Madison College in 2020 and was a Fulbright Research Fellow at Chiang Mai University in 2021, working with local community organizations on a range of topics related to land rights, healthcare access, and statelessness. In 2022-23 he worked with the Mekong School Institute of Local Knowledge on the Mekong Water Protectors citizen science program, Mekong Youth Program, Mekong Safeguard Program, and the Mekong School Digital Library. Throughout this time, he has been working on the Mekong Culture WELL (Water, Ecologies, Land, and Livelihoods) grant through the James Madison College on a household survey, ecocultural mapping, and various other projects.</p><p>Leo also discussed the importance of the founding of Earth Day on April 22, 1970. Inspired by the anti-war &quot;teach-ins&quot; of the 1960s, Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) proposed a national teach-in on the environment after witnessing the environmental damage caused by the 1969 Santa Barbara, California oil spill. Denis Hayes, a young activist, was hired to organize the first national event. The date of April 22 was chosen to fall between spring break and final exams at most colleges and universities to maximize student participation. Today, more than a billion people in nearly 200 countries celebrate Earth Day, making it the largest secular, civic-minded day of action in the world.</p><p>If you would like to learn more about Leo’s research on agricultural drone use, please visit “<a href="https://theconversation.com/agricultural-drones-are-taking-off-globally-saving-farmers-time-and-money-265154" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money</a>,” an article Leo wrote for The Conversation with co-author Ben Belton. If you would like to learn more about Earth Day, visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/earthday" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.epa.gov/earthday</a>. </p><p