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Last Friday night like millions of other Americans, I was on the road, in my case to the Hartford airport, to pick up much loved and not seen often enough family. They live in Nashville, but like many, many others - witness the army of cars driving north on I91 - they love Vermont and we get together here instead of there.

The flight was delayed and it's after midnight when we start the 99.89 mile trip to my house. Before we even get to Springfield, everyone is drowsy. "Don't anybody go to sleep," the driver implores. "Keep talking to me."

by Joshua Stearns, SCA Alumnus and Board Member

The Lazy Environmentalist talks with Student Conservation Association members Jay Satz and Tamara Paul about the history of the SCA and its conservation programs throughout America. - podcast on lime.com

Trained as a zoologist, Rachel Carson began her career as a contract government science writer at a time when… “wildlife agencies still handed out recipes for the animals they were studying.” (An Environmental Icon’s Unseen Fortitude, Washington Post 5.18.07) She is best known for her still controversial book Silent Spring and its crusade against the widespread use of DDT, but her legacy extends well beyond that.

Q: As SCA's Northeast representative, what was an interesting experience you had on the road?

A: Besides life on the road in and of itself, which included being caught in snow storms, getting lost (more than a couple of times), and some less than appealing hotel stays... I would say that my most memorable experience was getting to catch a Syracuse Orange Basketball game at the Carrier Dome for the first time. Being a life long Syracuse fan, I found it to be an awesome experience and to top it all off, I ran in to a guy selling tickets and with a little help from a friend, I was given a free ticket to the game!

Q: In your experience, does the general attitude people hold towards conservation and the environment differ region to region?

A: I believe that attitudes do very quite a bit from area to area. For instance, you have areas like California where they are continually raising the bar for different areas of conservation all the way down to Nevada, where the dollar dictates the policies ranging from mining practices to the use of water in the state.

I do feel however, that as things like Global Warming and escalation of gas prices continue to make headlines that attitudes towards the environment and conservation are beginning to change for the better.

Q: If you were appointed Administrator of the US EPA for 1 month what would be your number one priority?

A: Well, in a month I don't think anything could be accomplished given the pace at which the government moves. But, I would make fuel efficiency in automobiles and controlling emissions from major plants two of my top priorities.