Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – In his presentation “Impacts and Responses: Cruise ships and Northern Communities” Dr. Jim Powell, UAS Assistant Research Professor, will briefly speak about how the burgeoning cruise ship tourism industry has impacted coastal communities. How do communities benefit and what are the impacts from cruise tourism? A multidisciplinary research team, funded by the National Science Foundation, will present their findings about Juneau’s cruise industry. A new documentary film “Cruise Boom”, set in Sitka (created by Ellen Frankenstein and Atman Mehta) will follow the talk and raise questions relevant to Southeast communities and beyond. How can communities shape tourism? How can mass tourism become regenerative?
Carin Silkaitis, Dean of Arts & Sciences, remarks, “Dr. Jim Powell’s presentation delves into the impacts of cruise ship tourism on our coastal communities, providing indispensable perspectives on how we can cultivate sustainable growth and strike a harmonious equilibrium between economic gains and environmental conservation. Moreover, it encourages us to challenge the conventional notion of ‘sustainability,’ which has sometimes been distorted to uphold extractive economic growth that prioritizes wealth accumulation over the health of our natural surroundings.”
This event takes place in the Egan Lecture Hall (not the library), and because of the film’s copyright, this event will not be live-streamed. Dr. Powell’s talk will be recorded and posted after the event. This event is anticipated to last 90 minutes due to the screening of the documentary film.