December 6, 1957

“The Partnership of Man and Nature,” a conference sponsored by the Helen Gates Putnam Division of Conservation, included lectures by: Paul B. Sears, chairman of the Yale University Conservation Program; physicist M.L. Trytten of the National Research Council; economist Eli Ginzberg, director of the Conservation of Human Resources Project at Columbia University; William A. Albrecht, professor of soils at the University of Missouri; land use and reforestation expert Gordon R. Ayer of the U.S. Geological Survey; geologist Cornelia C. Cameron of the U.S. Geological Survey and New York State Assemblyman R. Watson Pomeroy, conservationist and chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Natural Resources.

In his keynote address, “Man and Nature in the World Today,” Dr. Sears, reported The Miscellany News, observed that the “people of the United States received the wealth of an untapped continent…but we are wasting this wealth through impractical use of our minerals and an unchecked characterized as ‘urban sprawl…. Up to this time, the record has not been too encouraging, but,’ Dr. Sears continued, he had ‘immense faith that man will do something to set it right.’” Addressing “The Problems of Scientific and Technical Manpower,” Dr. Trytten “stressed the importance that technical manpower has in the light of current events. He said that Russia’s new scientific achievements such as their submarine fleets, their air power and Sputnik emphasizes America’s need for more trained personnel.” Dr. Ginzberg “pointed out that although essentially there is little difference between manpower and womanpower, there are many barriers to the most effective use of women in our society.”