Coastal Carolina University is celebrating Earth Week from Wednesday, April 16 to Tuesday, April 22 with a series of campus events and guest speakers. All the events are free and open to the public.

On Tuesday, April 22 keynote speaker and green architect Neil Chambers will give a talk titled "Green Design in the Age of Extinction" at 7 p.m. in the Edwards Recital Hall. Chambers will cap off the Earth Week celebration with a speech describing the necessity of smarter design of the human world in Earth's sixth mass extinction.

The week's events are as follows:

* Wednesday, April 16 - "Planet Earth" showing at 7 p.m. in Wall 318. The Discovery Channel documentary covers general information about the planet through incredible, professional footage.

* Wednesday, April 16 - "Food Smarts: Reasons & Ways to Eat Local and Organic" presented by CCU students Laura Bader, Patrick Hutchins and Julie Yurek, from 6 to 7 p.m. in room 257 of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts. The discussion will cover how eating local or organic foods stimulates the economy, is healthier for the human body and healthier for the planet.

* Thursday, April 17 - "A Crude Awakening," a revealing film about the dangers in oil dependency, at 7 p.m. in Wall 318.

* Thursday, April 17 - "Green Yourself: How to Make Changes that Add Up" from 6 to 7 p.m. in Edwards 257. Presenter Bob Crimian will talk about how being more environmentally conscious and making small changes is easier than one might think.

* Friday, April 18 - "An Inconvenient Truth," beginning at 7 p.m. in the Wall Auditorium. This film shows Al Gore's moving battle against global warming and makes a strong case for reform of people's current habits.

* Friday, April 18 - "Water World: Why the Earth's Oceans Matter to You" from 6 to 7 p.m. in Edwards 257. CCU's Society of the Underwater World will present this discussion on why the ocean is important to the planet's systems and why it should be protected.

* Monday, April 21 - "Planet in Peril" showing at 7 p.m. in the Wall building, room 304. The CNN special video travels the world with an environmental perspective, offering breathtaking images of the planet.

* Monday, April 21 - "Think Outside the Bottle: Our Bottled Water Addiction" from 6 to 7 p.m. in Edwards 257. CCU students Alyssa Englebrecht and Jennifer Kleinfelter will talk about how Americans are addicted to disposable containers like water bottles, which are detrimental to the planet, the human body and the wallet.

* Tuesday, April 22 - "State of Campus Address: How Earth Friendly is CCU?" from 6 to 7 p.m. in Wall 257. Presenter and CCU student Patrick Hutchins will talk about how environmentally friendly Coastal is, what the campus does that is good for the earth, and what the collective campus community could do better.

For more information on Earth Week visit ww2.coastal.edu/earthweek.