Ball State's annual Earth Week festivities will celebrate "Energy Matters" April 16-20.

Craddock, a Ball State alumnus, will give his presentation, "White River: Past, Present and Future," at 7:30 p.m. April 17 in the Pittenger Student Center, Forum Room.

For more than 30 years, Craddock has been at the heart of White River cleanup efforts. He began assessing the polluted river's condition while he was a Ball State student in the 1960s. Afterwards, Craddock continued to fund his studies with his own money until the Muncie Sanitary District agreed to create a part-time job so he could continue his research.

His findings sparked a series of newspaper articles about the polluted river and community outcry about the situation. To address the public's concerns, Craddock created a comprehensive cleanup effort that also included aesthetic improvements, such as parks, trails, observation areas and boardwalks.

In 2001, Craddock was presented the Alumni Award of Distinction by the Department Natural Resources and Environmental Management. And in 1990, he was awarded the Richard Greene Public Service Award presented by the Robert Cooper Audubon Society for active involvement in serving the public's environmental interests and concerns.

Earth Week activities also will include: 

• April 16 - "Who Killed the Electric Car?" 8 p.m., Pruis Hall. This film is about the evolution of the electric car and how the nation's major auto companies stymied its development and introduction to the public.
• April 18 - "Political Leadership, Climate Change and the Transition to a Post-Carbon Society," 7:30 p.m., Pittenger Student Center, Cardinal Hall B. The videoconference will feature John Barry, Benedict Visiting Distinguished Professor at Carleton College and co-leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland. Supported by the Campus Activities Fund Board.
• April 20 - "Earth Day on the Green," 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., University Green east of Shafer Tower on McKinley Avenue. A variety of local businesses, organizations and government agencies will provide environmental education and activities.

Earth Week events are free and open to the public. They are sponsored by the Natural Resources Club and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, with assistance from the Student Physics Society, the Wildlife Society and the American Fisheries Society of Ball State.

For more information about Earth Week activities, go to www.bsu.edu/nrem/earthweek.