LEWISTON, Maine -- William Shutkin, one of the nation's leading environmental lawyers and social entrepreneurs, will discuss ``Avoiding a Planet of Weeds: "Environmentalism and Development in the 21st Century." at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8 in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives.at Bates College.

Shutkin is president of New Ecology, Inc., a non-profit environmental organization based in Cambridge, Mass., that uses law, planning and advocacy to promote economic development in urban communities. Shutkin is co-founder and former executive director of the environmental law center Alternatives for Community & Environment and author of the book ``The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century.'' (MIT Press, 2000) His work has been featured in many media outlets, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, U.S. News and World Report and National Public Radio, as well as, the book "Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visonaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems." (MIT Press, 1997) He is a regular radio commentator for NPR's Living on Earth program. Shutkin teaches in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is closely affilated with New Ecology, Inc. He is adjunct professor of law at Boston College Law School and has taught at Tufts University and Northeastern University School of Law.