nothing new under the sun; you knew that

The call for papers for "The Green Nineteenth Century" -- the 30th Annual Conference of the Nineteenth Century Studies Association to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in March 2009 -- includes this text:

We welcome paper and panel proposals concerning any aspect of "green" studies in the long nineteenth century, including, but not limited to "ecocriticism" in nineteenth-century studies; history of ecological science, environmental ethics, and environmentalist activism; nineteenth-century studies and animal welfare; ecofeminist philosophy and gender politics; contemporary discourses on nature; nineteenth-century ecotourism; Romantic "ecopoetics" and the politics of nature; "green" program music and tone poems; sustainability, including sustainable architecture and interior design; landscape painting and nature imagery; dramatic scenery; color associations and color theories; gardening and farming; conservation movements; and the idea of the "natural" or "unnatural." Equally welcome are proposals for papers and panels on Irish studies, earth-centered religions, the idea of the "new," and other understandings of "green" studies in the nineteenth century.

Perhaps this especially resonated because I'd had a discussion about office conservation with a co-worker yesterday as we closed up the office. I said my family actually competes a bit on out-greening each other ... that is as much as any of us compete, except at Scrabble, Monopoly, etc.