Feature: A real environmentalists' conference underway in N.W. U.S. city

When registering online, participants of the 33rd Public Interests Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) were provided with an online calculator to calculate the carbon emission expected to be produced during their trip to the conference.

To offset the emission, attendees could donate to trees planting in the flowing steps.

Running from Thursday to Sunday at the campus of University of Oregon in Eugene, the second largest city in the state of Oregon, the 33-year-old annual event is a real environmentalists' conference.

The biggest gathering of its kind has drawn over 1,200 environmentalists from 15 countries, including law professionals, activists, philosophers, students, businessmen, journalists and government officials.

Participants are encouraged to bring reusable mugs for coffee drinking, or they will be refused by the cafe.

The only paper material from the organizers is a thin brochure in very small size font and dense layout, apart from a one-day bus pass.

The souvenir T-shirt is made of organic cotton and renting a bicycle is encouraged here over driving a car.

A lot of things at this meeting bring home the meaning of "environmentalist".

"It is free and open to the public, so anybody can just walk in," said Malia Losordo, one of the conference co-directors.

"It is difficult to count the number. And as we put papers and videos online, now more and more people chose the low carbon way to participate - go online to get the information and exchange their views," she added.

Some keynote speakers also chose low-carbon participation. Amy Goodman, a famous independent journalist, and Bill McKibben, dubbed by the Boston Globe as "probably America's most important environmentalist," delivered their warm greetings to the conference audience and participated in panel discussions via videos.

As climate change is like a ticking bomb worrying these environmentalists, over 130 panels discussed things related to the environment, from phenomena to solutions, from thinking to actions, dealing with such hot topics as air, water, land, forest and wild animal protection.

One panel discussed how to make prisons more eco-friendly, and another discussed how to use social media to motivate people and galvanize support for environmental campaigns.

"I can get a lot of useful information from here... You see there are over 130 panels, they discuss everything and they are inspiring," said Joan from a northern city of Oregon. This is the second year she came.

Local resident Madeline has joined the conference every year since 1985, two years after it started. The lady in her 70s said she tried to commit suicide several times when she was young, but this meeting helped her to find peace in mind.

"At least a lot of people are doing good. They give hope," she said. Endi