Sustainability News ClipsMarch 19, 2007

ASU

Science Comes to Life for Kids – ASU in the Community - Thirteen-year-old Eunice Duran gazes in amazement at the buzzing insect she just caught in her butterfly net. Duran and her classmates are just some of the forty-nine students participating in ASU’s Graduate Partners in Science Education (GPSE), a program that enables ASU graduate students from the School of Life Sciences to work with junior high students from Phoenix Preparatory Academy, a central Phoenix middle school.

Ecological differences help unlock genomic mysteries – ASU Insight – March 16, 2007 - ASU ecologist James Elser is at the leading edge of a research field that focuses on understanding the processing of energy and multiple chemical elements in plants, animals and microbes, and how they sculpt ecosystems, also known as ecological stoichiometry.

Cardineau named to federal panel – Biodesign – March 14, 2007 - Guy Cardineau, a professor at the Biodesign Institute and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, has been appointed to a federal panel charged with making recommendations about the development and use of genetically-engineered agricultural products. Agricultural biotechnology is an important part of resolving world hunger, Cardineau said. "It’s not the answer to everything, but it’s a tool we can use to improve agricultural practices and products," he said.

Iberian Urbanism: Spain and Portugal - School of Planning Summer Study Abroad Program - May 25 - June 10, 2007 - The School of Planning 2007 summer study abroad program will expose students to the following contemporary planning issues: mega event developments and their impacts, cultural facilities as cornerstones of revitalization strategies, sustainable transportation planning, “startarchitecture” and the urban fabric of historic cities, strategic planning in Bilbao, orderly suburban development in Madrid, rural development in border regions, waterfront planning and brownfield redevelopment in Lisbon, tourism development and costal erosion management in Portugal.

ARIZONA

Phoenix Chapter Inaugural Meeting – Sustainable Arizona - Hear great speakers and meet other concerned Phoenix metro area folks also interested learning and sharing their knowledge with you about green building, remodeling, sustainability and related energy saving topics, Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 6:30 p.m., Phoenix Zoo Auditorium, 455 North Galvin Parkway in Papago Park. Speakers: Mark Wilhelm, Principal, Green Ideas, an Environmental Building Consultancy; Jerry Ufnal, APS Solutions for Business Program/Green Ideas, "Leading the Way with Green Building and Energy Efficiency Incentives from APS." RSVP: Anita Govert, Vice President, Sustainable Arizona, Phoenix Chapter anita@casaverdereal.com, 623-465-1380. Learn more about Sustainable Arizona, a nonprofit educational group: http://sustainablearizona.net/index.php

Turning Drains into Sponges and Water Scarcity into Water Abundance - Phoenix Permaculture Guild - This inspiring presentation gives you eight universal principles of successful water harvesting that leverage design to create more efficient, integrated, and dynamic systems. Brad Lancaster, author of the award-winning Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands, Volume 1: Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain Into Your Life and Landscape, Friday, March 23, 2007, 7:00-9:00 pm, $5 to $10 donation requested, Calico Cow on Central, 8525 N Central, Phoenix. Contact: Greg Peterson, Greg@urbanfarm.org, 602-565-7045 FACILITATOR - Brad Lancaster

Turning Water Scarcity Into Water Abundance: Guiding Principles to Welcome Greywater Into Your Life and Landscape – Phoenix Permaculture Guild – We will design and install two greywater systems, plus learn the basics of greywater. Brad Lancaster will lecture and have books available to sign, Saturday, March 24, 2007, 9:00am - 4:00pm, The Ecohood, 912 W. Pierson St. (Directions - 1 blk South of Camelback, West of 7th Ave.), $49. Contact: Greg Peterson, Greg@urbanfarm.org, 602-565-7045. Register at http://www.urbanfarm.org/events/GreywaterHarvesting.html

ADEQ to Hold Free Seminar on Arizona Performance Track – Arizona Environmental Strategic Alliance - March 12, 2007 - A free seminar on Arizona Performance Track and environmental management systems (EMS) will be held April 3, 10a.m.-2 p.m., at Scottsdale Stadium, 7408 E. Osborn, Scottsdale. Arizona Performance Track is a voluntary partnership between ADEQ, businesses and other regulated entities that recognizes and rewards environmental leadership for going above and beyond the minimum requirements of the law.

NATIONAL

Engstrom's New Position Appears Sustainable – Oberlin Review – March 16, 2007 - Nathan Engstrom, the College’s new Environmental Sustainability Coordinator, describes his job as a little “in flux.” Since his position has only existed for a month and a half, this “flux” is understandable. The idea behind the new sustainability position is to have a full-time employee responsible for nothing but issues of sustainability, thus serving to tie together different parts of campus and creating sustainability “champions throughout the institution.”

College Eight wins sustainability award – UC Santa Cruz Currents – March 19, 2007 - College Eight's Sustainability Project won the Outstanding Project Award given by the American College

Personnel Association at its annual conference in Orlando, Florida. This award recognizes exemplary co-curricular initiatives that significantly impact the educational experience of first-year students.

Professor creating sustainability resource guide for homeowners – Vanguard – March 16, 2007 - Dr. Deborah Tolman, a professor of environmental sciences at Portland State, is compiling what she calls an annotated bibliography--a resource guide for homeowners in the Pacific Northwest who are interested in sustainability.

Annual Review Finds Major Greening of Higher Ed. - GreenBiz - March 13, 2007 – More than 600 environmental sustainability projects sprouted up on North American campuses last year, according to a new report produced by Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

UNM Commits to Sustainability – UNM Today – March 15, 2007 - UNM is the first campus in New Mexico to become a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, Tyler Brandenburg said in an email from the association. This happens at the same time UNM is initiating a minor in sustainability studies and UNM’s provost is calling for the development of a sustainability policy.

GLOBAL

Have Guitar, Will Recycle – New York Times – March 15, 2007 - Like few other enterprises short of a military invasion, the rock tour is designed to convert copious amounts of material and energy into spectacle — and produces equivalent amounts of waste. But in the “Inconvenient Truth” era, when even the oil and automobile industries are painting themselves green, it should come as little surprise that rock — never shy about making grand, self-congratulatory gestures — is working hard to catch up.

Girl, 6, Climbs Mountains for the Environment – Bulatlat – March 18, 2007 - At the tender age of 3, she attended meetings of environmentalists and went to rallies denouncing dumping and using dumps as a waste management facility. Now aged 6, she has been climbing mountains to do her share in preserving the environment and to raise her battlecry,” No Waste.”

Think Tank of Sustainability Educators and Designers Gather in Thailand to Plan Gaia Education 2007/2008 Programmes – PR.com – March 16, 2007 - Gaia Education- a think tank of sustainability educators from 13 nationalities building on a common stock of wisdom and best practice from Ecovillages around the world met in Thailand to plan their 2007/2008 Ecovillage Design programmes, an official contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.

NTU to develop research centre in environment, water technology – Channel News Asia - March 16, 2007 - The Nanyang Technological University is developing a new research, development and education centre which will focus on the environment and water technology.

GET INVOLVED!

Southwest Climate Justice Summit Join students from across the Southwest, March 30 - April 1, 2007 at Northern Arizona University – Flagstaff for this premier summit focusing on energy, global warming and the power of students and young people to help stop the climate crisis. Cost: $10. We will provide lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. Sign up today for this exciting weekend that will help build bridges between students and their surrounding communities and help empower young people to tackle what is truly the defining issue of our generation - global warming. To register, visit http://www.ssc.org/; For more information contact swcjs@ssc.org

Step It Up 2007: National Day of Climate Action - April 14th, 2007 - This April 14th, tens of thousands of Americans will gather all across the country at meaningful, iconic places to call for action on climate change. We will hike, bike, climb, walk, swim, kayak, canoe, or simply sit or stand with banners of our call to action: “Step It Up Congress! Cut Carbon 80% by 2050.”

Stop Global Warming – stopglobalwarming.org - There is no more important cause than the call to action to save our planet. This is a movement about change, as individuals, as a country, and as a global community. We are all contributors to global warming and we all need to be part of the solution. Join the 567,528 supporters of the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand solutions to global warming now.

Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America is a major educational initiative that is coordinating teams of faculty, students and staff at over a thousand colleges, universities and high schools in the United States, to collaboratively engage in a nationwide, interdisciplinary discussion centered around the theme of "Stabilizing the Climate in the 21st Century". The project will culminate January 31, 2008, in the form of one-day, national symposia held simultaneously on campuses across the country.

AWARDS & COMPETITIONS

EPA Launches Green Building Design Challenge – Green Biz - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and partners are calling on the nation's architects, builders and others to participate in a competition seeking designs that facilitate reuse and minimize waste. The "Lifecycle Building Challenge" -- co-sponsored by the Building Materials Reuse Association, the American Institute of Architects and West Coast Green -- invites professionals and students nationwide to submit designs and ideas by May 15, 2007 that support cost-effective disassembly and anticipate the future use of building materials. Students, architects, reuse experts, engineers, builders, product designers, educators and environmental advocates are encouraged to apply for the web-based competition.

New competition “Mission Sustainability” launched - German Council for Sustainable Development advocates more sustainability in everyday life. “Mission Sustainability – we face the challenge” is the title of the competition being run by the German Council for Sustainable Development from the 1st of December 2006 until the 31st of August 2007. People of all ages

are being called upon to make the world more sustainable. Competition participants can present their idea on http://www.mission-sustainability.org. In addition to a description of the planned change in behaviour, a creative, graphical representation of the idea is called for.

EVENTS

ASU Green Summit 2007 - Thursday, April 19, 2007 - Hosted by the School of Global Studies Student Association, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, W.P. Carey School of Business and the Global Institute of Sustainability the Green Summit is a hybrid product showcase/career fair for the green industry. The summit is geared toward attracting companies/organizations that promote a sustainable future. The goal of the summit is to bring sustainability into the mainstream of students and the general community. It will be held on the Student Services Lawn, W.P. Carey Patio, and Memorial Union Mall. For more information contact Christopher Samila at 480-459-0692 or csamila@asu.edu.

Green Drinks 13 - a.k.a.Green - Bring your friends and join your environmentally-minded peers for happy hour at from 5:30-7:30, see the website for dates and locations. Happy hour specials include $1 off all draft and well drinks and 1/2 off tasty apps such as fish and chips bites and their fried brie. See you there.

Renewable Energy Teleconference Series – A monthly Renewable Energy Seminar and Teleconference Series brought to you by the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Resources Committee of the American Bar Association SEER Section & Renewable Energy Committee of the Energy Bar Association.

Renewable Energy Task Force – Monthly meetings hosted by the Alliance for Construction Excellence, Del E. Webb School of Construction are held the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Visit the Alliance’s website for dates, times and topics.

Free Green Building Lectures – City of Scottsdale - Green building advocates responsible use of our natural resources in the design and construction of our built environment. Each lecture will address one of the many green building topics that demonstrate energy/resource efficient, healthy, and environmentally responsible building practices. Lectures will be the 1st Thursday of the month from 7 to 9 PM at the City of Scottsdale, Granite Reef Senior Center located at 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd. (NW corner of McDowell and Granite Reef, behind the convenience store).

Perspectives

Worms in the Apartment – March 18, 2007 - For the year beginning last December, my wife, our 2-year-old daughter and I, while living in the middle of the city, are trying to survive without making any net impact on the environment. This means we’ll get as close as we can to creating no trash (so no takeout), emitting no carbon dioxide (so no driving or flying) and pouring no toxins in the water (so no laundry detergent), as well as mitigating impacts we can’t avoid (so planting trees). Not to mention: no elevators, subways, buying products in packaging, plastics, air-conditioning, TV or toilet paper.

Community Supported Energy Offers a Third Way – March 12, 2007 - Although we have the necessary resources and technology to meet most of our energy needs in the future with renewable energy, until fairly recently one key strategy has, for the most part, been overlooked in North America. This strategy involves the cooperative or collaborative installation and ownership of renewable energy projects at the local, community level.

Resources

GIOS – Global Institute of Sustainability – ASU. Sign up for the Sustainability Digest at http://lists.asu.edu/archives/giosasu.html.

AASHE – Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Subscribe to the AASHE Bulletin at http://lists.efswest.org/mailman/listinfo/efswnlist.

ULSF – University Leaders for a Sustainable Future. View a list of ULSF publications or sign up to receive journals and reports at http://www.ulsf.org/publications.html.

SCUP – Society for College and University Planning. Receive SCUP’s weekly email communications at http://www.scup.org/pubs/sen/.

The Chronicle of Higher Education – News from and about higher education.

Focus the Nation – The biweekly e-bulletin of Focus the Nation, a national educational initiative on global warming.