Friday, August 04, 2006
Sustainability Employment / NFP
New Nation-Wide Online Work Website Launched
CANADA, July 31, 2006, (ECVO) - A new nation-wide online work site has been launched, specifically tailored for organizations, job hunters, and suppliers in the nonprofit/voluntary sector. The aim is to help build and strengthen Canada's non-profit sector by connecting non-profits across the country with job seekers as well as suppliers of services and products, at prices affordable to even the smallest non-profit organization. Currently, there is no fee to post job openings on the site. Access this user-friendly site at www.workinnonprofits.ca.
New Nation-Wide Online Work Website Launched
CANADA, July 31, 2006, (ECVO) - A new nation-wide online work site has been launched, specifically tailored for organizations, job hunters, and suppliers in the nonprofit/voluntary sector. The aim is to help build and strengthen Canada's non-profit sector by connecting non-profits across the country with job seekers as well as suppliers of services and products, at prices affordable to even the smallest non-profit organization. Currently, there is no fee to post job openings on the site. Access this user-friendly site at www.workinnonprofits.ca.
Our Shifting Focus / Ecology
Nature had the Answer all along: Co-operation
USA, July, 2006 (Tijn Touber, Ode Issue 35) – Elisabet Sahtouris (www.sahtouris.com) has a simple message: Evolution is not a life-and-death struggle in which only the fittest survive. She says there is a great deal missing in Darwin’s theory, which for too long has been used to justify hunger, poverty and the continual devastation of the planet. Seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes taught that nature works like machinery that can be understood and dominated by humans. Darwin described a battleground among species that fought to survive at the expense of one another. As a result, domination and competition have become a part of the modern world view—a view that emphasizes the separation between living things rather than the connection. If Descartes and Darwin were misled, as Sahtouris believes, then nature may be comprised of a refined network in which co-operation is key. Co-operation is a necessary foundation for survival and a necessary stage for sustainable success. http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4329
Nature had the Answer all along: Co-operation
USA, July, 2006 (Tijn Touber, Ode Issue 35) – Elisabet Sahtouris (www.sahtouris.com) has a simple message: Evolution is not a life-and-death struggle in which only the fittest survive. She says there is a great deal missing in Darwin’s theory, which for too long has been used to justify hunger, poverty and the continual devastation of the planet. Seventeenth-century philosopher René Descartes taught that nature works like machinery that can be understood and dominated by humans. Darwin described a battleground among species that fought to survive at the expense of one another. As a result, domination and competition have become a part of the modern world view—a view that emphasizes the separation between living things rather than the connection. If Descartes and Darwin were misled, as Sahtouris believes, then nature may be comprised of a refined network in which co-operation is key. Co-operation is a necessary foundation for survival and a necessary stage for sustainable success. http://www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4329
Exemplary Resource Education
Lawrence Tech to Launch Energy Engineering Minor
SOUTHFIELD, Michigan, (LTU) – Lawrence Technological University will launch a new undergraduate minor in energy engineering this fall, aimed to provide mechanical engineering students with a better understanding of alternative or renewable energy sources, traditional fossil fuels, nuclear energy, energy management, and conservation. The courses will also be offered to practicing engineers as a certificate program. “The world in which our students will be operating will be one where new energy sources, sustainability, and conservation will be the norm, and where global energy issues will affect all areas of the economy,” said Lewis N. Walker, Lawrence Tech president.http://tinyurl.com/pugb3
Lawrence Tech to Launch Energy Engineering Minor
SOUTHFIELD, Michigan, (LTU) – Lawrence Technological University will launch a new undergraduate minor in energy engineering this fall, aimed to provide mechanical engineering students with a better understanding of alternative or renewable energy sources, traditional fossil fuels, nuclear energy, energy management, and conservation. The courses will also be offered to practicing engineers as a certificate program. “The world in which our students will be operating will be one where new energy sources, sustainability, and conservation will be the norm, and where global energy issues will affect all areas of the economy,” said Lewis N. Walker, Lawrence Tech president.http://tinyurl.com/pugb3
Biodiversity / Sustainable Agriculture
Genetic resource policies: what is diversity worth to farmers?
WEB Reference, July 26, 2006 (Eldis Biodiversity Reporter) – Who maintains agricultural diversity and what is the value of it? This set of six briefings sheds light on questions regarding who maintains diversity, where it is maintained, and how farmers value this diversity as societies and economies change. The six briefs cover on-farm genetic resources and economic change, traits and taxonomies as building blocks for understanding diversity, crop diversity and economic change, conservation objectives and policy trade-offs, seeds, markets, and information, and conservation policy development. Full articles available at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22430.
http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC22430&Resource=f1biodiv
Genetic resource policies: what is diversity worth to farmers?
WEB Reference, July 26, 2006 (Eldis Biodiversity Reporter) – Who maintains agricultural diversity and what is the value of it? This set of six briefings sheds light on questions regarding who maintains diversity, where it is maintained, and how farmers value this diversity as societies and economies change. The six briefs cover on-farm genetic resources and economic change, traits and taxonomies as building blocks for understanding diversity, crop diversity and economic change, conservation objectives and policy trade-offs, seeds, markets, and information, and conservation policy development. Full articles available at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC22430.
http://www.eldis.org/cf/search/disp/DocDisplay.cfm?Doc=DOC22430&Resource=f1biodiv
Sustainability Building Projects / EcoDesign
First Post-Katrina 'Sustainable Building' Project Breaks Ground in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, July 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) – HomeAid, the country's leading non-profit developer of transitional housing, has joined forces with Tulane University's School of Architecture to initiate the first post-Katrina sustainable building project in the City of New Orleans, where much attention is being placed on the opportunity to rebuild better, smarter and more efficiently for the future. The project, a 4,400 square foot, two-story Family Center that will house families displaced by the hurricane, will be built on the site of the historic New Orleans Rescue Mission. “In a historic city like New Orleans, where the majority of construction is decades or even centuries old, there is an opportunity to rebuild many of the city's structures in a sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly way that is unprecedented in this country,” said Stephen Verderber, professor of architecture at Tulane University. “The Family Center Project brings together the expertise of the City's architectural, building, education and non-profit communities to set a standard for re-building in New Orleans. This immense opportunity is truly the silver lining in an otherwise devastating situation.” http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=101884
First Post-Katrina 'Sustainable Building' Project Breaks Ground in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, July 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) – HomeAid, the country's leading non-profit developer of transitional housing, has joined forces with Tulane University's School of Architecture to initiate the first post-Katrina sustainable building project in the City of New Orleans, where much attention is being placed on the opportunity to rebuild better, smarter and more efficiently for the future. The project, a 4,400 square foot, two-story Family Center that will house families displaced by the hurricane, will be built on the site of the historic New Orleans Rescue Mission. “In a historic city like New Orleans, where the majority of construction is decades or even centuries old, there is an opportunity to rebuild many of the city's structures in a sustainable, efficient and environmentally friendly way that is unprecedented in this country,” said Stephen Verderber, professor of architecture at Tulane University. “The Family Center Project brings together the expertise of the City's architectural, building, education and non-profit communities to set a standard for re-building in New Orleans. This immense opportunity is truly the silver lining in an otherwise devastating situation.” http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=101884
Climate Change / Mainstream Wake Up
Japan Prime Minister Advocates for Kyoto
OTTAWA, June 28, (Toronto Star – Canadian Press) – The made-in-Japan environmental plan is the Kyoto Accord, the product of international negotiations in that Japanese city nine years ago. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has become one of the world's biggest proponents of the climate change agreement, and his country has taken aggressive steps in an effort to meet the targets for reducing greenhouse gases. "Economic growth should not be a negative to environmental protection, so the government of Japan works to achieve both. That is one of my top priority matters for the administration," Koizumi said. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1151531411695&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
Japan Prime Minister Advocates for Kyoto
OTTAWA, June 28, (Toronto Star – Canadian Press) – The made-in-Japan environmental plan is the Kyoto Accord, the product of international negotiations in that Japanese city nine years ago. Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has become one of the world's biggest proponents of the climate change agreement, and his country has taken aggressive steps in an effort to meet the targets for reducing greenhouse gases. "Economic growth should not be a negative to environmental protection, so the government of Japan works to achieve both. That is one of my top priority matters for the administration," Koizumi said. http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1151531411695&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
Students Involved in Sustainability / Eco Education
Ecophilia or Ecophobia? Perspectives on Environmental Education
WEB Reference, Winter 1999, (Education for Life) – If we want children to flourish, says educator David Sobel, we need to give them time to connect with nature and love the Earth before we ask them to save it. What really happens when we lay the weight of the world’s environmental problems on eight and nine year-olds already haunted with too many concerns and not enough real contact with nature? Ecophobia – a fear of ecological problems and the natural world, is a fear of oil spills, rainforest destruction, whale hunting, acid rain, the ozone hole, and Lyme disease. If we prematurely ask children to deal with problems beyond their understanding and control, we cut them off from the possible sources of their strength. Empathy between the child and the natural world should be a main objective. As children begin their forays into the natural world, we can encourage feelings for the creatures living there. Early childhood is characterized by a lack of differentiation between the self and the other. Rather than force separateness, we want to cultivate that sense of connectedness so that it can become the emotional foundation for the more abstract ecological concept that everything is connected to everything else. Stories, songs, moving like animals, celebrating seasons, and fostering Rachel Carson’s “sense of wonder” should be primary activities during this stage. http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=803
Ecophilia or Ecophobia? Perspectives on Environmental Education
WEB Reference, Winter 1999, (Education for Life) – If we want children to flourish, says educator David Sobel, we need to give them time to connect with nature and love the Earth before we ask them to save it. What really happens when we lay the weight of the world’s environmental problems on eight and nine year-olds already haunted with too many concerns and not enough real contact with nature? Ecophobia – a fear of ecological problems and the natural world, is a fear of oil spills, rainforest destruction, whale hunting, acid rain, the ozone hole, and Lyme disease. If we prematurely ask children to deal with problems beyond their understanding and control, we cut them off from the possible sources of their strength. Empathy between the child and the natural world should be a main objective. As children begin their forays into the natural world, we can encourage feelings for the creatures living there. Early childhood is characterized by a lack of differentiation between the self and the other. Rather than force separateness, we want to cultivate that sense of connectedness so that it can become the emotional foundation for the more abstract ecological concept that everything is connected to everything else. Stories, songs, moving like animals, celebrating seasons, and fostering Rachel Carson’s “sense of wonder” should be primary activities during this stage. http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=803
