Thursday, July 13, 2006
Our Shifting Focus
UNEP Debunks the Jobs VS Environment Myth
OSLO, Norway, June 16, 2006 (Reuters, Alister Doyle) - The world must lay to rest a "myth" that protecting the environment harms economic growth, the new head of the U.N. Environment Programme said on Thursday.
Achim Steiner, a 45-year-old German, said he would seek to involve consumers, governments, businesses and activists in developing new economic mechanisms to protect the planet from threats ranging from climate change to pollution. "Care for the environment is often portrayed as detrimental to economic growth. We hope to lay that myth to rest in the 21st century." Most conventional economic theory places no value on natural phenomena such as the coastline protection given by coral reefs or forests' role in absorbing heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Steiner said a shift was needed to recognise the "enormous wealth of nature's services" underpinning all life on earth. In turn, that would show that environmental protection is a condition for economies to survive and thrive in the long term.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15916665.htm
UNEP Debunks the Jobs VS Environment Myth
OSLO, Norway, June 16, 2006 (Reuters, Alister Doyle) - The world must lay to rest a "myth" that protecting the environment harms economic growth, the new head of the U.N. Environment Programme said on Thursday.
Achim Steiner, a 45-year-old German, said he would seek to involve consumers, governments, businesses and activists in developing new economic mechanisms to protect the planet from threats ranging from climate change to pollution. "Care for the environment is often portrayed as detrimental to economic growth. We hope to lay that myth to rest in the 21st century." Most conventional economic theory places no value on natural phenomena such as the coastline protection given by coral reefs or forests' role in absorbing heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Steiner said a shift was needed to recognise the "enormous wealth of nature's services" underpinning all life on earth. In turn, that would show that environmental protection is a condition for economies to survive and thrive in the long term.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15916665.htm
Students Involved in Sustainability Projects
Maine Students Go on First Live Internet Hemispheric Field Trip
HALLOWELL, Maine, May 26, 2006 (ENS) - A classroom from Portland’s Breakwater School was one of the student groups selected to participate in an environmental education project on Thursday that took North American students out into the field to observe birds via the Internet. Called Americas Bird Trek, the event brought together children from across the U.S. and Canada to visit nature centers in Ecuador, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada during the same one-hour period through streaming audio and video technologies. The live online field trip began in Ecuador’s Yanayacu Research Station in the tropical cloudforest at the headwaters of Ecuador's largest Amazon tributary - the Napo River. Here a naturalist showed the 1,000 students assembled on the Internet the tropical forest and the field station where biologists study its inhabitants. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2006/2006-05-26-09.asp#anchor7
Maine Students Go on First Live Internet Hemispheric Field Trip
HALLOWELL, Maine, May 26, 2006 (ENS) - A classroom from Portland’s Breakwater School was one of the student groups selected to participate in an environmental education project on Thursday that took North American students out into the field to observe birds via the Internet. Called Americas Bird Trek, the event brought together children from across the U.S. and Canada to visit nature centers in Ecuador, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada during the same one-hour period through streaming audio and video technologies. The live online field trip began in Ecuador’s Yanayacu Research Station in the tropical cloudforest at the headwaters of Ecuador's largest Amazon tributary - the Napo River. Here a naturalist showed the 1,000 students assembled on the Internet the tropical forest and the field station where biologists study its inhabitants. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2006/2006-05-26-09.asp#anchor7
Hybrid Organizational Structures / Conference
AASHE 2006: The Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World
TEMPE, AZ, May 22, 2006 (www.aashe.org) - The theme of this North American conference is “The Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World.” AASHE 2006 aims to significantly advance sustainability efforts in higher education, with an emphasis on “next steps” and “beyond the low-hanging fruit.” There will be a special focus on incorporating all dimensions of sustainability - not just the environment – in decision-making. The conference is open to participants from every sector of higher education as well as interested businesses and NGO’s. Anticipated attendees include administrators, faculty, students, sustainability practitioners, facilities officers, operations staff, consultants, vendors, higher education leaders, government representatives, and many others. The program format will promote the active exchange of ideas and knowledge through highly interactive forums, informal networking, and open, facilitated discussion. October 4-6, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Come join this unique and exciting gathering of the higher education sustainability community. For more information visit www.aashe.org/conference.
AASHE 2006: The Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World
TEMPE, AZ, May 22, 2006 (www.aashe.org) - The theme of this North American conference is “The Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable World.” AASHE 2006 aims to significantly advance sustainability efforts in higher education, with an emphasis on “next steps” and “beyond the low-hanging fruit.” There will be a special focus on incorporating all dimensions of sustainability - not just the environment – in decision-making. The conference is open to participants from every sector of higher education as well as interested businesses and NGO’s. Anticipated attendees include administrators, faculty, students, sustainability practitioners, facilities officers, operations staff, consultants, vendors, higher education leaders, government representatives, and many others. The program format will promote the active exchange of ideas and knowledge through highly interactive forums, informal networking, and open, facilitated discussion. October 4-6, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Come join this unique and exciting gathering of the higher education sustainability community. For more information visit www.aashe.org/conference.
Sustainable Neighbourhoods / Urban Ecological Planning
China to Build First Eco-city
WEB Reference, May 10, 2006 (Guardian Weekly, Jean-Pierre Langellier and Brice Pedroletti) - Imagine it is 2010. The place is Dongtan, the world's first purpose-built eco-city. It stands in the middle of the marshes at the eastern tip of Chongming, China's third-largest island, at the mouth of the Yangtse River. None of the buildings is more than eight stories high. Turf and vegetation cover the roofs, a natural form of insulation that also recycles wastewater. The town has six times more space for pedestrians than Copenhagen, one of Europe's airiest capitals. Pollution-free buses, powered by fuel cells, run between neighbourhoods. An Intranet service forecasts travel times and connects people who want to share a car. Traditional motorbikes are forbidden, replaced by electric scooters or bicycles. The roads are laid out so that walking or cycling to work is quicker than driving. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianweekly/outlook/story/0,,1767547,00.html
China to Build First Eco-city
WEB Reference, May 10, 2006 (Guardian Weekly, Jean-Pierre Langellier and Brice Pedroletti) - Imagine it is 2010. The place is Dongtan, the world's first purpose-built eco-city. It stands in the middle of the marshes at the eastern tip of Chongming, China's third-largest island, at the mouth of the Yangtse River. None of the buildings is more than eight stories high. Turf and vegetation cover the roofs, a natural form of insulation that also recycles wastewater. The town has six times more space for pedestrians than Copenhagen, one of Europe's airiest capitals. Pollution-free buses, powered by fuel cells, run between neighbourhoods. An Intranet service forecasts travel times and connects people who want to share a car. Traditional motorbikes are forbidden, replaced by electric scooters or bicycles. The roads are laid out so that walking or cycling to work is quicker than driving. http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianweekly/outlook/story/0,,1767547,00.html
Mainstream Wake-Up
Green Flight Program Launched in Canada
VANCOUVER, BC, May 4, 2006 (EN Info) – UNIGLOBE Travel (Western Canada) Inc. launched its Green Flight program today: a simple and effective offer for flying travellers to counter the effects of their flight’s carbon dioxide emissions.The Green Flight Program is Ecologo certified under the Environmental Choice Program from Environment Canada. Now, travellers who care about the environment can balance the negative effects of their air travel by opting to invest in Green Flight credits when booking through UNIGLOBE Travel. Full text of the article available at: http://www.canadatourism.com/ctx/app/en/ca/newsItem.do?articleId=63732&language=english.
Green Flight Program Launched in Canada
VANCOUVER, BC, May 4, 2006 (EN Info) – UNIGLOBE Travel (Western Canada) Inc. launched its Green Flight program today: a simple and effective offer for flying travellers to counter the effects of their flight’s carbon dioxide emissions.The Green Flight Program is Ecologo certified under the Environmental Choice Program from Environment Canada. Now, travellers who care about the environment can balance the negative effects of their air travel by opting to invest in Green Flight credits when booking through UNIGLOBE Travel. Full text of the article available at: http://www.canadatourism.com/ctx/app/en/ca/newsItem.do?articleId=63732&language=english.
