For the Greener Good: Public Lecture Series

For the Greener Good is a public series that affirms the National Building Museum's commitment to environmental sustainability. It calls on experts from diverse backgrounds to investigate links between environmental sustainability and design, public health, energy policy, bioscience, infrastructure, education, and even popular culture. The series features topics ranging from nuclear power to consumerism and urban slums to carbon storage. Participants will discuss ideas, experiences, and potential solutions in a public exchange at the Museum.

• http://www.nbm.org/programs-lectures/series/for-the-greener-good-1.html

Past Programs

Vertical Farming Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good April 29, 2009 Learn about the future of urban food production with Robin Osler, Elmslie Osler Architects; Dickson Despommier, Professor of Public Health, Columbia University; Carolyn Steel, Author of Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives; and J. William Thompson, FASLA , editor, Landscape Architecture magazine. Want to ask the "Vertical Farming" panelists a question? Click here and submit one in the Museum's online Q&A Forum. Watch/Listen.

Healthy Hospitals Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good March 23, 2009 Bob Eisenman, executive director, Global Health and Safety Initiative; Robin Guenther, architect and co-author of Sustainable Healthcare Architecture; Roger S. Ulrich, Ph.D., director, Center for Health Systems and Design, Texas A&M University; and moderator Joanne Silberner, health policy correspondent, National Public Radio discuss why a green hospital is a healthier one. Watch/Listen.

A Green World is a Safer One Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good February 18, 2009 Ed Mazria, founder Architecture 2030, and John Podesta, president and CEO, Center for American Progress, co-chair Obama-Biden Transistion Project talk about the impact of sustainability on politics and the building industry. Watch/Listen.

Sustainability Roundtable Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good January 27, 2009 Robert Ivy, FAIA, editor in chief for Architectural Record and Dennis Dimick, executive editor, National Geographic discuss what the climate change means for the built environment, natural world, and politics? Susan Piedmont-Palladino, curator at the National Building Museum moderates. Watch/Listen.

Divorce Your Car Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good December 4, 2008 While public transportation use continues to rise in America, the overall number of people served is fairly small. What will it take to get Americans out of their cars? What is the role of private business in public transit? How do you provide a variety of transit options? How can we design neighborhoods that are more walkable and encourage public transit? Listen to Robin Chase, co-founder, Zipcar and founder and CEO, GoLoco; Bert Gregory, FAIA, president and CEO, Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners; and Shelley Poticha, president and CEO, Reconnecting America discuss how to encourage more energy efficient travel for the future. Juliet Eilperin, a journalist at The Washington Post, moderates the program. Watch/Listen.

Wanted: Power; Location: Anywhere but Here Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good November 24, 2008 As the country’s appetite for energy grows, there is a consensus that we need more power. But who wants a nuclear plant, wind farm, or transmission lines in their back yard? A panel featuring Andrew Karsner, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Tyson Slocum, director the non-profit group Public Citizen’s energy program; Jimmy Voss, assistant to the Mayor of Port Gibson, Mississippi; and New York Times journalist Matthew Wald, explore this heated issue. Watch/Listen.

World Leaders on Sustainability Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good September 17, 2008 From congestion pricing to innovative transit corridor development, world leaders discuss how they are leading the charge to create a more sustainable planet. The panel included Harriet Tregoning, Office of Planning, District of Columbia (opening remarks); Earl Blumenauer, Congressman, Oregon's 3rd District; Irene Svenonius, Stockholm, Sweden; Cassio Taniguchi, former Mayor, Curitiba, Brazil; and was moderated by Marcel Beaudry, former chairman, Canada's National Capital Commission. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Planning for a Chinese Century? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good April 22, 2008 Investigate China’s plans for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and the tension between cultural preservation and the creation of new “green” buildings. The panel features Yan Huang, acting director, Beijing Planning Commission; Wang Jun, journalist who has written extensively on preservation issues and author of The Story of a City; Dennis Pieprz, president, Sasaki Associates and author of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Green Master Plan; Paul Goldberger, architecture critic, The New Yorker (moderator). For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Whose Carbon is it Anyway? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good March 18, 2008 The program investigates the complexities of social and economic change in the world: whether inter-governmental stalemates can be broken and if true international leadership can mitigate carbon output. The panel included Scott Barrett, professor of Environmental Economics and International Political Economy and director of the International Policy Program, John Hopkins University; Rainer Hascher, co-founder, Hascher Jehle Architektur, Germany; Melissa Lavinson, director, Federal Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, PG&E Corporation; and Fran Pavley, Assemblywoman, State of California. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Abu Dhabi: City of the Future? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good February 11, 2008 Learn about the future of the United Arab Emirates capital and its efforts to become a carbon-neutral city. A panel featuring Khaled Awad, project development director, Masdar, Abu Dhabi; Robert Fishman, University of Michigan; Michael White, Urban Planning Council of Abu Dhabi; Robert Ivy, FAIA, Architectural Record (moderator) discuss their vision for the city and what the rest of the world stands to learn from Abu Dhabi. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

What 1 Billion Slum Dwellers Mean for the Environment Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good January 22, 2008 Michael Cohen, director, The New School International Affairs Program; Pietro Garau, past chief of research, United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); Rose Seisie Molokoane, Board member, Slum Dweller International; Sergio Palleroni, co-founder and director, BaSiC Initiative; Maria Sonia Vicenta Fadrigo, regional director, Homeless People's Federation Philippines (HPFP) examine the long-term environmental consequences of a slum dwelling population that grows by 25 million people a year. Robert Neuwirth, author of Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World moderates. Watch/Listen.

Living in a Disposable World: Recycling the Future Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good December 18, 2007 The panel featuring Julie Bargmann, principal, D.I.R.T. Studio; Sara Willis Hartwell, Office of Solid Waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Chris Jordan, Seattle-based artist; Tim S. Kraft, LEED AP, associate principal, PSA-Dewberry, Inc.; and moderator Susan Szenasy, editor-in-chief, Metropolis Magazine examines consumer culture and possible solutions for addressing and reducing consumer generated waste. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Going Green: Carrot or Stick? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good November 19, 2007 What is the tipping point for sustainability? John C. Dernbach, professor of Law, Widener University School of Law; Brian Gault, director of Sustainable Development, The Peterson Companies; Jason Hartke, manager, State and Local Advocacy, U.S. Green Building Council; Mark Palmer, Green Building coordinator, Department of the Environment, City and County of San Francisco; and moderator Charles Linn, FAIA, Green Source Magazine and Architectural Record examine solutions for motivating green building and life practices and will discuss what "green" practices cities should and should not regulate. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Gone Fission: Can the Nuclear Industry Help Save the Environment? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good October 22, 2007 After screening the premier episode of the PBS documentary series e2, panelists Nils Diaz, immediate past chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Daniel Kammen, professor in the Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley and founding director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory; Edwin Lyman, senior staff scientist in the Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; and Michael J. Wallace, president, Constellation Energy Generation Group and moderator Matthew Wald, The New York Times look at the pros and cons of building the next generation of nuclear power plants. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Can the Suburbs Kill You? Conversations That Will Change the World For the Greener Good September 26, 2007 The series commences with a look at the long-term health impacts of living in the suburbs. Panelists Dr. Howard Frumkin, director, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Margaret Walls, Economist, Senior Fellow and co-director, Resources for the Future; Robert Fishman, professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan; Glen Barnard, senior vice president, KB Home; and moderator Susan Piedmont-Palladino, National Building Museum, examine possible solutions, such as redesigning the suburbs for greater pedestrian access, increasing green space, and moving to denser living. For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation. Watch/Listen.

Low Carbon Urbanism Campaign

Low Carbon Neighborhoods, High-Quality Living is an initiative from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) that emphasizes how neighborhoods are one of the best remedies for combating climate change.

Although conversations about reducing greenhouse gases often turn to hybrid cars and other technical fixes, neighborhoods play a huge and underappreciated role in determining our impact on our planet's climate. Neighborhoods either make walking, biking, and transit-use convenient options -- they either bring destinations like stores, schools, and offices nearby -- or they make it so that we need trips in cars and trucks, often long trips, for all of our daily needs.

Because the U.S. has built mostly sprawling neighborhoods in recent decades, the amount people drive has soared -- from 4,000 miles per person per year in 1970 to more than 8,100 today. This leaves U.S. residents profoundly vulnerable to high oil prices and turns them into leading contributors to climate change.

Fortunately, the traditional mixed-use neighborhoods favored by members of the New Urbanism and Smart Growth movements are a convenient, low-carbon alternative. These tight-knit, walkable neighborhoods not only excel in their livability and ability to retain value, they make it easy for people to get around with far less driving.

The coming need for new housing -- more than 50 million new units by 2030 -- creates a major opportunity to address climate change through development that serves the growing demand for livable, sustainable urbanism.

Read more at the resource link below.

Resource: http://www.cnu.org/climate

• http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=4138

	Learn more about the urban remedy with an introductory movie and slideshow and the 2030 Communities Campaign presentation by Doug Farr.
	Contact your elected representatives and urge them to keep urban principles at the forefront of climate legislation. See previous sample letters here and e-mail climate@cnu.org to stay informed on climate campaign developments.
	Use the Charter of the New Urbanism and the Canons of Sustainable Architecture and Urbanism in your everyday work.

Create a New Climate for Action

• http://www.epa.gov/climateforaction/

Do your part for Climate Change and Children's Health.

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Join with other teens to green your energy scene. You can make a difference to the planet, children's health, and the future. Use the tools on this site to get smart on how you can help and calculate your impact. Become a Climate Ambassador by motivating your friends, school, and community to address climate change and children's health.

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Back to Basics

The science of global warming/climate change in a “Frequently Asked Questions” format.
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Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands Toolkit

Related Resources Archived Wildlife and Wildlands Kit National Academy of Sciences Climate Change Education Page U.S. Global Change Research Program

A Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators

• http://www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators/toolkit
  

The new Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators is an updated and expanded version of the award-winning (2001 Public Relations Society of America Bronze Anvil Award for Interactive Communications and 2002 Telly Award) and very popular (over 40,000 kits distributed in all 50 states and the U.S. territories and over a dozen countries across the world) Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters first published in 2001.

The new kit is designed for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., and is aimed at the middle school grade level. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with six other federal agencies (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USDA/Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management), developed the kit to aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation’s wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become “climate stewards.”

One of highlights of the toolkit is a 12-minute video.

Background:

The original Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters, created in 2001 by EPA in partnership with NPS and U.S. FWS was extremely popular. This original version contained four case studies in four regions, a ten minute video, an educational wheel card, trail cards, classroom activities, and other hands-on materials and was based on science from the late 1990s and early 2000-2001.

In 2007 EPA determined that the kit needed to be revised to provide materials grounded in the most recently available climate science reports (IPCC 2007, CCSP, and recent research by federal agencies) and impacts to wildlife and their habitats in specific eco-regions of the U.S. The new updated and expanded toolkit features:

• Environmentally/user-friendly packaging (DVD)
• An easy to understand overview of climate change science in question/answer format
• A glossary of climate change terms to build vocabulary
• Case studies of 11 eco-regions in the U.S., highlighting regional impacts to habitats and wildlife, and information on what kids can do to help
• A 12-minute, high-definition video on climate science, impacts on, and solutions for wildlife and wild lands; segmented for ease of use in any setting
• Classroom activities keyed to national science standards, developed by participants in the 2008 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program
• Additional updated materials and hands-on activities from EPA’s popular climate change education resources library
• Links to a wide variety of educational resources developed by all seven federal agencies for use in formal and informal settings
• Up-to-the-minute graphics developed by federal agencies at the forefront of the climate change issue

The new case studies and activities have been reviewed by scientists and educators in all seven agencies involved in the creation of the kit. The collaboration of the seven federal agencies and bureaus working together to develop an educational kit on climate change is unprecedented. The results of the effort are of the highest quality in the areas of climate science, environmental education, and stewardship information. On behalf of all the agencies involved in the creation of the Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit for Formal and Informal Educators, we invite you to use the information and lessons contained in it to educate, inspire, and engage students everywhere to become stewards of our nation’s wildlife and the habitats on which they depend!

References

• IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning (eds.)].
• IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Parry, Martin L., Canziani, Osvaldo F., Palutikof, Jean P., van der Linden, Paul J., and Hanson, Clair E. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1000 pp.
• U.S. Climate Change Science Program

Link source: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/CCWKit.html

Our Planet - UNEP’s magazine

for environmentally sustainable development.

• http://www.ourplanet.com
  
  Our Planet
  

Current Issue
Your Planet
Needs You
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The new issue of Our Planet highlights the work that people are doing around the world in building green infrastructure.

Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, Building the bridge; describes how Mexico will raise global awareness on World Environment Day, 5 June;

HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, Solar Revolution; how a cooperative programme of harnessing solar power from the deserts could power the world cleanly and sustainably and combat climate change;

Fernando Haddad, Learning for life; how the increasing force of environmental education in a remarkable Brazilian initiative;

Anna Lehman, Money can grow on trees; how, with positive incentives to communities and Governments to maintain forests, standing trees could become a new commodity on world markets;

Dipal Chandra Barua, Green light; shows how affordable renewable energy is bringing power and employment to poor rural people;

Li Yan, Low-Carbon China; describes what her country is doing to combat climate change, and calls for urgent action to build a green economy;

Shai Agassi, Driving away oil addiction; how environmental and economic interests are being realigned to make a revolutionary system of electric cars a reality;

Shakira, Doing it for the kids; her projects to help save the poorest and most vulnerable children around the world

together with the usual features on people, awards, useful websites and products.

Each issue of Our Planet concentrates on one specific theme, tying into international conferences (the 10th anniversary of the Basel Convention), meetings (the Commission on Sustainable Development), events (World Environment Day), or dealing with issues of our time (Water or Climate Change).

Our Planet contains articles by leaders of United Nations organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, experts, business leaders and opinion formers.

Our Planet reports on international developments and action. It reviews current thinking, suggests solutions, and debates the key issues of environmentally sustainable development.

The contents of this site do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP, or the editors, nor are they an official record.

From May 1996 every issue of Our Planet has been published, free, on this site. It currently contains:

Green Office and Green Management

http://www.greenoffice.org.nz/index.html

The following files are available for download...

Green Management Guide Word document 572 k


Green Office Guide Word document 523 k