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.
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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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 | | 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.
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