March 23rd, 2012 Right now I am writing this during a meeting next door to the United Nations discussing the “Peoples Treaties” for Rio+20. These represent a parallel, civil–society driven process to highlight a range of issues and priorities not necessarily included or being addressed by the government delegates across the street in the negotiations going on now on the […]
Month: March 2012
Measuring Progress at Rio and Beyond
This past Sunday at the US-Canada Citizens Summit for Sustainable Development, I facilitated a group discussion on metrics and indicators for measuring progress toward sustainable development goals. Indicators and targets are mentioned throughout the “Zero Draft” document titled “The Future We Want,” a 19-page document that distills over 6,000 some pages of viewpoints from member states and major groups. This […]
Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development (CUCSD) Delegates at Citizens’ Summit
Ten (10) Columbia University Coalition for Sustainable Development (CUCSD) delegates had the privilege of attending the US/Canada Citizen Summit at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. During the morning of the event, after appreciating the beauty of the Kroon-Hall building, we participated in a wide-range of concurrent sessions, including: Green Economy and Social Inclusion, Energy issues in the […]
Could Doing Chores Save the World?
While laboring at a remote commune in the wilds of New Mexico, Emily Schosid learned what real sustainability means. And it’s not at all what you’d expect.
Change Gamers
Video games are maturing. Where players once practiced delivering newspapers or dispatching demons, they are now increasingly being asked to tackle real-world problems like climate change and war. Follow author Dylan Walsh as he surveys the scene and logs on to try to save the globe.
Day 2 Highlights from the Citizens’ Summit for Sustainable Development
Day 2 of the Summit picked up right where Day 1 left off. After several rounds of breakout sessions the day before, the dialogue was strong and focused. With the end in sight, though, conversations began to take on a heightened sense of urgency, as participants organized their own sessions in a unique “Un-conference” format. The day’s end brought a […]
Slideshow: Day 2 of the Citizens Summit
[portfolio_slideshow] All images courtesy of Austin Lord.
Systems in Progress: A Summary of This Year’s International Society of Tropical Foresters Annual Conference
Every year the International Society of Tropical Foresters convenes a conference of members, scientists and tropical foresters at Yale University to discuss trends and issues in the management of the world’s tropical forests. This short summarizes the 2012 conference, which took place earlier this year at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. e are well past the […]
Skating to the Puck: Lessons on Sustainability from the Hockey Rink
“Some people skate to the puck, I skate to where the puck is going to be.” –Wayne Gretzky It seems fitting that Gary Tabor began yesterday morning’s panel on Sustainable Water and Land Conservation with this quote. Gretzky, as a former Canadian professional ice hockey player, is […]
Water and Land Conservation: Let’s Do What Works
Agreeing that we should use the tools and knowledge we already possess helped set a positive note during the ‘Sustainable Water and Land Conservation Panel’ Saturday morning at the US/Canada Citizens Summit Conference. The idea of employing strategies that we already know work differs from […]
Making Environmental and Sustainable Issues Non-Partisan
Day 2 of the Citizens Summit starts off in a haze, as participants come bright and early to Kroon Hall and its cloudy cover, to begin small group discussions and panels. Today speaks of solutions and practicality. In this globalized world, where we all feel small and helpless in these international negotiations, we try to discuss and agree on what […]
Opening Remarks from Day One
What a day of thought provoking discussion! The summit kicked off with a panel entitled “Twenty Years After Rio, Why are We Not There Yet?” According to Daniel Esty, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment, we have mishandled the need for firm analytic metrics of success, we haven’t properly acknowledged uncertainties, and our solutions haven’t been […]