Posted in Events, History of Sustainability, What is Sustainability? on May 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Lauren Wheeler wrote an interesting reflection on historian William Cronon‘s plenary talk at the 2011 American Society for Environmental History conference in Phoenix a few weeks ago. Wheeler’s reflection is titled “Reflection on Sustainability: Cronon’s 2011 ASEH Plenary Address,” and Cronon’s talk was titled “Sustainability: A Short History for the Future.”
Among other things, Wheeler has the following to say: (more…)
Posted in Events, Implementing Sustainability, Urban Infrastructure on January 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »
On Feb. 9, 2011, the Cascadia Green Building Council will feature Kath Williams speaking on “Opportunities in Eco-communities: People, Planet, and Profits”
Williams is Principal of Kath Williams & Associates. She was Past president of the World Green Building Council and Executive Vice President of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL).
The event will be held on Wednesday, Feb 9, 2011, at the Turnbull Open Space, White Stag Building, University of Oregon, 70 NW Couch St., Portland. Doors open at 5:00PM, lecture begins at 5:30PM Cascadia Members and students are free (RSVP mandatory), general audiences pay $10.
See the event announcement for more details.
–
Posted in Events, Organizations, Uncovering & Evaluating Sources on January 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
The Illahee Lecture Series was founded in 1999 and is a program of the Portland-based non-profit Illahee Institute. The organization’s mission is to provide participants with “practical tools for understanding the nature of our home here in the Pacific Northwest, and for taking care of it. We provide the region opportunities for science-based, policy-relevant environmental inquiry.”
The group’s founders chose the Chinook word illahee, which describes “‘earth, ground, land, country, place or world.’ Unlike the word ‘environment’ that implies a separation, illahee conveys the all-encompassing relationship that ties the people of a place to the land and each other.” (Source)
One of Illahee’s ongoing questions has been: “Why is it so difficult for individuals, nations and the international community to address obvious issues like water needs, energy transition and climate change?” To address this question, their 2011 lectures center on the topic “Searching for Solutions: Innovation for Public Good.”
Upcoming lecture details and dates can be found here; archived lecture details and dates can be found here
–
Posted in Events, Implementing Sustainability, Urban Infrastructure, What is Sustainability? on January 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »
There’s an intriguing documentary premier upcoming:
(A Wagging Tale Productions Documentary)
Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, 6:30 – 8:00 P.M.
The Gerding Theater at the Armory
128 NW Eleventh Ave., Portland
Movie description:
Is demolition in the name of sustainability really the best use of natural, social, and economic resources? Or, like the urban renewal programs of the 1960’s, will this well-intentioned planning result in devastating environmental and cultural consequences?
Posted in Environment, Equity, Events, Organizations on November 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Onward Oregon is
One of Onward Oregon’s current initiatives is their Mapping the Commons workshop series:
Onward Oregon is hosting two of these free workshops this fall:Salem on Nov. 13 and Portland on Nov. 20.
–
Posted in Events, Organizations, Uncovering & Evaluating Sources, tagged portland oregon on November 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The Portland State University (PSU) Institute for Sustainable Solutions hosts Solutions Seminars every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., at PSU’s Shattuck Hall Annex (1914 SW Park Ave.). These seminars “explore visionary and desirable solutions to the environmental, economic, and social challenges of our time.”
PSU’s journal Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future helps sponsor this series. Learn more about the Solutions Seminars series at the Solutions website here.
Past speakers have included:
–
Posted in Economics, Events, Organizations, Quantifying Sustainability, Uncovering & Evaluating Sources, tagged portland oregon on November 4, 2010| 3 Comments »
I just learned about a book of relevance to the SHP that is soon to be released:
This book is “a collaborative exploration of how small businesses can effectively and efficiently shift toward sustainability and thrive.” This exploration involves “Fifty-one small-business people from Portland” who “share their experiences with implementing sustainable practices in their companies.” The collaborative effort to create the book involved crowdsourcing. As the book’s website identifies:
Mercy Corps Northwest is hosting a free-of-charge book release party for Portland Bottom Line on Wednesday, November 10, from 5-8 pm (with a program at 6) at Mercy Corps HQ, 45 SW Ankeny St., Portland.
The book’s website provides some sample chapters and a forum for other regional business professionals to share their stories.
—-
** Updated soon after posting, with information from the editors. Thanks, editors!
–
Posted in Events, Media, SHP Fall 2010, Student work, tagged water on October 19, 2010| 1 Comment »
[The post below is an extra-credit assignment written by B. Bazsó, with notes by James V. Hillegas]
Multnomah County Office of Sustainability together with the Green Team has started the Multnomah County Sustainability Film Series, with films and panel discussions at Bagdad Theatre on a quarterly basis.
The films, or rather documentaries, are all related to topics of concern to sustainable development. The event I attended on 17 October 2010 focused on the issue of water supply; locally, globally, sustainably. The film shown was “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” (2008) by Sam Bozzo , narrated by Malcolm McDowell, is an informative work of art that, which for the most part, paints a dire picture of our fresh water supply—present and future. As any work of art, including documentaries, Blue Gold is clearly geared toward raising public awareness of the economic and political facts behind the current fresh water supply situation and getting private persons in motion to defend against corporate robbery of this precious natural resource.
Posted in Community Service, Events, Implementing Sustainability, SHP Spring 2010, Student work, tagged portland oregon on August 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »
One important part of student work in the course Documenting Sustainability in the Pacific Northwest is to do five hours of community service. Below the fold is Sean Cochran’s write-up after he volunteered for Portland Sunday Parkways.
Portland Sunday Parkways, May 16, 2010. Photo Sean Cochran.
Sustainability History Project 