EARTH DAY CONFERENCE AT TEMPLE UNIVERSITY AMBLER PROVIDES DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES ON SUSTAINABILITY
The
idea of sustainable communities may mean different things to different
people. It could mean walkable towns that don’t require dependence on
cars and trucks to get to work or school. It could include a viable
meshing of development and open space preservation. It might include a
commitment to environmental and cultural values and a stewardship ethic
among citizens.
Most
agree, however, that to be considered sustainable, a community must protect
and improve quality of life for future generations.
On
Tuesday, April 22, The Center for Sustainable Communities and the Temple
University Intellectual Heritage program will present a day-long
conference focusing on concepts of sustainability from every angle. The
event will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with activities based in
Bright Hall Lounge.
“The
environmental movement is essentially a distant memory at this point. We
need to refocus,” Dr. Jeffrey Featherstone, Director of the Center for
Sustainable Communities (CSC) at Temple University Ambler and Chair of the
Department of Community and Regional Planning. “During recent Earth
Days, there has been very little activity in this area to draw attention
to these important issues of sustainability. As a university we want to
take a lead role in offering people ways to learn about, discuss, and deal
with them.”
During
the conference — entitled “The Ecological, Economic, Cultural, and
Intellectual Implications of Sustainability” — scholars of the
social sciences will meet informed practitioners on the front lines of
ecological restoration, land use planning, community revitalization, and
the physical sciences to facilitate meaningful dialogue regarding issues
of sustainability.
“Sustainable
development is a general term for an evolving process that focuses on
maintaining or enhancing economic opportunity and community well being,
while protecting and preserving the natural environment upon which people
and economics depend,” Dr. Featherstone said. “Fundamental to the
concept is the insight that problems facing society have multiple
dimensions, including environmental, economic, and social aspects as well
as institutional challenges. Through this conference we want to bring
together many facets of this concept in one location.”
Keynote speakers for the conference include Court Gould, Director of Sustainable Pittsburgh; Dr. Jere Surber, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Denver; and Dr. Elisabet Sahtouris, an internationally known evolutionary biologist and futurist, author, speaker, and consultant.
“More
and more, thinking on a regional scale must become the key point for
policy, spending, and intervention for local prosperity and quality of
life,” Gould said. “City and suburban living conditions are joined at
the hip. There are many win/win situations that need to be addressed and
maximized from a regional perspective.”
Gould
said sustainability can be explained in the simplest terms — “Our
population is getting bigger, but the Earth isn’t; you don’t eat your
seed corn.”
“I
think a conference like this has a number of benefits. It breaks down some
of the ideology that gets in the way of clear thinking about
sustainability,” he said. “I think it also helps dissipate some of the
myths of sustainability, such as being unable to have economic prosperity
without hurting the environment. It helps to bridge the gaps between
constituencies.”
Dr.
Elisabet Sahtouris said she plans to speak about “the relationship
between species maturity and sustainability.”
“I
will show that the aggressive, competitive, empire-building mode we humans
have been in for some 10,000 years is an immature stage for natural
species,” Dr. Sahtouris said. “Those that survive mature into more
peaceful, cooperative, and collaborative relationships with their
competitors, and that is what is on the human agenda now. I think it is
wonderful so many people are awakening to our true destiny as a mature,
peaceful, cooperative species.”
The
day’s conference will also tackle a variety of topics through panel
discussions. Topics include: “Sustainability, intellectual history, and
our natural and constructed heritage,” “Public or private? The
political economy of sustainability,” “Ethics and sustainability,”
“The search for higher ground: religion, aesthetics, and
sustainability,” “What is the relationship between the arts,
literature, and sustainability?” and “Sustainability on campus: Where
are we and where are we going?”
According
to event organizers in the Intellectual Heritage program, sustainability
is a crucial inter-disciplinary concern in every aspect of society, from
college campuses to city streets to rural areas. Only rarely, however,
have scholars of the humanities and social sciences met with individuals
who practice land use, community planning, and ecological restoration.
“Our
proximity to Philadelphia reminds us that natural and historical concerns
must be reconciled with economic well-being,” according to the event
mission statement. “Thus, nature leads to culture, collides with
economics, and demands we prepare our common future.”
As
a campus, Temple University is seeking to take lead role in a variety of
sustainable concepts, said Dr. Featherstone.
“We
are a leading academic institution in terms of recycling. We have
purchased wind power, and we are exploring the possibility of utilizing
electric cars on campus,” he said. “We want to provide students and
the public the opportunity to visit a campus that practices what it
preaches.”
For
more information on The Ecological, Economic, Cultural, and Intellectual
Implications of Sustainability, call 215-283-1307 or visit
www.csc.temple.edu.
CONTACT: James Duffy, (215) 283-1290, duffyj@temple.edu, release available by e-mail
