Wondering how long the international community has had the language and the will to talk about sustainability (both environmental and human cultural)? A lot longer than you might think!

List of World Conferences convened by the UN on environment and development:  http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/intro.html 

Key conferences:

1) Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?documentid=97&articleid=1503 

• Resulted in declaration

2) Earth Summit, Conference on Environment and Development, Rio, 1992:  http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?documentid=78&articleid=1163 

• Resulted in declaration

3) World Summit for Social Development,  Copenhagen, 1995:  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/wssd/text-version/index.html

• Resulted in  consensus on the need to put people at the centre of development (largest to date)

4) Special Session to assess the achievements since Copenhagen, 2000:   http://undesadspd.org/Home/Geneva2000.aspx

• Resulted in agreement on a range of new initiatives for social development

5) Conference on Sustainability (Rio +20), 2012:  http://www.uncsd2012.org/about.html

• Resulted in adoption of "The Future We Want": http://www.un.org/en/sustainablefuture/ 

Environment and Business Strategy

The International Environmental Product Declaration: The vision of a future in which all manufacturers will be shamed by the marketplace (us, its consumers) into striving for sustainable practices and smaller footprints.

http://www.environdec.com/

Beijing-SLC Connect News

The article mentioned in class about the Beijing artists:

http://unews.utah.edu/news_releases/air-art-living-gallery-explores-pollution/

Don't miss the closing reception tonight at the Gittins Gallery in the Art building 373 S. 1530 E, from 6-8PM.

Inequality for All

In the spirit of interconnectedness, an award-winning film about equality (or lack thereof):
http://www.utahfilmcenter.org/event/inequality/

February 18, 7PM, City Library, FREE!

HEAL on the Hill

Lots of activity on the Hill today to address pollution in SLC. Since we can't be there (they occur during our class session), we can at least send good vibes for change!

Here's are Wednesday's actions, with the verdict of the Utah Physicians for a Healthier Environment:

• House Government Operations Standing Committee, 2:00 PM, 20 House Building
  HB0038S01, Resource Stewardship Amendments  (P. Arent)
  HEAL supports this bill, which would create a new state job to push state agencies to do more to clean the air.
  
  
• House Revenue and Taxation Standing Committee, 2:00 PM, 445 State Capitol
  HB0074, Energy Efficient Vehicle Tax Credits   (V. Snow)
  HEAL supports this bill, which would boost the tax credit for Electric Vehicles to $2,500.
  
  
• House Education Standing Committee, 4:00 PM, 30 House Building
  HB0041, Clean Fuel School Buses and Infrastructure   (S. Handy)
  HEAL supports this bill, which would spend $18 million to replace aging polluting school buses with newer, cleaner ones.
  
  
• Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Standing Committee, 4:00 pm, 215 Senate Building
  SB0139, Transportation Funding Revisions   (W. Harper)
  HEAL opposes this bill, which would charge owners of compressed natural gas (CNG), electric or hybrid cars an extra $90 to $120 in annual registration fees.

The Sustainable Campus Initiative was one of the sponsors of the Beijing-SLC Connect project that brought the wonderful artists to our campus. As a matter of fact, they have a fund one can apply for to promote a project on campus. We're very close to the deadline, but interesting food for thought for the future:

http://sustainability.utah.edu/get-involved/students/sustainable-campus-fund.php

KUED film: The Air We Breathe

An interesting debate has grown up around this film:

http://www.kued.org/whatson/the-air-we-breathe/videos/the-air-we-breathe-full-video

KUED apparently does not take the industrial polluters to task, or at least not to the liking of Utah Clean Air (the group/FB site that initiated the publicity about the rally).

Perhaps an interesting film to watch in anticipation of the talks with the Beijing artists?

Environmental Mediation, lecture 2/6, 12:15

Here's a lecture happening at the U that could offer all kinds of interesting language and ways of thinking about sustaining our human environment. Lucy Moore is an "environmental mediator." I'm pretty sure no one is born knowing she wants to grow up to be that, but good for us that the last quarter century inspired some to forge this new field. It seeks to mend some of the fractures in the social fabric that keep us from solving the toughest issues we face. And it all comes down to people. Not governments, or cultures, but individuals from vastly different perspectives working hard to find common ground.
https://today.law.utah.edu/?events=common-ground-on-hostile-turf-stories-from-an-environmental-mediator
Hope to see some of you there!