Elon's Center for Environmental Studies hosted a workshop Friday, Oct. 8, examining issues critical to sustainable communities and development. Speakers included leaders in the field of sustainable development and environmental planning. Details...
Titled “Roadmap to the Future: Tomorrow by Design,” the seminar was open to all members of the public and the Elon community. Keynote speakers included David Orr, professor and chair of the environmental studies program at Oberlin College, and Stuart Hart, the Samuel C. Johnson Professor of Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University and former director of the Center for Sustainable Enterprise at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Orr told the audience in McKinnon Hall that the growth of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere “is like sitting in a parked car with the windows rolled up in a suburban mall parking lot on a July day.” He said there is overwhelming evidence that global warming is taking place, and the recent spate of four hurricanes in Florida “could be indicative of the changes we’ll see because of global warming.”
Orr believes a fundamental shift needs to occur in the way America addresses environmental issues. “The environment isn’t a separate category,” apart from the economy or other policy matters, Orr said.
He encouraged students in the audience to become active in political affairs.
“You’ve got to get engaged,” Orr said. “This is your world; you have a responsibility to vote.” He was critical of the way political campaigns fail to address important matters and the apathy that many citizens have toward the political process.
“We are being dumbed down in an election year, we’re being talked to as if the environment doesn’t matter, as if we’re in third or fourth grade,” Orr said. He added that many “find it inconvenient to read about politics, to immerse ourselves in issues. We are suckers; we are ripe for the taking.”
Hart specializes in the implications of environmentalism and sustainable development for corporate and competitive strategy. He emphasized that “there’s no one best way, there’s no one size fits all approach to sustainability.”
Hart said many times, environmentalists and business leaders have a hard time communicating because “the same words have different meanings to each person. Have you ever had that happen? Isn’t that frustrating?” He said he is working to facilitate better understanding between the two groups and to help them realize their goals are ultimately the same: creating a sustainable economy and environment.
Afternoon breakout sessions included a discussion on sustainable agriculture, moderated by Rett Davis, Alamance County Agricultural Extension agent. Panelists included Tony Kleese, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and Linda Niedziela, assistant professor of biology at Elon.
Another breakout session focused on community and business design with sustainable practices as a guiding principle. Moderated by Paul Kron, regional planner with the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, the panel included Anne Tazewell of Triangle Clean Cities; Rodney Swink, director of the N.C. Office of Urban Development; and Nate Bowman of Bowman Development Corporation.
An automotive show, featuring vehicles that use alternative fuels such as biodiesel and hybrids, was sponsored by Elon Campus Safety and Police. Vehicles were on display in the Moseley Center parking lot and available for test drives.
Established in 2000, the Center for Environmental Studies promotes environmental education, responsibility, stewardship and leadership while providing opportunities for students and faculty to work with individuals and organizations outside the university. The center is involved in the creation of a database of organizations that monitor the water quality in the Cape Fear River basin, streamlining efforts to maintain the watershed’s health.
Visit the workshop’s Web site by clicking the link below: