National Education Initiative for a Solar Future
Global Possibilities' U.S. Solar and Renewable Energy Policy Symposium "The Back Burner Status of Solar" - May, 1997
Global Possibilities (GP) and the University of California, Santa Barbara co-hosted the "Critical Issues in America" Program: U.S. Solar and Renewable Energy Policy Symposium in May, 1997. Leading experts from government, utilities, business and environmental organizations examined renewable energy markets, the current business climate including transportation and land-use planning, and technology development. The symposium addressed the current "back-burner" status of U.S. energy policy toward the development and implementation of solar and other renewable energy technologies. The final consensus among participants was the need for education and a common language.
Second Annual Symposium for a Solar Future "Rethinking Design Curriculum: Integrating Solar Energy For a Sustainable Future" October 22, 1998
GP and The Earth Group, a New York based design collaborative co-hosted the Second Annual Symposium for a Solar Future in conjunction with the Cooper-Hewitt's "Under the Sun: An Outdoor Exhibition of Light" in October, 1998. Approximately forty deans, chairs and professors from U.S. architectural and design schools gathered together to develop an educational strategy to enlist all design schools in an effort to create a more sustainable future for the planet. The symposium launched Global Possibilities' long-term National Education Initiative for a Solar Future.
Based on the symposium proceedings and research, Global Possibilities and the Earth Group created curricula and educational tools (that accommodate regional climate change differences) to be utilized by national design schools.
Regional Conferences for a Solar Future
Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Region "The Impact of Design Practices on Climate Variability - How Can Design Education Help Mitigate Climate Change?" June 25, 1999
GP and the Earth Group hosted Regional Climate Change Conferences with deans and chairs of architecture schools co-terminus with the 18 U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) climate regions to develop regional curriculum and resources. Some of these meetings coincided with the Smithsonian Institution's "Under the Sun Exhibition" which traveled to locations in the U.S. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference was held in Washington at the Smithsonian Institution on June 25, 1999.
East and Midwest Region "Design Education and Sustainability: A Prototype for Developing Green Curriculum" - October 1, 1999
The East-Midwest Regional workshop held at Ball State University's "Greening of the Campus III" conference on October 1, 1999 in Muncie, Indiana, reviewed the results to date of Global Possibilities' Symposiums for a Solar Future, and interactively demonstrated the methodology used to organize the curriculum developing tools, i.e. the national and regional conferences, the focus questions for discussion, and the protocols for collaborative group discussion.
Environmental leaders David Orr, Robert Costanza, Hilary French, Susan Flader and John Ryan were keynote speakers at this "Greening of the Campus/Curriculum" conference.
California Region "Climate Change and Design Practices: The Role of Architecture in Mitigating Climate Variability To Improve the Quality of Life" - March 11, 2000
The California Regional presentation was held at the 88th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture "HETEROTOPOLIS: Immigration, Ethnicity, and the American City" on March 11, 2000 in Los Angeles, California. This Special Interest Workshop explored the potential role architecture and architectural education can make in modulating the rate of climate change and its social effects. The City of Los Angeles and the surrounding region served as a case study. An interactive session allowed participants to use a curricular-generating methodology that is transferable to any region. As a result, participants can hold workshops in their own colleges and universities on the subject.
<top> |
