This is to reminder that you are welcome to post your sustainable-city related events, initiatives, research & even questions & ideas for free DIRECTLY on SustainableCitiesNet.com!

SustainableCitiesNet.com is a communications hub as “a portal to the future of cities” that are ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable. It serves as a network and communication system to deliver information, to connect people and projects, to accelerate the city’s transformation across the world. For more information about this site please visit “About“.

To contribute a post click here and follow the instructions. If you have any problems posting your data please contact either:
Ferne Edwards, Project co-ordinator & site moderator, at fedwards @unimelb.edu.au or
Simon DAlfonso, Technical support, at dals @unimelb.edu.au.

SustainableMelbourne.com and the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab in association with the University of Melbourne’s Entrepreneurs Week would like to invite you to:

The Sustainable Cities Round Table on Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Tuesday 12 August night, 6 – 8pm
Copeland Theatre, Economics & Commerce Building
University of Melbourne
RSVP now to save your seat at rsvp @sustainablemelbourne.com

The challenge of climate change presents many opportunities for new sustainable ventures. Entrepreneurs working in this space are able to creatively develop innovative solutions that have environmental, social and economic benefits, yet like all entrepreneurial ventures it is not without risks. At this Sustainable Cities Round Table we will showcase examples of proactive entrepreneurs who have taken this step and bravely gone where no mainstream business has gone before!

The evening will feature a series of short presentations, musical interludes, networking opportunities and more!

Speakers include:
Nick Savaidis, Etiko Fair Trade;
Mitch O’Sullivan, Waterwall Solutions;
Samantha Parsons, Family of Sam design;
Alexi Lynch, Australia Manager, Cities for Climate Protection, ICLEI & Co-founder, the Environmental Jobs Network;
Cathy Parry, Owner of Ron D Swan: Bags and Cycling Accessories;
Bruce Rowse, Director, CarbonetiX;
Cam Hines, Co-founder & owner, Mountain Goat Brewery;
Elizabeth Boulton, Founder, Logistick – Sustainable Supply Chain Solutns;
Aldo Penbrook, Central Victorian Carbon Auditing Service.

The Sustainable Cities Round Tables are a regular series of events that showcase local environmental initiatives and encourage networking for people working in urban sustainability issues across the government, academic, industry and community sectors. To view footage of previous events visit www.sustainablemelbourne.com/category/sustainable-cities-round-table/.

Please forward this invitation to others who may be interested in attending.

Best,
Ferne

Ferne Edwards
Sustainable Cities Research Officer
Victorian Eco-Innovation Laboratory (VEIL)
Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society (ACSIS)

Please find information below about “The Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods: Strategic Local Climate Solutions”, originally published by the National Association of Counties.

The Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods: Strategic Local Climate Solutions, a web-based resource, provides strategies, tips, and tools that counties can use to take immediate action on climate change through: green building, green neighborhoods, and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed both for communities that are considering making the first steps toward these, as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level.

This webinar from the National Association of Counties addresses how counties can put the Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods to use. This is just one of a series of webinars that NACo is offering through the Green Government Initiative.

Registration is required; the webinar will run from 1:30pm – 3:30pm Eastern time.

In addition to county case studies, this webinar will cover:
An explanation of the link between climate change and green building, neighborhoods and sustainable infrastructure
How to utilize the playbook, regardless of what stage your county is at
Additional resources available to assist your county in your efforts.

To find out more about this resource visit http://www.greenplaybook.org/.

As part of its Spring-Summer 2008 series, Re: NY Recycle | Retrofit | Reinvent the City,

The Skyscraper Museum presents:

New Verizons
Date:July 22, 2008
Time: 6:30 PM

Location:
NYPL Donnell Library Auditorium,
20 West 53rd St. between 5th & 6th

“New Verizons” looks at the high-value real estate portfolio of buildings erected for 20th-century telephone technology and how developers, architects, and engineers are retrofitting and re-positioning these properties.

Project teams present two case studies:
375 PEARL STREET

• Rick Cook, Partner, Cook + Fox Architects LLP
• Douglas Winshall, Executive Vice President, Taconic Investment Partners

1095 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS

• Dan Shannon, Partner, Moed de Armas & Shannon Architects
• Douglas Mass, President, Cosentini Associates
• Frank Frankini, Senior Vice President, Equity Office Properties

COST

• FREE Museum & Corporate Members
• $5 Students & Seniors
• $10 Adults

Individual Membership Form

Payment may be made in cash at the door. 1.0 CEUs available. Please contact programs[AT]skyscraper.org or call 212-945-6324 with any questions.

URL: www.skyscraper.org/reny

Posted on the InfoLink website, www.infolink.com.au, is a story about how the Gold Coast’s Ecovillage at Currumbin has recently been awarded three prestigious sustainability awards. Please find an abstract of this article below and to view the entire article visit http://www.infolink.com.au/c/Ritek-Building-Solutions/Australian-ecovillage-receives-sustainability-awards-n806190.

Australian ecovillage receives sustainability awards
The Ecovillage has been acknowledged as the world leader in ecologically sustainable development. Beating more than 100 international commercial and residential developments, the Ecovillage took out the highest honour in word real estate Environmental Development category at the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Prix d’Excellence Awards in the Netherland’s recently. In the same week, the Ecovillage was awarded the United Nations Association of Australia’s Environmental Development Award.

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has just announced the GreenSmart Award for the Australian Building of the year and the winner is, you’ve guessed it - an Ecovillage building, the Living Laboratory Home.

At the heart of the award winning home is the roof, providing many unexpected benefits to designer Will Collins. Will said, “The owner originally specified the Ritek custom roof panel which I had not incorporated in my designs before. The roof’s strength allows for large unsupported spans of up to 8 metres and the sleek aesthetic curves complement the Ecovillage’s unique natural environment. The brilliant cantilever capability of up to half the back span provides protection from the summer sun. The thin profile and simplicity of construction meant that supports such as purlins and rafters were unnecessary. The galvanised finish on the roof also ensures high quality water is harvested from the rain and dew.”

To view the entire article visit http://www.infolink.com.au/c/Ritek-Building-Solutions/Australian-ecovillage-receives-sustainability-awards-n806190.

Please find an update from the Green Map headquarters below. The Green Map System, http://www.greenmap.org/, supports local Green Mapmakers as they create perspective-changing community ‘portraits’ which act as comprehensive inventories for decision-making and as practical guides for residents and tourists. Over 350 vibrant Green Maps have published to date, and hundreds more have been created in classrooms and workshops by youth and adults. To learn more about the Green Map System visit http://www.greenmap.org/.

An abstract from the latest newsletter from Green Map Systems:

Open Green Map on a Roll!

The enthusiasm is building as the Open Green Map project goes into full-scale production. Already a finalist in the NetSquared Challenge and presented at Beyond Broadcasting and Where 2.0 conferences, this inclusive, participatory social mapping website will put thousands of hopeful green sites from around the world on the map! Open Green Map will also share the public’s insights, images and impacts about each of these significant places.

Mixing social networking, familiar Google Map technology and Green Map’s award-winning iconography, Open Green Map will create a common platform for Green Mapmakers, Green Map users, and a global public that is becoming more and more adept at living green. Users of OGM will be able to select the themes they are most interested in, and explore the world from a fresh vantage point. They will also have quick access to the unique ‘traditional’ Green Maps published locally in each city, town or region.

We believe that every community has resources to help individuals build healthier, greener communities together. But up until now, too many people lack the awareness and access they need to find and connect with those resources. Open Green Map will energize the booming green innovation, ‘go local’, regeneration and ecotourism movements with social networking and interactive mapping, empowering widespread participation in critical local environment, climate and equity issues worldwide.

This season, a dozen dedicated staff members and interns in our New York office, alongside Green Map partners around the world, are hard at work (preview at OpenGreenMap.org). In July, we’ll open the site to our network of locally led Green Map projects. We’re targeting September for our public launch – you will be among the first to know the exact date!

To learn more about the Green Map System visit http://www.greenmap.org/.

Please see some information below about a novel idea from Herdshare, http://herdshare.com/. I, for one, would love to learn more about it. Do you know of any other similar examples? Comments are welcome!

Milk from your own cow!
As the ‘locavore’ movement gains momentum, we’re realising the benefit of sourcing our food locally more and more. Here’s a new initiative to help us source raw milk locally too. It’s called ‘Herdshare‘. How it works is you pay a farmer a fee for boarding your cow, (or share of a cow), caring for and milking the cow. You then obtain (but don’t purchase) the milk from your own cow… It’s kinda like owning a share in a crop, racehorse or a bull, but better. It’s still in the development stages, but if enough of us express our interest it really could happen.

If you are interested please pass it on or register here http://herdshare.com/

Please see the “Call for Nominations” notice below from Climate Change Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities.

We are announcing the 2008 “Call for Nominations” The Better Air Quality (BAQ) - 2008 Young Voices Award on Urban Air Pollution and Climate Change Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) encourages new thinking and approaches to deal with the problems of urban air pollution and climate change in Asia. http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia/1412/channel.html

So far, traditional approaches used in dealing with urban air pollution and climate change have not produced enough results nor are seen to create significant impacts in the future. It is therefore important to consult with the next generation of air quality and climate changes policy makers, experts and managers. The 2008 Young Voices Award on Urban Air Pollution and Climate Change (the Young Voices) will be handed out for the first time at the Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2008 workshop, which will be held from 12-14 November 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand (Further details can be found here: BAQ Awards, “Young Voices Award”: http://baq2008.org).

Eligible for the Young Voices award are full/part - time students currently enrolled at Universities or Colleges in an academic degree (undergraduate or advanced degree) program in a subject that is of relevance to urban air pollution and climate change in Asia. The maximum age at the time of BAQ 2008 (12-14 November, 2008) is 25 years. There is no geographical restriction on participation in this competition and students from all over the world can participate. The award committee will however consider the ideas submitted for their relevance for Asia. If applications are submitted on behalf of a group the application form should clearly indicate who the person is who will present at BAQ 2008 if the awards committee selects the submission as one of the winners.

Deadline:
Please send form and attachments (if applicable) to baq2008 @cai-asia.org and cornie.huizenga @cai-asia.org before 15 August 2008. Only electronic applications will be considered.

As reads from their website, “TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week.”

TED is a fantastic, inspirational resource which offers a range of talks that would engage the Sustainable Cities Net audience. For example, related themes include A Greener Future?, Design Like You Give a Damn, Inspired by Nature, Technology, History and Destiny, The Power of Cities, The Rise of Collaboration, and more…. Check it out and enjoy!

Please find message below from Permaculture North, Sydney, Australia of the forthcoming lecture regarding transition towns and relocalisation of community to address peak oil and climate change.

Monday, 21st July 7pm for 7.30pm sharp start
Ku-ring-gai Centre for Seniors, 259 Pacific Highway Lindfield

Peak Oil, Climate Change and the Sydney Transition: Permaculture’s Latest or Greatest Challenge?
After decades of debate, challenge scepticism and uncertainty there is now a growing global consensus on the reality of global warming, though still debate about solutions and weak commitment to action in many nations. Peak Oil – though first predicted in 1956 – is a newer debate and is going through a similar cycle. There are still nations and vested interests in denial and plenty of sceptics. There are plenty of others hoping for a ‘techno-fix’ to the Peak Oil issue. The impacts of Peak Oil, however, are starting to bite right now, much earlier than severe climate change effects. Rising fuel prices, rising food prices, airline cost-cutting and price increases, transport industry struggling and even food-riots are current daily news. We may have much less time to adjust to Peak Oil than to Global Warming. No one can know the exact impacts or timing, but the future scenarios all seem to involve both energy and climate volatility and uncertainty.

Transition Sydney has been formed to stimulate and support local action initiatives aimed at building community resilience and planned adjustment to a world where cheap energy is no longer available and our personal and collective carbon footprint must be reduced to save the planet’s climate and biosystems. Such community-driven ‘relocalisation’ initiatives are likely to prove the most important response to the future challenges, particularly if government responses prove ineffective or even dangerous.

In a multi-media and interactive presentation, Peter Driscoll and Andrew Harvey from Transition Sydney will provide key information on Peak Oil and Climate Change and how these two realities might interact. They will examine possible future scenarios and possible solutions. The vulnerability of the Sydney Region – a metropolitan conglomeration of over 4 million people, 40 local government areas and 8 large city hubs will be discussed. They will then focus on the areas of Sydney serviced by Permaculture North’s activities and activism, the actions that can be undertaken and the central role of Permaculture in building localised community resilience. Finally they will discuss the Transition Towns model of community engagement with local councils to develop local energy descent action pathways for their communities.
After the meeting we will have an open discussion and debate about permaculture strategies to transition. Be prepared for a thought provoking and stimulating meeting this Monday that will get you planning for action.

More information can be found at www.permaculturenorth.org.au Phone 1300 887 145, or email info @permaculturenorth.org.au.