Center for the Environment E-newsletter
January 2007
Institute Meetings Yield Valuable Information to Foster Better Future
The Sustainable Communities Leadership Institute convened leaders from North and South Carolina last October and December to collaborate on identifying the needs and challenges facing our communities and developing strategies to address them.
The participants concluded that adversarial politics has failed to effectively meet the needs of our communities in the past. The consensus was that when special interest groups compete, whether issues are won or lost, communities typically end up with short-sighted policies that do not serve them well in the long term. They determined that we need new strategies and new paradigms that bring citizens together to find solutions that protect our future economic, social and environmental resources.
Read more .
Center Hosts Live Web-cast on Impact of Built Environment on Air Quality
Buildings are responsible for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A total of 76 percent of all electricity generated by U.S. power plants goes to supply the building sector.
That fact has spurred Weaver Cooke Construction and the Center for the Environment to host a live web-cast on the relationship between the built environment and air quality on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the Center for the Environment facility on the Catawba College campus.
Called "The 2010 Imperative: Global Emergency Teach-In," the live web-cast from the New York Academy of Sciences and discussion are scheduled for 11:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program will be of particular interest to anyone who is involved in building new structures within the next five years.
The event is free and open to the public. Box lunches and drinks can be reserved for $10. Contact Kim Smith at kasmith@catawba.edu or 704-637-4727 to order your box lunch.
For more, click here.
Special Opportunities…
Interactive Workshop for Young and Old
Do you know what the skull of an armadillo or vampire bat looks like? Ever seen a whale vertebra or a red-eyed vireo nest?
Join us for an indoor educational workshop designed for the young and old alike. The interactive session will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17, in Room 300 of the Center for the Environment facility on the Catawba campus. It is co-sponsored by the Center for the Environment and the LandTrust for Central North Carolina.
Reservations are required. Contact Kim Smith at kasmith@catawba.edu or 704.637.4727.
Fun & Educational Naturalist’s Trip for Friends of the Center
If you’ve always wanted to learn more about coastal ecology, you will want to join us for a natural science trip April 27-29 to coastal North Carolina.
Participants will board a Duke Marine Lab Vessel to learn about the interconnectedness of all ocean life. Other activities may include visits to the Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve, Cape Lookout National Seashore or the N.C. Aquarium.
Since we can accommodate only 24 people, it would be wise to reserve your space early. Payment in full will reserve your place. The cost is $175 per person, based on double occupancy.
For more, click here.
Enjoy Unforgettable Yellowstone
Enjoy an unforgettable experience with Center Director John Wear in Yellowstone National Park June 26-July 1.
The nation's first national park is at its most beautiful in late June. Observe the park's abundant wildlife including newborn bison, recently awakened bears with cubs and roaming packs of wolves. Explore the spectacular geysers and hot springs, rivers, lakes and waterfalls in the Yellowstone caldera and enjoy early summer in Yellowstone.
For more, click here or contact Willa Mays at 704-637-4295 or wcmays@catawba.edu.
Institute Retreat on Simple Living Website
Wanda Urbanska, president of the Simple Living TV Network, reflected on her experience at the Sustainable Communities Leadership Institute retreat in an entry on the Simple Living website. “What a terrific, diverse set of leaders from North and South Carolina it was who met and mingled in this lovely, remote mountain setting,” she said. For more, click here.
A Conservative View of Our Natural Capital
Dyke Messinger, president and CEO of Power Curbers, offered a conservative view on the Sustainable Communities Leadership Institute in an op-ed piece, which ran Dec. 21, 2006, in the Salisbury Post.
“As a conservative, I believe that we should live within our means, both fiscally and environmentally,” he said. “If we spend our natural capital – our clean air and water, our forests and wetlands, our finite energy sources – we will create problems that will be costly and extremely difficult to solve.”
For more, click here.
Director to Speak in Greensboro
Dr. John Wear, Center director, will speak Feb. 10 on the Sustainable Communities Leadership Institute at a conference on Environmental Stewardship in Greensboro. The conference is co-sponsored by the Environmental Stewardship Committees of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and Unitarian Universalist Church of Greensboro.
Other speakers will be Pricey Harrison, state representative; Dan Besse of the Conservation Council of North Carolina; and Peter Kauber of the Guilford Solar Communities Program.
Many Thanks
Our sincere thanks to all who have supported the work of the Center during the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Your support is critical to our efforts to advance our quality of life as we work to protect our precious resources. Click here to view current membership. You, too, can become a member.
Join the Center’s Efforts Now
You can become a partner in our efforts to protect our natural resources while building vibrant communities by getting involved in our activities and by making a financial commitment to the Center for the Environment.
The Center must raise 95 percent of its operational costs for all programs and activities. Please join us. Your support will help move us closer to a future we will be proud to pass on to our children and grandchildren.
You may click here to make a secure donation online. Under the Gift Designation category, you will be able to select "Center for the Environment."
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Toward Sustainability: Transforming North Carolina Communities
•Transforming the way we lead
•Transforming the way we see the world