Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart will be among several notable speakers at a national gathering to discuss environmental issues facing college and university campuses to be held at the University of Colorado at Boulder Feb. 22-23.
The 2007 Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit also will feature Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, renowned environmental experts Hunter Lovins and David Orr, CU-Boulder history and environmental studies Professor Patty Limerick and Arizona State University President Michael Crow.
The summit will bring together about 300 representatives from college campuses across the nation. The event is coordinated by the CU Environmental Center and is sponsored by numerous regional and national organizations.
"As a recognized national leader in environmental issues, the University of Colorado community is delighted to host this summit," said CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson. "I am eager to welcome my counterparts from higher education institutions across the nation, as well as national leaders in sustainability at the community, state and federal level, for focused and visionary discussions."
By sharing success stories, networking and exploring opportunities for collaboration, the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit will help students, faculty, administrators, community members and state leaders replicate past successes and create new programs aimed at making the region's colleges and universities national leaders in campus sustainability.
"Higher education is emerging now as a leader in sustainability and action on climate change," said CU Environmental Center Director Dave Newport. "This conference brings the best and the brightest campus advocates together in planning robust new efforts to address the major environmental issues of our time."
"Sustainability" is a decision-making system that seeks to balance environmental, fiscal and social equity considerations so that people, the environment and financial resources are preserved, Newport said.
The Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit will include multiple sessions, workshops, feature presentations and panels at the University Memorial Center. A registration fee is required, except for CU-Boulder students who register to attend by Feb. 15. The Green Products Expo in the UMC, room 235, on Feb. 23 is free and open to the public.
Some of the summit's highlights include
Thursday, Feb. 22
o 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., welcoming remarks by CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson and the opening keynote address by former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, the Wirth Chair Professor at the CU-Denver and Health Sciences Center.
o 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., plenary panel on "Campus Leadership for Climate Action" featuring Susan Avery, vice chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate School, CU-Boulder; Michael Crow, president, Arizona State University; Ed Poppell, vice president, University of Florida; and Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor, CU-Colorado Springs.
o 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., evening keynote address on "Cutting-Edge Sustainability" by Hunter Lovins, president and founder of Natural Capitalism Inc., and David Orr, the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics and chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College in Ohio.
Friday, Feb. 23
o noon to 1:50 p.m., plenary panel on "Elevating Sustainability in the Rocky Mountain Region," with Rocky Anderson, mayor of Salt Lake City; Hunter Lovins, president and founder of Natural Capitalism Inc.; and John Powers, founder and board president of the Alliance for Sustainable Colorado. The panel will be facilitated by CU-Boulder history and environmental studies Professor Patty Limerick, faculty chair of the Center of the American West.
o 3:30 p.m. to 4:50 p.m., concurrent session on "Sustainability 101 and the Exponential Function" by Professor Emeritus Albert Bartlett of the CU-Boulder physics department. Bartlett's popular talk, which he has given more than 1,575 times, explores the consequences of rising human population and rates of nonrenewable resource consumption.
The deadline to register for the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit is Feb. 15. For additional information, registration fees and to register online visit ecenter.colorado.edu/rmss2007/.