USA Today on Ecocity 2008

USA Today ran a national story naming the Ecocity World Summit as one of 7 things to do to “celebrate Earth Day”. Click here to weigh in on their other 6 suggestions.

The Ecocity World Summit is hosting the International Ecocity Conference Series in San Francisco Tuesday through April 26. It features international speakers on a variety of topics, from sustainable development to protecting the planet (ecocityworldsummit.org).

Ecocity Tours

Get a chance to see the city!

As a special opportunity for the many international guests and attendees to the Ecocity World summit, 6 guided tours will be conducted on the first day of the main event, Thursday, April 24 from 3pm to 6pm. Hosts from around the city will lead you on a guided tour.

Your options will include:

A. BART Infill Development Tour (to the East Bay)

• Host: Bay Area Rapid Transit

B. SF Waterfront Bicycle Tour

• Hosts: San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council

C. CA Academy of Sciences LEED Green Building and Green Roofs

• Host: SF Environment, CA Academy of Sciences

D. Downtown and Chinatown Walking Tour

• Host: San Francisco City Guides

E. Crissy Field Wetlands Tour

• Hosts: Nature in the City, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

F. MUNI Infill Development Tour (San Francisco)

• Hosts: SF Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency

Please Note: Those not participating in an off-site tour have the option of remaining at Nob Hill Masonic Center for a screening of A Convenient Truth, Urban Solutions from Curitiba in the Auditorium, followed by a discussion session with the filmmakers, Maria Vaz and Giovanni V.Del Bello

Pacifica Tribune: Ecocity Summit

Get ready to change the world!

Throughout Earth Day Week, April 22-26, in San Francisco, the Ecocity World Summit (7th International Ecocity Conference) will convene an international community of inspired change-makers, courageous individuals addressing problems of the world’s environment with thoughtful long-range solutions that are truly sustainable, ecologically healthy and socially just. The International Ecocity Conference Series brings together the key innovators, decision makers, technologists, businesses and organizations shaping the conversation around ecological and sustainable city, town and village design, planning and development. We intend to put these issues on the economic and environmental agenda for 2008 and beyond.

Ecocity World Summit 2008 Themes:

• People — population, health, equity, and access.
• Nature — protecting and restoring the planet’s living systems and agricultural lands.
• Sustainable Development — land use, transportation, architecture and infrastructure.
• Economies & Technologies — building the supporting markets, businesses and technologies.
• Incentives & Support Structures — role of government, organizations, institutions and individuals.

http://www.pacificatribune.com/localnews/ci_8615526

Lesley Nagy of Your TV20

Lesley Nagy of The Bay Area’s own Your TV20 will be moderating panels at the Ecocity World Summit, as they announced today on their site. Here’s a little bit about the good folks over at Your TV 20:

Your TV20 doesn’t preach sustainable practices without applying those practices to our own business environment. In 2005 KBWB was recognized by the State of California Environmental Protection Agency as a 2005 WRAP (Waste Reduction Awards Program) winner. Although we are proud to be recognized in this way, we will not stop there and will continue to look for better ways to implement sustainable practices in all areas of our company.

www.yourtv20.com

Ecocities of Tomorrow: Gary Braasch, Environmental Photographer

Photographer and author Gary Braasch will be presenting a special pre-conference event on April 21st, the day before Ecocity World Summit 2008. Our friends at treehugger.com have written a great post on Gary and the amazing work he’s done all over the world. Thanks go to Jesse Fox for the write-up and interview. Thanks Jesse!

“Environmental photography is a combination of nature and documentary work that focuses on the world as habitat and biosphere and source of everything. This most strongly includes humans, who as mammals are completely affected by the environment and as technological beings are changing it more and more.”

Part artist, part whistleblower, Gary Braasch is a one-man, wandering IPCC with a camera. Since 2000, he has traveled around the world documenting the effects of climate change for his World View of Global Warming project. His book Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming is Changing the World was published in 2007, and his next book How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate: Scientists and Kids Explore Global Warming, a children’s book written with Lynne Cherry, has just been published. This week he agreed to share some of his work and insights with us at TreeHugger.

“The 2900 megawatt John Amos power plant near Charleston West Virginia looms over a neighborhood in Poca, across the Kanawa River. The Amos plant is consistently on the list of dirtiest power plants, its coal burning (2003 figures) makes it 11th in CO2 releases and 12th in SO2. It also emits mercury. Pollution from the 600 coal power plants in the US contribute to up to 30,000 deaths yearly. What to do about CO2 emissions is a severe issue now that the US government has delayed the experimental “FutureGen” sequestering project. It makes efficiency and conservation of energy all the more important.”