Ambika Shukla Speaks

Ambika Shukla, Trustee and frequently speaker for People for Animals, the oldest and largest animal welfare NGO in India, which she runs with her sister Maneka Gandhi and the Trustees, is also executive producer of a weekly animal program, anchoring programs in Hindi and English. Previously she was a television show scriptwriter and creative director of a major advertising agency of Mozambique. People for Animals works for many animal welfare objectives: protecting endangered species, stoping wild game hunting, promoting vegetarianism, setting up animal shelters and hospitals, making animal rights education compulsory, closing down the trade in furs.

People for Animals: www.peopleforanimalsindia.org

Liveblogging opening plenary @ Ecocity 2008 in San Francisco

Richard Register, humble as ever, opened with Rusong Wang and Jared Blumenfeld.

We’re here at the Nobb Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, surrounded by world leaders from every conceivable urban environment, and it feels like a gathering of friends.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom stepped back from his typical “green stump” and after a standing ovation from what would normally be a pretty skeptical crowd, he asked that the citizenry encourage mistakes rather than demand perfection of leaders who are willing to risk all for environmental changes in municipalities.

Following Newsom the stage hosts past conveners:

• Paul Downton, Australia
• Joan Bokaer, USA
• Serigne M’baye, Senegal
• Cleon Ricardo dos Santos, Brazil
• Rusong Wang, China

Then greetings from:

• Rosemary Enie, Cameroon
• Ambika Shukla, India
• Margarethe Sagevik, France
• Shanta Lall Mulmi, Nepal
• Janet Larsen, USA
• Sahar Attia, Egypt
• Carol Whiteside, USA

This is a meaningful experience. This is a truly global family of brilliant, compassionate warriors.

Jaime Lerner is up next.

Public Radio International’s “Living on Earth” hosts Jaime Lerner

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Air Date: Week of April 18, 2008

Jaime Lerner is the three-time mayor of Curitiba.

Curitiba, Brazil’s model sustainable city, was largely the brainchild of Jaime Lerner. As three-time mayor of the city, he created a rapid transit bus system, increased the amount of green space, and encouraged children and adults alike to recycle. Jaime Lerner joins host Steve Curwood in the LOE studios and says all cities have the potential for environmental success.

Ecocities of Tomorrow: How to Retrofit Your Downtown (The Abbreviated Course)

Another post from Jesse Fox @ Treehugger (huge thanks):

For those of you who are curious exactly how Richard Register’s ideas would work in practice, here’s what it could look like if Americans ever decided to retrofit their downtowns for true sustainability.

We know how to build the ecocity. It’s easy if you want to: up-zone for more density and diversity in the centers and withdraw from sprawl. We are replete with tools.

The starting point is any downtown in America. Most likely, this will be a central place, dominated by the automobile. Buildings include malls, big boxes and parking garages, with wide, congested streets and generous parking lagoons nearby. Nothing is built with the pedestrian in mind, very little thought is given to accommodating natural flora and fauna, and smog is a common phenomenon. (read entire post)