_ The Zero Emissions Strategy Conference
_ The Zero Emissions Strategy Conference
- Make sure you have a look at today's Podium piece in which Bob Ayres sets out his views in More on Eco-Efficiency Stage III Deployments & Case Studies, commenting on a recent book "Zero Pollution Industry" by Nelson B. Nemerow
- Let us seize this latest Podium piece as a reminder to you that Ayres is looking hard to develop a series of case study candidates, including to the extent possible from cooperating incitations in both the public sector and industry. (The conference thus far has not seen much of the latter.) Your suggestions?
- NEWS GROUPS: More than 50 news groups active in related areas were contacted over the weekend. Any suggestions for groups to whom we should be linking?
- VIRTUAL CONFERENCE - REAL FUTURE: As we move into the last week of the month, at least one of the organizers of the conference (Britton) is asking himself whether or not we should be giving some thoughts to extending the conference for another full month. There are several possible justifications for such a move and we would appreciate hearing your views on this. The first is that August is a slow month at best, and we were told by a number of those who contacted us that they simply were not going to have access to the Web for all or much of that time. Second, for various reasons the invitations to the conference were only sent out at the beginning of the month, which of course is impossible since we all do need advance notice so that we can plan our time. Third, we did not get much help from the various mailing lists and news groups whom we approached in an attempt to get the word out to their members and networks. But finally, and more positively, as a result of all we have learned as the month has progressed, the site is (in our view) a lot stronger and more interesting now that it was at the outset. So, perhaps if you have views or ideas on this you can send them to us right here. Kind thanks.
Today's Web Detour: The Web site of the Corporate Conservation Council 'The Corporate Conservation Council of the National Wildlife Federation works together with business toward sustainable economic development. Information on how to "green" your business'.
- Today's Podium piece is an introduction to a valuable information resource which we have consulted on a regular basis over the last year, Introduction to the Sustran Discussion Forum. While the coverage of this virtual resource (Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific) may appear to you to be perhaps too narrow in both topic and geographic terms, we are not so sure that it can be ignored. No doubt, as we all know, that the path to sustainable development has to be one with sustainable transportation and energy use, and anyone with a world view who wishes to overlook Asia and the Pacific, well...
- News has come in that a short "mission report" has been prepared upon completion of the Third World Congress on ZERI (Jakarta, 31 July - 2 Aug.) We have not as yet obtained a copy, but as soon as we do we shall either post it here, or link directly to it if it is on the ZERI or some other Web site. We look forward with interest to seeing how these two approaches on the topic, including our virtual as opposed to a physical get together contrast and perhaps support each other. Given the enormity of the challenges, it is clear that many, and many different, approaches are going to be needed if we are ever to break the impasse.
- The first registration has just come in from a firm in the private sector (Dow)expressing interest in participating. Not only are they very welcome, but we must hope for more interest from the industrial and business worlds. It will not be enough if the only people we have on board are researchers and other academics and bureaucrats. So, help us get out the word!
- Videoconference deadline: As some of you may recall, a second multipoint videoconference is slated for Friday at 17:00 Paris time. Please let us know if you wish to join it. The call-in number for the session is 00.49.30.399.28.2622 (the Teles host conferencing site in Berlin). Please note there is room for a maximum of seven participants; so do let us know if you will be joining us. Our expectations for participation are modest, given the limited response that we have had on this to date. Nonetheless the session will be run as a pilot/testing phase and all are invited.
- Today's Podium piece is a provocation by E. Britton entitled, ZERI II and the "End of Research". Is he actually suggesting that the UNU/IAS should give up doing any further research in this area?
- We have in the last two days heard from a number of people with the view that we should indeed see if we can find ways to extend the conference over the next month. (One wit said that "since your conference is already virtual, why not also make it eternal". No comment!) Please let us have your views on this, since this is a decision which we must take in the days immediately ahead. (And of course if you have any thoughts on how this might be financed, well that too would be sure to get our full attention.)
- Today's Podium piece (which just sailed in this morning over the transom) is a fascinating Mensch and Mesh: Perspectives on Industrial Ecology, by Matthias Ruth, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and the Department of Geography, Boston University. He opens by reminding us that: 'Most attention to date has been given to product and production process related issues. Albeit by definition an integral part of industrial ecology, few analyses exist of the relationships between technologies, industries and socioeconomic institutions'.
- Technical Note: Are you finding that it is taking too long to access some of the pages on this site (for examples longer ones such as this)? Two 'remedies' for you. First of all, it may be because you are working at the peak load period on the net (basically 9:00 to 17:00 EST). These days we are finding it unacceptably sluggish, even with our usually fast ISDN lines. But it may be too that some of our pages are beginning to be too big and should be split up. Please let us know if this is a problem (since that, at least, we can do something about).
- There are times when we would like to think that we are the only virtual conference in town (slim consolation), but truth is that we are only one of a fast growing lot. Today's Podium, for example, has been handed over to the World Bank, Announcing a Virtual Consultation on Draft World Bank Energy and Environment Strategy Paper. (With kind thanks to our good friends at Sustran (contact Paul Barter at tkpb@barter.pc.my for more on their fine work)for their note this morning with this announcement. We recommend it both on substantive grounds, and for what it may have to suggest about the second half of our mandate here, the idea of virtual conferencing et al.
- And have a look at the Discussion Forum. Things appear to be heating up a bit (global warming?)
- Technical Note:Incidentally, on the subject of yesterday's technical note about file sizes. Well, this What's New file suddenly mushroomed into unmanageable proportions, and has now been broken up in to sub-files. Hopefully, you will notice nothing (other than a perceptible speed difference
- You also may note that we have given up our dramatic dark background, which not only looked terrific with the Vermeer but also somehow suggested to us the 'coming out of nowhere' theme which in our view is not without value. The problem, however, was that we were hearing that the older and less capable monitors rendered this an extremely uncomfortable mess. So goes it for esthetics.
- Our main task over this last August weekend is to make a considered decision about whether or not the conference is to be extended over the coming month.
- We continue to receive numerous requests and suggestions on this, but since funding is not (yet?) available, it is not an easy decision to make. A formal announcement on this will be made on Monday the 1st.
- We are at the same time continuing to labor to fine-tune and extend the site (at the very least for archival and reference purposes, thinking that others may be able to profit from our efforts and experiences. If you have a chance, you may wish to go all the way back to the beginning and enter as if it were the first time. We think that you will notice a lot of changes, some of them hopefully useful in making things much more useful and easier to deal with. Let us know.
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