Sustainability theme grows at SU Showcase April 21

Sustainability theme grows at SU Showcase April 21April 06, 2009SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

The program for SU Showcase on April 21 will include several anchor events that highlight themes of sustainability and finding solutions to the climate crisis. Faculty, students and staff from Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) have worked with the organizers of SU Showcase to highlight environmental issues throughout the day.

A breakfast event at Heroy Auditorium for SU students, “Funk, Fossils ‘n Waffles,” will feature a panel discussion on environmental sustainability and local and organic food from Funk ‘n’ Waffles. The panel will include New York City musician and environmental activist Johnny Dubowsky and photojournalist Mark Edwards, whose photography exhibit about the links between climate change and human rights, “Hard Rain,” will open the same day at SU’s Crouse College.

Graduate students in ecological economics at SUNY-ESF have organized “Lunchtime Learning: The True Cost of Food,” from 1-2 p.m. in Room 011 in the Life Sciences Complex. They will lead a discussion with high school and college students about the impact of our daily food choices on climate change and sustainability. Lunch is provided and space is limited, so participants must register in advance at http://focusthenation.syr.edu.

Another sustainable feature of SU Showcase is the Green Art Challenge. Using trash and recycled objects found on campus, student teams will create works to be displayed throughout the day in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

As previously announced, climate change issues will take center stage in the Life Sciences Complex in the middle of the day. At “Sustainability Showcase,” students in industrial and interior design, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering and the Sustainable Enterprise Partnership will show off their innovative design and research projects. Brief visual presentations will run continuously from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Room 105 of the Life Sciences Complex, with poster presentations on sustainable enterprise and campus sustainability available for viewing outside the auditorium.

During the same time period, faculty experts from many disciplines will lead more in-depth discussion of climate change issues in the Focus the Nation Teach-In on Climate Change Solutions. Topics include scientific, technological and architectural remedies, and governmental and business interventions to address climate change. Participants can also learn about global media coverage of the issue, environmental justice and who will pay the cost of climate change, and take part in an art-based workshop on visualizing sustainability. A full schedule is available at http://focusthenation.syr.edu.

SU Showcase takes place during Earth Week; additional related events will take place every day that week at SUNY-ESF. A full schedule is available online at http://www.esf.edu/ecenter/earthweek/.

The climate change events in the Life Sciences Complex are organized and sponsored by the University Sustainability Action Coalition (USAC) and SU’s Office of Academic Affairs. USAC is also a co-sponsor of the breakfast event. For more information or to get involved, contact Rachel May, director of the Office of Environment and Society, at enspire@syr.edu.