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The Cambridge University M.Phil Programme in Environmental Engineering
and Sustainable Development is sponsoring a Distinguished Lecture Series
on Sustainable Development. Under the auspices of CMI, the lectures are
being broadcast simultaneously to MIT on selected Wednesday afternoons
from 1:00 -2:30. The second lecture is Wednesday, February 25.<br><br>
Time: Wednesday, <b>February 25, 1:00-2:30</b> <br><br>
Speaker: <b>Professor Sir Brian Heap<br><br>
</b>Topic: <font size=4><b>Towards sustainable consumption - visionary or
illusory?</b></font>
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<dd>Abstract: The future is notoriously difficult to predict but it can
be invented. One
<dd>option would be to develop a blueprint that is directed towards
sustainable
<dd>consumption. Whereas consumption patterns of food, energy and
materials
<dd>differ greatly in various parts of the world, rates of consumption
threaten
<dd>to become a serious source of conflict if business continues as
usual.
<dd>Greater clarity about what is meant by the transition towards
sustainable
<dd>consumption is needed, as well as a critical appraisal of what
science and
<dd>technology could be used to improve resource usage, invent new
products and
<dd>processes, and determine the real environmental costs of modern
lifestyles.
<dd>However, science and technology alone cannot resolve the challenges
of
<dd>overconsumption in more developed nations and underconsumption in
nations
<dd>that are less developed. Interdisciplinary studies are
increasingly
<dd>important in order to address what constitutes a good life, and the
<dd>benefits and threats of change that are associated with striving for
such
<dd>an enticing yet elusive goal. In this paper I will argue that
a
<dd>sustainable consumption blueprint is essential if we are serious
about
<dd>managing the future to best effect even if, so far, it wins few
votes; it
<dd>is at the heart of conflict avoidance and sustainable development,
<dd>currently undermined by the rich-poor divide.
</dl>Location: <b>MIT</b> <b>Room 9-151 <br>
</b>Refreshments: cookies and juice provided<br><br>
See
<a href="http://ceemeng.mit.edu/CMI%20Distinguished%20Lecture%20Series.pdf" eudora="autourl">http://ceemeng.mit.edu/CMI%20Distinguished%20Lecture%20Series.pdf</a>
for the Spring Lecture Series flyer.<br><br>
-Gayle <br>
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