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COOL COMMUNITIES / LIVING ECONOMIES 2006Press ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A creative economy geared toward protecting environment and renewing communities – this modest vision is the topic of a regional conference set for October 14 at SUNY New Paltz. COOL COMMUNITIES/ LIVING ECONOMIES will bring together innovators in business, government, and financing, along with citizens, educators and leaders in the creative economy. The conference focuses on key industries including clean, renewable energy, recycling-based manufacturing, nontoxic and locally sourced materials for buildings and health care. And it weaves in the broader creative economy including information, communications and the arts, as catalysts and supports for innovation as well as industries in their own right. Opening keynote speaker L. Hunter Lovins is an internationally known figure in sustainable economic development. She is a coathor of Natural Capitalism (Harvard Business School Press, 1999) and an advisor to governments and industry. She will speak on the depth of the climate crisis and – at the same time – the rich opportunities for industrial and fiscal innovation to address it through market strategies that promote economic vitality. These opportunities in “clean tech” -- including renewable energy technologies, recycling based industries and natural resource industries -- will be explored as aspects of the technological “creative economy” that deserves that title along with communications industries and the arts. Lovins will also present a public lecture on the evening of October 13 at SUNY. Produced by Sustainable Hudson Valley with many partners including the New York Planning Federation and the SUNY Environmental Action Task Force, the event blends education and strategy with celebration of the local leadership already emerging to build this new economy. Additional co-sponsors include the Hudson Valley Regional Council, Regional Farm and Food Project, Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program, and more than twenty businesses (listed at the end of this document). According to Melissa Everett, Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, “All summer, people have been going to see ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and saying ‘Wow. We need to take action.’ But the responses seem either abstract – like big changes in energy policy – or insignificant. We are focusing on a middle ground, the choices of economic direction and community vision that are within the scope of our towns, villages and cities. Protecting climate is about new sources of energy, including conservation – but it is also about economic innovation in every industry, and about meeting basic needs locally to reduce dependency on long-distance transportation of goods.” The day will publicly launch a Sustainable Business Network for the region, bringing together locally-owned enterprises committed to community and environmentally friendly operations. Over thirty similar networks around the United States serve as resources for existing business groups, provide training and marketing support for greener business practices, and in some cases make policy recommendations. Charter members of the Sustainable Hudson Valley Business Network represent the building and home products, communications,food, recycling, finance and business services industries. Architect Rick Alfandre, a charter member of the Network, observes, “I believe we are finding ways to marry economic vitality with ecological preservation and restoration. It’s time to be talking about restoration of the natural environment alongside with economic growth and quality of life. The connections that are crystallizing through this network help to accelerate these innovations.” This “action conference” is focused on outcomes that will strengthen industries and businesses oriented toward environmental sustainability, with specific collaborative projects. Initiatives to be considered will include: Local and regional strategies for protecting jobs and strengthening community vitality will be discussed by experts including Wayne Fawbush, founder of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, and Gwendolyn Hallsmith of Global Community Initiatives. Hallsmith guided Burlington, Vermont in its Legacy Project, which framed a successful development strategy including the integration of arts and technology industries, a vibrant waterfront, and the targeting of job creation in areas of poverty. She is now bringing the same systemic approach to the Hudson Valley City of Newburgh. The first annual Jane Jacobs Community Vision Award will be presented at the conference lunch forum. NEW YORK PLANNING FEDERATION ALFANDRE ARCHITECTURE ( categories: )
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Cool Communities - Living Economies |
