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State
of the Planet 2002:
A
Conference Exploring Science and Sustainability
Contents
About
the Conference
Hotel
Information
Transportation
Steering
Committee
Registration
Form
The State of the
Planet follow-up newsletter is now available for download in PDF
format. Click HERE to download
it.
About
the Conference
Responding to the global
call for greater clarity about the sustainable future of planet
Earth, Columbia University, in collaboration with London School
of Economics and Political Science, Harvard University, and UNESCO,
will convene the State of the Planet 2002 Conference on
May 13 and 14, 2002.
Preceding the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, scheduled for August 2002
in Johannesburg, South Africa, the State of the Planet Conference
will bring together leading international scientists, opinion-makers,
and policy experts to explore the theme: Science And Sustainability.
Participants will bring
scientifically informed perspectives to bear on the major social,
economic, and political challenges to sustainable development, focusing
on three pressing issues:
-
Global Food Security:
How will the world feed its 9 billion people by the year 2050
adequately?
-
Conservation
of Biological Resources: How can humans learn to become
nature's protector?
-
Urban Sustainability:
Mega-cities, such as New York City, Mexico City, and Rome, are
taking early steps toward becoming viable habitats for the future.
How can we encourage these initiatives?
In the last part of
the 20th century, science has advanced our understanding
in fields such as climate forecasting, biotechnology,
water management, global carbon cycling, and ecosystem dynamics
-- fields that have a profound relevance in the lives of all the
world's peoples. Yet, by any reasonable measure, fully one third
of humankind is poor and inequities between the developed and underdeveloped
world are growing. The dreadful events of September 11th
are a chilling reminder that almost all radical movements come out
of the world's most impoverished countries.
Scientists and others
experts at the 2002 conference will explore and debate how scientific
and technological advances, largely in the developed world, might
reasonably contribute to the support of the world's 6.1 billion
people, expected to rapidly increase to 9 billion.
Participants will reflect
on the contributions of the natural and social sciences to date,
and lay out the framework for constructive future relations between
the scientific community and government leaders, international organizations
and others for reaching the goals of sustainable development.
Threaded throughout
these discussions, conference participants will consider a suite
of common concerns including governance, vulnerability to natural
hazards, climate change, water security, distribution and equity
issues, as well as the role of indigenous knowledge and faith in
amplifying or removing barriers to progress in developing countries.
The issues this conference
will address - and the solutions we envision - call for new kinds
of collaboration between the scientific, policy and governing communities
and a fundamentally new way of tackling the problem. Public understanding
of the issues at stake and the need for collaboration is critical.
We hope to highlight the important findings of this State
of the Planet 2002 Conference in a publicly accessible,
televised session in which the science and social dimensions of
sustainable development are brought into focus and connection. To
accomplish this goal, we hope that a leading commentator - well
known and respected in the public eye - will preside at a 'town
hall' style session that brings together world
leaders who have dedicated themselves to understanding sustainability
with leading world-class scientists who can articulate the scientific
perspective.
We cannot secure our
future as a species if we do not first understand what impact we
have, and have had, on the planet we inhabit. Getting at that understanding
- and framing viable solutions for our future - is what this conference
is all about.
Hotel
Information:
(If you are a speaker,
please email Ji Mi Choi
for reservations)
The Lucerne Hotel
201 West 79th Street (corner of Amsterdam Avenue)
New York, NY 10024
800-492-8122 or 212-875-1000 or lucerne@newyorkhotel.com
Make reservations using Group Information: Columbia State of
the Planet (#110065)
The rate will be $150 per night for a standard queen or double room
and $170 for a junior suite. Taxes are additional.
The Lucerne features 250 European inspired deluxe guest rooms and
suites in a 12-story building. The hotel has a business center,
fitness center, and complimentary breakfast every morning. Rooms
include: coffee maker, hair dryer, and other amenities. Please see
http://www.newyorkhotel.com
for more information.
You can reach Columbia University from the Lucerne by taking the
red line 1 subway at 79th Street and Broadway uptown to 116th Street.
You can also take the M104 bus on 79th and Broadway. A yellow taxi
will cost approximately $5 USD from the hotel to the university.
Hotel Beacon
2130 Broadway at 75th Street
New York, NY 10023
800-572-4969 or 212-787-1100
Make reservations using Group Information: Columbia State of
the Planet Conference
The rate will be $195 per night for a suite.
The Beacon features over 200 rooms in a 25-story building. Suites
have a bedroom with two double beds, a living room with a pull out
sofa bed, a kitchenette, and a marble bathroom. Please see http://www.beaconhotel.com
for more information.
You can reach Columbia University from the Beacon by taking the
red line 1 subway at 72nd Street or 79th Street and Broadway uptown
to 116th Street. You can also take the M104 bus on Broadway. A yellow
taxi will cost approximately $5 USD from the hotel to the university.
Transportation:
By New York City
Public Transportation:
Five bus lines (M4, M5, M11, M60, M104) and one subway line
(the red line #1) serve the Columbia neighborhood. The M60 bus is
a direct link between campus and LaGuardia Airport. The Columbia
stop is 116th Street. If you use IRT express trains #2
or 3, which follow a different route and do not stop at Columbia
University, be certain to transfer at the 96th Street station to
the #1 to the 116th Street station.
From Airports:
For visitors coming into LaGuardia, Kennedy, or Newark airports,
taxi service is available to the campus (about $20 from LaGuardia,
at least $40 from Kennedy), and there is bus service to Grand Central
Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Bus service directly
from LaGuardia airport to Columbia, the M60 city bus, is also available.
By Car from the New
York Airports:
LaGuardia: Take the Grand Central Parkway west to the Triborough
Bridge to Manhattan. Follow 125th St across Manhattan 12 blocks
to Broadway, which is under an elevated subway structure. Left onto
Broadway, to 116th St. Kennedy: Take the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678)
to the Whitestone Bridge and across. Get onto I-95 south and follow
the directions above under "By Car from the North." Newark:
Follow directions under "By Car from the South or West."
By Car from the North:
Take the New York Thruway (I-87) or the New England Thruway
(I-95) south to the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95) in the direction
of the George Washington Bridge. Take the exit for the Henry Hudson
Parkway south (the last exit before the bridge). Exit the Parkway
at West 95th Street and Riverside Drive and follow the directions
from Riverside Dr. and 95th Street.
By Car from South
or West:
Take the New Jersey Turnpike north or I-80 east to the George
Washington Bridge. As you cross the bridge, take the exit for the
Henry Hudson Parkway south. Exit the Parkway at West 95th Street
and Riverside Drive and follow the directions from Riverside Dr.
and 95th Street.
By Car from Long
Island:
Take the Long Island Expressway or the Grand Central Parkway
west to the Cross Island Parkway north. Cross the Throgs Neck Bridge
onto the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95 south) and Proceed as in "By
Car from the North."
From Riverside Drive
and West 95th Street:
Go north on Riverside Drive to 116th Street. Turn right and
go two blocks to Broadway and the University's main gate. Please
note that the main gate is not open to traffic.
Parking:
You may park on the street or use the local parking garages.
The 512-520 Garage is located at the corner of 112th Street and
Amsterdam; the Riverside Church Parking Garage is located on 120th
Street between Claremont Avenue and Riverside Drive.
By Train or Bus:
Trains to New York arrive at Grand Central Station or Pennsylvania
Station, while buses stop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where
a visitor can take either public transportation or a taxi north
to the campus.
Steering
Committee, State of the Planet 2002 Conference:
Dr. John Mutter,
[ Bio
]
Associate Vice Provost, Columbia Earth Institute, Committee Chair
Dr. William Baker,
[
Bio ]
WNET Channel 13
Dr. Peter Bridgewater,
[ Bio
]
UNESCO
Dr. William Clark,
[
Bio ]
Harvard University
Dr. Joel Cohen,
[ Bio
]
Columbia University/The Rockefeller University
Dr. Geoffrey Heal,
[
Bio ]
Graduate School of Business, Columbia University
Dr. Roberto Lenton,
[ Bio
]
Secretariat for International Affairs and Development, International
Research Institute for Climate Prediction, Columbia University
Dr. Roberta Balstad
Miller,
Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia
University
Dr. James Putzel,
[ Bio
]
Development Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science
Dr. Judith Rees,
London School of Economics and Political Science
Dr. Shiv Someshwar,
The Rockefeller Foundation
Dr. Maurice Strong,
United Nations
Ji
Mi Choi,
Project Manager, Columbia Earth Institute
Mariellen Gallagher,
Columbia Earth Institute
Kathleen Mastriani,
Columbia Earth Institute
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