There are some great free events coming up tomorrow, Thursday the 5th. These events are kicking off the Arizona State University Darwinfest. Check them out and head to all that you can. You do not need to be a student to participate and it sounds like there is some really cool stuff going on! Here is the e-mail I just received, note when an RSVP is required.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see a FREE showing of Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy and meet the film’s director!

ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability invites you to attend three public events, celebrating:

ASU’s Teach-In on Global Warming
Thursday, February 5, 2009
http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/teachin
Take Action. Change the world. It starts with one.

National Webcast: The First 100 Days
Time: 8:30 - 11 AM
Location: GIOS 102
Hosts/Sponsors: GIOS, SOS, Engrained, Whole Foods, Tempe

Continental breakfast and viewing of “The First 100 Days,” a discussion of what needs to happen early in the Obama administration featuring David Orr, Hunter Lovins, Ray Anderson, and an interview with youth climate leaders Billy Parish, Wahleah Johns, and their baby Tohanna. They talk about the importance of student activism in the first 100 days; the potential impact of green jobs; and challenges facing today’s students.

The webcast is 30-minutes long and will be replayed the whole morning.

A Student Action
Time: 8:30 - 11 AM
Location: GIOS front steps
Hosts: Students of AZ Network for Sustainability (SANS)

Petitioning the Arizona Corporation Commission to increase the renewable energy standard for Arizona’s utilities, an important step towards energy independence.

Students Act Now for Sustainability
Time: 11 AM - 2 PM
Location: ASU Student Services Lawn
Hosts/Sponsors: GIOS, SANS, Chipotle, ASU environmental groups

When it comes to activism, the students at ASU are it. Sustainability is it. And it IS our time for change. February 5th presents a time for people to come together. It also presents a choice. Come out and stand. For your future, for your values, for your sustainability beliefs, and everything that is to come. Included: free food, action opportunities, and a Swiss energy display! The “Climate Trail” display, on loan from the Swiss Consulate, is a walk-through exhibit that is premiering on the Student Services Lawn and will be traveling around the ASU Tempe Campus through February 13th.

Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (part of ASU’s Darwinfest) (RSVP required)
Time: 5 - 5:30 PM: Reception sponsored by Wholefoods Tempe and Engrained Restaurant
5:30 - 7:30 PM: Showing of Sizzle with post-film panel discussion led by the Filmmaker!
Location: Murdock Hall 201, ASU’s Tempe Campus (map)

Hosts/Sponsors: School of Life Sciences, Center for Biology and Society, GIOS, Institute for Humanities Research,

School of Earth and Space Exploration, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Whole Foods Tempe, Engrained Restaurant

Meet the Filmmaker! Free, but you must RSVP at: sustainabilityevents@asu.edu. Even with a reservation, seating is not guaranteed but is first-come, first-served! Sizzle, a novel blend of three genres-mockumentary, documentary, and reality: Scientist-turned-filmmaker Dr. Randy Olson, is a fan of Al Gore’s global-warming movie, but asks, “Where are all the scientists?” Join Dr. Olson for a reception before the film showing, and he and a panel of ASU experts for discussion following the movie, moderated by John D’Anna of The Arizona Republic. Panelists: Susanne Neuer (Associate Professor, SoLS) and Daniel Bernardi (Director, Film and Media Studies)

RSVPs are required for the film at sustainabilityevents@asu.edu; Trailer

Lauren Kuby
Manager, Events and Community Engagement
Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University
PO Box 875402, Tempe AZ 85287-5402
http://sustainability.asu.edu

ASU president Micheal Crow, UA president Robert Shelton, and NAU president John Haeger discuss Arizona’s proposed budget cuts to higher education on KAET’s Horizon.

Related: Arizona budget cuts stifle innovation

Everyone in the nation is being severely impacted by the economic downturn, and the public universities are no exception.  You may wonder why I would discuss ASU budget cuts on the Arizona Sustainability blog but the main heart of innovation is found in the universities.  Researchers, both student and professional, work tirelessly to find better ways to address problems ranging from social to medical to environmental.  The research that goes on at ASU is invaluable to society.

The strides that have recently been made by their Global Institute of Sustainability working together with the School of Earth and Space Exploration and other departments have been encouraging, now the budget cut seems a direct cut on our future and potential.  Most research is conducted based on grant funding which is not dependent on the state budget, for the most part, however, for the professors, students, and researchers to remain at ASU they rely on state funding for pretty much everything else.  I am discouraged and worried that all of the education system (primary, secondary, and higher) gets hit hard when the economy suffers and that directly translates to more strain on students and teachers making success more difficult to attain.  The future of innovation in the field of sustainability is on the chopping block, not just for ASU but for all Arizona universities and public schools.  There has got to be a better way?

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY News Release

January 15, 2006

Proposed Budget Cuts Would Severely Damage ASU, Negatively Impact 67,000 Students and their families, and Would Put Arizona on the Path to Resembling a Third World Country

TEMPE, Ariz. – The options proposed by the state legislature today would cut the university system’s budget by up to $243 million for the remaining few months of fiscal year 2009 and $388 million for fiscal year 2010. This would be the largest higher education budget reduction in the state’s history. Cuts of this magnitude would require Arizona State University to reduce costs by up to $126 million in less than five months and $194 million next fiscal year.

ASU opened its FY09 budget year having already taken more than more than $37 million in state funding cuts in the previous 18 months, resulting in the elimination of 265 jobs. Since that time, it has taken additional actions in preparation for the possibility of further reductions that has led to a cumulative elimination of almost 500 staff positions and over 200 faculty associates, the disestablishment of two schools and a reduction in the number of nursing students.

ASU administrators say that it is unreasonable and irresponsible to expect ASU, the state’s largest university and the producer of more than half the state’s bachelor’s degrees each year, to suffer cuts anywhere this magnitude without severely curtailing the service it provides its 67,000 students and reducing the enormously important role it plays in the state’s economy.

“The fact that the legislature has known about the state budget problems for months and failed to take appropriate and effective action to minimize harm to Arizona’s families and economy is unconscionable,” says ASU President Michael M. Crow. “Our students and their families, ASU alumni, and the working men and women of Arizona—all of whom are taxpayers and will be impacted by this action—deserve better.”

“The decisions made by our elected leaders concerning the FY09 and FY10 budgets will be the most important political decisions made in the nearly 100-year history of the state,” he continued. “For that very reason, there needs to be a thoughtful and public discussion of the options. Otherwise the Arizona of the future may more closely resemble a far-off, Third World country than nearby states such as Colorado and Texas.”

Arizona State University pumps $3.2 billion dollars each year into the state’s economy and creates tens of thousands of jobs. Each year it graduates more than 14,000 students, including engineers, nurses, mathematicians, scientists, teachers and entrepreneurs. These graduates, which include more than 151,000 alumni still living in the state, are responsible, in turn, for tens of billions of dollars of the state’s gross domestic product and constitute the largest single group of taxpayers in Arizona.

“You can’t cut your way out of a budget deficit of this magnitude,” said Dennis Hoffman. “The legislature needs to consider other options because a budget cut of this magnitude, if taken, will cause a sharp drop in the state’s GDP and prolong what is already a painful recession.”

ASU had already been planning for an additional cut of five percent by taking actions to reduce expenses while preserving educational quality, access to a college education, and the production of a skilled workforce. Cuts of the magnitude proposed today would cause the university to layoff and/or furlough additional employees, and consider program reductions that might affect students entering in fall 2009 and beyond.

SOURCE:

Virgil Renzulli, virgil.renzulli@asu.edu

(480) 965-8526 direct line

MEDIA CONTACT:

Terri Shafer, terri.shafer@asu.edu

(480) 965-3865 direct line / (602) 363-2318 cell

Arizona State University

Tempe, Arizona USA

www.asu.edu

Related: Arizona university presidents discuss proposed budget cuts

Very cool little blog on ASU’s GIOS building over at Inhabitat. Head over there and check out some nice pictures of the building. Lots of cool green features in this renovated building. I remember when it was really dark and drab back when it was the nursing school building.

Old bequeaths new in the form of Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, situated in the campus’ beautifully renovated former Nursing Building. Conceived by Lord, Aeck & Sargent along with Gould Evans Associates, the $6 million renovation included asbestos abatement and standard modernization for classroom use along with a bundle of environmentally and sustainable enhancements. Their innovation turned a once dreary, old and dark building into a new institute filled with enough daylight to inspire its new inhabitants as they look for ways to improve the environment, the economy, and the social challenges we all face today.

Inhabitat

This sounds like fun, will definitely have to check it out.

Meet representatives from student and local organizations, learn what’s going on in the community, and find out how you can get involved.

• Student Sustainability Fair, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, Hayden Lawn
• Ed Hermes, ASU graduate and candidate for Maricopa County Supervisor, speaks about getting involved locally, 12 PM, Hayden Lawn
• Short Film Series, 6-8pm, GIOS 481

GIOS Events Calendar