Repower Nebraska - a project with the Alliance for Climate ProtectionOmaha has been chosen by the The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the host city for the North American celebrations of World Environment Day 2009. This year’s theme is “UNite to Combat Climate Change.” During the period between Earth Day (April 22) and World Environment Day (June 5), events throughout the community will highlight resources, initiatives and methods that promote low carbon economies and lifestyles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.
The selection of Omaha reflects the city’s commitment to environmental and sustainability issues. This commitment is demonstrated by the creation of the Green Omaha Coalition, a partnership of public agencies, non-profit groups and private organizations dedicated to promoting a healthy, sustainable community through partnerships, policy, and smart solutions, as well as Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey’s signing of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. In addition, Omaha was recently ranked 25th nationally in SustainLane’s 2008 U.S. Cities Sustainability Rankings.
http://www.repoweramerica.org
Organizational Meeting
Saturday, May 30
2 p.m. to approximately 4 p.m.
W. Dale Clark Library (Downtown branch)
215 S. 15th St.
Meeting rooms 2 and 3, lower level
Green Omaha Coalition Citizens' Roundtable
Monday, June 1
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Truhlsen Lecture Hall
The Durham Museum
Mary Ferdig/Sustainable Leadership Institute will moderate a discussion with Mayor Elect Jim Suttle, City Planner Steve Jensen, Omaha by Design’s Connie Spellman, Craig Moody-Young Professional Council/Chamber of Commerce, Daniel Lawse-Neighborhood Center, Tim Hemsath-Professor of Architecture – University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Andrew Jameton – UNMC Center College for Public Health
Green Omaha Coalition
Walk for the Environment
Tuesday, June 2
11 am to 2 pm
with the walk beginning at noon
Miller's Landing
151 Freedom Park Road
Omaha, Nebraska
DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of the walk which will involve no registration or fees is to celebrate Omaha's selection by the United Nations as the North American host city for World Environment Day
The walk will begin at noon. A short program will precede the start of the walk. Walkers will set off at Miller's Landing and continue along the Missouri Riverwalk to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge that links Omaha to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The park at Miller's Landing and the three covered pavilions will be available all day for participants' enjoyment. Additional festivities to encourage all citizens to be good stewards of our world are planned. Everyone is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
Trees Omaha Initiative | Grant Opportunities for Neighborhoods
Tuesday, June 2 – 7 pm.
Metropolitan Community College
Fort Omaha Campus (30th & Fort Sts.)
Building 29, the Horticulture Building
This is an initial meeting to discuss how grant money can be used to help neighborhood groups and organizations plant trees in their neighborhoods and parks.
The Nature Conservancy and United Nations Environment Programme Present
Forum: UNite to Combat Climate Change
Wednesday, June 3
With Dr. Amy Fraenkel, United Nations Environment Programme Director for North America and The Nature Conservancy’s Dr. Joseph Fargione, Lead Scientist, Central US Region & Dr. Jonathan Hoekstra, Director of Climate Science and Adaptation
2:30 PM
Milo Bail Student Center
University of Nebraska at Omaha
FREE!
A science-based panel discussion on climate change, its potential impact on the Great Plains and pragmatic solutions
An overview of climate change and what it means for Nebraska
A local real-life example - how will climate change impact our grassland birds
Renewable energy development in the Great Plains: are wind and biofuels the solution?
PANEL
Joseph Fargione, Lead Scientist, Central US Region, The Nature Conservancy - Fargione received his doctorate in Ecology from the University of Minnesota in 2004, and his B.A. in Ecology from Hampshire College. His published research has focused on the benefits of biodiversity and the causes and consequences of its loss. Specifically, his work has addressed climate change, invasive species, ecosystem services, global agricultural land use, and nitrogen pollution, and has been published in several leading scientific journals. His recent paper in Science, "Land clearing and the biofuel carbon debt" was covered in many national media outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, NBC Nightly News, and Time magazine. His current work focuses on biofuel impacts, wind energy siting, grassland carbon offset projects, and climate change impacts and adaptation.
Jonathan Hoekstra, Director of Climate Science and Adaptation, The Nature Conservancy
Jonathan provides strategic leadership for developing practical, conservation-based strategies that help nature and people resist and recover from unavoidable climate change impacts, and works with TNC staff and partners to apply those strategies on the ground and in the water. Jonathan collaborates with scientists from TNC, universities, and other conservation organizations to support innovative conservation approaches and important policies with top-notch science. Jonathan previously led the Conservancy's emerging strategies unit, providing early science leadership for conservation strategies around ecosystem services, agriculture, energy and transportation, and directed the Conservancy's Global Habitat Assessment Team. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and a Ph.D in Zoology from the University of Washington.
Duane Pool, Science Coordinator, Migratory Bird Program, The Nature Conservancy
Pecha Kucha Night – Omaha Volume 04
"How Green is your Garden"
Thursday June 4th 2009 – 8:20 pm
Slowdown
729 N 14th
Omaha, NE 68102
Join us as daOMA (design alliance OMAha) in partnership with Slowdown presents a special PECHA KUCHA NIGHT* for UN World Environment Day 2009. Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. Omaha is one of over 170 cities worldwide that host Pecha Kucha Night. PKN provides daOMA a great vehicle to spotlight some of the great “sustainable” and creative talent in our region and community. FREE
http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/omaha
http://www.designallianceomaha.org/
*Pecha Kucha Night, was devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture), in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. But as we all know, give a mic to a designer (especially an architect) and you’ll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.
World Premiere!
HOME
A film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Friday, June 5
9 pm – Holland Performing Arts Center Courtyard
FREE
Omaha, as North America’s host city for the United Nations World Environment Day, will join cities around the world in the release of HOME, a stunning tour of our planet shot in high definition entirely from the air.
Similar free screening will occur on June 5 at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, in New York’s Central Park and London’s Trafalgar Square. The premiere will take place in more 100 countries and in 23 languages.
In addition to these public screenings, the film will also be released simultaneously in all media - TV, DVD and streaming on the internet at http://www.youtube.com/homeproject.
Directed by internationally renowned French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, produced by world famous director Luc Besson and narrated by five-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons), Home aims to change the way people see the planet and their impact on it. Shot in high definition in 54 countries and 120 locations over 217 days, the unique and first-time ever all-aerial filming style highlights the Earth’s wonders as well as its wounds and provides a necessary perspective to approach the changing environment.
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high as humankind has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption. Following in the tradition of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Home sets out to shift people’s perceptions, inspire action and lay a foundation for the edifice that must be rebuilt. For more on the movie see http://www.home-2009.com.
The Omaha Screening will be held in the outdoor courtyard of the Holland Performing Arts Center (13th & Douglas) at 9 PM on World Environment Day (Friday, June 5). It is a FREE event. Bring your lawn chairs
Tunza: Taking Care of the Earth Reading Activities
Sponsored by Bayer Corporation
Each of these programs at Omaha Children’s Museum will highlight a children’s book from the United Nations Environment Programme and will include both a reading and a related activity. These programs are offered with regular museum admission.
June 5 – 12:30 pm
Book: Theo and the Giant Plastic Ball
Activity: Rubber Band Balls
June 19 – 10:30 am
Book: Tina and the Green City
Activity: Rooftop Garden
(children will need to bring a shoebox from home)
July 10 – 10:30 am
Book: Togu and the Trees of Life
Activity: Rainforest Pins
July 18 – 10:30 am
Book: Tore and the Town on Thin Ice
Activity: Garden in a Glove
August 8 – 10:30 am
Book: Ting and the Possible Futures
Activity: Windmills
Omaha Children’s Museum – International Children’s Painting Competition Exhibition
June 5 through September 6, 2009
Omaha Children’s Museum
500 South 20th Street
Free with museum admission
The exhibition is part of the celebration of United Nations World Environment Day and the selection of Omaha as the North American Host City for 2009. The exhibition of 60 children's paintings is organized annually by the United Nations Environment Programme and is sponsored by Bayer Corporation. Established in 1990, the International Children’s Painting Competition invites elementary and middle school students ages six to 14 to learn about the environment and express that knowledge creatively through art. Regional winners are selected from UNEP’s six regions including North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe . The paintings are reviewed by a panel of judges. This year, Wyland, the Laguna Beach based seascape artist and muralist, headed up the judging panel for the North American competition. The first- and second-place winners' works are included in the exhibition.
