EcoSummit 2012 - Ecological Sustainability-Restoring the Planet’s Ecosystem Services

 

From the website:  www.ecosummit2012.org 

EcoSummit 2012 will bring together the world's most respected minds in ecological science to discuss restoring the planet's ecosystems. Come hear Nobel Prize laureate Elinor Ostrom, Pulitzer Prize winners E.O. Wilson and Jared Diamond, Kyoto Prize winner Simon Levin, Stockholm Water Prize laureates Sven Jørgensen and William Mitsch, and many others in the first conference ever linking the Ecological Society of America (ESA), The International Association for Ecology (INTECOL) and the Society for Ecological Restoration International (SER).

Over 1950 abstracts from 100 countries have been received by EcoSummit 2012 for presentations in 67 symposia, dozens of general sessions, and hundreds of poster presentations. More than a dozen professional workshops and forums with 200 additional participants will also be included in the Program.

The symposia, general sessions, posters, and workshops cover a wide variety of ecological topics, over the entire week of the conference in parallel sessionsincluding:

• ecological restoration and ecological engineering
• estimating ecosystem services
• global change issues including climate change effects and the future of food security
• lake, wetland, river, forest and agro-ecosystem management
• corporate involvement in the environment
• sustainable economics and business practices 

Ecosystems such as streams, rivers, inland and coastal wetlands, grasslands, and forests provide numerous services that fundamentally support human health and well-being. This international conference will explore innovative science-based strategies that are socially and culturally acceptable to create, manage, and restore these ecosystems, ensuring that society has access to all these ecosystem services. Our aim is to provide a high-profile platform for dialogue among researchers, planners and decision-makers to develop a better understanding of the complex nature of ecological systems and the means to protect and enhance their services.

Topics

Sustainability and Resilience Ecosystem Creation and Restoration/Ecological Engineering Global Change Ecosystem Services Ecological Indicators Biodiversity and Biological Conservation Climate Change Ecological Complexity Ecotoxicology

Ecological Economics Ecological Modelling Biological Invasions Ecosystem Health Environmental Policy Ecological Knowledge Coastal Problems Caused by Upland Pollution Sources Watershed/River Catchment Management Ecohydrology

S.I.M. City Baltimore - Urban Design Studio

Take a look at the exciting S.I.M. City Baltimore design studio website created by senior undergraduate students from Parsons The New School of Design. S.I.M. stands for sustainable infrastructure models and references the urban design simulation game SIM City. Within this studio the students are creating sustainable design scenarios at the urban block level. They worked in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Harlem Park along with BES researchers, the Baltimore City Sustainability Department planners, Parks & People and community members.

This is a great interactive website which includes many photos and video. Be sure to check it out at this link:http://sce.parsons.edu/studiocourses/BaltimoreStudio2010