Prospects for a green economy...

Orakarg (Agenda) business newspaper conducted this interview about prospects for a Green Economy in Armenia after my talk at TEDx Yerevan on Redefining our economic systems: Could a forest be worth more than a gold mine? The article was titled, Finding wealth in the soil: Green economy can replace mining.

Պրն Սոհիգյան, ի՞նչ է կանաչ տնտեսությունը:

Կանաչ տնտեսությունը հասկացություն է, որն առաջին անգամ օգտագործվել է ՄԱԿ-ի շրջակա միջավայրի պահպանության ծրագրում՝ նկարագրելու տնտեսության այնպիսի մոդել, որը կարող է նպաստել մարդկանց բարեկեցությանը և սոցիալական հավասարությանը՝ միաժամանակ նվազեցնելով ռիսկերը շրջակա միջավայրի համար: Այս թեման քննարկումների լայն ալիք է ստեղծել համաշխարհային հարթակներում, քանի որ այսօր մենք կանգնած ենք բնական ռեսուրսների ոչնչացման եզրին: Այս թեմային է նվիրված նաև «Կայուն զարգացում» խորագրով «Ռիո 20» համաժողով:

Կանաչ տնտեսության կարևորությունն այն է, որ գոյություն ունի կապ, ասենք, անտառների և ջրային ռեսուրսների միջև, ինչի պատճառով բիզնեսը կախված է շրջակա միջավայրից: Անտառները թույլ են տալիս պաշտպանվել ջրհեղեղներից և ապահովում են հողատարածքների վերականգնումը: Հետևաբար, շրջակա միջավայրի ռազմավարությունը կարող է պաշտպանել կարևոր ջրբաժանները անտառների պահպանության միջոցով: Այսինքն՝ բնության մեջ ամեն ինչ փոխկապակցված է, ինչը կարելի է օգտագործել տնտեսական նկատառումներով:

Հայաստանի համար որքանո՞վ է կարևոր կանաչ տնտեսությունը, եթե հաշվի առնենք, որ, օրինակ, տնտեսությունը ծայրահեղորեն կախված է հանքարդյունաբերությունից:

2011թ. սեպտեմբերին երևանյան TEDx-ին իմ ելույթում ես նշեցի, որ Հայաստանի տնտեսության համար ռազմավարական նշանակություն ունեցող առնվազն երեք ոլորտներ կախված են շրջակա միջավայրից: Դա ըմպելիքների արտադրության, տուրիզմի և հիդրոէներգետիկայի ոլորտներն են, որոնցից յուրաքանչյուրը Հայաստանի տնտեսության կարևոր մասն է:

The rest of the interview is available here. Stay tuned for a follow up article on this topic in English in the coming weeks.

Preserving Armenia's architectural memory...

Working with the environmental organization Earthwatch Institute, Jane Britt Greenwood is leading a series of architectural research expeditions that will take international volunteers to Gyumri, Armenia. An associate dean at the College of Architecture, Art, and Design at Mississippi State University, Jane and her husband Allen went to Armenia after the earthquake of 1988 to assist in the establishment of the American University of Armenia.

After leaving Armenia, Greenwood began looking for ways to be involved in the reconstruction of the country she had come to love. As an architect, the rebuilding of Armenia's infrastructure interested her, but she was disappointed to find that the new buildings generally lacked the traditional Armenian character. In a recent article in the Armenian Weekly, Preserving Architectural Memory, Greenwood describes the Earthwatch expedition as well as the work of the Heritage Conservation Network and Historic Armenian Houses.

“The reminders of who we are and where we come from are inherent in the architecture that surrounds us, yet we often do not realize it until those reminders no longer exist,” writes Greenwood. “When it comes to issues of conservation and preservation, the need to restore small-scale residential architecture is often overlooked in favor of maintaining those structures perceived as having more important civic and/or religious value.”

“There needs to be an understanding of how residential architecture in Armenia evolved so that architectural memories of the past can be re-interpreted to create new memories for the future. Without these efforts, cultural identity associated with Armenian lifestyle will be lost,” cautions Greenwood.

During the summer of 2008, research activities will be in the second of a three-year project funded by Earthwatch. The project, Armenia’s Architectural Heritage, involves the documentation of houses constructed between 1840 and 1920 when Gyumri was known as Alexandrapol. “The residential architecture from this time period is currently at risk of being destroyed due to economic development and to years of neglect in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in 1988,” notes Greenwood.

In 2007, three teams of volunteers documented oral histories while they measured, drew, and photographed five dwellings in the Kumayri Historic District of Gyumri. Greenwood plans to use the information to develop a “visual vocabulary of the elements and components of residential architecture that produce diverse and unique regional characteristics,” which can be used to guide the future growth and development of Gyumri while preserving the quality of its architecture.

The Heritage Conservation Network workshop aims to document the buildings through a process of de-construction and re-construction. Greenwood reports that arrangements are being made with USAID for this project to serve as a job training exercise for masons, with a workshop “to help bring life back to the historic stone residences representative of Gyumri.” Heritage Conservation Network is a non-profit organization located in the US that utilizes the skills and efforts of volunteers to help save the world’s architectural heritage.

One of the goals of the workshop is to demonstrate how preservation can be a cost effective and sustainable process, creating jobs related to restoration and re-construction, and increasing regional income through “heritage tourism.”

Finally, Historic Armenian Houses was formed in 2004 to research and preserve the historic houses of Armenia. “Whether rebuilding in the wake of natural disasters or in response to economic development, there is an urgent need to design and construct in a manner sensitive to the memory of people and places,” writes Greenwood.

“Disseminating information that documents the process used for the Kumayri Historic District will provide a prototypical methodology that can be applied to other Armenian cities and towns looking to construct and design neighborhoods reflective of their national heritage,” she emphasizes. “Identifying vernacular neighborhood, architectural, and landscape pattern languages will provide a guide for designing and building structures consistent with the unique and distinct traditions inherent in Armenian culture.”

For more background and information about this work, an extensive interview with Jane Britt Greenwood published by Hetq Online and the Armenian Weekly is available here (and here in French).

Clark University advances environmental sustainability…

The cover article of the Fall 2007 issue of the Clark University magazine notes that the university and its faculty, students, and alumni have long been at the forefront in examining the drivers of environmental sustainability.

A Clark University Environmental Sustainability task force is examining environmental issues on campus to help Clark move into the next decade with a greener profile. Task force initiatives include an annual report card on environmental sustainability and urging the university to join the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

Other initiatives include Campus Sustainability Day and a student campaign to invest in wind power to offset the amount of “dirty” electricity they use, writes Tammy Griffin-Kumpey in “The Sustainable University.” A Clark Energy Awareness Program was founded to educate the campus about energy conservation and begin a dialogue about energy conservation. In addition, the Lasry Center for Bioscience received a Gold Leadership in Energy and Design certification and the new student residence Blackstone Hall is in the process of LEED certification.

The article interviews several faculty members working in the field of environmental sustainability, including Jennie Stephens (see photo by Rob Carlin) who teaches a course that challenges students to think about sustainability in the context of the university as an agent of change. Campus greening is a hot topic, she says, and there’s a push for campus communities to demonstrate good sustainability practices and integrate them into the curriculum and across disciplines, and also to reach out to facilitate societal change.

Stephens researches carbon capture and storage technologies that remove carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants before it’s emitted into the atmosphere, and she notes that climate change is an urgent sustainability issue. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing as a direct result of human burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, which in turn leads to increasing global average temperatures, rising sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather events, writes Griffin-Kumpey.

Another profile features geographer B.L. Turner II, who teaches “The Earth Transformed by Human Action,” which considers the increasing capacity of humankind to manipulate the structure and function of the Earth’s system. Turner has been involved with a project in Yucatán, examining this coupled system in a tropical forest and how it relates to deforestation. “When the use and cover of some segment of the Earth is changing, it has social and environmental implications,” explains Turner.

Management professor Joe Sarkis says businesses face pressure to be environmentally responsible from government, competitors, consumers, and employees. There are a lot of reasons why businesses would want to be greener, but there debates as to whether or not good environmental responsibility relates to good financial performance. “Companies that are spending a lot to be environmentally sound may not realize the returns for many years, but part of that return is that they exist many years down the line. Companies that look for the easy buck in the short term might lose out in the end,” he says.

Finally, the cover article includes sidebar stories about Clark alumni who are working in the field of environmental sustainability. Colleen Mullaney profiles my work with Armenia Tree Project, Angela Mwandia’s work with the Africa Stockpiles Program of the World Wildlife Fund, which cleans up obsolete pesticides, and Sharon Rowe’s innovative company EcoBags.

Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change

Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change--an annual gathering of environmental, industry and social justice innovators who have demonstrated visionary and practical models for restoring the Earth and its inhabitants--will be held at UMass Dartmouth on October 19-21, 2007. The conference will bring together a diverse audience of students, faculty, entrepreneurs, scientists, and everyday people. The conference will feature world-renowned innovators such as:

* Bill McKibbin--organizer of Step It Up 2007! A National Day of Climate Action and author of The End of Nature

* Dr. Joia Mukherjee--a long-time health care access and human rights advocate in the U.S. and developing countries, co-founder of the HIV Equity Initiative, which served as a model for the Millennium Development Goals

* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.--senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council

* Diane Wilson--co-founder of Code Pink and recipient of Mother Jones's Hell Raiser of the Month and Louis Gibbs' Environmental Lifetime Award

* Van Jones--founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, now working to wed the social justice and ecology movements by promoting the slogan "Green-collar Jobs, Not Jails"

* John Perkins--author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

* Simran Sethi--presenter for TreeHugger News and award-winning journalist

* Naomi Wolf--literary star of the third wave of the feminist movement

* Will Allen--organic farming visionary, activist and entrepreneur, author of War on Bugs

In addition to morning speakers and afternoon workshops, there will be evening film showings, an open mic showcasing youth participants and featured artists, wild-edibles walks, veggie-oil bus demonstrations. To register, visit www.connectingforchange.org.

Improper profiles ‘Big Dig’ house in Lexington…

(Photo by Single Speed Design)

The Improper Bostonian ran a profile of the ‘Big Dig’ house in Lexington in its August 1-14 issue written by Matt Heid and photographed by Michael Piazza. The house was designed by John Hong and Jinhee Park of Single Speed Design in Cambridge, whose work embraces the concepts of sustainability and minimalism.

The house is made of 600,000 pounds of steel beams and concrete slabs that were part of the I-93 highway elevated over Boston. According to the article, the project was commissioned by Paul Pedini and Christina Perez-Pedini, civil engineers who worked on the $15 million Big Dig project.

“The goal was to create a house using recycled material from the demolished expressway that once ran through downtown. Park spent days combing through debris at sites in Everett, Lancaster, and Worcester, eventually locating the 13 concrete slabs that would form the floors and roof of the building,” writes Heid.

“She also helped select the thick steel beams required to hold up the 23,000 pound slabs…This strength means that no internal supports are required, allowing for a flexible and open floor plan inside the 3,800 square foot residence.”

An amazing photo gallery of green roofs...

Above: The Toyota Roof Garden (Photo: Business Week, Japan)

TreeHugger posted an amazing photo gallery of green roofs all over the world from the Green Roofs For Healthy Australian Cities web site: "TreeHugger loves green roofs--they can be beautiful architectural elements or 'a rooftop food production system that meshes the technologies of aquaponics, vermiculture, rooftop water harvesting, and solar-powered air moisture harvesting.'"