Tufts Tisch College and US Conference of Mayors Forum

On April 28, 2008, the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts is hosting a policy forum on "Urban Issues in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign" with the U.S. Conference of Mayors.  The Forum will be moderated by Tom Cochran, the US Conference's Executive Director, and the panel will include a number of high-profile mayors, including Douglas Palmer, the current President of the U.S. Conference, from Trenton NJ, who is rapidly becoming a leader on sustainable cities and climate change in cities.   The forum provides an ideal opportunity for discussion of how and in what ways environmental, sustainability, and smart growth policies need to be both part of the presidential debate and on the agenda for the next presidential administration.  I have been astonished that so little discussion of urban issues has emerged from this presidential campaign.  There seems to be absolutely no recognition on the part of any of the candidates that so many cities are doing so many important, impactful things with respect to the pursuit of sustainability. There is also no recognition that there are many things that need to happen in Washington to facilitate cities' efforts.  I'm hoping that this forum will spend some time developing some of these ideas so that they can make their way into the campaign. 

Comments

[alex]

Hey! Thanks for all the great info. I was browsing through a bunch of green websites and blogs and I came across yours and found it very interesting. There are a bunch of others I like too, like the daily green, ecorazzi and earthlab.com. I especially like EarthLab.com’s carbon calculator (http://www.earthlab.com/signupprofile/). I find it really easy to use (it doesn’t make me feel guilty after I take it). Are there any others you would recommend? Can you drop me a link to your favorites (let me know if they are the same as mine).

[Mr. Sustainable]

In light of the United States Department of Transportation's latest report that Americans are driving at record low levels, let's hope that now is a among the most opportune time to sway local officials to wean themselves off the fossil fuel teat.