The theme of the Fifth World Bank Conference on Evironmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, held in early October in Washington, D.C., was "Partnerships for Global Ecosystem Management: Science, Economics, and Law." The objectives were to: Engage experts, Bank managers and country staff to understand the relationships among global ecosystem issues and national development goals and practices.

Provide a unique opportunity for major professional groups to interact on the requirements for linking scientific, economic, and legal solutions for global ecosystem management at the country level.

Promote understanding on how best practices and innovations can be used for shared ecosystem management in sustainable development.

The Bank feels that the Conference will contribute to a better understanding of the roles and relationships among global systems and achieving sustainable development at the national and local levels, facilitate access to examples of best practices and innovative processes, integrate global concerns in country development strategies, and assist development practitioners to better assess the global connections to their work.

Highlights of the Conference will be reported in the next issue of this newsletter.

World food supplies will need to double by the year 2025. Organic wastes being generated in urban centers, if properly collected and processed, offer significant potential to alleviate loss in soil quality and agricultural productivity. The project, "Recycling Waste for Agriculture: The RuralUrban Connection," developed by the World Engineering Partnership for Sustainable Development (WEPSD), in partnership with the World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), World Health Organization, and the private sector, addresses practical strategies for safely and effectively using urban waste to improve agricultural production.

The UNDP has funded the WEPSD to coordinate the development of a specific action plan and lay the ground work for a program in partnership with the World Bank, private sector and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). An initial meeting held in September, 1997, was attended by over 150 global experts, identifying partnerships and specific programs to demonstrate best practices for recycling waste for agriculture. Three demonstration sites are being identified in partnership with the private sector, to promote these sustainable methods.

The WEPSD has also developed the World Engineering Network (Wenet), a global Communications network dedicated to sustainable engineering practices. Initial funding for the network was provided by the National Science Foundation. Wenet represents a major step in linking all engineers and sharing technology with developed and developing nations. International engineering organizations are using Wenet to share ideas, conduct business, and develop ustainable engineering solutions. This World Wide Webbased network was developed in partnership with the Global Environment and Technology Foundation.

Contact: Michael Sanio, WEPSD (phone: 703-247-7707; fax: 703-247-7701; email: msanio@igc.org)

The American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) is the U.S. representative to the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO).  AAES activities are funded by a fouryear grant from the National Science Foundation and are used expressly to support the work of the WFEO Standing Committee on Transferring, Sharing and Assessment of Technology (ComTech).  ComTech's work centers on, but is not limited to, sustainable development technology.

ComTech has published a study report for the Earth Council's Rio+5 Forum held in March, 1997.  The report, The Engineers Response to Sustainable Development, was developed from text provided by ComTech, the WFEO Committee on Environment and Engineering (CEE), the WFEO President, WEPSD and others.  It has received widespread recognition by groups active in sustainable development technology.

Additionally, ComTech publishes a quarterly newsletter,WFEO ComTech News.  It provides information and news to WFEO members and friends of sustainable development activities by engineers.  An electronic version is available through ComTech's web site.

ComTech announced, through WFEO ComTech News, an email pairing program.  Engineers who require information on specific projects can "converse" with their peers via email.  Email introductions are managed from AAES in the U.S.  Requests to participate in an exchange are initiated by practicing engineers from around the world.  AAES staff publicizes the request for information through the ComTech web site, WFEO Comtech News, and by separate announcements to AAES members societies.  E-mail participants copy AAES staff on their communications in order to help build a data base in the ComTech web site.

Contact: Jane Moran Alspach, AAES, 202-296-2237, ext. 205; Fax: 202-296-1151; email:  alspach@aaes.org

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has joined with WETATV, the Association of Science Technology Centers, the National Community Education Association, the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology, and the Public Television Outreach Alliance in a major national outreach and education campaign.  In addition to three onehour PBS programs, WETA independently produced a Teachers' Guide.  A web site at http://www.weta.org/planet, a CD-ROM and a Community Resource Guide are also available.  The NAE provided engineering expertise for the television series.

PLANET NEIGHBORHOOD is a multimedia environmental project that highlights grassroots movements to help all of us to live better, cleaner, and cheaper lives.  "Think globally, act locally," lies at the heart of PLANET NEIGHBORHOOD.  It aims to raise public awareness about the environmental and economic benefits of recently developed green technologies designed to protect the environment.

The PLANET NEIGHBORHOOD Viewer's Guide, also produced by WETA, contains information and resource references on composting, drinking water, energy efficiency, and sustainable communities.  The Guide also highlights the following PLANET NEIGHBORHOOD factoids:

• It only takes one quart of oil to contaminate 250,000 gallons of water
• Every household has 50-100 pounds of material that should be disposed of only in a hazardous waste collection or a recycling center
• You can save a tree with each four foot stack of paper you recycle
• If 100,000 Americans stopped their junk mail, we could save about 150,000 trees every year
• For every 10 degrees you turn down your water heater, you save 6% in energy costs.
• It  takes 95% less energy to produce an aluminum product from recycled aluminum than from raw aluminum

Contact:  For more information on these materials, call WETA at 703-998-2827.

The Sustainability Transition Study of the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Sustainable

Development (BSD) aims to introduce an authoritative, broadlybased scientific perspective into the ongoing debate on sustainable development and to offer an agenda for renewed international scientific collaboration. This aim reflects the BSD's conviction that, in the period since the publication of the Brundtland Report, OurSustainable Future, in 1987, the political debate on sustainable development has moved substantially ahead of scholarly discussion in general and its scientific aspects in particular.

The BSD is combining a traditional NRC study with a new methodology for preparing, assessing, and disseminating its results.  The Board will release an NRCreviewed and approved report in September, 1998.

Activities to date include the following:

• A weeklong summer study (August, 1996) to define the concepts of the sustainability transition, to identify what science can contribute in determining the energy, materials, and knowledge requirements for the transition, and the measures to report on progress.
• A workshop (December, 1996) to identify the challenges to the sustainability  transition arisinging in relation to food and agriculture, which produced a working report on "Threats to a Sustainable Food Supply for 810 Billion People."
• A workshop (February, 1997) on the Decomposition of Complex Issues in Sustainable development, to explore the relative contribution of population growth, economic growth, technical change and other factors related to environmental stress.
• A workshop (May, 1997) on Food Security: Sustaining the Potential.
• A second weeklong summer study (July, 1997) to evaluate the progress since the Brundtland Report (10 years) in seven sectors (food security; industrial ecology; species and ecosystems; urban challenges; water; population and human health; and energy) and to map these results against the various chapters in the Board's report concerned with challenges and opportunities to sustainability, indicators, research and development, and policy options.
• The initial drafts of report chapters are being prepared.  The work will be the subject of a symposium at the annual Spring meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.  The final report will be released in late 1998

Contact: Sherburne Abbott. NRC (phone: 202-334-3511; fax: 202-334-2530; email: sabbott@nas.edu)

A meeting of the U.S. Government's interagency task force on the U.N. Commission on ustainable Development, members and staff of the President's Council on Sustainable Development, and U.S.based nongovernmental organizations, was convened in Washington, D.C. in August, 1997.  Some 70 representatives of NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organizations were in attendance.

The NGOs expressed a concern that there is no focal point in the U.S. responsible for implementing Agenda 21 or promoting sustainable development.  They felt that a White House office was needed capable of assuring integration of environmental, social and economic policy, developing a strategic vision and strategies for realizing them, coordinating work being done throughout the federal government, linking domestic and international initiatives, and coordinating public outreach and education.  The NGOs offered to help in achieving these objectives.

The U.S. Government representatives were highly receptive to the NGO concerns and suggestions, and a followup meeting is planned in the Fall.  The NGOs were requested to review and comment on two documents: "USAID's Strategies for Sustainable Development" and "Shaping the 21st Century: The Contribution of Development Cooperation."  A number of public consultations were identified as opportunities for early NGO input in the areas of climate change, sustainable agriculture/sustainable forests, water, lead, environmental baseline/indicators, and biodiversity strategy.

Contacts: Kathy Sessions, UNAUSA (phone: 301-229-9775; fax: 301-229-9775; email: unaofusa@igc.org); Don Brown, EPA (phone:  202-564-6115; fax:202-565-2415;email: Brown.Donada@epa.gov)

The Interagency Working Group on Industrial Ecology, Materials and Energy Flows was established with the release last Spring of the report by the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD).  The group includes representatives from more than a half dozen federal agencies, including EPA, DOE, HUD, and the Department of Commerce.  The group has been working on two reports designed to educate both the public and policymakers on key issues and challenges in moving towards more sustainable use of materials and energy.  These reports will be ready for release in November.  In addition, a web page is under construction which will contain the reports as well as an extensive bibliography on industrial ecology and an inventory of federal government databases related to materials and to energy flows and use.

Contact: David Rejeski, CEQ (phone:  202-395-7423; fax:  202-456-6546; email: rejeski_d@al.eop.gov)

The President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) held its third meeting of 1997 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the invitation of Council member Mayor M. Susan Savage.  Meeting ou ode of Washington, D.C. is intended to help the Council's outreach efforts to the American public.  The meeting was largely devoted to the topic of climate change and  included the first meeting of the Council's climate task force.  The members of the public were briefed on the science and impacts of climate change, technologies and local strategies which assist in mitigation of emissions, and the importance of assumptions made in economic models. 

The mission of the climate task force, as expressed in the Charter language, is to advise the President on domestic implementation of policy options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  The Charter language says that the Council should not debate the science of global warming, but should instead focus on the implementation of national and local greenhouse gas reduction policies and activities, and on adaptations in the U.S. economy and society that maximize environmental and social benefits, minimize economic impacts, and are consistent with U.S. international agreements.  The Council is asked, at a minimum, to identify and encourage potentially replicable examples of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across diverse sectors and levels of society.  The Council is expected to submit its initial recommendations to the President not late than Spring, 1998.

The PCSD also has three other task forces: Environmental Management; Metropolitan and Rural Strategies; and International.  These task forces are refining their workplans and will meet at the next PSCD session in November at a location yet to be announced.

Contact: Catherine McKalip, PCSD (phone: 202-408-5040; fax: 202-408-6839; email: cmckalip@erols.com

The Joint Center for Sustainable Development (JCSD) of the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the U.S. Council of Mayors (USCM) has published the first edition of a newsletter entitled, "Joint Center Report."  The cover story, written jointly by Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara, describes the formation of the City of Detroit/Wayne County Roundtable on Sustainable Development, a partnership between two local governments that historically have not always worked in tandem.  The focus of the Roundtable has been on identifying barriers to brownfield site redevelopment and recommending solutions to overcome those barriers.  The Summer, 1997 edition of the "Joint Center Report" also includes an interview with Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, one of the founders of the JCSD during his 199596 term as UCSM President.

The Joint Center was established in December, 1996 to help local elected officials develop creative city/county partnerships and a mechanism for addressing the economic, environmental, and social equity challenges of communities.  The Center, which is co directed by staff of NACo and USCM, will have an Advisory Committee, made up of local elected officials, to foster strong communication between county officials and mayors, and a Sustainable Communities Council, consisting of federal agency partners, corporations, communitybased organizations, and foundations, to serve as a link between local elected officials and other sustainable development constituency groups.

Contact: Carol Everett, USCM (phone: 202-861-6773; fax: 202-429-0442; email: ceverett@cais.com ) or Nick Keller, NACo, (phone: 202-942-4224; fax: 202-737-0480; email: nkeller@naco.org

The Department of Energy is offering a tool kit and a number of programs for communities interested in sustainable development.  The tool kit is part of a World Wide Web site launched last year by DOE's Center for Excellence in Sustainable Development (CESD), an initiative designed to help municipalities understand and adopt sustainable development as a comprehensive approach to planning.  The tool kit includes manuals, workbooks, data bases, case studies, and model codes and ordinances.  Besides its tool kit, the Center offers to help communities to:

• define how sustainable development can apply to them; show how sustainable development is being practiced by other urban and rural communities throughout the nation;
• identify public and private sources of technical and financial assistance to carry out their programs:
• obtain information about the public participation processes other communities have found work best in planning and implementing sustainable development; and
• develop a menu of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that fit the unique needs of particular communities.

The Center defines "communities" broadly to include cities, villages, towns, and neighborhoods, as well as national parks, industrial parks, and other "communities of interest."  In addition to accessing the resources available on the Web site, communities can request specific technical assistance from the Center.

Contact: DOE Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development (phone: 1-800-363-3732; fax: 303-275-4830; email: sustainable development@hq.doe.gov; World Wide Web: http://www.sustainable.doe.gov

In 1994 the Environmental Technologies Export (ETE) Office was created in the Department of Commerce to help U.S. firms compete in the rapidly growing and very competitive international market for environmental technologies.  Charged with expanding these exports, the ETE office has coordinated its programs with those of other federal programs to help achieve business success.  The office currently has a number of programs underway to implement President Clinton's Environmental Technologies Export Initiative, including advocacy, information  issemination, market research, and publicprivate partnerships.

Contact: Jane Siegel , DOC/ETE (phone: 202-482-0617; fax: 202-482-5665; email: jane_siegel@ita.doc.gov)

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has  formed a Special Task Committee to develop a set of working guidelines and materials that will help civil engineers to apply the principles of sustainable development to daily practice.

ASCE has also revised its Code of Ethics to require civil engineers to strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.  And ASCE has an adopted policy on the Role of the Engineer in Sustainable Development, which will be updated by the Special Task Committee.

The theme of ASCE's 1997 Annual Convention and Exposition in October is "Innovative Engineering for Sustainable Development."  Highlights of the sustainable development sessions will be reported in the next issue of this newsletter. 

Contact: Martin Hight, ASCE (phone: 202-789-2000; fax:  202-289-6797; email: hight@asce.org)

The Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF), an affiliate of the American Society of Civil Engineers, works with the design and construction industry to expedite the transfer of innovative research results into practice.

Activities are accelerating  to implement the results of CERF's 1996 International Research Symposium, Engineering and Construction for Sustainable Development in the TwentyFirst Century.  The joint efforts of more than 700 government, industry, and academic leaders from 35 countries produced 38 prospectuses in February, 1996.  These prospectuses are now being used to guide the formation of partnerships and the development of mechanisms for the implementation of projects promoting sustainable development by the design and construction community.

The proposed key project areas resulting from the Symposium which incorporate 30 of the 38 original prospectuses are:

• Project A: Performance Standards & Practices, International Council for Building Research Studies & Documentation (CIB)
• Project  B: Integrated Delivery Systems, CIB
• Project  C: Project Information Systems and Technology Transfer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• Project D: Information & Decision Support Systems, NIST
• Project E: LifeCycle Analysis, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
• Project F: Creating a Global Construction Forum to Advance Innovation 3.2, CERF
• Project G:  Reinventing Design Concepts for the Twentyfirst Century 2.1, Building Research Establishment (BRE)
• Project H: Establishing Affordable Sustainable Construction Objectives 1.5, (Univ. of the Pacific)

The activity for all specific prospectuses will be accomplished by the organizations that have committed to participate as lead and team member organizations on those individual prospectuses.  CERF plans to present project progress reports at a joint CERF/CIB symposium to be held in conjunction with the CIB World Congress in Sweden in June, 1998.

CERF indicates that it is not too late to become involved in the global collaboration.  Those who would like more information on the prospectuses or would like to join the collaborative partnerships should contact CERF.

Contact: John Meyer, CERF (phone: 202-842-0555; fax: 202-789-2943; email: jmeyer@asce.org

The Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF), whose members are professional, scientific, and educational organizations that have, among their primary purposes, the advancement of sciences and public education  in renewable natural resources, is convening a Congress on Human Population Growth: Impacts on the Sustainability of Renewable Natural Resources.  The Congress will take place in September, 1998.

The overall goal of the Congress is to provide an interdisciplinary forum to explore the future impacts and implications of human population expansion and increasing consumption on land, water, food and fiber, forests, wildlife and other renewable natural resources.

Among the issues to be addressed are the following:

• Urbanization and settlement patterns.  (What are the effects on the U. S. natural resource base of current urbanization and settlement patterns?)
• Forest and agricultural land conversion. (How can agricultural and natural resources be effectively managed to sustain adequate food, shelter and energy amid growing populations?)
• Growth management.  (What policies or initiatives can be recommended to mitigate the effects of continued population growth on renewable natural resources?)
• Utilization of resources/consumption.  (How are current levels of consumption and utilization affecting our renewable resources base?)
• Economic and social incentives for change. (What are the economic and social incentives and disincentives that affect natural resources stewardship and longterm sustainability?)  

Contact: Chris Koster, RNRF (phone: 301-493-9101; fax:  301-493-6148; email; NRF@aol.com)

In December, 1996, the Federation of Materials Societies (FMS) conducted the First workshop on Strategy for Enhancing Materials' Role in Environmental Technology and Sustainability.  The member societies of FMS met with selected government agencyrepresentatives to share plans, create an awareness, and initiate the development of a cooperative agenda for enhancing the role of materials in the areas of environmental technology an sustainability.  Presentations were made highlighting society activities and programs in areas related to:

• Workplace Environment
• Waste Avoidance and Disposal
• Replacement Materials
• Benign Processing

A summary report of the first workshop has been prepared.  A followup workshop is being planned for December 17-18, 1997 in Washington, D.C.  It will be called "Strategy for Enhancing the Materials Role inEnvironmental Technology and Sustainability: Assessment and Linkages."

Contact: Betsy Houston , FMS (phone: 202-296-9282; fax: 202-833-3014; email: betsyhous@ix.netcom.com )

The American Public Works Association (APWA) this summer formed a new Livable  communities  Task Force to examine crosscutting environmental, transportation, and community development issues as they interact with public works.  The task force is comprised of ten APWA members from diverse geographic areas and varying public works disciplines.  It is cochaired by Doug MacCourt of the City of Portland, Oregon and Kim Whittlesey of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

The group's charge is to:

• Define sustainable development as it relates to public works.
• Serve as a focal point within APWA to network and partner with other organizations on sustainable development/livable communities projects.
• Guide APWA policy in the area of sustainable development.
• Identify educational needs in the area of sustainable development for public works professionals.

The task force held it first business meeting on September 13, 1997 at APWA's annual International Public Works Congress and Exposition.  The group outlined elements of a oneyear workplan, which includes conducting a "problem & solution" identification survey project within the association's membership, publishing an issue paper on the role of the public works professional in creating a livable community, and continuing the task force's work to network and partner with other organizations interested in the subject.

Contact: Stephanie Osborn, APWA (phone: 202-393-2792; fax: 202-737-9153; email: stephanie.osborn@mail.pubworks.org)

The GE Fund Curriculum Development Project is in its final phase.  Three major thrusts are in place.  The first is the preparation of the final report on the activities conducted over the last four years under this grant.  The second is the development, in their final form, of the educational materials which resulted from this effort, including instructor and student manuals, audiovisual aids, and other supporting material.  Finally, several technical papers will be submitted to various engineering education and practice journals.

At its Center for Sustainable Technology (CST), Georgia Tech has several longterm  interdisciplinary research initiatives currently in place, aimed at bringing people together to foster and develop longterm cross cutting research strategies in the areas of:

• Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacturing (ECDM) led by faculty in the School of Mechanical Engineering, but with significant involvement of several other units on campus;
• Environmentally Conscious Design and Construction (ECDC) of facilities and infrastructure led by faculty in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, but as a significant collaborative effort between the Colleges of Engineering and Architecture;
• Urban Ecology, which brings together research strengths from Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, City Planning, and Water Resources at Georgia Tech, GTRI, USGS, and the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology, among others; and
• Campus Ecology, which explores ways to make Georgia Tech a sustainable campus.
• The Georgia Tech Sustainability Task Force provides recommendations at an Institute level for establishing a cohesive education and research agenda for Georgia Tech in the area of sustainability, and the corresponding mechanisms for multistakeholder involvement.

Contact: Jorge Vanegas, Georgia Tech (phone:404-894-9881; fax: 404-894-2278; email: jvanegas@ce.gatech.edu)

The RAND Corporation's Critical Technologies Institute (CTI) has published a new study, entitled Linking Sustainable Community Efforts to Pollution Prevention: A Sourcebook.  The study introduces sustainable development activities and ways in which supporters of pollution prevention can take advantage of such efforts.  Key elements of these efforts are fostering a strong sense of community and building partnerships among key stakeholders.

The Sourcebook examines the process of developing a sustainable community initiative, describes sources of support and presents detailed community examples.  It also describes the relationship between sustainable community activities and pollution prevention.  The Sourcebook includes an extensive annotated bibliography giving points of contact with phone numbers, web page addresses, and published documents about sustainable community activities throughout the United States.

Contact: Beth Lachman , RAND/CTI (phone:202-296-5000; fax: 202-296-7690; email: beth_lachman@rand.org)

Renew America (RA), a national organization specializing in identifying, verifying, and promoting model programs that enhance the environment, has announced two new projects for 199798.  The first program, a twophase national mentoring project, will unite developers of exemplary environmental design programs with the people who are interested in replicating these models for their communities.  In the initial phase of the project, RA will identify ways in which innovative design is used to solve environmental problems.  The resulting case studies will be published and disseminated on the World Wide Web and incorporated into two designrelated exhibitions at the Science Musem of Minnesota and the Childrens' Museum of San Diego.

In the second program, RA will identify and verify programs that fit the six categories established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its Awards for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  The DOE awards recognize individuals, community organizations, companies, and federal agencies that have put into effect energyrelated measures which benefit the nation's environment, economy, and security.  RA will highlight the award winners in a publication produced for DOE.

Contact: Anna Slafer, Renew America (phone: 202-232-2252; fax: 202-232-2617; email: renewamerica@igc.apc.org)

The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF), in conjunction with The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), will host a conference on December 4 or 8, 1997 on the value of "mentoring"  business helping business by sharing proven, practical environmental strategies  as a tool to enhance corporate environmental performance.

The Conference is designed to promote the use of mentoring as an effective, lowcost method for sharing valuable information between businesses about successful environmental management systems.  The goals of the Conference are to:

• explore various mentoring techniques such as oneonone information sharing, local workshops, phone consultation, etc; demonstrate the value of business-to-business education by sharing mentoring success stories;
• identify key areas of business environmental improvement that are wellsuited to mentoring;
• assess the needs of small business to meet andexceed compliance; assess how large business can help small business to meet and exceed compliance;
• develop a set of specific recommendations on how and when to promote mentoring;
• recruit companies to participate in mentoring programs.

Participants will include large corporations who will be asked to bring a small business "buddy;" mentoring program directors; mentoring program participants; government agencies; environmental organizations; academic institutions; nonprofit organizations; and foundations. 

The Foundation is a private, notfor profit 501 (c) 3 organization authorized in 1990 by the Congress to ensure the infusion of environmental learning into subjects of critical national concern, such as: rising health care costs;  remaining competitive in a world business economy;  improving our global standing in science education; conserving our fresh water supplies through voluntary actions; and fostering sustainable use of our natural resource base.

Contact: Kevin Coyle, NEETF (phone: 202-628-8200; fax: 202-628-8204; email: NEETF@NEETF.org)