For Immediate Release: August 29, 2007
Media Contacts: Bryna Lipper

For the Greener Good Series: News Release

Can Conversations Save the Environment?

WASHINGTON, DC—What happens when you assemble some of the world's leading minds together to discuss solutions about our most pressing environmental issues?

The National Building Museum intends to answer the question when it launches a new program series in September entitled For the Greener Good: Conversations that Will Change the World. The program calls on experts from diverse backgrounds to investigate links between environmental sustainability and design, public health, energy policy, bioscience, infrastructure, education, and even popular culture. The series will feature topics ranging from nuclear power to consumerism and urban slums to carbon storage. Participants will discuss ideas, experiences, and potential solutions in a public exchange at the Museum. Organizers of the series believe it is important to convene professions not necessarily interrelated to increase innovation, knowledge, and collaboration among all. Confirmed participants include major national and international designers, journalists, policy-makers, academics, economists, and engineers, each with varying perspectives. "A sustainable future can't be achieved solely by building more sensitively, or just through renewable energy, or only by mitigating waste. Environmental challenges don't exist in silos, and neither should the solutions," said Scott Kratz, vice president for education at the National Building Museum.

The For the Greener Good series will kick off in the autumn of 2007 and run through April 2008 with eight scheduled programs. The first four programs, to be held monthly from September through December, will focus on critical issues confronting the United States. The second part of the series, beginning in January 2008, will explore broader international themes.

The addition of the public series affirms the National Building Museum's commitment to environmental sustainability. Known for exhibitions advocating environmentally sensitive design, including Big & Green which opened in 2004 and The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design which opened in 2006, the Museum has also held hundreds of educational programs for children and adults that helped individuals address green design, building, and best-practices. The For the Greener Good series and the Museum's upcoming autumn 2008 exhibition about green communities advocate for increased cooperation, shared knowledge, and an integrated approach to sustainable design and development.

For the Greener Good: Conversations that Will Change the World

September 26, 2007: Can the Suburbs Kill You?
Centering the discussion on health reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the series commences with a look at the long-term health impacts of living in the suburbs. "A considerable body of research establishes that sprawl – as measured by low residential density, low employment density, low 'connectivity,' and other indicators – is associated with less walking and bicycling and with more automobile travel than denser communities," wrote panelist Dr. Howard Frumkin, director, National Center for Environmental Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Urban Sprawl and Public Health (2002). Other panelists include, Robert Fishman, professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan; Margaret Walls, economist, and senior fellow and co-director, Resources for the Future; and Glen Barnard, senior vice president from developer KB Home. Panelists will examine possible solutions, such as redesigning the suburbs for greater pedestrian access, increasing green space, and moving to denser living.

October 22, 2007: Gone Fission: Can the Nuclear Industry Help Save the Environment?
Is the resurgence of nuclear power a sound energy alternative to fossil fuels? Panelists look at the pros and cons of building the next generation of nuclear power plants. This program will begin with a premier screening of the episode, The Future of Energy, from the documentary series e2 . The entire documentary, sponsored by Autodesk, Inc., will air nationwide on PBS in November 2007. Following the screening, Matthew Wald, a New York Times journalist, will moderate a discussion with Nils Diaz, immediate past chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Daniel Kammen, professor in the Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley and founding director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory; Edwin Lyman, senior staff scientist in the Global Security Program, Union of Concerned Scientists; and Michael J. Wallace, president, Constellation Energy Generation Group.

November 19, 2007: Going Green: Carrot or Stick?
What motivates builders and developers to go "green"? This discussion will explore the effectiveness of mandating green building, letting the free market work, or having non-profits provide financing to encourage property owners to increase the sustainability of their buildings. Panelists John C. Dernbach, professor of law, Widener University School of Law; Brian Gault, director of sustainable development, The Peterson Companies; Jason Hartke, manager, State and Local Advocacy, U.S. Green Building Council; and Mark Palmer, green building coordinator, Department of the Environment, City and County of San Francisco will discuss the tipping point for sustainability as well as what cities should regulate, and the challenges and opportunities developers face when meeting government mandates to go "green".

December 18, 2007: Living in a Disposable World: Recycling the Future
The final program of part one of the series will examine consumer culture and the ramifications of product life cycles, disposable design, and waste. As our economy is increasingly driven by products with shorter life-spans, how do we put an end to filling more and more landfills; how can industrial designers create products with sustainability as a key element; and how are engineers creating lasting and sustainable buildings? Moderated by Susan Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis Magazine, the discussion will offer potential answers to such questions and will look at other solutions for addressing and reducing consumer generated waste. Participants include Julie Bargmann, principal, D.I.R.T. Studio; Chris Jordan, Seattle-based artist who explores the country's shipping ports and industrial yards, documenting the accumulated waste of our consumption; and Tim S. Kraft, LEED AP, associate principal, PSA-Dewberry, Inc.

Season 2 begins January 2008. Schedule to be announced.

Registration: $12 Museum members and students; $20 nonmembers. Member and student package: $35 for all four programs. Nonmember package: $60 for all four programs. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability. To register visit www.www.nbm.org or call 202.272.2448.

For the Greener Good lecture series is presented by The Home Depot Foundation.

The National Building Museum is America’s leading cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and planning. Chartered by Congress in 1980 and open to the public since 1985, the Museum has become a vital forum for exchanging ideas and information about the built environment through its exhibitions, education programs, and publications. The Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free. Museum Shop. Café. Public inquiries: 202.272.2448 or visit www.nbm.org.