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An update from the Anthony James Catanese Center for Urban & Environmental
Solutions (CUES) at Florida Atlantic University
February 2007
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| Soflo region & CUES connect to climate change initiatives |
There has been a great deal of press recently on the issue of climate change—an international team of scientists and representatives of 113 governments recently agreed that global warming does indeed exist and that they are more than 90% certain that it is being caused by human factors such as burning fossil fuels for energy and linking it to an increase in hurricane intensity as well as predictions on sea level rise in the range of 7-23 inches by the end of the century. See http://www.ipcc.ch/ for more information on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The potential climatic impacts on South Florida as a hurricane prone region with very low elevations are especially concerning.
CUES Director Jim Murley has been participating on Miami-Dade’s carbon dioxide reduction task force and Assistant Director MaryBeth Burton has started participating on a committee charged by Broward County’s Water Advisory Board to make a recommendation to the County Commission about developing a task force to advise and lead them on decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the County. CUES has made changes our organizational behavior to increase recycling, conserve energy and to become more conscious of the impacts of our behavior on climate change issues. We also anticipate this to be one of our hot topics that will be covered in our next regional indicators report and highlighted on its dynamic website, www.soflo.org.
Hurricane Katrina on August 26, 2005 at 14:15 UTC. Source: NOAA. We welcome all suggestions and interested parties to participate with us on tackling this international issue. If you are interested in learning more about climate change, please attend the upcoming Climate Change Conference from May 9-11 in Tampa, Florida. This conference, focusing on Florida, will provide the latest scientific findings and identify impacts and actions that should be taken to respond to climate change. Global, national, and state experts will share their perspectives with conference participants in both general and concurrent The conference is being convened by FAU partner, the Florida Center for Environmental Studies and CUES Director, Jim Murley, serves on its program committee. For more information and to register, see http://www.ces.fau.edu/ccc/index.php.
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| South Florida Regional Resource Center Sponsors 4th Annual Regionalism Summit |
The Regional Leadership Council, a partnership between the South Florida Regional Resource Center, in conjunction with Leadership Palm Beach, Leadership Broward, Leadership Miami and the Urban Land Institute Southeast Florida/Caribbean, is planning its 4th Annual Regionalism Summit. To insure timely topics, the Regional Leadership Council met with members of the South Florida Legislative Delegation and the League of Cities to identify the ‘hottest issues’ facing the region. Results from this meeting were used to develop the agenda for the upcoming conference. A number of expert panelists of state, regional and local prominence will convene on FAU’s Boca Raton campus to explore solutions to the issues of housing and insurance costs, taxes, traffic and more. For additional information, please contact Anne Hotte Berry, Executive Director of Leadership Broward, at anne@leadershipbroward.org.
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| Coastal and Ocean Policy Initiative |
MJ Matthews, JD, Senior Research Associate, and Camille O'Brien, Research Associate, participated in the NOAA Coastal Services Center (CSC) training, Project Design and Evaluation, on February 21-22 at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). Additional information about the program and the CSC can be found by visiting http://www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/cls/project_design.html.
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| News and Notes |
Director Jim Murley participated in the Florida Earth Project’s Introductory Survey of South Florida at FAU’s downtown Fort Lauderdale campus on February 1-2nd. The Florida Earth Project is produced annually by the Florida Earth Foundation, a public-private partnership that provides opportunities for people to learn about the far-reaching aspects of Everglades restoration and how this affects life in South Florida. Its mission is to strengthen regional efforts for sustainable natural systems, while simultaneously enriching and helping maintain south Florida as a desirable place to live and work. For more information, see www.floridaearth.org
MJ Matthews, JD, CUES Senior Research Associate since 1989, was one of five Finalists for Florida Atlantic University's 2006-2007 Broward Faculty Member of the Year Award [attachments]. The FAU Broward Achievement Awards ceremony was held on February 9th at the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach. This award is given annually to one faculty member who demonstrates commitment to the university and dedication to student success. Each semester, in her role at CUES, MJ supervises, directs, trains, and mentors several FAU student research assistants, who work on our Coastal and Ocean Policy Projects. Dr. Angela Rhone, Associate Professor of Elementary Education (Davie Campus), was named the award recipient.
On Thursday, February 15th, CUES Assistant Director MaryBeth Burton participated in FAU’s Day of Caring in conjunction with the United Way. The FAU Broward team, including Vice President Joyanne Stephens, as well as a group of faculty, staff, and students, worked at Griffin Gardens, a senior living facility in Davie, planting a butterfly garden, painting and updating a community room and painting a mural in the entranceway.
The FAU team plants a butterfly garden at senior residence Griffin Gardens in Davie.
CUES Director Jim Murley and Senior Fellow Jean Scott participated in the 23rd Annual Growth Management and Environmental Permitting Short Course held in Daytona Beach on February 21-23rd. Jim team taught a two part course on the Florida Department of Transportation’s Statewide Transportation Corridors that will be improved or developed over the next 50 years. Jean Scott was on the teaching team of a class on regulatory incentives for community visioning and the designation of urban service boundaries.
Director Jim Murley and staff met with the University of Alberta City-Region Studies Centre representatives on February 27, 2007 to discuss regional issues and the possible formation of an international network of regional scholars. Director Douglas Knight and Manager Tania Kajner of the University of Alberta discussed their public-private partnership and lessons that might be learned from CUES as they embark on their new center.
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| Don’t miss these important events! |
South Florida: A Regional Vision for our Future
Urban Environment League of Greater Miami, dinner and discussion featuring CUES Director Jim Murley on Tuesday, March 13th from 6-9 p.m. For more information, call 305.532.7227.
Developing the Grassroots Constituency for Smart Growth & Livable Communities
Urban Environment League of Greater Miami, bus tour visiting Abacoa, FAU in Jupiter and the Florida Public Officials Design Institute on Friday, March 23rd from 8:30-5:30 p.m. Special rate for Palm Beach and Broward County residents meeting the group at Abacoa. For more information, call 305.532.7227.
Climate Change Conference
Please join us May 9-11, 2007 at the Tampa Renaissance Hotel for the first conference on climate change in Florida! This timely conference will focus on Florida, providing the latest scientific findings and identify impacts and actions that should be taken to respond to climate change. Global, national, and state experts will share their perspectives with conference participants in both general and concurrent sessions. Click here for for more information on the conference http://www.ces.fau.edu/ccc/index.php. For sponsorship and exhibit opportunities see: http://www.ces.fau.edu/ccc/sponsors.php. For hotel accomodations, go to http://www.ces.fau.edu/ccc/accommodations.php. Visit https://secure.ces.fau.edu/?pg=ccc to register for this event today.
4th Annual South Florida Regional Leadership Council Conference – save the date!
This conference will take place on May 23, 2007 and will cover hot topics in our region like taxes, insurance, traffic, and more. The conference will take place at FAU’s Boca Raton campus. For additional information, contact Anne Hotte Berry at anne@leadershipbroward.org.
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