November 1, 2006

Hello Since the 12th Water Conservation/Xeriscape Conference is now only 4 months away, I thought I should start to highlight the speakers that will be making presentations. Every year I think we have put together the best possible cast, but now I think we have done it again! This will be two days packed with one outstanding speaker after another. George and the Council have again put together an agenda with some of the most notable individuals in their fields.

For the next few weeks I will provide brief information about 2-3 speakers in each weekly email.

As a reminder, ALL speakers will be attending the dinner/reception Thursday evening, so register early if you want to participate in that event.

This email will highlight two of our keynote speakers: Sandra Postel, Global Water; Eileen Claussen, Global Environmental-Climate Change.

SPEAKERS:

SANDRA POSTEL, Global Water

Sandra Postel is Director of the Global Water Policy Project in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Visiting Senior Lecturer in Environmental Studies at Mount Holyoke College. From 1988 until 1994, she served as Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute, a non-profit research organization with which she remains affiliated as Senior Fellow. In 2002, she was named one of the Scientific American 50, by Scientific American magazine, a new award recognizing contributions to science and technology.

Postels work is dedicated to the preservation and sustainable use of Earths fresh water ecosystems. A leading authority on international water issues, Postel is author of Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? and of Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, which was chosen by Choice magazine as a 1993 Outstanding Academic Book.

Postel has authored more than 100 articles for popular and scholarly publications, including Science, Natural History, Scientific American, Foreign Policy, BioScience, Ecological Applications, Technology Review, Environmental Science and Technology, International Wildlife, and Water International. She has written some 20 op-ed features that have appeared in more than 30 newspapers in the United States and abroad, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.

A frequent conference speaker and lecturer, she also has served as commentator on CNN's Futurewatch, addressed the European Parliament on environmental issues, and appeared periodically on radio and television, including spots in recent years on CBS Sunday Morning, ABCs Nightline, and NPRs Science Friday.

EILEEN CLAUSSEN, Global Environmental-Climate Change

Eileen Claussen is the President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Strategies for the Global Environment. Ms. Claussen is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. In that capacity, she was responsible for developing and implementing policy on behalf of the United States on major international issues, including climate change; ozone depletion; chemicals; natural resource issues, including forests, biodiversity, oceans, fisheries and wildlife conservation; and the sustainable development efforts of the multilateral development banks and the United Nations. Prior to joining the Department of State, Ms. Claussen served for three years as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Global Environmental Affairs at the National Security Council.

From 1987 to 1993, Ms. Claussen was Director of Atmospheric Programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. There, she directed international and domestic activities related to the depletion of the ozone layer; developed the acid rain program under Title IV of the Clean Air Act; negotiated the Clean Air Accord with Canada; and directed the development of the EPA's energy efficiency programs, including the Green Lights program and the Energy Star program. Ms. Claussen also served from 1990 to 1991 as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Between 1972 and 1987, she directed various programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including those dealing with the land disposal of hazardous waste.

Ms. Claussen is the recipient of the Department of State's Career Achievement Award, the Meritorious Executive Award for Sustained Superior Accomplishment, the Distinguished Executive Award for Sustained Extraordinary Accomplishment, and the Fitzhugh Green Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Environmental Protection. At the conclusion of her government career, she served as the Timothy Atkeson Scholar in Residence at Yale University. She received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from George Washington University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Law Institute; the Council on Foreign Relations; the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development; and serves as a Commissioner on the Pew Oceans Commission.

Ms. Claussen is the Executive Editor of Climate Change: Science, Strategies and Solutions, and the author of numerous publications on environment and development.

CAROL FRANKLIN

Carol is a founding principal of Andropogon Associates, Ltd. and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She is a nationally recognized expert in sustainable design and Andropogon Associates has been a leader in exploring sustainable landscape initiatives since 1975.

Her deep commitment to ecological design means that each project is an opportunity to integrate the multiple (and sometimes apparently conflicting) facets of a household. Her plans and designs for landscapes open new opportunities: for focusing institutional or community identity, for interacting with broader constituencies and for presenting the place as an exciting venue for community life.

Carol has been a professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning and the University of Pennsylvania for 30 years. She has recently taught studios in both the Department of Historic Preservation and the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Carol has trained National Park Service Design Center staff in sustainable design workshops as well as participating in a variety of sustainable design charettes from the Greening of the Whitehouse to the Greening of Grand Canyon. She was a Master Speaker at the 2004 National Green Building Confeence and in June of last year, a keynote speaker at the Chicago Greening of the Heartland Conference. In 2004 her firm was nominated for the Cooper-Hewett Museums National Design Award, in the Environmental Design Category. She is currently writing a book with David Contosta, a social historian, on an important cultural landscapethe Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ED MAZRIA

Edward Mazria is an internationally recognized architect with a long and distinguished career.

His architecture and planning projects span over a thirty year period and each employs a cutting-edge environmental approach to its design.

His published material includes technical papers, articles for professional mag a zines, and a number of published works including The Passive Solar Energy Book published by Rodale Press.

His most recent article with Marci Riskin, Architectural Design: Nature's Way, outlines the innovative design strategies and monitoring results of the award winning Rio Grande Conservatory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His buildings have been published in Architecture, Progressive Architecture, Architectural Record, Architectural Digest, Process, Kenchiku Bunka, Public Garden, Solar Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New Mexico Business Journal, and The New York Times.

Mr. Mazria has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and has taught architecture at the University of New Mexico, University of Oregon, University of Colorado-Denver, UCLA and University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the recipient of numerous awards including an AIA Design Award, AIA Design Innovation Award, Commercial Building Award from the Department of Energy, Landmark Designation Award from The Albuquerque Conservation Association, Pioneer Award from the American Solar Energy Society and most recently, a 1999 Outstanding Planning Award from the American Planning Association for Tierra Contenta in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its Design Arts Roundtable.

After receiving his Bachelors of Architecture Degree form Pratt Institute in 1963 he spent two years as an architect in the Peace Corps in Arequipa, Peru. He later worked with the firm of Edward Larabee Barnes in New York before beginning a teaching and research career at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 1973. His architecture and energy research at both UNM and the University of Oregon established his leadership in the field of resource conservation and his innovative design methodology, developed at that time, is currently in use worldwide.

Since forming Mazria Inc. Odems Dzurec in 1978, he has completed a diverse number of award winning architecture and planning projects from the Mt. Airy Public Library in North Carolina, to the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, a 170,000 square foot sports complex in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is the principal-in-charge of design for all firm projects.

African biologist, farmer, soldier, political activist, exile, renowned environmentalist and winner of the Banksia International Award 2003, Allan Savory grew up in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) with more than just a taste for the bush. He learnt to read the land and developed a passion for his country, its people and most importantly, its wildlife.

After graduating from Natal University as a biologist Allan pursued a career as a researcher and game ranger in Northern Rhodesia. In the 1960s, while working on the interrelated problems of increasing poverty and disappearing wildlife, Allan made a significant breakthrough in understanding why his country and the African continent was degrading and why the landscapes were rapidly desertifying.

Allan identified key insights critical to the regeneration of land, people and individual and national prosperity. He went on to work as a resource management consultant on four continents, developing sustainable solutions to land management problems.

Today, thousands of families, corporations and businesses are successfully using the framework developed by Allan to radically improve the quality of their lives and regenerate the resource base that sustains them. This includes conservation projects in the USA, Africa and Australia, where large tracts of land are being transformed into sustainable eco systems.

In 1984 Allan Savory founded Holistic Management International, formerly The Savory Center, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

This organization stands alone as the originator and primary mover of dramatically effective land management and renewal practices that have become increasingly widespread. A significant percentage of the land management organizations, consultants and trainers working and selling services today received training through Holistic Management International.

Sid Goodloe

Sid Goodloe has owned his ranch in the mountains of Lincoln County, New Mexico for 50 years.

He has also managed ranches in Kenya, Australia, Brazil and other countries while continuing watershed rehabilitation on Carrizo Valley Ranch. After several years of below normal precipitation, this year has shown that dreams of paradise really can come true. He will relate the importance of properly functioning watersheds to a dependable supply of water.

Sid, for all the regular attendees of the Xeriscape Conference, made a presentation about 5 years ago and we eagerly anticipate his update.