The Challenges of Urban Sustainability | Technology and Society Forum

Allen Hershkowitz
Natural Resources Defense Council

Nov 9, 2005, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Campus Center Ballroom

Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, will focus on the imperative to develop an urban and industrial infrastructure that balances ecological concerns with the potential for economic success in global markets. The diverse technical, economic, political and cultural barrier to sustainable industrial development will be examined in the context of an eight-year effort to develop a $600 million facility to produce recycled newsprint in New York City. Known as the Bronx Community Paper Company, the project was an ambitious effort to advance sustainable industrial development and market-based environmentalism. Dr. Hershkowitz's presentation will highlight the fact that good intentions alone cannot counter the often ruthless reality of market forces. If America is to compete successfully with countries that pay much less attention to environmental quality, we will have to do so both by developing superior sustainable technologies and achieving returns no investment that meet and exceed the expectations of the global financial community.

Dr. Hershkowitz specializes in issues related to sustainable development, the paper industry, industrial ecology, health risks, solid-waste management, recycling, medical wastes and sludge -- topics on which he has published widely. He has served on may advisory and regulatory bodies throughout the United States and Central America and has been an advisor to numerous municipalities, legislative bodies, trade groups, and environmental organizations in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Central America. He is also an advisor to various socially responsible investment funds and is frequently invited to lecture at universities in the U.S. and Europe.