News 2007 - October to December - The Club of Rome

	Canada: New Issue of the PROCEEDINGS Dec. 2007: The Canadian Association for the Club of Rome (CACOR) publishes the PROCEEDINGS which include in their latest issue the following contributions: The Approaching Collapse of Industrial Civilization by Andy Clarke From Dissent to Discourse by Gail Stewart Facing the Future by Buzz Nixon Some Reflections on Rationality (or the Lack of It) and the Way Ahead by J. Anthony Cassils Peak Oil and the Social Consequences of Its Decline by Robert Bériault The Introduction of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the Evolution of the Electrical Network Towards the Hydrogen Economy by Robert Walsh Twelve Steps to True Democracy by Henry Beissel The new volume is available for download.
	Argentina: 1st National Meeting of Water and Youth Dec 7-8, 2007: The event is coordinated by Econciencia and the Argentinian Chapter of the Club of Rome, which is represented by Gonzalo David Lot del Castillo, a young politologue. Participants will discuss in workshops on the following issues: Movements in defense of water, Public water use, Participative management of watersheds Water and Education, Water and Health, Water and Environment. More information is available on the Website http://www.waterandyouth.org/english/countries/argentina.htm.
	Brussels: 46th Aurelio Peccei Lecture by Jean Guinet and Gang Zhang Dec 5th, 2007: The Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs had the honour to invite to a presentation of the main findings of the OECD Review of China’s Innovation Policy, by Mr Jean Guinet, Head Country Review Unit, OECD Directorate of Science, Technology and Industry, and Mr Gang Zhang, Administrator and Principal Economist, Non Member Economies, OECD Directorate of Science, Technology and Industry. The presentation took take place on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, at 11.00 AM, at the Egmont II Conference Room, Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs, in Brussels.
	Germany: Initiative for Climate-Neutral Parliament Dec 3rd, 2007: tt30 Germany started an initiative together with members of the German Parliament. The aim is a reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions and a compensation of those emissions which are unavoidable, so that the German Bundestag would be the first climate-neutral Parliament. The invitation for the event is available for download (in German).
	Argentina: Award for Argentinean Chapter Nov. 28th, 2007: The University of Management and Social Sciences rewarded the Argentinean Chapter of the CoR among other NGOs and enterprises for its activities for the environment. Their event about climate change has been considered the best environmental event of the year in Buenos Aires. On 28th November the award was presented.
	Belgium: DESERTEC Concept for Energy, Water and Climate Security Nov. 28th, 2007: Members of European Parliament Matthias Groote, Rebecca Harms, Vittorio Prodi and Anders Wijkman, and the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation invited to the presentation of the White Paper "Clean Power from Deserts - The DESERTEC Concept for Energy, Water and Climate Security". His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, former President of The Club of Rome, presented political options of a co-operation among Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EU-MENA) for clean power from deserts, as addressed in the White Paper, and discuss perspectives for the evolution of a community of energy, water and climate security. The White Paper was elaborated for The Club of Rome, and is based on studies by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) on the potential of deserts for clean energy supply for EU-MENA. It will introduce the option of clean energy co-operation between technology belt and sun-belt, in particular between Europe and the MENA region. More information is available on the project homepage.
	CoR International: Conference "Beyond GDP" Nov. 20th, 2007: The European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF hosted a high-level conference with the objectives of clarifying which indices are most appropriate to measure progress, and how these can best be integrated into the decision-making process and taken up by public debate. Ashok Khosla GDP is the best-recognised measure of economic performance in the world, often used as a generic indicator of progress. However, the relationship between economic growth as measured by GDP and other dimensions of societal progress is not straightforward. Hazel Henderson Effectively measuring progress, wealth and well-being requires indices that are as clear and appealing as GDP but more inclusive than GDP - ones that incorporate social and environmental issues. This is important given global challenges such as climate change, global poverty, pressure on resources and their potential impact on societies. Hans-Gert Pöttering More information is available on the conference website.
	CoR International: Measuring Wealth - Challenges and Ways Forward Anders Wijkman Nov. 19th, 2007: Anders Wijkman, MEP and Vice-President of the Club of Rome, opened an event on technical and policy challenges related to measuring wealth. The event, which was held at the European Parliament, preceeded the conference "Beyond GDP" (see above). Anders Wijkman outlined the history of GDP, having been developed in the 1930s. He emphasized that there are undeniable correlations between GDP and many indicators of welfare but that other aspects like the informal economy, volunteer work, leisure, human capital, pollution and resource depletion are not represented or underestimated in the presently used GDP.
	Poland: General Assembly Re-elects President Nov. 14th, 2007: the General Assembly of the Polish Association for the Club of Rome took place in Warsaw. The event started with a lecture by Dr. Andrzej Kassenberg, President of the Institute for Sustainable Development on Ecological Gordian Knots of the XXI century, followed by very vivid discussion. Antoni Kuklinski After reporting the last term of office, the elections took place. Prof. Antoni Kuklinski was re-elected as President of the Polish Association. The General Assembly has chosen the "Gordian Knots of XXI Century" to be the main topic of interest for the next term.
	Germany: Club of Rome Schools Conference in Kassel Nov. 12-13th, 2007: Representatives of the "Club of Rome Schools in Preparation" attended a networking conference in Kassel. The schools are preparing changes in their pedagocical concepts in order to help their students meet the challenges of the future. After being welcomed by Max Schön and Uwe Möller, CoR member Franz Josef Radermacher gave a speech on the challenges of globalisation. Thomas Schauer introduced the European Environmental Education initiative. In working groups, the schools discussed themes like energy and climate, nutrition and agriculture, health, limitation of resources, lifestyles, technologies and intercultural understanding. More information is available on the CoR Schools Website (in German).
	Germany: TREC - Clean Power from Deserts Nov. 6th, 2007: The German Association for The Club of Rome and its TREC Initiative in cooperation with members of the German Bundestag organised an information evening in Berlin about the DESERTEC CONCEPT (Clean Power from Deserts for Europe, Middle East and Noth Africa). Studies about the feasability of the idea are available on the DLR Website http://www.dlr.de/tt/trans-csp. Max Schön The conference was opened by Max Schön, President of the German Association of the Club of Rome, Gerhard Knies (TREC) introduced the concept. Franz Trieb (DLR) outlined studies on the subject and Udo Ungeheuer (Schott) described possible contributions from industry. Delegates from the German Parliament discussed the initiative. The speeches given at the event are available for download. (8 MB zip file). More information is available on the project homepage.
	CoR International: Horst Köhler, German Federal President, invited The Club of Rome Nov. 6th, 2007: Members of the Club, including Ashok Khosla and Eberhard von Koerber, Co-Presidents of the Club of Rome, and international experts from 17 countries on 5 continents met the German Federal President for a discussion about globalisation. Horst Köhler, Eberhard von Koerber The speech by President Köhler is available on the external Website (in German). Meeting in Berlin A Press statement by the Club of Rome can be downloaded (in German).
	Canada: A Tribute to Rennie Whitehead Nov. 5th, 2007: The event honoured Rennie Whitehead for his work for CACOR and the Club of Rome. J. Rennie Whitehead has been a member of the Club of Rome since its formal incorporation in 1970. He was one of the founders of CACOR and served as Chairman of the Board from 1976 to 1979. Dr. Whitehead was the founding Editor of the CACOR Newsletter in 1971 and of the CACOR Proceedings in 1992 and remains Editor Emeritus of these publications. Dr. Whitehead is a physicist, electronics engineer, consultant in science policy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as Principal Science Advisor in the Privy Council Office of Canada and was a member of various science policy committees of OECD, NATO, and the Commonwealth. More information is available on the website of the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome http://www.cacor.ca.
	Austria: The Future of Work - Shaping Globalisation Nov. 5th, 2007: Franz Josef Radermacher discussed the relation between globalisation and labour at an evening event organized by the Austrian Chapter, the European Support Centre of the Club of Rome and the Wiener Vorlesungen. For further details, please visit the Conference Website (in German).
	Austria: Climate Change and Insurance Nov. 5th, 2007: Will Austria become the country of lemon trees? The Austrian Chapter and European Support Centre of the Club of Rome, the Versicherungswissenschaftliche Gesellschaft and representatives from Allianz and WWF discussed the challenge of climate change for the insurance industry. At the event, the Risk Report "Hedging Climate Change" was presented to the public. Among the speakers there were Helga Kromp-Kolb, Olaf Novak and Franz Josef Radermacher. For further details, please visit the Conference Website (in German).
	Poland: Gordian Knots of the 21st Century Oct 25th, 2007: On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Polish Association for the Club of Rome, Pawel Opala and Krysztof Rybinski presented a paper "Gordian Knots of the 21st Century" at an event in Warsaw. The document is available for Download (in English).
	Germany: TT30 Organized Dialogue with Young Professionals Oct 25th, 2007: In co-operation with Munich Re and Bertelsmann Foundation, Think Tank 30 Germany organized a dialogue "Zukunft fairantworten". More information is available for download.
	Belgium: 45th Aurelio Peccei Lecture by Jane Roberts Oct 22nd, 2007: The lecture "Small Change Delivers: Mobilising grassroots dollars to save women’s lives" introduced UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund and Jane Roberts' and Lois Abraham's initiative to bridge the funding gap (In 2002, the Bush Administration announced they would withhold the $34 million annually allocated by Congress to UNFPA) and to show American citizens’ support for UNFPA. The initiative hopes to find 34 million Americans to take a stand with at least one dollar and has to date raised $3.6 million. The invitation to the lecture is available for download.
	Italy: Accademia dei Lincei in Remembrance of Umberto Colombo Oct 15-16th, 2007: An event "“Science, Technology and Policies in the Second Half of the 20th Century” was held at the Academia dei Lincei in Rome in remembrance of CoR member Umberto Colombo. A short report by Ms. Eleonora barbieri masini is available for download.
	Torino: The New Welfare - The Counter-Ageing Society Oct. 8th, 2007: Lengthening of life-cycle, employment, pensions and health was discussed at an international conference. Among the organizers were Patrick. M. Liedtke, Secretary General and Managing Director, of The Geneva Association and Member of the ExCom of the Club of Rome and Orio Giarini, Honorary member of the Club of Rome. There were speeches by Ivo Slaus (Croatian Association for the Club of Rome) and Gordon Wollgam (tt30). An outline of the sessions is available for download .
	USA: Climate change: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Oct. 5th, 2007: At the USACOR Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Michael Dorsey, Professor at Dartmouth College and Member of tt30, will give a presentation on the challenge of Climate Change. The invitation is available for download.
	Canada: How to establish a government of, by and for the people. Oct. 1st, 2007: Henry Beissel spoke at a CACOR event in Ottawa. He argued that the combined effects of the takeover of society by economic forces and the catastrophic population explosion during the 20th century, have eroded democracy until it has become a sham. This is especially serious at a time when environmental destruction and climate change threaten to make the planet uninhabitable for humans unless drastic action is taken and taken now. For more information please visit the website of the Canadian Association for the Club of Rome.

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