With so much attention given to transportation, many people are surprised to learn that buildings are the single largest contributor to global warming. In the US, buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually; globally the percentage is even greater.

To address the Building Sector's role in climate change, Architecture 2030, in partnership with AmericaSpeaks, is hosting a Global Emergency Teach-in.

The Teach-in, entitled The 2010 Imperative, was web-cast live from New York on February 20, 2007 from noon to 3 p.m. EST. Hundreds of thousands of students, faculty, deans and practicing professionals in the architecture, planning and design communities in North and South America and around the world logged on to discover how they inadvertently fuel global warming through design, and what they can do to change this. In addition to addressing climate change, participants also learned about ‘The 2030 Challenge’ and ‘The 2010 Imperative’.

In response to the climate-change crisis, Architecture 2030 issued The 2030 Challenge in January of 2006. The Challenge calls for all new buildings and major renovations to immediately reduce their energy consumption by 50%, and all new buildings to be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2030. As The 2030 Challenge spreads across the country and around the globe, it will be the professionals and young designers who will be asked to implement it. Yet today, climate-change science, mitigation and adaptation strategies are virtually absent in many professional offices, as well as US and international professional design schools.

To address this situation, a rapid transformation of the entire design and design education community must begin immediately. The 2010 Imperative, a challenge and strategy for transforming design education, was issued to all schools during the Teach-in, and participants were asked to adopt, support and implement its targets.

During the Teach-in, participants were able to interact with leaders at the forefront of design and climate change. Panelists included Susan Szenasy, editor in Chief of Metropolis Magazine; Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Edward Mazria, AIA, Founder of Architecture 2030; and Dr. Chris Luebkeman, Director of Arup’s Global Foresight and Innovation Initiative. The event featured presentations by the panelists and an extensive question and answer session, where participants around the world were able to query the expert panelists in real time. There was also an action-oriented discussion on implementing The 2030 Challenge and The 2010 Imperative. This highly interactive approach allowed participants to learn from and educate the panelists and each other. The Teach-in took place in New York City before a live audience, translated into Spanish and Portuguese and was simultaneously web-cast.

The Global Emergency Teach-in, which was free, was sponsored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), New York Academy of Sciences, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, AIA Large Firm Roundtable and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The Teach-in focused on professionals and schools of architecture, planning, engineering, landscape architecture, interior design, industrial design and other design disciplines, but was open to all.

to Access the Archived Teach In, Click on the following Link: 

http://architecture2030.org/2010_imperative/webcast.html