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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

St. Louis City = "Beta City" for STAR Community Index software platform

I'm starting to connect the dots from this SLU Press Release - Oct. 22, 2011 to the regional meetings being held for the last year to the plan developed at the United Nations called "Agenda 21." Until this release, I had not found the "International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives" (ICLEI) mentioned; but now it's clear that these regional meetings are part of Agenda 21 because the "data portal" is being mentioned at these regional meetings (see notes from Pevely, MO meeting).

With our deficit growing by billions of dollars every day, why are HUD, DOT and the EPA spending money the nation does not have, on programs that our nation does not need, that will impose government-mandated restrictions on property and behavior that most people do not want?

Press Release:

SLU's Center for Sustainability Partners with City of St. Louis
STAR partnership announcment
From left, Catherine Werner, sustainability director for the City of St. Louis, John Sondag, president of ATT Missouri, Tim Keane, executive director of the Center for Sustainability, Mayor Francis Slay and Paul Dickinson, executive chairman of the Carbon Disclosure Project, announced a research project to test a new sustainability software platform designed to help the city develop a comprehensive sustainability plan. Submitted photo
Thanks in large part to support from the Center for Sustainability at Saint Louis University, the City of St. Louis was chosen as one of only ten cities nationally to participate in the development of the STAR Community Index software platform, a tool that local governments across the globe will use to help create the sustainable cities of the future.

The developing organization, ICLEI, was founded in 1990 as the "International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives" at the United Nations' first "World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future." Since then, ICLEI has grown to represent more than 1,200 local governments across 70 countries in sustainable development initiatives like the creation of the STAR Community Index software.

The city's participation in the STAR Community Index project is being supported by the Center for Sustainability at SLU with seed funding, as well as hands-on research through the "REAL Partners" program, an initiative that provides research support from the Center's graduate students. The STAR Community Index software will help the city's sustainability efforts through the measuring and tracking of local sustainability assets and barriers, with the goal of integrating the data into a long-term sustainable development plan for the region.

According to Tim Keane, Ph.D., executive director the Center, this initiative fits perfectly with their mission and strategic objectives.

"The Center for Sustainability is seeking collaborations with sustainability thought leaders, both inside SLU and externally, that recognize we are a society in crisis. Tools like the STAR Community Index help quantify the urgency, and support actions to replenish, not deplete, our ecosystem resources," Keane said.

As part of the initiative, the City of St. Louis released the results of its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory back to 2005 as a baseline to benchmark progress in reducing its carbon footprint and show how the city is utilizing technology to minimize its impact on the environment.
"It is important that we know our impact on the environment so we can measure our progress, focus where we can make the most improvement, and know which initiatives are working and which are not," said Mayor Francis Slay.

The Center for Sustainability offers a master of sustainability degree and supports inter-disciplinary research that has the potential to solve sustainability-related issues in society.
For more information about the Center's degree options or research collaboration opportunities, please visit sustainability.slu.edu or call 314-977-3608.
The Center for Sustainability was launched through the generous support of its founding donor, the Alberici Foundation.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

HB 42

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Chapter 1, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 1.370, to read as follows:

1.370. 1. As used in this section, "political subdivisions" mean all state, county, incorporated city, unincorporated city, public local entity, public-private partnership, and any other public entity of the state, a county, or city.

2. The state of Missouri and all political subdivisions shall not adopt or implement policy recommendations that deliberately or inadvertently infringe or restrict private property rights without due process, as may be required by policy recommendations originating in, or traceable to Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations in 1992 at its Conference on Environment and Development or any other international law or ancillary plan of action that contravenes the Constitution of the United States or the Missouri Constitution.

3. Since the United Nations has accredited and enlisted numerous nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations to assist in the implementation of its policies relative to Agenda 21 around the world, the state of Missouri and all political subdivisions are prohibited from entering into any agreement with, expending any sum of money for, receiving funds from, contracting services from, or giving financial aid to those nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations as defined in Agenda 21.

IMO: The language needs to be broadened.