Must we chose between innovation and sustainability?

For all of you who are itching to get back into the classroom come September so you can get your hands on some good S&T debate, you might want to point your cursor over to the Harvard Business School Online. Specifically, there is an Open Thread posted by Umair Haque, Director of the Havas Media Lab.

His post poses to readers the idea that innovation and sustainability are at odds. His hypothesis is thus:
Innovation feeds society's need for consumption, and sustainability is supposed to break us of our consumption habits. The comments posed by readers are quite interesting and insightful.
One post, by a reader names Sean states,
"Innovation is a significant change to a process that adds new value.
Sustainability is the effort to minimize a process's external costs that would otherwise be imposed on society."

A similar but different question could be raised as well. As students and practitioners of policy, how can we make sure that innovation and sustainability are not at odds, but rather working together? Or, if you believe the two are nemeses of each other, what policies are appropriate to make sure they can at least coexist without minimizing the positive effects of both?

Please leave your comments below.
Read more!

Scientists Without Borders

Scientists Without Borders is an idea I had for the past year or so and now its been brought to reality thanks to The New York Academy of Sciences and UN Millennium Project. The mission of SWB is to match needs with resources focusing on capacity-building in developing countries, in areas of public health, environment, energy, and natural resources among others, using science and technology as the primary tools.

I feel this is a great opportunity to showcase what resources SISTP and/or CISTP have to offer and also to get involved in meaningful work beyond the traditional academic role. I have been in contact with SWB's Executive Director, Dr. Evelyn Strauss and would welcome ideas and suggestions from our group that I can bring up with her the next time. Read more!

Linking Knowledge with Action for Sustainable Development, National Academies Event

The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academies of Sciences for 2008 is focusing on sustainable development.
This upcoming Thursday and Friday, April 3-4, 2008, experts on topics ranging from scientific assessment, HIV/AIDS, R&D funding and dispersion, agricultural partnerships, etc. will speak on the issues in relation to sustainability.
More information and descriptions of the event can be found here.
Although the colloquium is not free ($100 for students), the 8th Annual Sackler Lecture is free and open to the public. The lecture takes place on Thursday. From 4:40-6pm, a reception and poster session will take place. From 6-7pm, Michael Crow of Arizona State University will give the lecture: Opportunities and Limits in the Creation of Useful Knowledge for Sustainable Development.
RSVP is required for the lecture. Read more!