Egloff, Roger L.

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184 Environmental Conservation'FORENERGY 86' - EUROPEAN FORUM: ENERGY INTOWNS, HELD AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCECENTRE OF GENEVA, 15 RUE DE VAREMBE, 1202 GENE-VA, SWITZERLAND, DURING 16-18 DECEMBER 1986This auspicious event was sponsored by the City of Gen-eva and the Standing Conference of Local and RegionalAuthorities of Europe—a body affiliated with the Councilof Europe. Organized by the Office of Cooperation forRenewable Energies (COPER), it also benefited from thesupport of various other concerns and affiliations.Urban and Regional Energy Management—'Energy inTowns'Under the general title of'Energy in Towns', the Forumdealt with urban and regional energy management. Itsobjectives were to help society to meet the energy challengeby promoting specific aspects related to energy conserva-tion, the use of renewable sources of energy, and recoveryof energy from wastes.The Forum 'Forenergy 86' was addressed by numerousspeakers: politicians, local and regional representatives,specialists and experts from public organizations, industry,and the universities, as well as by delegates from nationaland international bodies. It was also attended by policy-makers and energy managers from all over Europe, includ-ing representatives of some 40 European cities.Geneva is thus becoming a meeting-place and a centre ofdiscussions on some of the most vital energy issues includ-ing the rational utilization of the available energy re-sources. Throughout this international event the sponsorsendeavoured to initiate a dialogue and lend worth-whilesupport to 'those who are confronted, in their daily deci-sions as well as in their long-term choices, with the pro-found technological changes which are nowadays underway'.'Energy and Society'—a DebateAs already indicated, the main topics of the Forum were:how to save energy, how to exploit renewable forms ofenergy, and how to make the best possible use of wastes. Topolitically responsible officers at the city and regional lev-els, 'these concerns are not merely of a technical and econ-omical nature: they are also philosophical in essence'.The organizers accordingly decided to raise the discus-sions to a higher level on the occasion of a debate whichtook place after an evening gathering. This debate, underthe lively chairmanship of Edouard J. Logoz, gave theopportunity to various speakers to express their scientific,political, and philosophical, views on the subject 'Energyand Society'. Reflecting today's situations and preoccupa-tions, they attempted to reach a global vision of the prob-lems which society is now facing, and which will determineour common destiny.Energy-Environment-Society—Evident CorrelationsAlthough the Forum dealt primarily with energy prob-lems, some of the speakers, unavoidably, hinted at theobvious links between energy and the environment, andemphasized how the impact of energy on environment hadto be taken into account. Indeed, facile abuse of energycould well 'darken the future of mankind behind the moun-tains of its wastes and the veil of its smokes.'In this respect, a notable contribution was an address byProfessor Nicholas Polunin, who was one of the guestspeakers of the evening debate. He spoke on 'Energy-useand The Biosphere', and took the opportunity to expressthe deep concern of scientists who witness the alarmingdegradation of The Biosphere. This, along with a runawaydemography, is likely to affect society and human life quitedrastically.There are rays of hope, however, which sustain theefforts of all those who endeavour to find or promote solu-tions to our predicaments. One of the most promising is thereplacement of fossil fuels by hydrogen. As a fitting con-clusion to the debate, Professor Polunin read an enlighten-ing message from Professor John O'M. Bockris, Texas A &M University, who is the leader of an American teamengaged in hydrogen research. It seems that one solution toboth our energy and environment problems might well bein sight if we move towards a solar-hydrogen economy.*'Forenergy 86' will be followed by other 'Forenergy'meetings. It is likely that more emphasis will be placed, insuch future events, on the correlations between energy andenvironment.ROGER L. EGLOFF, Project EngineerOffice of Cooperation for Renewable Energies (COPER)Centre International1 Rue de VarembeCH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland.* See for example, John O'M. Bockris & T. Nejat Veziroglu: 'ASolar-Hydrogen Energy System for Environmental Compatibili-ty', published in Environmental Conservation, Vol. 12, No. 2.pages 105-18, with 2 figures and 4 tables, 1985.* In answer to our query about the Joint Institute's Energy Pro-gramme (see preceding page), the Author wrote 'it is organized bythe Policy Studies Institute, 100 Park Village East, London, andthe Royal Institute of International Affairs, 10 St James's Square,London, to look at aspects of British and international energypolicy.'—Ed.INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON 'GREENING THE CITY:ECOLOGICALLY-SOUND APPROACHES TO URBAN OPEN-SPACE MANAGEMENT', HELD IN TORONTO, CANADA,DURING 18-20 February 1987The purpose of this Symposium, organized by Toronto'sPollution Probe Foundation, and supported by registrants'fees and a number of organizations, was to bring togetherexperts and citizens from Britain, Europe, Central Ameri-ca, and Asia, to present case-studies and to discuss theimplementation of the new concept of'the green city'. Bythis is meant, not the stylized 'garden cities' of earlier urbanplans, or the simple promotion of tree-planting, but themultifaceted concept of urban places that are more ecolog-ically-sound and less destructive of their natural environ-ments than their predecessors. The programme defined'green' as 'ecologically sustainable', the main focus of theSymposium being on how to restore ecological integrity tourban spaces.Thus the Symposium included plenary addresses, pa-nels, papers, workshops, and poster displays, demonstrat-ing in all a great variety of ideas and methods—includingthe preservation of'wilderness' within urban areas; the'naturalizing' of roadsides; the design of'ecology parks';the variety of forms of'urban agriculture'; waste treatmentand reuse in urban-fringe farms, fish-ponds, and forests;ecological rehabilitation of areas such as utility corridors,lakes, streams, and marshlands; alternatives to syntheticpesticides in pest managment; and encouragement of ur-ban wildlife generally.Besides those specific topics, there was opportunity forconsideration of general issues such as the meaning of'thehttps:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S037689290001167XDownloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. 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‘FORENERGY 86'-European Forum: Energy in Towns, held at the International Conference Centre of Geneva, 15 Rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, during 16-18 December 1986

‘FORENERGY 86'-European Forum: Energy in Towns, held at the International Conference Centre of Geneva, 15 Rue de Varembé, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, during 16-18 December 1986

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