The event was coordinated by Mike Kensler, Director of Outreach for NRMDI’s Water Resources Center, and Charlene LeBleu, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture, Design & Construction. According to Kensler, “This event was a wonderful opportunity for experiential learning by students that was generative, interdisciplinary, and engaged with a real world challenge.  At the same time, it provided AGC the opportunity to acquire a range of creative and innovative ideas about how best to manage and develop this property.”

Jimmy Latham, President of WAR Construction and 2011 AGC President, and Henry Hagood, 2010 President of Alabama AGC, told students about the mission of AGC, described the Russell County property and outlined what the AGC representatives hoped to take away from the day-long event. 

Student teams were asked to bring ideas with them to be expanded upon during the day. Throughout the morning, AGC members and faculty experts rotated among the teams offering suggestions and information for developing ideas. The students quickly drew and modified their schemes, and after lunch presented them to the six AGC representatives in attendance.

Some of the ideas for the site included: a series of duck ponds, outdoor classrooms, a gasifier for biofuels, green building approaches, entrance design, walking trails, solar powered facilities, and mobile research stations.  AGC representatives remarked afterwards that there were ideas from each team that would likely be implemented in a comprehensive site plan, and as a result cash awards were made to all six teams.

Feedback from the workshop revealed that the event was an overall success and much interest was expressed in conducting another TigerStorm in the future.    One student commented that the TigerStorm event introduced a new way of thinking, while another said that the exercise strengthened their presentation skills and ability to think quickly.  The organizers feel this event could serve as a model for an effective way to facilitate interdisciplinary, collaborative, applied learning that includes instructional, research, and outreach components.

About Alabama AGC
The Alabama Chapter of the Associated General Contractors is an 82-year old organization of qualified construction contractors and industry-related companies dedicated to skill, integrity and responsibility. The Association provides broad influence and a full range of services satisfying the needs and concerns of its members, partners and the industry, thereby improving the quality of construction and protecting the public interest.  For more information, visit their website at: http://www.alagc.org/aboutALAGC/?fa=aboutAGC

Thank you for your understanding and please, join us next year.

If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact: Kathy Hornsby at (334) 242-5284 or kathy.hornsby@adeca.alabama.gov.

CBS Channel 8 News caught up with Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts Director, Steve Taylor in Butler County to talk with him about better ways to harvest biomass.

Auburn University has partnered with Corley Land Services in Butler County to develop new harvesting machines for biomass. This $10M dollar project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, will explore ways to make renewable energy more affordable, not just for Alabama, but for the nation as a whole.

Check out the whole story, including video here.

For additional information, contact Dr. Steve Taylor at (334) 844-3534 or at taylost@auburn.edu.

In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, communities along the Gulf Coast are beginning the long and complex process of recovering from the worst ecological disaster in U.S. history.  As both a land and sea grant institution, Auburn University is uniquely equipped to provide both assistance and expertise to those impacted by this catastrophe.

To that end, Auburn University is hosting Alabama Road to Restoration: Integrated Recovery Strategies for the Gulf Coast, October 5-6, 2010 at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama.  In this first of a series of forums, our mission is to convene individuals who will play a significant role in the restoration and renewal of the communities, economy and environment affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  Attendees represent a cross section of local citizens and business people, as well as state, regional and national scientists, health professionals, policy-makers, and legislators.

Topics Covered:

• *Local Perspectives on the Oil Spill Experience
• *Environmental Impacts
• *Business Continuity and Survival
• *Mental and Physiological Human Health Issues
• *Governance and Management
• *Federal Perspectives on Recovery
• Speakers include local citizens and businesspeople, local officials, directors of regional and state agencies, health care professionals, legislators, scientists, and senior administrators from relevant federal agencies.

To learn more or to register, visit: http://www.auburn.edu/outreach/cgs/restore/index.htm.

The continuing manmade catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico is the latest event in a long-established pattern of systemic “disconnects” between the way that nature works and the way our society perceives and utilizes natural resources.

Our history is replete with crises that have arisen from overextended efforts to generate power, extract nonrenewable resources, indiscriminately harvest renewable resources, synthesize toxic chemicals, and transform the landscape for the purpose of social and economic development.

The Three Mile Island accident, the Bhopal gas tragedy, destruction of tropical rainforests, New Orleans levee breaches and the draining of the Aral Sea are a few examples of manmade nature-vs.-society conflicts. In each case, there is sufficient evidence that we think and act in ways that eventually violate nature’s laws and limits, and some of us inevitably and inequitably suffer the consequences.

As a society, we still have not recognized this pattern of anthropogenic overreach and nature’s kickback.

On April 20, a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, resulting in the discharge of millions of barrels of crude oil. Its aftermath presents urgent social, economic, ecological, biological and technological problems that require immediate and extensive remediation.

President Obama has since created a National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. The commission is tasked with determining the root causes of this disaster, developing options for guarding against and mitigating the impact of offshore drilling-related oil spills, and recommending reforms of federal agencies and processes.

No doubt, these are issues of great consequence. But we must not lose sight of the larger lessons that ought to be learned from this technological disaster.

While the commission must address immediate harm to nature and society, it must also put this event into a broader context and look at a larger, more systemic picture.

A fragmented, piecemeal approach to resolving the immediate economic and environmental issues, without serious consideration of the intimately interconnected cultural, political, ecological and technological systems, is doomed to fail.

Without the courage to think and act beyond the immediate concerns, we will be repeatedly blindsided by a continuous cycle of overreach and kickback that will be increasingly destructive to both nature and society.

So, what should be learned from the Deepwater Horizon and its aftermath?

For one thing, we must take stock of our propensity to think and act sub-optimally to solve these problems.

Depending on our perspective and our programmatic and operational priorities, we make isolated and narrow decisions to maximize outcomes, without sufficient consideration for other highly interdependent natural and human factors.

In economic terms, we habitually maximize benefits and certainty for some, and externalize costs and risks to nature and other people, regardless of the consequences. What is missing is a sufficiently powerful framework that gives us a more holistic context for decision-making so that we better understand the broader consequences of our actions.

With this in mind, our recommendation to the president’s commission is to take a two-track approach.

First, tackle the immediate and urgent issues as mandated. And second, the commission can start a process for creating a long-term, holistic framework for decision-making that breaks the cycle of sector-specific overreach and the unintended systemic consequences that inevitably result.

This means resolving nature-society conflicts by bringing human behavior in line with the laws and limits of nature.

We must make decisions which allow the Gulf ecosystem to provide the greatest benefit ecologically, economically, socially and culturally, to the greatest number of people over the course of many generations.

We recommend that the commission work with a team of experts, scholars, citizens and other Gulf stakeholders to create a vision of what a sustainable and healthy Gulf of Mexico would look like and develop a comprehensive multistate rehabilitation plan that reflects a broader vision.

Then it will be up to citizens and local, state and federal leaders to debate and codify the vision and bring it to fruition.

Until a plan is in place, extreme caution should be exercised when considering any environmentally sensitive activities in the Gulf.

The laws and limits of a healthy, functioning Gulf ecosystem set the context and define the boundaries within which we can sustainably operate. Understanding this ecological context and designing human uses accordingly will bring us closer to resolving nature-society conflicts and ensuring we do not repeat the disaster that confronts us today

In our view, this is the lesson we most need to learn.

T. Prabhakar Clement is the Arthur H. Feagin professor of civil engineering at Auburn University; Michael Kensler is an outreach program administrator for the Water Resources Center at Auburn University; and Michelle R. Worosz is an assistant professor of rural sociology at Auburn University. More of their analysis can be found at www.auburn.edu/oilspillblog.

Much of the following came from a summary of the meeting provided by Bob Higgins, Vice President for the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance.  I learned that tourism in the area supports over 41,000 jobs with payrolls totaling almost $1 billion.  Over 4.5 million people visit the area annually and spend about $2.3 billion in the local area, contributing over $100 million to Alabama’s general and education trust funds.  Most of this spending occurs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.  Today, tourism is off 50% and the trend is downward.  Retail stores and restaurants are reporting sales off 70%.  The fishing industry is essentially closed.  Most of the 41,000 jobs are in very small businesses, many of which have been family owned for generations.  When the oil spill occurred, businesses were caught at the lowest point of their cash flow and many had fully tapped their lines of credit because of the overall economy in the last two years.  The Alaska studies following the Exxon Valdez spill tell us that the current situation will lead to many serious community issues such as business failures and increases in a variety of social issues that are related to feelings of hopelessness and despair.  The community is responding with a number of initiatives to help businesses and citizens through this crisis, but more resources will be needed.  

The purpose of the meeting was to brief universities on the extent of the impact of the BP oil spill on South Baldwin County, in particular, and to develop ideas for support.  From the community leaders we met and talked with, you quickly understand that their is an attitude of resilience and optimism that we are going to get through this.  The next step is to determine ways that the universities can collaborate to provide immediate, mid-term and longer-term assistance to the area.  Early on in the crisis, Auburn University became proactive in offering technical assistance to federal and state agencies as well as commercial entities.  These capabilities are summarized on our website at: http://ocm.auburn.edu/news/gulf_oil_spill_response.pdf.  Additional response capabilities within Auburn University and our desire to collaborate with other universities in the state continues to expand almost on a daily basis.   

The meeting was an eye opener for me, because it quickly became clear that this is not just a Baldwin County problem, but one that will impact the entire state of Alabama.  The immediate message to the others outside the region is that Baldwin County is still open for business and eager to provide a recreational and vacation experience that most of us have enjoyed in the past. 

Larry Fillmer
Executive Director
Natural Resources Management & Development Institute

Dr. Taylor’s testimony regarding developing a bioeneconomy in the U.S. centered around three key messages:

1) There are significant opportunities for developing a thriving bioeconomy in the Southern United States.
2) There are critical policy needs related to bioenergy that should be addressed in the 2012 Farm Bill.
3) The creation of a successful biorefining industry will only be possible through meaningful and sustained funding of the research and development conducted through land grant university programs.

Dr. Taylor was one of nine witnesses from across Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas.  He concluded his remarks with the following observation, “As farmers, forest landowners, scientists, or policy makers, we are all focused on leaving a legacy for our children and grandchildren.  At Auburn University, we hope that part of our legacy for America will be a secure, sustainable energy supply; a healthy population; and a culture of caring for our environment.”

A copy of Dr. Taylor’s testimony is available on our website.  If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Dr. Steve Taylor by phone at: (334) 844-3534 or by email at: taylost@auburn.edu.

The Alabama Association of Habitat Affiliates in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation, Auburn University College of Architecture, Design, and Construction, the Auburn University Office of Sustainability, USGBC Alabama, and HUD will host the Inaugural Green and Blue Conference to promote and recognize innovation and leadership in sustainable practices and materials in residential building.

The goal of the conference is to promote the work of leaders in sustainable building practices for residential builders in Alabama including higher education researchers, corporate leaders, and non-profit housing providers.  Included among the presenters is AU Water Resource Center expert, Bill Deutsch. 

For additional information, including conference agenda, list of speakers and speaker bios, check out the conference website: http://www.greenandblueconference.com/