Director of SDSU Center for Energy Studies Presents
to UN Commission for Sustainable Development

Contact: Lorena Nava, Media Relations Specialist
SDSU Marketing & Communications
(619) 594-3952 office; (619) 309-5179 cell
lnava@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO – (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)– The director for San Diego State University's Center for Energy Studies today spoke before the 14 th session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development about the need to develop energy-efficient communities and about a new research partnership in San Diego to help achieve that goal.

Alan Sweedler spoke along with other partners of the newly formed National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities. The center, formed in March of this year and currently based at SDSU, is designed to research and demonstrate energy-saving planning principles and technology that can be used to develop more efficient neighborhoods and cities.

"The U.N. asked the center to present to the commission because it believes we are one of the premier entities in the world working on developing sustainable communities in terms of energy consumption," Sweedler said. "By some estimates, half of the world's people will live in cities by next year, many of them with inadequate housing, undrinkable water and polluted air. The world urgently needs new approaches and new models to design, build and manage our communities."

Other partners in the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities are the Department of Energy, the city of Chula Vista , and the Illinois-based Gas Technology Institute. They presented today during the commission's regional discussions, which examined geographically specific barriers and constraints related to energy, best practices in energy conservation, and next steps to further the goals of the commission.

The session, a follow-up to commission meetings held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 and Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002, takes place through May 12 at the United Nations' headquarters in New York . Representatives from more than 30 countries will discuss sustainability issues ranging from atmospheric conditions to climate change to industry trends.

"It's important to share the steps we're taking with these international experts so that better approaches to energy sustainability can be applied here and in other parts of the world," Sweedler said. "The commission is particularly interested in what we are doing in the San Diego-Tijuana border region."

Sweedler and other National Energy Research Center representatives will participate in additional commission workshops and discussions this week.

The National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities plans to establish a headquarters in Chula Vista and use the city as a "living laboratory" for energy research and demonstration projects.

SDSU's Center for Energy Studies (CES) was founded in 1981 to facilitate, promote and support research and academic programs relating to the study of energy and its impact on society. The center places a particular emphasis on issues of concern to the San Diego region, including the border region with Mexico . The Center provides a forum for different disciplines to cooperate in the study of matters relating to the technical, economic and environmental aspects of energy use. For more information on the center, visit http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/physics/CES.html.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasingly international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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