To all those who have tried to access our website over the last two months and have been unable to do so, we must apologize. Years ago, when our domain name (cuewb.org) was registered, we were operating through a company that was acting as a domain name reseller. We were not aware of this, nor would the technicality have seemed relevant. Recent policy changes that affect internet conventions on a global scale have forbidden the practise of reselling domains in this manner, so our registrar had to sever its ties with its parent company. We, unfortunately, were caught in the middle of all of this. I (the webmaster) had an account with registerfly.com, but our domain was under the control of enom.com. Then, our domain name expired, so whenever you, the visitor, tried to access cuewb.org, you did not arrive at this website. After much fussing with the two companies, and convincing enom.com that I am the owner of the domain, I have regained control and our website is now accessible again.

Please forgive our lengthy downtime as we were sorting out the issues with the two companies. Everything should now be running fine. Again, we apologize and will do our best not to let anything like this happen again.

Best,

Mikhail Klassen
CUEWB, Webmaster

This summer, my internship could not be farther from the work related to environmental work and sustainable development. As I’ve thought about pursuing a career in the non profit sector, I came across an article written by a woman who has raised over 30,000 dollars for a construction project in Bolivia, while at the same time maintaining a demanding career in consulting.

As students, we enjoy somewhat flexible schedules and little constraints so it is easier for us to become involved in philanthropic work. It is important to know that once we enter the “working world” that this type of work doesn’t need to stop if our careers are not dedicated to it. More importantly, organizations like Engineers Without Borders and Habitat for Humanity do rely on the dedication of their volunteers. While most EWB-ers are very familiar with engineers that maintain a career and continue their spirit of volunteering at EWB Professional chapters*, I think Naomi’s story is important for EWB-ers because she is not an engineer but is managing a large construction project - with the help of Habitat for Humanity. You can read more about her efforts and project on her website Build Change With Naomi .
Gold Truong
President CU-EWB

*For those of you who are professional engineers (or not) in the New York City area and are interested in getting involved with EWB, please visit EWB NEW YORK for more information

On May 4th, the ‘Science Barge’ will be launching into the Hudson and you’re invited to the event:

The Science Barge is a sustainable urban farm powered by solar, wind, and biofuels, and irrigated by rainwater and purified river water. The Barge grows food in the city with no carbon emissions, no burden on the water supply, and no waste stream.

Beginning in May, 2007, the Science Barge will tour Hudson River Park, Riverside Park South and Stuyvesant Cove Park offering educational programs to school groups and the general public. The Science Barge is a new program from New York Sun Works, an environmental nonprofit organization.

Download the flyer or visit sciencebarge.org
Come to the launch event! Remarks will be given by:

JEFFREY SACHS, Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University;
DICKSON DESPOMMIER, Columbia University & the Vertical Farm Project;
TED CAPLOW, Columbia Alumni & designer of the Science Barge
ARIELLA R. MARON, Mayor’s Office / PLANYC
SCOTT STRINGER, Manhattan Borough President,
THOMAS DUANE, New York State Senator;
JOHN TODD, President, Ocean Arks International;
CONNIE FISHMAN, President of Hudson River Park Trust

Here’s some more information about the Sustainability Conference at Lafayette for those interested in attending:

We’ve setup a webpage with further details about the conference along with the conference schedule and a registration form. If you require housing, we will send you a confirmation whether or not you have been allocated a spot, otherwise all you need to do is show up once you’ve registered.

The conference website is:
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~ewb/conference2007.htm

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks

Taha Jiwaji

There was a problem with file transfer to our server that caused several of the links to new documents to turn up dead (and then would return you to the main page). This has now been fixed. Notably, these included: the goals for the Faculty Outreach Committee, the flyer for FOOTSTEPS at Columbia, and the flyer for the Lafayette sustainability conference. If you had trouble accessing these new files before, they should all be available now. Sorry about the trouble.

The EWB chapter at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, is sponsoring a sustainability conference on March 30-31, 2007. For more information, see their promotional poster here, or e-mail ewb@lafayette.edu.

The first Faculty Outreach Committee meeting will be held this Friday at 12:30 PM. More information about the committee and its goals is listed on the FOC page accessible from the navbar or here.

We have published this semester’s first EWB Newsletter. It is available from the new “Documents & Publications” page accessible on the left.