To our great sorrow we note the passing of one of sustainability's major visionaries and leaders, Thomas Berry. At 94 Thomas leaves us with his legacy revealing the essential ties between spirituality and sustainability.

A senior-level US met with Chinese leaders met in China last week to encourage cooperation on climate change policies. The two countries are the biggest emitters of carbon gases and both governments are staking out strong positions ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference taking place December 7-18, 2009 in Copenhagen. U.S.

The latest round of talks on the next phase of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change began in Bonn on June 1.

At the meetings of the UN CSD, major civil society groups recognized by the Commission (farmers, women, NGOs, indigenous peoples, scientists, youth, workers, business and local authorities) have opportunities to actively work with government delegations and international agencies to articulate their views and recommendations on sustainable development issues.

There is a strong link between climate change and the issues before this session. Sustainable agriculture can contribute to climate change mitigation. On the other hand, if left unchecked, climate change will affect agricultural production and exacerbate drought and desertification. This will have a devastating impact on the poor.

On Earth Day this year, the new U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was asked to characterize his vision for the Department of Agriculture, and he answered with one word – “sustainable.” We should apply this same deceptively simple concept to our thinking about constructive outcomes from CSD-17. What are the best ways to shift our development patterns to sustainability?

Article/opinion piece in the New York Observer by Steve Cohen, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

In October 2008 the City of Madison, Wisconsin approved an approach to gathering information on sustainability issues that should be considered in the rewrite of the City of Madison's zoning code.

"The rewrite of the zoning code," says the report from the Public Hearing, "presents the opportunity to provide recommendations to remove obstacles to sustainability, create incentives for sustainability and enact standards for sustainability." More

In January 2009, Portland City Council merged the Bureau of Planning with the Office of Sustainable Development to create the new Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. The Bureau of Planning has had an exceptional record of guiding Portland's growth and development toward the thriving, livable city that it is today.

Source: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)