How do I see the video/hear the audio? There are two ways to experience the multimedia content on this site:
What is a podcast? Podcasting is a method of distributing multimedia content over the web. When you use a program called a "podcatcher" to subscribe to a podcast, the podcatcher will periodically check to see if new content (in this case, audio or video files) has been added to the podcast. If new content is available, the podcatcher will automatically download the new file(s) for you, making them available to play on your computer, iPod, or other digital media device.
What do these buttons mean?
will take you to a page that will allow you to subscribe via one of several different podcatchers. You can also right-click (control-click for Mac) and copy the address into the podcatcher of your choice.
will allow you to subscribe to the podcast via the iTunes music store, if that is your preferred podcatcher. It's free to subscribe and download podcasts from iTunes, but you have to have iTunes installed on your computer (download it now).
Still confused? The University has posted information about RSS, the technology behind podcasting as well as information about subscribing to RSS feeds. If you want to learn more, you can also read Wikipedia's article on podcasting.
More questions? Please e-mail chiasmos@uchicago.edu.
PGE Distinguished Lecture: “Is Development Sustainable? Not Even Close”
May 9, 2008
A talk by Robert Repetto.
Is development sustainable? Certainly not the way the world is now going about it. Major trends are heading straight toward ecological and human disasters and if they are not changed and changed soon, development efforts will fail for billions of people, comprising mainly the world?s most vulnerable populations. Climate change, water scarcities, pollution, population growth, and growing pressures on natural resources that are already extremely stressed reinforce one another in raising these vulnerabilities.
Is disaster inevitable? Of course not. But a change in direction is essential and bringing about that change will require significant, even drastic, changes in economic, political, and social patterns. The institutional, market, and political failures that have brought the world to this point will have to be addressed and reformed. If development is to be made sustainable, business as usual is not an option.
Robert Repetto is Professor in the Practice of Economics and Sustainable Development at Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. This event was the keynote address for "Is Development Sustainable?", a conference in honor of Ted Steck's retirement.