One Arizona State University research facility hopes to provide a practical solution to growing environmental concerns in the valley.
The Decision Theater for the New Arizona, a three-dimensional interactive theater, will study the decision processes used to plan and manage water resources and desert city growth.
The theater, located at the Orchid House, part of the Brickyard Building in downtown Tempe, will open May 23. The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, environmental workshops, tours of the facility, music, food and a speech by ASU President Michael Crow.
"The theater will serve as a link between the research community and the broader public community," said Rick Shangraw, executive director for the Decision Theater.
The theater will give ASU scientists a chance to show government officials and policy makers the future through alternative scenarios, Shangraw said.
The project hopes to provide an immersive environment for discussing research and policy questions, identifying common needs and interests, and creating models to explore patterns, relationships and the implications of actions in complex environments.
"Our job is not to make decisions, it's to inform policy makers so they can make decisions," Shangraw said.
According to ASU scientists, rapid growth in the Phoenix metropolitan area is changing the ecology of the desert. Ecologists have found people are causing the air, water, soil chemistry and climate to change, as well as the plant life and wildlife.
ASU's International Institute for Sustainability had been studying the problems caused by Arizona's changing ecosystem for some time, said Brenda Shears, deputy director for the International Institute for Sustainability.
Since receiving a grant in 1997, "the center has been deeply emerged in monitoring the status of the environment," Shears said.
The Institute was established at ASU to study a broad scope of environmental issues in an effort to ensure that we maintain a quality of life on Earth.
The $3 million dollar Decision Theater is one of the projects designed to help achieve that goal.
One of the issues the theater will study is the urban heat island effect. As development spreads in Arizona, increasing amounts of asphalt and concrete soak up the sun's radiation during the day. Those artificial surfaces then release heat at night more slowly than irrigated farmland or natural desert soils. So at night Phoenix stays hotter, longer.
This retained heat means higher electric bills, more smog, higher wind velocities and more water usage, Shangraw said.
The theater will use the new visual technology to explore solutions to this problem.
The Decision Theater will house a 270-degree rear projection screen with seating of up to 20 people.
Although it is aimed at attracting federal, state, city and county officials the theater will be open to the public and anyone who wants to tour the facility.
However, whether or not the theater will be utilized by decision makers and have an effect on policy is left to be seen, since it is the first theater of its kind.
There is a lot of debate as to whether or not individual policy changes can have an impact on the environment, said Lauren Kuby, communications manager for the International Institute for Sustainability.
"I believe more of the global measures are small steps; if we take those steps we can see big results," Kuby said.
If the theater is successful, institute officials said they may consider developing more Decision Theaters nationwide.
Shanna Hogan is a contributor to the Web Devil. Reach her at shannahogan@cox.net.
