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June 2002 marked the 20th anniversary of the rally in New York's Central Park and the march to the United Nations protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons during the Reagan administration. This gathering of nearly one million people spurred a number of architects to form Architects for Social Responsibility (ASR), which later became ADPSR.

ADPSR actively promoted its peace agenda among design professionals. One its more meaningful projects was the development of an exchange between architects and designers in the former Soviet Union and ADPSR members in the United States. In 1990 this culminated in an exhibition, "The Socially Responsible Environment: USA/USSR 1980-1990." After the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union broke apart into separate states, ADPSR's goals of arms reduction appeared closer to being achieved. And ADPSR turned its attention to domestic environmental and social responsibility.

When ARC-PEACE (the international body to which ADPSR is a delegate), received consultative status at the United Nations in 1993, the relationship between militarism, environmental protection, and socially responsible development became much clearer. ADPSR took the concept of "Think globally, act locally" to heart.

We have now crossed that "bridge into the 21st century" and found a landscape that is startlingly different from the one we might have envisioned in the early 1990's. Green building as an idea has entered the mainstream although actual practice lags significantly behind except for a small number of committed practitioners, builders and owners. Overall energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuel continue to be troubling and, sadly, they garner much less attention than during the oil crisis in the 1970's.

The global picture requires much more attention and understanding, particularly since September 11. We no longer have the luxury of ignoring millions of desperate people living in poverty and under repressive regimes around the world. Social responsibility implies that we take a long view and begin to act in ways that preserve the resources that we are so fortunate to share on this planet.