"Building as if There Is a Tomorrow: Sustainability, Buildings, and Building Codes," will be the topic of the University Forum lecture set for Feb. 15.

In this slide-illustrated presentation, David Eisenberg, director of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology located in Tucson, Ariz., will discuss the impacts and possible future of building and building regulation in a rapidly changing world. Through images taken from different places around the world, Eisenberg will explore the historic, cultural, economic, and environmental aspects of the evolving realm of the "built" environment.

On Feb. 20, the University Forum Lecture will focus on "The Straw Bale House: A Green Solution for Desert Communities." Thomas Pahler, a building contractor and an adjunct professor from Northern Arizona University, will give a slide-illustrated talk to explain how straw -- one of the world's most abundant, renewable, affordable, safe, and energy-efficient resources -- can be used to build a truly unique and low-maintenance home.

Both lectures are set for 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History. All University Forum lectures are free and open to the public.

The University Forum lecture series is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and is underwritten by the UNLV Foundation. For more information on the series, call 895-3401 or send an E-mail to: forum@nevada.edu.