Sustainable Students - Recently Updated Pages

Sustainable Students Home

jordyguth — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:33:50 CST

AASHE Keynote Speaker videos and Presentation Materials now available
Announcing USU's First Sustainability Week	Recent Site Activity

Welcome to the Blue Goes Green Wiki! We are set to create an institutional revolution, led by President Albrecht and the President's Climate Commitment. Our motto: Blue goes Green! Have you taken the pledge to lower your carbon footprint in at least one new way? See what a difference it makes when these acts are multiplied--our neighbors to the north are striving for One Million Acts of Green.

You can compare your carbon footprint to world and U.S. averages with this tool:

What's New

A new page called "What is Sustainability?" with links to videos and a podcast

Did you attend the Bioneers Conference? Please share your impressions and what you learned on the Bioneers Conference page and subpages.

There is a new Rideshare page where you can hook up with others to have some company and save some gas!

We are interested in hearing your success stories about how you are living more sustainably.

Do you like this ad? Then browse others like it on the Sustainable Media Messages page.

ECOS

c.lyman — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:19:06 CDT

ECOS has officially been reorganized as a club. Please visit www.usu.edu/ecos, Facebook Group "ECOS - Environmental Coalition of Students" or email us at usu.ecos@aggiemail.usu.edu for more information about joining. Thanks! -- C. Lyman

ECOS (the Environmental Coalition of Students) has been dormant at USU for a while, as far as I know. Laura Sherry, former president of the club, recently returned to USU after a mission and some time in Africa, and will likely assist in its reactivation in January 2009. --Jesse W.

ECOS has merged with a club called Aggie Recyclers. Aggie Recyclers promotes not only recycling on and off campus, but also sustainability. For more information contact ash.w@aggiemail.usu.edu --Ryan W.

Resources

jordyguth — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:33:26 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Save electricity

pikle6 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 11:22:35 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Success Stories

GenericWoman — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:26:10 CDT

Have you already committed to making a difference by signing the USU Sustainability pledge? Inspire us all by your successes!

USU's Chemistry & Biochemistry Club was among just 40 student affiliate chapters honored as an "Outstanding Chapter" by the American Chemical Society this week at the organization's national meeting held in Salt Lake City. Read about the Aggies' efforts to make high school and college chem labs throughout the nation more green: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705292889/Greener-smarter-safer-labs-at-USU.html?pg=1

Are you a Car-Free Friday person? Have you switched to eating more locally? You can also talk about challenges--maybe you bought a scooter but then were faced with winter weather. . . feel free to add pictures or videos to your story. If you are ambitious and want to write something longer, feel free to use the "Add page" feature (on the left) and create a space of your own.

USU's A-TV has a recent broadcast all about Car Free Friday!

Below are some success stories about participating in this program. If you have a story, feel free to post it yourself, or email Caroline Shugart (the Employee Wellness Coordinator).

Submitted Oct. 28th by Melanie Jewkes:
I have been riding my bike to work almost the whole year. There hasn't been a bike rack near our building during this whole time, and I would simple lock my bike up to the wheel-chair ramp.

One day, a county worker who works in the same building as me, asked if I had noticed the big (HUGE) package that FedEx had delivered the day before. I said I had noticed it, and she said it was for me. At first I thought, "Well, why didn't anyone come tell me it was for our office?" and then she said, "It's your bike rack." Now everyone in the building refers to it as my bike rack--including the maintenance guy who is tearing out a bush and laying some cement to place "my bike rack" in a secure place.

Melanie D. Jewkes
Utah State University, Duchesne County

THANKS SO MUCH MELANIE. Your story is sure to bring a smile to many a faces.

Blair talks about the benefits of being Car Free Every Day!

Here is one submitted by Sarah Ohms, Child Care Resource & Referral specialist:

"I don't really have a story except to let you know that since June I have been riding my bike to work nearly every day! I was disgusted with gas
prices and really needed to get some physical exercise. I was surprised to discover that biking only takes me about 5 minutes longer than driving,
parking, and walking to my office. I'm happy to join Car-Free Fridays... and Car-Free Everyday (at least until it snows)!

Here is one submitted by Sean Damitz, Director, Utah Conservation Corps:

"One of the things I love about my three mile bike commute to campus from Providence is getting to enjoy Cache Valley when a lot of folks are still sleeping. I had the pleasure yesterday morning of watching the large harvest moon set over the Wellsvilles as the pink rays of first light shone over the Bear River Range. I couldn't as for a more beautiful way to start the day.

This one was submitted to me by Scot M. Allgood, Marriage & Family Therapy Program Director:

"I live in Hyrum and teach a 7:30 class on MWF and riding a bike on the highway (even with lights) is more adventure than I want in life. I ride the express
bus in and then walk to my class in Old Main from the bus terminal. While not a bike-to-work story per se, I think this is the type of activity you are promoting. An added benefit is that I have 40-45 minutes to read some fun things. This week I've read Walter Payton's biography. The next book is a lightweight backpacking book by Ryan Jordan.

PLEASE KEEP THOSE GREAT STORIES COMING! caroline.shugart@usu.edu, Employee Wellness Coordinator

In The News

jordyguth — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:24:46 CST

China to ban free distribution of plastic bags. Often China gets a bad rap when it comes to environmental issues, but this is a huge move (it is estimated that China currently uses 3 billion plastic bags per day)
USU Sustainability website and WIKI forum featured in The Herald Journal in September, read all about it!
Could you give up plastic for an entire month? Chris Jeavans is going to try to go plastic free for August 2008 (and here is her blog where she will track her progress).
USU Adds Hybrid Vehicles To Its Fleet. USU Today reports on the full story...
No 'Silver Bullet' for Energy Crisis, reports Matt Wald, New York Times energy and transportation correspondent during his Oct. 7th presentation at the Taggart Student Center.
A Breath of Fresh Air. USU researcher Phil Silva investigates Cache Valley's poor winter air quality problem.
Zollinger's Fruit and Tree farm has delicious local apples and cider on sale.
The Utah Foundation addresses Utah's air quality and environmental concerns in a new report.
Caroline Shugart's monthly Herald Journal article: Open Space Connects Us to Re-Connect with Nature.
Aggie Blue Bikes is one of USU's Great Programs.
Dreaming of a GREEN Christmas

Energy

flattail — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:57:59 CST

Since both the underlying problems and the only possible solutions regarding climate change are related to energy, it seems appropriate that we should explore this topic. Oil, coal, wind, solar, geothermal, . . . what energy options make most sense, and why?

You may want to start your own exploration of the topic by looking at power plants in Utah.

Check out this fun ad about "clean coal."

Online Resources

flattail — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 20:25:06 CST

What sites do you refer to most often when it comes to sustainability?

Blogs	General Information on Sustainability	Other Resources
Green Living Ideas	North Carolina Office of Environmental Education	Green Maven "green search engine"
To Till and to Tend A Blog where Jewish Tradition, Environmental Ethics and Policy Unite	One Million Acts of Green is a Canadian Grassroots initiative for thousands of people to pledge small acts of green, and to measure the impact that the combined effort makes.	Sierra Club presents its Faith in Action report, which highlights how churches across the country are "caring for creation." (The LDS church is highlighted on page 28).
		Utah Solar Energy Association
		Wiser Earth is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects NGOs, businesses, and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more.

Issues to Discuss

jordyguth — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:23:30 CST

For our first issue (Oct 6, 2008), weigh in on what you think of Proposition One and/or Paper, Plastic, or Neither?

Which candidates have the best track record on the environment?

Discuss Transportation

Energy Development in Utah

Paper Saving Tips

Conscious Consuming

flattail — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:06:17 CST

One of the most obvious ways you can make a difference is with your shopping habits, but where to get started? You may try some of the idea's in National Geographic's Green Guide, or if you are really dedicated perhaps you may want to buy the Better World Shopping Guide. A third resource is "Green Your," which is basically "Your guide to green anything!"

Even better, edit this page or add a discussion item (at the bottom) and list ideas that YOU have implemented. What has worked for you, in your own home or community?

President Elect Obama's Plan

jordyguth — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:24:12 CST


	LEED Initiatives: 12 federal agencies or departments \| 31 states \| 108 cities \| 30 counties \| 28 towns

November 2008
The New Agenda: A New Energy Economy and 5 Million Green Jobs

With more than 500 energy and climate advisors, President-Elect Barack Obama campaigned on an aggressive and detailed plan to strengthen the economy, spur green job creation, and protect the environment. Harnessing the amazing momentum and progress of the green building community, USGBC is now working to promote sound policies in the next administration that will stimulate a green economy, create millions of green jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advance greener, more energy-efficient buildings, and spur green infrastructure. The following policy proposals, advanced by the President-Elect during the campaign, offer particular promise for advancing green building:

Green Building: President-Elect Obama has proposed the expansion of federal grants to assist states and localities in building more efficient public buildings through the use of LEED. In addition, under President-Elect Obama's plan, all new federal buildings would have to be carbon-neutral by 2025. This plan also would commit all new federal buildings to a 40% improvement in efficiency within five years and would seek a 25% improvement in the efficiency of existing federal buildings within the same period.
Building Efficiency Goals and Incentives: President-Elect Obama has proposed a goal of carbon-neutrality for all new buildings by 2030. This will be achieved by establishing a goal of 50% greater building efficiency for new buildings and 25% greater efficiency for existing buildings over the next decade. Under the plan, the federal government would award grant funds to states and localities that implement new, energy efficient building codes, and would provide matching grants to states that promote building retrofitting through public benefits funds.
Green Jobs and Job Training: President-Elect Obama has proposed an investment of $150 billion over 10 years to spur the development of renewable and other technologies, promote energy efficiency, and advance new fuel and smart electricity infrastructure. This plan would direct funding to the manufacturing sector for job training and transition programs, and would create an estimated 5 million new green jobs. Additional training programs, including a Green Jobs Corps for disadvantaged youth and a Clean Energy Corps, have been proposed to stimulate the development of a highly skilled workforce.
Transportation and Infrastructure: President-Elect Obama has proposed the consideration of smart growth principles in the transportation funding process, as well as renewed support for public mass transit projects. The President-Elect's proposed plan also includes the creation of a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to direct $60 billion over 10 years to infrastructure projects that could create some 2 million new jobs and $35 billion annually in economic activity.

With strong federal support, the green building community will be able to accelerate its spectacular wave of growth and innovation, and help ignite a rebuilt, revived green economy. USGBC looks forward to working with the new administration to support these and other initiatives that create jobs, save money and energy, and promote the creation of sustainable buildings and communities.

A Green Revolution: Creating Green Jobs and Economic Recovery through Green Building

USGBC estimates that 2.5 million new green jobs could directly result from a 100% commitment to energy efficiency in our homes, schools, and offices. Indeed, McKinsey & Company reports that 85% of future incremental electricity needs in 2030 could be met through energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, and industry. For more than a decade, the U.S. Green Building Council's members have been at the forefront of the green building movement. Building by building, neighborhood by neighborhood, we are already witnessing the positive impact of green buildings on the planet, and we are making equally impressive progress in support of the other two "p's" that guide our work -- people and prosperity. Through the deployment of new, green projects, products and technologies, the green building movement is harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of our country, creating green jobs for the future, and providing opportunities for individuals from all walks of life to enjoy healthier, more environmentally responsible, and prosperous buildings and communities. Informed by our collective experience with more than 2,000 LEED certified facilities and nearly 16,000 LEED registered projects, we must now dedicate ourselves to restoring not only our environment, but also our economy.

New technical expertise and skills will be required to transition from our carbon-intensive economy to the green economy of the future. Large-scale investment in building efficiency and renewable energy, among other areas, can spur the creation of millions of new, green jobs -- reviving domestic industries and communities while advancing our environmental goals.

AASHE Conference

jordyguth — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:16:10 CST

If you are attending this year's AASHE conference (regardless of where you are from!), please post thoughts, inspirations or other highlights. Feel free to provide links of interest, photos, videos, and don't hesitate to create subpages. To be able to edit you must first join this wiki, then the EasyEdit tools will be available to you at the top of each page.

Pages so far: Highlights, Cool Vendors, Van Jones, Best Practices and Vandana Shiva. Add new pages as you see fit! If you have any "how to" questions you can check out our Getting Started page or email Kevin.

This year's USU contingent (left to right):
Aaron Anderson
Jordy Guth
Nat Frazer
Jairo Hernandez Velazquez
Nate Millard
Grady Brimley
Kevin Young (NP)
Ryan Dupont (NP)
Mike Yeates (NP)

Vandana Shiva

flattail — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:54:17 CST

Please feel free to modify these notes or add to them, or add your comments.

I made one of my longest journeys to come here today. We are all living in interesting times, but you are living in particularly interesting times. You have made a big change in how you will be governed. My dream is to see that energy continue to make change. I don’t expect anything from Obama—I expect a lot from the American people. We have a habit of thinking that democracy is about putting someone in a position of power and relinquishing power, but democracy is about using our own power.

I started in quantum physics, which is a long path to get to seeds. I’m a biological illiterate, but decided to let life teach me about life. Everything I have learned about food has come from living in agricultural systems. The more we distance ourselves from food, the more we forget that food is the currency of the web of life. We are below the bugs—they get us in the end. We are biodegradable, other than the bits of our body that are nonbiodegradable. How much continues to stay food and how much is nonfood is a test of agriculture. Genetic engineering is recent, but there has been a mutation of food to transform it from the ecological web of life that maintains, nourishes, and replenishes life into things that are not food and that take life away from ecosystems. There are 2 billion human beings eating things that are not food, which is why we are getting obesity and food-related diseases. Molecules are put into the food system that are not designed to be part of our bodies, or the earth’s body.

The wars triggered production of chemicals on a massive scale. Factories that produced chemicals for war did not retire—they deployed the chemicals in agriculture, and that is how pesticides came to be. The big learning about the violence that has become intrinsic in our food systems came in 1984. Life was not that costly, but two events in India were 6 times worse than 9/11. One was violence in Punjab (sp?). It was the most prosperous part of India. The “Green Revolution” of 1965 had nothing to do with sustainability—to be green was merely to not be red. The Green Revolution was a package of pacifying the countryside by bringing farmers into a commercial agricultural system with seeds and chemicals that had to be bought. It worked at first because of the subsidies. When those subsidies were withdrawn there was, by then, an increased dependence on chemical inputs. 30,000 people were killed at a time when there should have been peace and prosperity. If the Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to the Green Revolution, how could it have produced such violence. Then later in 1984 we had the worst industrial accident in Pohpot (sp?)—hundreds of thousands crippled for life, 3,000 killed immediately, babies still being born today from the toxins from the Union Carbide chemical spills (Dow now owns the company and are still spending all their time insisting they have no need to clean up, which is why the toxins still enter the food systems).

The issue of food has become an issue of seeking real peace—we are at war with our bodies, we lack peace in our communities. We are eating oil, in part through the chemical fertilizers, in part through displacing small farmers with giant machines. I have seen the Amazon cut down, incredible biodiversity lost, and then an army of 100 combines working to plant a monoculture of soy beans, which then forms the basis of our current food system. Oil is used to transport food further and further away. Food is the original solar energy and should be our solar energy today.
Large scale industrial farms do NOT produce more food if you look at the data honestly. The trick is that they remove the inputs—they do not count input except for the human labor component. By removing people from the lab the “productivity” goes up because it is measured on a per person output. Empty countrysides means exploding cities. It means monocultures. Small scale farming has many different plots, with 12 different plots within a field. It becomes like a large garden. The delicacy that small scale work requires is the delicacy that allows biodiversity to thrive.
The more biodiversity you have the more food you produce. Different crops: we used to eat 1,500 different crops, but now we eat three or four: corn, soil, canola, wheat, rice. Plus cotton, which is not food. There are royalties attached to these crops, so Monsanto makes more money. Food prices have doubled, and the corporate profits have increased (Monsanto’s profits increased by 44% while new millions were pushed to starvation). In the middle of the most recent food crisis Monsanto increased the price of a bag of corn seed by $100.

The other nutrition is that which we give to the soil. See Terra Madre. We were taken to a farm where a man ate only that which he could grow—he was on a totally vegetarian diet, and had no deficiencies. Our fertilizers are Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, but that is not all that should be in the soil. If our bodies receive the right nutrients because our soils have the right nutrients than our bodies will create the B12 and other nutrients we need. I increasingly feel that the most important work of growing food is not growing food to feed humans, but growing food to feed microorganisms, which then feed us. If we let that trust happen there will be no hunger or starvation.

Food as a commodity creates more hunger. The more commodities you produce, the less food you produce. Commodities are not food. When food becomes a commodity animals imprisoned in factory farms have more access to grain than the people starving in developing nations—70% of the grain goes to these animals.

Ethanol is not a green solution. To squeeze diesel out of soy beans takes a lot of work. It takes 1.5 gallons of gasoline to create a gallon of ethanol. In 2006 the U.S. used 20% of its corn to substitute 1% of its oil use. If 100% of its corn went to ethanol, only 7% of its oil could be replaced. So there has been a huge land grab to make more corn to divert to Biofuel. The United Nations has put out a corn alert. Biofuels have a compulsory blending law and huge subsidies that are driving the conversion of crops to Biofuels. Not surprisingly, the same companies (like Monsanto) that created food as a commodity are the ones being enriched by the Biofuels movement.

It is imperative to make a shift. To realize that every person has a right to food. The right to health is not health insurance—it is good nutrition. Food and agriculture have not been part of the discussion in regards to climate change. My new book, Soil Not Oil has just been made available in the U.S. 30-35% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the way we grow and transport food. Synthetic fertilizers are major contributors to nitrogen emissions, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Plus the industrial system creates a lot of calories. The industrial system uses 10 times more water than if food is produced ecologically and microbes are cared for. The industrial system uses 10 times more energy inputs than it creates in output.
We have reached peak oil. There is less being extracted this year than last year. Energy slaves, the machinery, is going to become very costly so we will have to put people back into the food system. Campuses have a huge role in this because the distorted agriculture came from campuses. Chemical farming is a gift of land-grant institutions. I realize there is inertia, that there are academics whose mantra is “nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium.” In 1905 Howard ? was sent to improve agriculture—he was an “economic botanist.” He wrote a book called the Agricultural Testament, which is being reprinted (as the “Bible” of ecological farming). When he saw the fertility of the soil he decided to turn the pest and peasant as his teachers. The most important thing he learned is that nature works with diversity, never with a monoculture. The second thing he learned is that nature always follows the law of return. Part of what you grow must return to the soil to give you future food. The mechanistic mindset has treated the food for the soil as a waste. Straw is treated as waste and is burned. That straw is meant as food for the soil—we have been robbing food from the millions of microorganisms. We have been dousing them with chemicals. Charles Darwin called the earthworm one of the most incredible organisms on the planet, recognizing its role in creating soil—try sprinkling a little urea on an earthworm.

In India 50 MILLION people have lost their homes due to dams being built, which were built to support the intensive irrigation of the green revolution.

We are operating under toxic rules. The toxic web of destruction or the generous web of life. . . the same companies sell all the costly inputs and then buy cheap from the farmers. Small farms of this country did not disappear because people no longer wanted to farm. Every farmer to leave the land is a tragedy. This country now has more people in prisons than on the farms, because the system is designed to drive people off the land. In the U.S. it happened over 100 years. In India it happened in 10 years, ripping people from the earth, which they regard as their sacred mother. The first suicide of farmers happened in 1997, now there have been hundreds of thousands of farmer suicides.

We have started a campaign called Seeds of Hope. We went into these areas of farmer suicides and are helping restore organic farming, including organic cotton. Fibers of Freedom provides organic cotton, which I hope you will participate in. Bt cotton is full of toxin—the goats in India are dying while grazing in the fields, the cotton gin workers are developing allergies.
We need a food democracy—active participation in shaping a better world. You have brought democracy back—you need that same energy and momentum to work on food democracy. Food democracy is about reembedding into the community of species and the community of producers that make food happen. Universities should become the source of transition. They are powerful institutions spread across the country and world. If the campuses made a commitment to go as local as possible and to insist on ecological growth then the change could spread. So much is happening with the schools for the little ones. We should have edible school yards. The campuses are huge and should be edible too. The two things that really add value to health, nutrition, and education is biodiversity (the wonderful herbs are good for taste, health, and healing). Biology departments should create biodiversity gardens. Life is not a machine. We cannot cut out our planetary lungs and liver and persist. We should not stuff the poor cows with grain. The feed industry is where the money is being made—more money is made in the feed lots and the shrimp feed, etc. Of course, when you stuff grain down a cow, which is meant to eat grass, it emits more methane.

Every campus should make its own transition team for a food transition. We must have food beyond oil. Food beyond toxics. Food beyond genocide. A shift from monoculture to diversity. From monopolies to democracies. In favor of life and sustainability rather than against it.

Food is so important as a climate issue, but to think of food as a solution to climate change we need to move away from the idea that carbon is a problem. If we lived in a zero-carbon world we would all be dead. We have criminalized carbon. Fossilized carbon is a problem when we put up 400 years worth of biological matter in one year of unsustainable living. But we need a living carbon economy. We need lots of living carbon. Our mechanistic mindset limits us. Life creates abundance, it multiplies, it replenishes. We need to move out of the mechanistic view of life and we will gain hope again in a single seed. There is a Palestinian poem that says something like “You can destroy my land, bomb my village, burn my literature, and I will not despair because I have a seed, which I will plant.”

A lot of my work has been to preserve seeds. The seeds I have been trying to save were called primitive, yet they are 40 times more nutritious than rice or wheat and use far less water. You can get abundance from millet with no inputs. Why were they driven out? Because they are dark—it is food racism. We need to learn that every plant is beautiful!
I would invite all of you to travel. Go to India and see our biodiversity—our temples of nature. Regard our peasants not as pathetic creatures but as the teachers who can bring us out of our toxic life. Come to our School of the Seed. Every ecosystem of the world has a unique way of providing the nourishment that humans need. We have crippled ourselves by our mindset. There is only one thing in periods of uncertainty that can give you peace of mind—diversity.

Ideas to Improve the Wiki

a_andersen — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:49:35 CST

Where will this wiki go? Add your ideas to the list below

Outreach to new students

Connections (USU 1010) course content and materials on this wiki to further engage incoming first-year students
SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration) as a means to introduce students to this wiki and USU's commitment to sustainability
Use of this forum to discuss themes of sustainability surrounding applicable selections from the Common Literature Experience for incoming students
Create and build a community for new students--a locally relevant social network
Enhance sustainability messages to students living on campus

Students in residence halls have built-in community atmosphere--sustainability issues can form basis of discussions on the basis of specific residence halls or campus regions

Organizations on campus

Each department could highlight their own actions
People can spotlight what is good around campus

Professors and their coursework

Students can post their research projects, or do them collaboratively on issues relating to sustainability
Courses can include a sustainability component in their design
Have students and professors summarize and highlight research on sustainability issues

Local community groups & businesses

Gardener's Market
Master Gardeners
Bear River Health Department
Crumb Brothers, Local restaurants,Rockhill Creamery, etc.
Cache Chamber of Commerce
LEAF group at Logan High
Service groups on campus

Organize People to Take Action

Start ideas on the wiki that become community actions
Carpooling
Community gardens
Canyon cleanup along the road
More accessible recycling
Reduce/Reuse sharing program when people move out

Best Practices

flattail — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:30:25 CST

What are some of the best practices you heard about that you want to put in place, either on your campus or in your personal life?

Movement among the students to create a sustainability fee added to their student fees. Students decide how the funds are spent.
Classes designed and led by undergraduate "preceptors" (peer mentors) about grassroots environmentalism and sustainable living

AASHE Highlights

flattail — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:27:07 CST

Sunday pre-conference session for students: a few highlights

Universities have a problem of "institutional inaction by design." Students need to take the lead in setting new precedents. The funding for state universities comes less and less from the state, and more and more from students (I'm not sure what the numbers are for USU), so students should have more say in how their tuition dollars are being spent. Truman university undergraduate students started a Grassroots Environmentalism course, which was an service-learning course centered around projects in the community. The students in the course toured their local community (on bikes) to learn more about locally grown food, trails, and sustainable actions taken by community members (such as a successful ecovillage). One of the student projects was to provide educational seminars in the middle schools and high schools about biking and bike maintenance. Another project was to make planting boxes so nursing home residents could garden.
Rice University puts incoming students into groups, based on their residence halls (we were told it was a bit like Harry Potter houses). Even if they leave the dorms they still belong to that group for their entire time at the university. Each of these "houses" comes up with their own community-based learning projects, which are led by senior students. There is a full-time community involvement planner who finds opportunities to connect the students to the local community through service.
Philadelphia University closes for a Day of Service. Prior to the big day there is a big effort to identify service opportunities within the community, then students, faculty, and staff spend their service day doing as much good as possible. They also have 3 special "eco houses" with 5 students each who are competing for lowest resource usage--all the water, electricity, trash, etc. are closely monitored.
Many different universities talked about bike share programs similar to the Aggie Blue Bikes. We are ahead of the game in this area!
Northland College in Wisconsin has a student leader certification program. Students who get involved can move through level I, II, III, and IV (one level per year). The level IV students conduct training for the incoming freshmen, and the freshmen have service as a mandatory component of coming in to the university.
UCLA, Berkeley, and other schools have passed student-led initiatives called The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF). The students voted to increase their fees by $4 or $5 per quarter, and the money generated went to student-led sustainability projects. The videos that were made for these campaigns are embedded below. An Action Toolkit to raise money for sustainability projects can be found at Campus In Power.

Keynote Speaker: Lester Brown

Sustainability is about saving civilization, since "business as usual" is a death sentence
Review of the scary state of the planet, such as rapid melting of the Greenland Ice sheet (which, if it melted completely would raise the oceans by >10 m).
31 states now have commercial wind farms, Algeria is building a solar thermal plant to generate electricity and send to Europe via transmission lines under the Mediterranean sea.

Cool Vendors

flattail — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:38:54 CST

There was a large exhibit hall at the conference. Feel free to highlight any of the cool things you saw:

Clarion Safety Systems has cool photoluminescent (e.g. glow in the dark!) exit signs that are surprisingly bright but use no electricity.
Kohler has a waterless urinal that they insist does not stink! It uses a soy-oil that sits in the P-trap. . . urine goes down and goes beneath the oil, so smells don't come up. I was told that it is low maintenance (flush with water every couple of weeks, then replace the oil), and very effective in high-use areas.
HeatSaver Thermal Shades make window coverings with high insulation.
Great America Electric Bicycle Company sells electric bikes that look like scooters, only they have pedals. They really are bikes by law, meaning no need for license and registration. They can go 30 mph (only 20 mph with the "governor" installed), and a 40 mile range per charge.

Greenway Pedicabs

Van Jones

flattail — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:28:09 CST

Biographical Sketch

Eco-visionary, human rights attorney, and founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Van Jones is one of the most creative and unifying progressive leaders in the United States. Today human society faces three grave perils: widening social inequality, radical environmental destruction and deepening despair. From the heart of urban America, new voices are rising -- proposing creative and holistic solutions for this triple-crisis. One such voice belongs to Van Jones. Based on a decade of front-line activism, Jones offers comprehensive solutions and inspirational models. His visionary proposals answer the call for expanded opportunity, ecological sustainability and renewed hope. Van is a passionate advocate for the environment and for responsible business. He has served on numerous governing boards, including: Rainforest Action Network, WITNESS, Bioneers, the New Apollo Project and the Social Venture Network. Van's efforts have earned him many honors, including the Reebok International Human Rights Award, the Ashoka Fellowship, and the Rockefeller Foundation "Next Generation Leadership" Fellowship.

Matt Sinclair introducing Van Jones:

3 reasons we felt Van would be a perfect speaker for this conference: 1) sustainability champions need to be skilled at cross-cultural communication, to bring groups together that have not talked to each other before. Van has been doing this successfully, connecting congressional leaders, environmental & social justice leaders, mayors, and grassroots leaders. 2) Van models sustainability by practicing what we teach. His respect and reverence for his elders, acknowledging their wisdom, has earned their respect and opened them to new ideas. Van is very generous with his time with students. 3) We can’t and won’t have campuses or society that survives and thrives unless we work towards a synergistic solution that embodies the “triple bottom line” with environmental sustainability, economic sustainability, and social justice. Van’s new book, the Green Collar Economy, is on the NY Times Bestseller list. Get your book clubs reading it!

Notes from Van Jones' speech (add your own, or add comments)

If y’all aint happy this week, somethings wrong!
I had two speeches I had to choose between for today. One of them was “someday, don’t worry.” I don’t have to give that speech!
Those of you who are blessed to be educators now have a dual role: you always have to teach history of ideas, scientific discovery, politics, literature. Now you have the obligation to make history. These are historic times. The actions we take in this country in the next 1-2 years will be analyzed, discussed, debated, and evaluated for hundreds of years. No sector of society will be immune to the consequences of the choices we make now.
This is no time to worry about what your handbook says, or what your chancellor says, or what your fellow faculty will say. This is the time to worry about what your grandchildren will say about what you did to rescue and redeem democracy, western civilization, and our planet.
President-elect Obama only had to win on Tuesday. We have to win every day, week after week and month after month until we get the job done.
The economic floor has disappeared under the American economy. This financial crisis continues. The mortgage crisis wiped out more African American wealth than has been accumulated since the 1960’s. We are now back to 1950’s levels in terms of African-American wealth. There if fear, pain, and anguish.
As a result of that breakdown, people marched into voting booths and produced a breakthrough.
The floor is gone, but a young man from Illinois has taken the ceiling away. Whether we fly or sink is up to us.
How can we avoid the fall and begin to fly? Why were we falling in the first place? Was everything fine 8 years ago? America was no paradise in 1989 or 1999. Three things contributed to us falling in the first place:

1) the long-term economic philosophy on which our society is based has a flaw in it. The flawed assumption is that we have an awful lot of nature and very few people. The fallacies are built in to the economic model, which produced ideas of inexhaustible resources. Externalities—just throw the pollution away—show me the externalities now, where we have an awful lot of people and shockingly little nature. We have accounting systems that don’t account for what counts. Carbon is off the books.
2) The most recent fashion and fad in economic policy, the fundamental flaw of the last 30 years, the neoliberal paradigm, is a bill of goods that said we could forever run the U.S. economy based on consumption, and not production. We sent all the production away and have been running the economy based on malls and Wal-Mart. After 9/11 tax breaks were given to the rich and poor people were told to shop. It is a fallacy that you can run on economy based on consumption. Worse, we were taught we could run the economy based on debt, not thrift. Whoever you are, if your grandparents saw your credit card reports they would whup you! We were taught that we could base the economy based on destruction instead of environmental restoration. If you disagreed with this, you were labeled a socialist. We have tried to run an economy based on credit cards, and it is so fragile that a small breeze blew the economy down. America spends, and China saves. It is an unsustainable relationship to base our relationship with Asia on us spending and them lending. I don’t want people in Asia to leave their villages to live in a crowded city and make crap for us. I have a better vision. We can be partners to help each other to grow local, sustainable, green economies. This green agenda is a good agenda for jobs here and everywhere. We can be global partners in this global green new deal.
3) People have bad ideas all the time—that isn’t going to destroy the universe if you have good leadership, but we had a third problem—a political problem that launched a process of distraction from the issues. The wrong politics vis a vis our highest values.

It’s easy to put Barack Obama on a pedestal, but he did not create the pro-democracy movement that created his opportunity. It was YOU (some of you) in 1999 that knew that the kids in Seattle were on to something. It was YOU who knew, after 9/11 that the march to war would end in disaster. It was YOU who said what about what you told me as a child, when you made me put my hand on my heart and talk about liberty and justice for all. Who said “what does America the Beautiful” have to do with clear-cutting and a ‘drill baby drill’ philosophy.” You have kept the candle lit in the darkest period in our country’s history, where we almost lost our democracy through fear mongering and authoritarianism. THEN a young man, who was willing, and who had some wisdom and courage saw you and wrote a book called “The Audacity of Hope.” Yes, there had to be a leader and a spokesperson, but there had to be a movement, there had to be a context. Now you get to go from praying for the country to being part of the dynamic that will save the country. You get to write the next page.
The good news is that there are three very simple policy items that will make this period the greatest in the history of human civilization. Students will be excited and eager to know what to do: be part of the next Focus the Nation! Help them achieve three world-historic changes. These simple, dramatic nation-changing initiatives are things that President-elect Obama has already committed himself to.

1) Put a price on carbon. That’s a game changer; a back breaker. Right now we don’t make the polluters pay—we pay the polluters. The government is on the side of the problem-makers. Big Oil gets triple subsidy—big tax breaks, the U.S. military policing their supply lines around the world (30% of the Pentagon’s budget—you could take that money and create sustainable, secure energy for our country), and they get to pollute for free. If you litter you will get at least a $25 fine, while these companies can spew C02 by the megaton for free. What about the problem solvers, such as solar? They have had to beg and plea to get extensions on their tax extensions. It had to be snuck in to the bailout package—a big bailout for the banks, and a little bailout for the planet.

People argue that it will “destroy the economy,” and hurt the poor. “We can’t tax polluters—it will increase prices that will be passed along to the poor.” I didn’t know they cared! Never have they supported a bill to help poor people before, and suddenly they seem so interested in helping the poor!
This will be the big fight, the climatic battle of human civilization. Stop paying the polluters! Make the polluters pay! Use that money to cushion the blow for the poor. Don’t give them a check, give them a job! Give them entrepreneurial opportunities. Help them green their neighborhoods.
Our energy workers are heroes. Coal workers have sacrificed their lungs and their health to power America to this point. There are 150,000 of them in this country. They should be able to retire with dignity and honor, not forced to work for Wal-Mart. We want a just transition for them; we have no quarrel with them. But we need to stop supporting the companies with the triple subsidies.

2) Retrofit America. This is low-hanging fruit. It can be done right now. Weatherize. Make our homes and buildings more energy efficient. We need to weatherize millions of buildings. With off-the-shelf technology you can make buildings 30% more efficient. You can blow in insulation, double pane the glass, close drafts. You can create jobs in doing this. You can replace old water heaters and cut people’s energy bills. You put people to work, you lower energy bills, and you increase home values. The construction workers may not be able to build anything for a while, but they can rebuild everything. If you retrofit America it will pay for itself in savings.
3) We have a Saudi Arabia of wind in this country, and a Saudi Arabia of solar. We just need to connect our centers of energy production with the areas of energy use. A new power grid of green energy. We have done this before! We used to have a country that you couldn’t drive across. In the name of national security the interstate highway system was created. The minute the country was connected there were incalculable economic benefits. It was such a good idea we did it again—we came up with the internet! Again it was done in the name of national security. Now the challenge is not moving people and bodies, or data and information around the country. Now the challenge is to move clean energy electrons around the country. Don’t tell me America can’t do that! We need a breakthrough in energy transmission. We need a breakthrough in energy storage. In the 10 years it would take to “drill baby drill” you could get this done. It’s our turn now! The people who said we could bomb and torture our way to peace have had their turn—it’s our turn now! The people who told us we could drill and burn our way into energy security have had their turn. If we invest, invent, and include in sustainable energy we can solve our energy crisis and solve poverty and unemployment. It’s our turn to put this country back to work, to have a green growth agenda.

Be Well

flattail — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:34:53 CST

Be Well Program:
To support and enhance the health and wellness of employees (AND STUDENTS) by building partnerships, programs, and policies for the USU community.

Check out the following programs available on our campus: (more content and photos to come)

Be Well Walking Group
Come walk with us!

Aggie Blue Bikes
Check out your own Aggie Blue Bike for a semester
Departmental Blue Bikes: pilot study with Human Resources for campus commuting
Work side-by-side with bike experts to fix, repair, lubricate your bike.

Join in the discussion on our own Aggie Blue Bikes page.

Campus Recreation:
Fun, Fitness, Forever Classes - "any class, any time, any day" within the Fitness Passport
$20 student, $79 employee, $99 public (per semester)
Fun Runs, Events
Spring Triathlon

Be Well options in The Hub (10% off the healthy meals, buy 10 get 1 free) Dietetics students helping with the Be Well makeover.
Be Well options in The Quadside Cafe
Be Well options in USU Catering (10% off the healthy meals for your coworkers, events)

Walking Routes - campus signs

Student Health & Wellness Center:
Visit with your own dietitian: MarLee Harris; askadietitian@gmail.com; 435-797-8080 no-charge for students
Employee Wellness Center:
Visit with your own dietitian: caroline.shugart@usu.edu; 435-797-0735 no-charge for employees

NEW: ICON Spinning Room (located in the Fieldhouse, west side near the pool tables)

A Guide to Better Living, covering all aspects of wellness, is found at Gaiam Life

Go Aggies ! Be Well!

What is sustainability?

flattail — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:29:02 CST

You may be asked this question, or be trying to better define it for yourself. Here is a short video produced by Stanford that explains four major principles of sustainability and gives examples with a coral reef ecosystem.There is also a short video describing each of these four principles in more depth:

Productivity is the growth rate of the organisms living in an ecosystem. It determines how fast we can use an ecosystem’s resources. When we take them faster than they are produced, the ecosystem loses biomass, diversity and productivity. We can maintain sustainable ecosystems by balancing the rate we take resources with the rate they are made.
Diversity (or biodiversity) is the variation within and between living things. It is measured on many levels; from genetic variation to differences between individuals within populations to differences among species and among ecosystems.
Disturbance upsets the normal structure and function of an ecosystem. This happens on both the large and small scale, from both natural events and human-induced disruptions.
Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to resist or recover from these events. Resilience preserves ecosystem diversity, productivity and sustainability. Disturbance has more impact on ecosystems that have lost diversity.

Please add your thoughts to the discussion: are these the principles that we think of when we talk about USU becoming more sustainable?

Here's something inspiring (and maybe controversial, since he says 99% of the personal actions we take will make no difference in solving the real problems) regarding entrepreneurism and renewable energy:

Toss the old notions of environmentalism into the recycling bin. In a talk he calls The Black Swans of Energy Invention, renowned investor Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures shatters conventional wisdom of energy reduction, and instead encourages entrepreneurs to solve environmental problems via cost-effective, innovative, and scalable engineering.

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