Smart Power Strip!

From Gaiam, a more energy-efficient power strip:

Even when they’re off, today’s electronics continue to draw electricity we pay for but don’t use. This revolutionary power strip prevents that waste. Plug your main device (computer, TV, etc.) into the primary outlet and its peripherals printer/scanner or VCR/cable box, etc.) into the others. High-tech sensors know when you shut down the main device, and they cut off everything else. Saves up to 72% of the energy your systems use and offers state-of-the art surge protection too. With 6' cord, six no-idle outlets, and three always-on outlets.

At $39, its not quite a steal, but a great start.

via GOOD Magazine.

Events this week!

Many things are happening this week:

Second Installment of "The Dirt"
"Conservation of Food and Biodiversity in South American Rivers"--A lecture/discussion with (always lovable) Professor Chernoff about his research on river ecosystems, with an emphasis on their necessity to human societies.

What: Earth House Lecture
Where: Earth House (159 high street)
When: Tuesday (TOMORROW) at 8 pm

Third Installment of "The Dirt"
This Thursday at 7:00pm Earth House will be hosting the 3rd talk in its lecture series, The Dirt. This week will feature Professor Sonia Sultan leading a discussion entitled, "Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Issues." Earth House is the big pink house located at 159 High Street. Come and enjoy an intimate talk with Sonia Sultan before your Thursday night festivities! Treats will be provided.

What: Earth House Lecture
Where: ...Earth House
When: Thursday at 7 pm

An Inconvenient Truth
The Roosevelt Institution is hosting a free screening of An Inconvenient Truth in conjunction with a discussion (led by Gary Yohe) happening the next day.

What: An Inconvenient Truth screening
Where: Shanklin 107
When: Thursday at 7 pm

Discussion with Gary Yohe
There will be FREE Pizza with a discussion led by Professor Yohe about the strengths and limitations of the previous night's screening of An Inconvenient Truth. Come hear what our Nobel-prize winning professor has to say about the film and pick his brain! If you have any questions contact Ilona (irkramer@wes).

What: Discussion with Gary Yohe (and pizza)
Where: PAC 421
When: Friday at 12:30

Circus for a Fragile Planet
Imagine a circus in which actors juggle bottled water, polar bears dance on melting ice floes, the props and set are recycled, and the core of clowns are called the Fossil Fools.
That’s part of what you get in ARTFARM’s Circus for a Fragile Planet, a brand new educational circus performance. This forty-five minute show, appropriate for all ages, will be performed at the First United Methodist Church in Middletown on Friday, November 30 at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 1 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.
See art-farm.org for more info!

What: an environmental circus
Where: First United Methodist Church, 24 Old Church St, Middletown
When: Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 2 pm and 7:30 pm

Transportation stuff

I now realize that this website would have been much more helpful if I'd posted about it BEFORE Thanksgiving break, but oh well. HopStop.com is a really cool "city transit guide." You can get bus and/or subway directions for systems in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Long Island, San Francisco, New Jersey, Washington DC, and the Metro North Area.

Also, SAFT posted some stuff about how Wesleyan's transportation system compares to our peers' setups, as well as a link to the American Public Transportation Association's report about what public transportation has to do with greenhouse gases.

More from the IPCC...

Just recently (last weekend), the fourth IPCC assessment was finished. Basically, the synthesis report (the final part of the assessment) said that global warming is a much more urgent problem than previously thought. Like, ''If there's no action before 2012, that's too late,'' said Rajendra Pachauri, a scientist and economist who heads the IPCC. ''What we do in the next two to three years will determine our future. This is the defining moment.''

Check out this news story and this one.

President Roth Signs the PCC!

(photo from the Wesleyan Connection)

On Friday, November 16, President Michael S. Roth signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.

The Commitment has been signed by 434 colleges and universities' presidents to date, and Roth acknowledged EON as being one of the primary forces that prompted him to sign the pledge after a few of us met with him in September.

Our own Jacob Mirsky '08 was invited to make an opening speech at the ceremony, which was presided over by the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Jim Dresser, and was attended by a host of trustees, students, and staff members. You can read more about Friday's ceremony here.

Now that the Commitment has been signed, Wesleyan has one year to create a comprehensive inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions, and two years to come out with a plan of action for achieving carbon neutrality. There is so much to be done to make Wesleyan more sustainable, and EON is leading the way in making sure it happens.

Nov. 15th=America Recycles Day

Thursday is America Recycles Day! This is the day's 10th year of existence--according to the website, it's meant to raise awareness about the "importance of daily recycling and buying recycled products." The day is sponsored/created by the National Recycling Coalition.

Other recycling resources in CT include the Connecticut Recyclers Coalition and the Connecticut EPA.

If you're interested, take the pledge on the America Reycles Day website. Also, check out the conversionator (it's an interactive flash animation in which you drop recyclables into this machine thing that then tells you about more about them. It's hard to describe, but funny and worth checking out).

If you're wanting a more hands-on America Recycles Day, head over to Usdan at lunch tomorrow. There will be a recyclables toss (in which you sort different items into bins). Even if you don't like recycling, it might be fun to throw things.

What: America Recycles Day (more specifically, a recyclables toss)
Where: Usdan (bottom of the stairs)
When: Thursday, Nov. 15th at lunch

Operation Wallacea Thing

The conservation group Operation Wallacea is currently looking for university students to assist in biodiversity assessment and conservation management projects in Indonesia, Honduras, Peru, South Africa, Mozambique and Egypt.

Dr. Kathy Slater of Operation Wallacea will be giving a presentation at 7.00pm on Tuesday 13th November in the Public Affairs Center (PAC) 001 on the Wesleyan University Campus. We will also be holding further meetings at your University which will be confirmed in due course.

If you can't make it to the meeting, but are interested in finding out more about our expeditions then please take a look at the website or contact Neil Peake in the Operation Wallacea US office on 973-940-2040 and he can talk through the various projects with you.

What: Operation Wallacea info sesh
When: Tuesday, Nov. 13th at 7pm
Where: PAC 001

Green Art

I put this in the links section a while ago, but I thought I'd make a post, too, since I'm going post-crazy right now. Anywayyy, there's this thing called the Green Museum, and I think it's really cool. According to the website, "greenmuseum.org, [is] a nonprofit, online museum of environmental art, [which] advances creative efforts to improve our relationship with the natural world." Pretty sweet.

Environmental Philosophy in a YURT!

Last fall I took a philosophy FYI called Ecology of Perception. I still can't really describe what it was about, but I periodically get emails from my professor about environmental events in CT. This one is happening on Sunday in East Haddam.

How can a deeper understanding and experience of energy offer us a new ethics for an ecologically-destabilized world?

THE ETHICS OF ENERGY WORKSHOP AT THE EARTH CHARTER YURT

(I just need to emphasize that this workshop is in a yurt. Yurts are beyond badass, if you ask me (which you didn't)).

A fun interactive philosophical dialogue hosted by Hans Lohse (green architect), Jen Taylor (neolithic philosopher), Matthew Griffiths (fluid dynamics physicist), Justin Good (community organizer, and also my professor from last year), You (if you come!)

WHEN: 2 PM this Sunday, November 11th
WHERE: at the Yurt in the Earth Charter Sanctuary, 59 Bogel Road, East Haddam
DIRECTIONS:

1. Come across the bridge, stay on CT-82 East (Norwich Road) through the village and up the hill.
2. At the STOP sign turn left onto Town Street (Bistro by Benigno is on the left).
3. Go ¼ mile north, turn Right on to Daniels Road. Go to end.
4. Turn left onto Bogel Road. #59 on the left about 3 houses up.
5. Take the second driveway marked YURT and LABRYNTH

Environmentally conscious...BRAS?

A while ago, I thought it was weird that "green gossip" exists. That seems normal now that I've seen bras and underwear that promote sustainability. Apparently, Triumph International (a giant underwear conglomerate) has lot of...how shall I put this...statement underwear in their Japanese collection. You can see more examples of socially/environmentally conscious underwear by Triumph International here.
(I found this through Grist, by the way).

Prof. Royer is on the History Channel!

+=Wesleyan on your TV

According to the Wesleyan website, Professor Royer will be featured on the upcoming History Channel show called "A Global Warning?" Just so you know, it's "packed with breathtaking locations, dynamic special effects and exciting accounts...watch as a vision of the earth's violent past and uncertain future is revealed" (from the website).

You can watch on:

• Sunday, November 11 at 9:00 pm
• Monday, November 12 at 1:00 am
• Saturday, November 17 at 5:00 pm
• Tuesday, November 27 at 8:00 am
• Tuesday, November 27 at 2:00 pm

There are also some other related shows on the History Channel like "Mega Disasters: Glacier Meltdown," "Modern Marvels: Environmental Tech" (both I and II), and "Modern Marvels: Renewable Energy." Showtimes for those can be found here.

Middletown Open Space Referendum Passes

Today voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to give $2 million for open space preservation in Middletown, which is one-third of the total since the state of Connecticut will match an additional $4 million.

This is great news for conservation in Connecticut, as the state has the highest rate of development. Eighteen acres of land are lost to development every day!

Odd things you CAN recycle...

Today Grist posted an article thing about recycling odd things. Most of the items are things you can recycle at Wes (such as CDs, DVDs, cellphones, computers (you have to call for pickup of those), and athletic shoes) but they also mention things like dry-cleaning hangers (you can sometimes return them to your dry-cleaner) and mattresses and TVs (items falling under the hard-to-get-rid-of category). Most usefully (I think), they reveal that you can recycle beer bottles with lime wedges. This is revolutionary information!
(image shamelessly yoinked from Grist)

Step it Up pictures!

Brendan, Allie, Allison, Bekka, and Julien with the Wesleyan Cardinal (Who are you?? My mom made me take a picture with you that day and I'm dying to know your identity..)

Those recyclables spell "STEP IT UP." Cool, huh?

We're in the news!

Check out Step it Up, Wesleyan, and our very own Jacob Mirsky in the Hartford Advocate!

Ozone Pollution Lecture

Tomorrow at lunch Dr. Michelle Bell (of Yale) will be giving a talk entitled "Tropospheric Ozone Pollution: History, Formation and Human Health." (not in Macedonian--I just thought the graphic was sweet). According to her research statement, "Dr. Bell’s research addresses air pollution and human health by integrating several disciplines, such as environmental engineering and epidemiology...The overall aim of her work is to answer scientific questions regarding how air pollution affects health and to perform policy-relevant research that contributes to well-informed decision-making and to greater public understanding of environmental health hazards."

What: Ozone Pollution talk
Where: Exley 405
When: TUESDAY, Nov. 6, 12-1pm

EARTH HOUSE EVENTS THIS WEEK!

Earth House is putting on two coal-related events this week:

WHAT: "Coal, Collaboration, and Community: Trans-disciplinary Environmental Action," a lecture by Dr. T. Allan Comp, founder of the AMD & Art project.
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 6th, 7:30 pm
WHERE: Daniel Family Commons, Usdan (Reception following lecture)

Dr. T. Allan Comp is an historian, an artist, a community organizer and a government bureaucrat, too. He is the founder the AMD & Art project, director of the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team and does other coal related environmental remediation work through out the country. As a historian by trade, Dr. Comp approaches environmental issues by working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.


WHAT: Documentary about Coal issues in Appalachia: "Sludge" by Robert Sayler
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 8th 8:00 pm
WHERE: PAC 004

A 40 minute film. "Sludge is a documentary that investigates a recent Kentucky coal waste disaster and examines the role of federal regulatory agencies in the coalfields. Filmed over four years, the documentary chronicles the aftermath of the spill, the “whistleblower” case of Jack Spadaro, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the region."

Green TV

I posted about Grist (a humorous environmental news website that brings together stories/info from multiple sources) a while ago, and since then have been getting their Grist List emails every weekish. Today's email notified me that this coming week, NBC will be having a "Green Week," in which environmental themes are worked into shows like The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock, The Singing Bee, and The Biggest Loser. So yeah, I guess if you watch TV at school (which I don't), you should be on the look out for green themes in your favorite shows. While you're at it, check out the website that Grist directed me to so I could read about this: Ecorazzi. This website touts itself as "the latest in green gossip." I'm not gonna lie, I didn't know there was such a thing as green gossip...but I guess more and more greenness has been showing up in pop culture these days, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

It's not going away by itself

Cayenne Italy (advertising company) reminds everyone to stop global warming before things get carried away.

See you at Step It Up!

The Argus covers Roth's Commitment

I guess I'll have to keep editing that mega-post about President Roth and the saga of the Climate Committment(s...). Anyway, here's a recent article in the Argus.

ITS cares, too

Check out ITS' Technology of the Month blog--today they posted about green computing! There are tips about how you can compute (?) in a more eco-friendly fashion as well as an announcement that a "Green Computing Committee" has been formed. Sounds good to me..

Step it Up 2007

On this Saturday, November 3rd, the Step it Up 2007 day of action to combat climate change will take place at thousands of locations across the country.

At 11:00 there will be a march across the Middletown-Portland bridge and at 12:00, there will be a rally on Foss Hill with live music, free energy-saving flourescent light bulbs, an information booth and hands-on recycling sorting to create an artistic, visual reminder of Wesleyan's commitment to environmentalism.

The three objectives of Step it Up are:

1. no new coal plants
2. 80%reduction in carbon emissions by 2050
3. 5 million new green jobs.

Please come out to Foss, bring your parents and make a statement to our leaders that we believe in a sustainable future!

What: Step it Up Rally/March
When: November 3rd at noon on Foss Hill (or 11 on the Middletown-Portland Bridge)