Court Sides with Greenpeace

Last year, six Greenpeace activists attempted to shut down a coal-fired power plant in Britain by climbing the chimney and painting the Prime Minister's name down the side. The defendants pleaded not guilty and focused their defense on 'lawful excuse' (we have the 'necessity defense' in the U.S.), which excuses those who break the law when it serves a necessary greater good. The jury recently accepted the defendants claim that they shut down the plant in order to defend from the global impact of climate change and they have been acquitted of all charges.

Aramark Study on Trayless Dining

The Aramark food service company recently released the results from an extensive study on trayless dining that involved 186,000 meals at 25 colleges and universities. Their findings showed a 25-30% reduction in food waste per person on trayless days, which in some schools added up to more than a 50 pound reduction in food waste per person over the course of the year! Might traylessness be in Wesleyan's future?

EON Week!

Here's the schedule of events/activities for this week!

Waste Awareness: Trayless Week at Usdan
ALL WEEK, 12/1-12/6 [Due to some difficulties, look for this sometime later in the week]
lunch and dinner, Usdan Marketplace
Currently, we throw away 150 lbs of food waste every day at lunch. Food waste will be collected and measured at each meal during the week of 12/1-12/6. Let’s see how much waste we can reduce by not using trays! *trays will be available for those who absolutely require them.

Film Series: Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest
TUESDAY, 12/2, 8 pm
PAC 002
Fern Gully is a childhood classic not to miss. With such talent as Tim Curry, Robin Williams, and Christian Slater, Fern Gully just might be the cutest and most hilarious representation of deforestation and pollution out there.

Film Series: Double Feature: “Is God Green?” And “Gimme Green”
WEDNESDAY, 12/3, 8 pm
PAC 002
“Is God Green?” is part of the PBS series Moyers on America. It “explores how a serious split among conservative evangelicals over the environment and global warming could reshape American politics.”
“Gimme Green” is a short documentary “that examines the American obsession with the residential lawn.”

What is Sustainability at Wesleyan? Dinner and Discussion
TUESDAY, 12/2, 5:30 pm
Usdan 108
A dinner and conversation about the current state and future of sustainability efforts at Wesleyan. Bill Nelligan, Director of Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability will give a presentation on Wesleyan’s Green House Gas Report. Discussion and brainstorm to follow.

Flower installation in Usdan
THURSDAY, 12/4
lunch and dinner, Usdan ground level table
Learn about a proposal we’re writing to replace grassy areas on campus with native plants.

Pi Café cups interactive art installation
SUNDAY, 12/7
afternoon, Pi Café
Experience how many cups we use each week at Pi Café. Reusable mugs will be available and there will be a discount for those who purchase drinks with a reusable mug.

We hope to see you there!

Event: A Photographic Window on Causes of Climate Change

A Feet to the Fire-related photography exhibition is opening tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Van Vleck Observatory. The exhibition is put on by students in an astronomy class this semester (Seminar on Astronomical Pedagogy) and is "a visual documentary exhibiting waste and carbon use excesses on campus." After the opening, there will be a viewing session through the observatory telescopes.

Event: Photo exhibition

Date: 11/5/08

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: Van Vleck Observatory

More about this and other Feet to the Fire events can be found here.

Inigenous Activist Leo Cerda To Speak Thursday!

SDS and EON bring you Leo Cerda!

Leo Cerda is an indigenous human rights and environmental activist from Ecuador. He was born in the Amazon region of Ecuador, and his activism has focused on that area. Since he was 14 years old he has been fighting oil exploitation in the Amazon region of Ecuador, speaking in indigenous villages across Ecuador about the costs and consequences of the oil industry. These costs range from the destruction of the local environment to global climate change. He has also worked to support sustainable alternatives to oil for indigenous communities, including organic products cooperatives.

He will be speaking about the destruction he has seen and experienced in the Ecuadorian Amazon, what local groups are doing to resist this destruction, and what we, as American college students, can do to help.

He will speak Thursday October 30th at 6pm in Exely 150.

Energy in the Elections

"The presidential race grabs the headlines, but it is hardly the only contest that matters for the future of energy and climate policy." -Kate Galbraith, New York Times

Check out the the New York Times' list of energy-related races here.

Climate Justice Workshop, Tuesday October 21st

On Tuesday October 21st, activist and musician Evan Greer will be facilitating a workshop called "Connecting the Dots of Climate Justice: Community Autonomy and Sustainability." The workshop starts at 4 30pm and it will take place in the WestCo Cafe. It will be followed (after a break) by a concert in the Cafe at 9pm with Evan Greer, Broadcast Live and Crocodiles.

Below is a description of the workshop and a link to the flyer!

hope to see you there!
Connecting the Dots of Climate Justice
Workshop / Strategy Session
with Evan Greer of the Riot-Folk! Collective & Rising Tide

This popular-education workshop weaves together music, stories, guided discussion, images, and games to help groups to identify and understand the root causes of climate change and the related systems attacking our planet and our communities. With this knowledge, we will brainstorm creative responses that everyone can take part in.

Climate Change is too often framed as simply an issue of too much carbon in the atmosphere. Climate Justice is about seeing climate change as the product of hundreds of years of colonialism and other forms of injustice, and recognizing that the communities who will be most affected by climate change are the same communities who are already oppressed by this society.

Everyone has something to bring to the discussion, and we will cover topics and ideas ranging from gender liberation to community gardening. The focus will be on identifying ways to strengthen local organizing and connect with other social movements in our area.

Facilitator Evan Greer is a twenty-three year old activist, educator, and musician from Massachusetts. He tours internationally as a political songwriter and is a founding member of the Riot-Folk! Collective, a group of 9 musicians who work together to use their music to support grassroots justice organizing. Evan has spent time as a relief worker in New Orleans, a street medic at the G8 Protests in Scotland, and a youth and community organizer in Boston, where he currently lives. His deep involvement in movements for social and ecological justice gives him a unique perspective on the many ways that we can address the problems facing our planet and our communities.

[formatting edits: alex, 10/19]

Things that are happening in the near future

The near future being this weekend...

1. Green Corps Info Session TODAY (Thursday) at 7 pm in PAC 002
2. Where on Earth are We Going? Seminar, Saturday 8:30-12
3. Table under the Festival on Foss Hill tent this Saturday from 12-3

Film Series: The End of Suburbia

The EON film series presents

What: a film about oil
When: TOMORROW, Tuesday 10/14 at 8 pm
Where: PAC 002

Composting with Green Machines

You may have all noticed some strange, green plastic barrels around campus. They look something like this:


Well, they aren't just any plastic barrels, my friends; they're green machines! And they are just waiting to be filled with your food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags and wilted flowers! All you have to do is put in your compost, give the barrel a spin and you will have done your part in composting at Wesleyan.

The only rules are:
1. No meat, dairy, or large amounts of grease (protein takes longer to break down) and no plastic, paper or metal. Everything else organic goes in to decompose!
2. When you're done turning the barrel, please leave it lid down so that unwanted liquid can drain out.

The compost, when broken down, will be driven out to Long Lane Farm to help the vegetables there or will substitute fertilizer on beds around campus.
If you live near a green machine (look for them on Fountain, Lawn, by WestCo, near Fauver, at Mocon Circle, near Low Rise, at the Wash. Houses, in front of Usdan and in the Butts Courtyard), you can just use an old yogurt container, pot or bowl (with a lid) to store your compost until you have time to walk it out to the green machine to empty it.
Thank you for composting- the worms and I love you for it.

For more info on compost:
http://vegweb.com/composting/
http://compostguide.com/
If your green machine is full or smells horrible, e-mail compost@wesleyan.edu!

Article: Is immigration an ecoissue?

I came across this article while cruising through online news this morning.

It brings a lot to the table and could make for quite the discussion.... I'd like to hear what people think.

[This is a world map showing carbon emissions from 2000. Check out all the different ways you can see the world @ worldmapper.org]

On a similar note, I'm reading an amazing book right now called Hope's Edge, which is Frances Moore Lappé's follow-up from Diet for a Small Planet. In Hope's Edge, Lappé and her daughter travel around the globe meeting with a variety of people who are trend-bending in the face of so much that's wrong with the world. The book's a few inches thick but an easy, enjoyable read, so if anyone wants to borrow it when I'm done, let me know. It's for sale at Broad Street, too. If your optimism and hope ever need a boost, this is the book for you!

[formatting edits: alex, 10/12]

Photo of the Week

(tree on a beach in niantic, ct)

Environmental Symposium on October 18th

Check out this article in the Wesleyan Connection about the upcoming Environmental Symposium, to be held Saturday, October 18th in Science Center 150. There's more information on the website of the Environmental Studies Certificate Program. Speakers will include Wesleyan's very own climate change celebrity, Gary Yohe (pictured above), William Blakemore '65 of ABC News, and Richard Houghton of the Woods Hole Research Center.

CAKE

(This is John McCrea, the lead singer of Cake. After one concert, I managed to catch him out back and somhow spluttered, of all questions, "do you like Kurt Vonnegut?" Why I asked that, I don't know. For the record, he said yes).

Cake has been my favorite band for a hugely long time. Once, in high school, I drove three hours and went through the giant pain that was booking a hotel room as a minor (it involved some calls from my mom) because I wanted to see them so badly. My favorite game is "guess the Cake song" (mostly because I get it right pretty much every time). Needless to say, I'm obsessed.
Part of the reason I keep coming back to Cake is that not only is their music amazing, but they are a band that actively cares about things. A glance at their news page quickly reveals that issues like big oil, global warming, and Washington politics are important to them. They definitely have strong opinions and aren't bashful about being upfront about them, but they're not just talk...they actually do things, like encourage concert-goers to carpool, give away trees at concerts, and install solar panels on their studio. Here's a video about their solar panel installation:

Pretty cool, yeah? I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs (predictably, it's impossible for me to choose just one). Enjoy!

Toxic: Garbage Island

I heard about this web series last semester in my student forum, and finally got around to watching it at the beginning of this year. It's a 12-part series of web episodes chronicling the travels of three VICE magazine reporters as they journey to the Pacific Gyre, the location of the elusive "Pacific Garbage Patch." The result is hilarious, hip (there's a lot of American Apparel), and even a little raunchy (there's some kissy kissy at one point). The level of plastic contamination in the ocean is driven home with visuals of the samples they collect along the way and interviews with the captain and researcher on board. The basic deal is that there are TONS of tiny bits of plastic in the ocean (which happen to collect at this point in the Pacific Ocean where four major currents intersect). The plastic bits come from everything from regular trash to industrial waste (especially common and terrible are the pellets leftover from the manufacture of plastic items). Lots of the plastic is bisphenol-A, a pretty nasty chemical.

Anyway, there's lots more (much more than I can summarize here) in the videos, so check that out. Also read this article written by Thomas Morton (the guy from the web series) about his frustrations with environmentalist types and also an interview with Michael Shellenberger (author of The Death of Environmentalism). He's all about focusing on industry and the development of that instead of trying to limit or "just use less." Personally, I'm for reducing and using less, though I do think it would be most productive to work on both fronts (encourage industry along with trying to foster a cultural shift to a less consumption-obsessed society). But I also still need to actually read the Death of Environmentalism, so who knows, maybe that'll impact my opinion.

Photo of the Week

Look how breath-taking our world is!
(I took this from an airplane, flying over Mexico this summer. It strikes me how the urban sprawl looks like its crawling over every spot of green. This view of the earth makes me want to go hug some trees and help conserve it even more. )
-Aurora

Tonight's collective action: Green Jobs Now

(students at wes declare their readiness for green jobs)

Green Jobs Now action day was a success! We collected upwards of 70 signatures and took some sweet photos (see above). If you missed us in Usdan, it's okay: you can still sign the petition (you just don't get to take a snazzy picture with the sign).

At least we're not in the five that fail?

Check out Sierra Club's "Cool Schools" roundup of the top ten eco-minded colleges and universities. We're not on the list...yet! There's also a list of "green reads" that looks sweet...hypothetically speaking, since who has time to read a book outside of class?? (Power to you if you do).

I just posted this on Wesleying, but...

...the Ginger Ninjas are coming to Wesleyan TOMORROW! The concert is in conjunction with a ResLife BBQ (which means food is only for Hi Rise/Lo Rise and T-Square residents) but the music is free for all.

In 2007, the Ninjas became the first band in the history of rock and roll to tour by bicycle, unsupported by automobile. On a 5,000 mile odyssey from their home in Northern California to the pyramids of southern Mexico, they promoted transportation cycling while also exploring the frontiers of pedal-generated electricity, using their own bikes to power a hyper-efficient sound system. (Sounds pretty much amazing to me). They call their style "mind shaking love groove folk funk roots rock explosive international pedal powered mountain music for a pleasant revolution."

See this video for more:

See also:
-myspace
-website

What: Ginger Ninjas epic bike-powered concert
When: Saturday, 9/13 at 1:30
Where: High rise/Low rise courtyard

Tree Removal on Campus

(Maple from Lot U...which is by Freeman??)

Justin at Wesleying just posted a great thing about tree removal on campus. Apparently, Physical Plant keeps a photo log of every felled tree (plus a little more)...

Links:
Wesleying post on the subject
Physical Plant grounds website

Creative pursuits + climate change

UCS (The Union of Concerned Scientists) and Penguin Classics (the book publisher) are compiling an anthology titled Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming...and you could be in it!

From the website:

"The Union of Concerned Scientists and Penguin Classics—along with bookstores across the country—are encouraging all aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal stories and images about global warming for publication in a new online book to be published in 2009, Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming.

The submission process is open to anyone in the United States through November 15, 2008. A panel of judges will select the top essays and photographs to be included in the book. Writers and photographers whose submissions are selected for publication will receive a limited edition printed copy of the book and will be invited to participate in book promotion activities."

More at the website.

Winona LaDuke lecture

Winona LaDuke gave a talk today entitled "Indigenous Thinking about a Post Carbon, Post Empire Economy." It would have been better if I'd posted that before the talk...oops. Anyway, she was a powerful speaker and a very inspiring woman. She advocated for a cyclical worldview rather than the linear one we currently ascribe to, arguing thinking in cycles is the way to sustainability. I highly recommend her book All our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. I read it freshman year and I'm really glad to have been reminded of it today because it represents an important perspective on our relationship with the natural environment. During her talk, LaDuke detailed actions her community (the White Earth Reservation) has taken to grow local foods, install solar panels, and concentrate jobs on the reservation so people don't have to commute to off-reservation jobs. She said that if her community could do it, so could we. This really inspires me to continue working for change here at Wesleyan--I hope it does the same for you.

Waste Not! Tag Sale

Waste Not! is finally here!!! YAY!

When: September 1, 3-5 pm (come early!)
Where: 190 High St and the corner of Church and High

BRITA + recycling?

(image via Take Back the Filter)

Last year, I emailed BRITA about recycling my water filter. Yes, I'm one of those people. They responded with a speech about how much BRITA cares about the environment, etc, but that the filters are not recyclable because they contain heavy metals. After that, I pretty much gave up and decided plain old tap water was easier anyway.

Today, however, this Ideal Bite tip brought back memories of those bygone efforts. Apparently, you can recycle BRITA filters in Europe! Now there's a petition you can sign about getting them refilled/recycled in the US. You can also write a letter to Clorox execs and/or send your used filters to the Take Back the Filter campaign. Since most of us preferred filtered water in EON's bottled water taste test last year, this might be something to do.

Links:

• Take Back the Filter Petition
• Take Back the Filter Letter Form
• Take Back the Filter Website
• Fake Plastic Fish (a blog about reducing the use of plastic products, run by the creator of Take Back the Filter)

Dorm Guide: Laundry

(cartoon by Dave Walker)

However frequently you do laundry (I realize this post may be theoretical for some, but bear with me), there are many ways to do it.

Machines
The washing machines at Wes are high efficiency machines. All you need is two tablespoons of detergent (that's about to line one of the detergent cap). In general, it's a good idea to do a large load of laundry rather than a small one. Just make sure not to overload the machine or your clothes will stay dirty.

Also, it's best to wash with cold water (whether you're washing whites or colors). If you have a nasty stain (...), you might want to do warm or hot...but for most of your washing cold is good (that's the "Bright Colors" setting on the washers).

In terms of dryers, it's better to use a drying rack. If you're using the dryer, though, you can take your clothes out early to save energy. The dryers run on 60 minute cycles and you don't need all of that time to dry your stuff.

Detergents and Fabric Softeners
Go for a phosphate-free detergent (phosphates cause algae blooms in waterways). There isn't really a concensus as to which is better: liquid or powder detergents. Some say powdered detergents are better for mud and related stains and that liquid is better for oily, food-type stains. I'm more interested in powdered detergent right now (well, as interested as I can be in that type of thing), because powdered detergent doesn't include water and you know, I'm trying not to waste that stuff. Treehugger also likes powdered detergent.

• Dropps: I haven't tried these yet, but I like the idea. They're little half-ounce packets of detergent that dissolve in the machine. They come in a pouch (not a bottle or a box).
• Ecover: this is what I currently use (detergent and fabric softener). The bottle and cap are both #1 plastic (which means they're recyclable in CT). They're good about disclosing all ingredients, but some are still vague (perfume...um, what kind of perfume?). Hmm. These products are available at the It's Only Natural Market on Main Street (herein referred to as ION).
• Soap Nuts: these are not detergent--they're nuts! Really. Buy some here online or I think I've seen them at ION. Here's a post on GroovyGreen about them. Bonus: you can compost them!
  
• Oxygen Bleaches: if you're going to bleach things, this is an alternative to chlorine bleach products. This website is extremely informative.
  

For more, see the ION website.

Sodium Lauryl Suflate
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a foaming agent present in lots of cleaners. Dangerous or not dangerous? According to Tom's (the toothpaste company now owned by Colgate) and the American Cancer Society, the answer is no. It's not cancer-causing, but it is a skin irritant. Still, there are a bunch of people out there who advocate against it. I think it's pretty hard to find a cleaner without it (it's what makes stuff sudsy). Note that when a product says a cleaning agent is "coconut derived" that probably means it's SLS (because SLS is derived from coconut oil).

Links:
Treehugger's Laundry How-To
It's Only Natural Market

Dorm Guide: Sleeping

(This is my room from freshman year. Though it may not look like it, this is my room in it's cleanest state)

Alrighty. This is the first in a series of posts about some of your options when it comes to living the green life at Wes. Whether you're arriving for the first time or the fourth, this should help you discover some alternative products and practices.

So, sleeping. Eco-friendly bedding is difficult to come by; you'll probably have to order it online. Also, it's expensive--not usually under $100. I've included mostly items that come in Twin XL (the size of the beds at school, which is 39x80 inches) with a couple of exceptions.

With that said, the Waste Not! Tag Sale is happening one week from today! You can get bedding there for super cheap. Otherwise, organic cotton and wool are good things to look for. Just so you know, modal, which is made from beech tree fibers, seems eco-friendly but is actually very chemically processed.

Sheets

• Hemstitch lace sheets from Lifekind
  
• ABC carpet and home (this place appears to stock organic sheets and such, but not online...the stores are in New York).
• Simply Organic sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond (not Twin XL, but cheaper)
  
• Organic Sheet set from Target (not Twin XL, but again, cheaper than most)
  
• Coyuchi Organic Percale Twin XL (there are also sateen, flannel, and lace percale styles available in Twin XL)
• Bamboo Twin XL sheets
  
• Clean Air Natural Twin XL sheet set (halfway down page; lots more stuff on this website).

Mattress pads

• Dax stores carries mattress pads made from wool and/or cotton.
  

Pillows

• Dax stores also has pillows (cotton, wool, buckwheat...doesn't a buckwheat pillow sound like fun?)
  

Blankets

• Dax stores carries a variety of organic cotton blankets.
  
• Heart of Vermont also stocks blankets and comforters made of organic wool and cotton.
  

Futons

• Heart of Vermont has an entire section devoted to futons.
  

DIY
Heart of Vermont has some DIY supplies (fabric, batting, pillow kits) so if you want to make your own bedding, you can!

• DIY bedding supplies

Here are some other guides to (relatively) earth-friendly fabrics you could use to make your own bedding:

• Green Guide's fabric breakdown
  
• Aurora Silk
• Near Sea Naturals
• Organic cotton at JoAnn Fabrics (there's one in Cromwell)
  

Links:
Dax Stores
The Green Guide (put out by National Geographic; this guide is indispensable)

CT Food Producers Student Forum

Ellie and Tressa are leading a student forum this semester on CT food producers:

In this forum, we will learn about food growers and producers in CT. We will take weekly fieldtrips to visit farms, dairies, restaurants, bakeries, and factories to develop an understanding and appreciation of Connecticut made foods and the processes in which they are produced. There will be readings each week relating to the places we visit and workshops about making bread, cheese, preserved foods, etc. The site visits and workshops will be a practical application of the assigned readings. Participants will also be required to help organize and run the weekly Wesleyan Farmers Market.

If you're interested, contact teaton at wesleyan.edu.

Pocket Shopping Guides

Just wanted to point you in the direction of this Ideal Bite tip about pocket guides to help you make more informed shopping choices. Very handy for those of us who need something written down if there's going to be any hope of remembering it (me).

Google's commitment to the environment

I knew Google was green or whatever, but hadn't looked into what that actually means until very recently. Here are some highlights:

1. RechargeIT: Google has been keeping track of how many MPG its fleet of hybrids and electric cars get and publishing the results. One goal is to demonstrate how plug-in hybrids work. Here's an excellent video on just that.
2. Solar Panels: the campus in Mountain View sports a 1.6 megawatt solar panel installation, apparently one of the largest corporate installations in the US (see here).

Links:
Google's green initiatives
Google.org (Google's philanthropic arm)

EDIT: This week, at the National Clean Energy Summit, Google announced its plans to finance research into EDS (Enhanced Geothermal Systems). It's touted as a reliable, consistent, global energy source (as compared to wind, which is intermittent and available in fewer places). Anyway, here's a Dot Earth post on the subject.

Website Review: Treehugger

(image from the Treehugger about page)

Treehugger (affiliated with the Discovery Channel and Planet Green) is an enormous resource for pretty much everything related to the environment. It can get extremely overwhelming (so much so that in the About section, there's a 12-step program to help you most effectively use the site...), but it's possible to narrow down the content with categories like Design + Architecture, Food + Health, Science + Technology, etc under the "Get Informed" section at the top. If your attention span is fully charged, this is a great resource for information from How to Green your Sex Life to the latest on ocean acidification. They also have a separate website called Hugg, which is a blog of "user-submitted green news."

I'll leave you with picture of Bill Nye the Science Guy (because we all know I think he's bomb):Here's an interview with him on Treehugger.

Ludacris vs. Tommy Lee

(image via Treehugger)

This August, TLC is showing reruns of the Planet Green (Discovery Channel's eco-network) show Battleground Earth, in which Ludacris and Tommy Lee "battle against the toxic forces destroying Mother Earth as they travel across the country on a 10-episode tour." Here is a not so glowing review of the show, but maybe it'll be one of those so bad I have to keep watching it shows. In any case, it airs every Thursday at 8 and 11 pm on TLC. According to Ecorazzi, Planet Green has said that the show is supposed to be entertaining and not preachy. I'm interested to see if this is an effective way of involving people who usually don't care, or if it trivializes/waters down the issues too much. I'd like to check out other shows on Planet Green, like Stuff Happens (which stars Bill Nye, because seriously, who doesn't have a soft spot for that guy??)

Links:
TLC's Battleground Earth airing schedule
Planet Green Website

The Princeton Review's Green Ratings have been unveiled

And we got a 92 out of 99. Cool! Here's the methodology behind the rating and here's the list of schools who scored a 99.

Blog: Tiny Choices

Tiny Choices is a great blog run by Karina Tipton and Jenn Sturiale. It's just what the name implies: a blog about the small choices we make in our daily lives and how those choices can be made with the environment in mind. They have a sweet weekly roundup for those of us who need our information in small portions (uh, hi) as well as other regular features like the Easy Peasy Tip and the Tiny Choices Survey (filled out by readers). The blog is very readable and the posts are relatively concise (does anyone else find themselves tuning out halfway through a long article or blog post? What's happening to my attention span?! Perhaps part of the answer lies here). Anyway, the blog is full of interesting tidbits. Maybe I'm weird, but I'd never heard of a shampoo bar before...I may have to try that out.

Wesleyan Magazine writes us up

Just a heads up that Wesleyan Magazine (a publication my parents thoroughly enjoy) has an article about us (well, sustainability in general) in the most recent issue (which you can't access online just yet). My personal favorite quotes are

1) "The EON membership has been remarkably effective in..using research and information as their tools to co-opt the administration." (what now)
and
2) "There's still the search for an alternative path, though the talk now is of 'non-hierarchical' structures rather than non-patriarchical ones and of 'environmental bonding' (doing it in the dark)." (hahaha...clearly someone has been reading the blog, since both of those phrases are straight from the description.)

On the topic of doing it in the dark, someone told me last year that Tufts gives out glow-in-the-dark condoms as part of their "Do it in the Dark" energy competition. Um, we should definitely steal that idea, yes?

Oberlin builds green

(Photo by Barney Taxel via the AJLC website)

Earlier this month, Inhabitat posted about Oberlin's Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies. Not just a place to learn in, the building is meant to be a place to learn from. One of the great elements of the building is the Living Machine, a water and waste purification system modelled on wetland ecosystems. According to David W. Orr (Professor and Director of Oberlin's Environmental Studies Program),

"We intended to create not just a place for classes but rather a building that would help to redefine the relationship between humankind and the environment."

Speaking of "green" campus constructions, work on the MLSB (to be designed to LEED Silver Standards) seems to be more or less humming along. Check out some plans that are to be presented in mid-August (of particular interest are the Site Plan and Lawn Avenue Concept). It looks like the new building will be placed flush against Exley, with several senior woodframes sacrificed to make room for it and a terraced lawn. Documents relating to the project can be found on your Blackboard.

Links:
List of William McDonough + Partners other academic projects
AJLC Website
Payette Website (architects doing Wesleyan's MLSB Building. We made it onto the College and University Clients PDF list..)

Freeganism

Jean over at CollegeOTR (who also dreamed up Waste Not!) recently posted on a movement called "freeganism," which is a lifestyle that "employ[s] alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources." (from here). It seems to me like an impossibility to live completely out of our economic system, but it's an interesting idea and I'm a fan of the dumpster diving/recycling of usable items/saving things part (you know that first hand if you're lucky enough to belong to the EON listserv). Anyway, the website is full of info, and some of it is useful (even if you're not interested in going to the most extreme end of the freeganism spectrum).

Green Universities compete for rankings

There's an interesting NYT article about the recent rush to green university campuses and to become "the greenest" school. I think the article echos concerns we've had as we've pushed for Wesleyan to become more sustainable over the past year: we want to make sure that we're making real change and not settling for "low-hanging fruit."

“It’s important that we focus on the significant rather than the symbolic, or at least recognize the symbolic for what it is,” says Sarah Hammond Creighton, the sustainability coordinator at Tufts. “I think the commitments are generally real, but I worry that the translation into the depth of the challenge hasn’t hit people.”

Along these lines, I think it's important that we recognize that this is a big project we're taking on. Though it's easy to become overwhelmed with all that still needs to be done, we should applaud ourselves for the progress we have made, however slow or small it seems. We're heading in the right direction. Still, we have to make sure that Wesleyan as an institution is not

...focused on where [it] stand[s] rather than on making substantial changes that will reduce [its] carbon footprint. “They can lose sight of the fact that it’s more important to think about where we need to go and what it’s going to take to get us there than about what our peer school is doing,” she says [Jennifer Andres of Clean Air-Cool Planet].

Anyway, I guess I'm trying to say that we've got our work cut out for us, but I think things are going well and that we're on the path to meaningful change. Virtual pat on the back for us. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do take a look at the Green Report. That's where we've been; the big task for this coming year is to plan where we're going.

Powervote!

Hey all,
Hope you are all having great summers and enjoying the sunshine outdoors. If, however, you somehow find yourself indoors and by a computer (like right now! unless you're outside on a laptop), I have a suggestion.

There is a group called the Energy Action Coalition (Youth United for Clean and Just Energy) that has set up an online pledge to urge the government to create green jobs and stop relying on dirty energy. The movement is supposed to be youth driven, but at the moment the number of signatories on the pledge is, well, sad.

Being (arguably) youth, and being (ostensibly) concerned with the environment, Let's make this plegde less sad, aka more awesome, aka take like two minutes to sign an online document espousing some really cool ideas.

The pledge is here:
http://www.powervote.org/

The main webpage is here:
http://energyactioncoalition.org/


Yea! Wind energy n' stuff!!!
Ok that's all.

Trackable Bananas

(check out the animation featuring the above banana)

So the other day I was eating a banana (my mom's on an all veggies/fruit/beans diet so suddenly I'm faced with a bounty of healthy things to eat) and I was surprised to discover that I had the option of virtually visiting the farm on which it was produced. Each banana has a sticker with the number of its farm of origin, and you can go online to view a webpage full of info including the farm's organic certifications. There's also an option to view the farm on Google Earth (perhaps slightly creepy, but also kindof cool). My banana was from Hacienda Pérez Quiñonez, located the province of El Oro in Ecuador. (see link)

Anyway, I know that's way more than you probably ever wanted to know about my eating habits, but I thought it was really cool. Usually, finding out where your food comes from requires extensive investigation, and it was nice to be handed that information with the food for a change. At first I was a little skeptical (given the dirty history of big fruit companies and that I'm generally suspicious from reading No Logo) but then I realized that I was confusing United Fruit (now Chiquita) with Standard Fruit (now Dole). Maybe I'm wrong, but I think Standard Fruit has a less violent history than United Fruit's history (which includes a banana massacre). Anyway, this Wikipedia article was pretty informative and brought back hazy memories of the Foreign Policy class I took in high school, so that was fun.

Some things:
-Dole Organics Website
-Banana Wars (you can read portions on google books...)

WALL-E

I was going to do a post on bananas (don't worry, it'll happen), but I saw WALL-E tonight and had to share. Let's just say I cried...multiple times*, both because it was adorable/touching and dealt with ecological themes. Basically, people consume and throw away so much stuff that Earth becomes uninhabitable and they have to escape in a spaceship. They're only supposed to be gone for five years while the mega-company that controls everything is cleaning everything up. Of course, they can't, and the spaceship remains in exile for 700 years. All the people on the ship are sedentary, glued to phones or TVs, and don't interact face to face. Being 700 years removed from Earth, they have no idea what farming or dancing are. Without ruining the whole thing, I'll just say that a lot of things I think about constantly were in this movie. If you have the chance, definitely go see it.


*probably not typical.

Wesleying loves the Everglades

So I totally didn't know about this, but thankfully Wesleying is around to keep us updated. Apparently, Florida made a deal with U.S. Sugar to buy their land and restore marshes, etc. Yay! Read the Wesleying post here (regarding the kegger, I guess we'll have to postpone it for a few months; meanwhile, I urge you to celebrate heartily in your respective homes/summer residences).

Also:
Associated Press article

And an alligator:

"Bones" on compost

Last night I had some free time and nothing to do (ahhh, it felt so wonderful), so I decided to watch Bones (a CSI-type show on Fox). Much to my amusement, the episode last night was about a murder involving compost. Needless to say, it was excellent.

Most interesting to me, though, were the stereotypes perpetuated by the show. If TV shows reflect as well as shape culture, maybe this show is a good example of how some people perceive what it is to be "green" (and by some people I mean skeptics/non-believers). David Boreanaz's character (Booth), is decidedly anti-green. Other characters (like Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, from whom the show takes its name) advocate environmentally-friendly practices but don't really do a good job arguing for them. Characters also say painfully ignorant things about the environment. Booth and Bones have a conversation in the car in which Booth actually says something to the effect of "if pesticides are so bad why do we put them on our food?" as an argument for them, to which Bones responds with some weak objections before citing a study about alligators in pesticide-contaminated waters having tiny testicles. The main suspects in the case are chilled out organic farmer types who go on yoga retreats and drink a lot of tea.

Before ruining it any further, I'll just say that I enjoyed the episode. You can, too, because the episode is online and there's also a synopsis on the show website.

"Green Noise"

hey, i took this picture! it's a plant that resides in one of the music buildings in the cfa. i'm sure it was kindof weird that the first and probably only time i've walked in there, i took pictures of their potted plants. oh well!

Oooooopsies, it's been a month! Rest assured, this blog will not fade (also known as I refuse to let it die, haha). Anyway, after a brief hiatus, we/I/you have returned.

Though I don't want to make it a habit to just repost stuff I've read elsewhere, I wanted to point you in the direction of this NYT article and this Dot Earth post. Both are about information overload and its effect on interest in enviromental issues. I've definitely felt the effects of too much information about environmental issues (particularly all that stuff about what I should do to have the least impact), and probably contributed to other peoples' disinterest by being too forceful or whatever with my messages. Anyway, I thought it was an interesting article that really resonated with my experiences.

Also, as I was looking for a graphic for this post (because really, a pretty picture makes the thing ten times better), I found this blog post about dealing with green noise. Here are the three Green Noise Reduction Principles put forth in the post:

Principle one: Do it as simply as possible. The idea: Green doesn’t necessarily have to be a new car; you can get pretty far with a new mindset.
Principle two: Some is better than none. The idea: Green is something that anyone can do by being proactive and becoming aware of their impact on the planet.
Principle three: More is better than less. The idea: Green can be incremental; if you’ve got one earth saving principle down why not add another. Baby steps add up.

As always, thoughts are welcome.

Waste Not! (formerly known as Westuff, formerly known as Dump-and-Run)

If you read the EON blog chances are you already know about Waste Not, but here's one version of the flyer for posterity:If you click on the image, you might actually be able to read it..! Anyway, spread the word if you haven't already, or leave a suggestion to improve the program if you have one.

Just in case you're interested, here's the website and here's the facebook group.

Feet to the Fire!!

Here's the schedule of events:

Sky Stage
12noon-12:30pm Electric Junkyard Gamelan
12:45-1:15pm Tom Callinan
1:30-2pm Middletown High School Jazz Ensemble
2:15-2:45pm Mixashawn
3-3:30pm Noah Baerman Trio
3:45-4:15pm Sirius Coyote
4:30-5pm Toussaint Liberator

Earth Stage
12:15-12:45pm Geoff Kaufman
12:45-1pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
1-1:30pm Adam Tinkle
1:30-1:45pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
1:45-2:15pm Mattabesset Pickers Collective
2:15-2:30pm Independent Day School Poetry--Poems for Two Voices
2:50-3:15pm Poetry Readings by Stephanie Elliot and Colin Haskins
3:30-4pm Being Collective
4:15-4:50pm Collective Implosions

Water Stage
12:30-1:30pm "RJ" and the On-the-Spot Jug Band
2-2:20pm The BX Is Burning (Green Street Arts Center and Oddfellows Playhouse)
2:30-3:30pm ARTFARM's Circus for a Fragile Planet
3:45-4pm Kalimba Liberian Dance and Drum (CANCELLED)

Vendor/Exhibitor Tent
1:15-1:30pm Middletuners
2-2:15pm Middletuners

Video Tent
12noon-5pm Video Exhibition

There will also be a sculpture garden (which features installation works by local artists as well as Wesleyan students!) Also, there will be yummy food...and a GIANT inflatable Earth (I'm pumped about that).

The festival is taking place at Veterans Memorial Park. Where's that, you ask? The google answer:
Hmm, hopefully you can tell that the park is really close and you can totally walk. If that's not your thing, though, there will be a shuttle service and a group biking to the festival:

• Transportation Alternatives Middletown will lead a family bicycle ride to the Festival, starting at Union Park (South Green) at 11:30 am.

• Shuttle buses will be making stops at the following locations throughout the Festival:
• Green St. Arts Center (51 Green Street, Middletown, CT 06457)
• Wesleyan University Admission Office parking Lot (Lot E)
• Main Street between the police station and Amici’s restaurant (100 Riverview Ctr, Middletown CT 06457). (Entrance to Riverview parking deck on Court St.)
  

The festival will happen rain or shine! See the website for more information/fun times.

Art and Environment (again!)

miwa koizumi, plastic water bottles, 2005
installation view at sawaguzo at Redux
(see number 3 below)

Sorry for the extreme lack of posts lately, but school's winding down, blah blah blah. Anyway, in honor of this week's Feet to the Fire Festival (happening this coming Saturday, May 10), I wanted to post a few different examples of "environmental art":

1. Here is a Dot Earth post about poetry and photography; the post also links to some paintings about biodiversity and cartoons about global warming.
2. Here's a link to Chris Jordan's photographs. I've been meaning to post about his work for a while, as per requests by various people (specifically ones named Jacob). Anyway, his work is great because it allows you to see the part and the whole at the same time. It helps you to better understand statistics (usually huge numbers) that can be hard to relate to. I actually went to a workshop (a Tuesday Lab with Eiko) on understanding numbers and statistics using art, and the thing I came away with is that you really need to come up with a way to personalize numbers and experience them bodily. Eiko's example was that at a 9-11 memorial, they read all the names of those who died (something like 3000 names) and it took 2 or 3 hours (I can't remember which). Then, every time she encountered a similar statistic, she was able to divide that number by 3000 and figure out how many hours it would take to recite the names. Anyway, I think an understanding numbers and other abstract concepts (which often go along with discussions of climate change and sustainability) is important, and art can help facilitate that understanding.
3. Here's a link to a post about Miwa Koizumi, an NYC-based artist who makes jellyfish and other sea creatures out of plastic bottles (she calls them PETs). The post is from the blog for the student forum I co-led this semester about Environmental Artwork. I would encourage you to check it out if you're interested in ways artists have engaged with the concepts of nature, environment, and sustainability. I'm hoping to continue contributing to the blog, but hey, obviously I'm not that great at updating.
4. If you're not too swamped with finals (or are staying around for Senior Week and have some free time...?) I strongly encourage you to check out Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art. I went last weekend and it was really great. It's at the Joseloff Gallery at the University of Hartford. The exhibition will be up until June 10. Also, fun fact: the exhibition announcement doubles as a pot for starter seeds...like, you can fold it up and grow some stuff in it. Free Soil's F.R.U.I.T. project is on display; it's an urban education campaign of sorts. Using fruit wrappers that explain where foods come from, "for Beyond Green, Free Soil will use oranges as a vehicle to explore the complex relationships that make up the worlds Food Systems." (that's from their website). My other favorite piece was a video by Allora & Calzadilla, called "Under Discussion." You can find it here. In it, a man rides a table with a motor affixed to it through various bays/other watery areas near Puerto Rico. The other video shown was of a man riding a motorcycle with a trumpet attached to the exhaust pipe. Though the situations sound somewhat ridiculous now that I've typed them, they're really lovely to watch. Both take the viewer on a journey through the Puerto Rican landscape and highlight (subtly) different aspects of the place. Anyway, I hope you get a chance to check it out.
   

This is late, but:

Tomorrow/today (Saturday) is the "Where on Earth are We Going?" Environmental symposium. It goes from 8:30-12:30 and it's in Exley 150. Afterward, there will be tables set up to have people call their reps and senators about climate change legislation (maybe more on exactly what legislation later).

What: Where on Earth are We Going symposium
When: 4/25 (Saturday, aka today), 8:30-12:30
Where: Exley 150

Why Bother?

Last month, Alexa Jay wrote a Wespeak questioning the value of doing the "little things" in our everyday lives to help minimize waste and energy consumption and reduce our carbon footprints. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma (he's speaking at Yale on Wednesday), asks these same questions in a New York Times Magazine piece called "Why Bother?" But ultimately, he argues, it is very necessary to bother. Here's a segment:

For us to wait for legislation or technology to solve the problem of how we’re living our lives suggests we’re not really serious about changing — something our politicians cannot fail to notice. They will not move until we do. Indeed, to look to leaders and experts, to laws and money and grand schemes, to save us from our predicament represents precisely the sort of thinking — passive, delegated, dependent for solutions on specialists — that helped get us into this mess in the first place. It’s hard to believe that the same sort of thinking could now get us out of it.

Take a look, and if you know her, forward it on to Alexa.

Wesfest Events!

These are listed on the calendar (at the bottom of this page/also on the website), but here's what's happening this weekend. Prefrosh (and any other interested parties) very welcome:

Thursday:

10-11am:
Environmental Sustainability Panel
Grace, Elisa, and Barry Chernoff will talk about sustainability initiatives and environmentalism at Wesleyan.
Where: Shanklin 107

Friday:

11:30-1:30(ish):
EON at the Student Activities Fair
We'll have a table! Yay. You can come ask questions/probably do some other things like a bottled water taste test (maybe, I'm not sure if this is actually happening). Just come.
Where: The bottom of Foss Hill

2-3pm:
Environmental Sustainability Panel
Nate, Dana, and Bill Nelligan will talk about sustainability initiatives and environmentalism at Wesleyan.
Where: PAC 001

Saturday:

11am-4pm:
TAG SALEEEE
There will be a tag sale at Earth House. Before the tag sale, you can drop off stuff in the vestibule inside the front door. See the facebook event for more details. Also, there will be some information about EON's Waste Not! Program, which collects all your crap at the end of the year and holds a giant sale the following fall (see the Waste Not! website for more info).
Where: Earth House (corner of High and Lawn)

Water (Ab)Use

As a good little environmentalist I was brought up knowing that wasting water was a very bad thing. My mom even had a song she sang with the lyrics "you are wasting water, water, running down the drain." It was very catchy and has stuck with me through life. With this little tune in my head as I conscientiously turn off the tap while I brush my teeth, I was pretty certain I was using very little water in my daily life.

This video changed that for me and made me realize how wasteful we are with water as an American culture. The global water crisis is very real and needs urgent attention. I urge you to watch this clip and benefit from a little reality check.

Trayless Tuesday is TODAY!

In an effort to encourage students to waste less food, there will be no trays available today in Usdan (except for those who absolutely need them). Yippee!

First Friday 5/4: Parks and fun

GET OUT!

Outdoors, that is. Spring is coming, we think! Learn about the natural resources that surround us and how you can enjoy them.

Come talk with Jim Little from the CT Forest and Park Association and Oriana Korol from Wesleyan's Outing Club

When: Friday, April 4 @ 4:30 pm
Where: Center for Community Partnerships (corner of Church and High)