Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary program based on a holistic understanding of environmental issues occurring at the local, national, and global level.  The program offers students tools and perspectives from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences to understand the causes and consequences of environmental problems and the knowledge to develop potential solutions.

What's New

• EnviroThursday for March 11 - "Multi-national Corporations and Environmental Studies Majors" by Dan Schibel '96, Manager of Global Health Safety and Environment Initiatives and Sustainability at General Mills12 noon in Olin Rice 250.
     
• EnviroThursday for March 25 - "Sustainable Landscapes Perception" by Fred Rozumalski, Registered Landscape Architect with Barr Engineering, at 12 noon in Olin Rice 250.  Refreshments provided.
        
• Recyclemania - RecycleMania 2010 has begun and will run until March 27.  RecycleMania is a friendly competition for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.  Over a 10-week period, schools report recycling and trash data, which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week’s reports and rankings, we will be able to watch how our results fluctuate against other schools.  Help Macalester reduce waste: recycle!  If you have ideas for this year’s RecycleMania, or would like to help with the competition, contact Annie Harold:  aharold@macalester.edu.  Check out www.recyclemania.org.
   
• Minnesota Campus Energy Challenge - MCEC 2010 began on Monday, February 1.  During the month of February, Minnesota schools will compete to reduce their energy use as compared to their own previous February data.  Both heat and electricity use are measured.  Who is participating?  YOU!  The energy use of faculty, staff, and students counts.  Energy reduction calculations include all buildings on campus: academic buildings, dorms, administrative buildings, etc.   This year the winner of the competition gets the MCEC BIKE POWERED BLENDER for the next year!  The bike is currently at Mac and open for use at events and to fundraise by any Mac community member.  To keep the bike next year, we must win MCEC!   For more information, or if you have ideas for MCEC, contact Leah (lplummer@macalester.edu) or Matzke (nmatzke@macalester.edu).  Also check out the website to see what other schools are involved and how you can reduce your energy use: www.tinyurl.com/mncec10.
     
• Article by ES professors Chris Wells and Christie Manning and Sustainaiblity Manager Suzanne Savanick Hansen - Using a Class to Conduct a Carbon Inventory:  A Case Study with Practical Results at Macalester College.
   
  
• Check out this video of Madeline Kovacs study abroad experience in Brazil.