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Environmental Studies Department |
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Campus Environmental Issues CommitteeDecember 8, 2006
Attendance: Mark Dickinson, Dan Hornbach, Molly Brown, Claire Briguglio, Austin Werth, Alese Colehour, Mark Stonehill, Kathy Johnson, Safiya Carter-Thompson, Sarah Stephens. The meeting opened with an introduction by Mark Dickinson and handing out of the CEIC mission statement. The purpose of the meeting was to talk about the Spring ’07 semester and what issues the CEIC will be addressing. Mark hopes to narrow the outlook of the CEIC in order to find a common interest with a unified plan and goals. As an example, he explained that Eureka is collecting data on the components of Macalester’s trash, which may be relevant to the creation of a Zero Waste Committee. Here he opened up the floor to CEIC members to talk about current environmental campus issues. EcoHouse Sarah Stephens informed the group about the “Green House.” She, Alese Colehour, and Austin Werth have been working on and EcoImagination grant (funded by MTV and General Electric) for $25,000. This grant will assist the retrofitting of a Macalester owned house that will be a live-in lab and an eco-efficient themed house for students. The house will happen whether this grant is received or not, and they are continuing to look for other grants as well. EPA Grant & IGC Alese Colehour reported on her work with Ellie Rogers on Phase 2 of the EPA grant of which Macalester has already received $10,000 for the green roof. With another grant, they are looking into installation of PV cells on the Eco House. Alese also mentioned that the Student Advisory Board for the Institute for Global Citizenship is starting and anyone should contact her with suggestions for programming or environmental ideas. Plastic Use at the Grill and Styrofoam; Recycling Molly Brown has been looking at the use and recycling of the grill’s plastic containers and the styrofoam Macalester College cups. She met with Bon Appetit representative, Lori Hartzell, who informed her that they are in the process of changing the dishware used at the grill. Molly is also concerned with the styrofoam cups used around campus. While they may not be recyclable, she is going to look at the possibility of finding more environmentally sound cups for the next order of Macalester cups. Mark responded that this could be an issue for a Zero Waste committee, and that the CEIC needs to decide where we want to put our money based on a prioritization of campus issues. ES Chair Dan Hornbach took the floor next, announcing that Jerald Dosch’s classes are conducting ecological footprints of Macalester, information that may be interesting to look at and possibly helpful if used as a comparison with other college campuses. Dan is currently the Environmental Studies acting chair, as the department is in the process of hiring a chair, who will start in the Fall’07 semester. The three chosen candidates will be on campus in February and while there will most likely be a general student meeting with these candidates, it may helpful to arrange a CEIC meeting with these individuals; this is agreed upon by all members and will be set up in early February. Sustainability Plan Mark brought the group back together by again asking what the CEIC’s interest and whether we should be considered with a form of marketing and campus awareness. Dan suggested that the CEIC develop a sustainability plan for Macalester with policies and goals, including issues such as zero waster carbon emission. Alese responded that Timothy Den-Herder Thomas had been working on the Campus Climate Challenge and feels that it would be very helpful to have a consolidated, written plan. Mark believes that the CEIC should search for the endorsement of Brian Rosenberg because we could gain power from his support. Dan concluded that a core of students should work with or for the CEIC to create a sustainability plan (it was suggested that this could take the form of an independent study). He suggested looking at other campuses, such as Oberlin and Middlebury, as a base for a plan framework to apply to Macalester. Alese responds that with a framework, the various environmental groups on campus could help to fill in their specific area of environmental interest, such as recycling or zero waste. Next Semester Mark concludes the meeting by expressing an interest in established a consistent meeting time for the CEIC for the spring semester. It is agreed up that the CEIC will meet every other Tuesday at the lunch for the next semester. The meeting is adjourned at 3:30. Next Meeting: January 23, 2007, 11:50 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. |
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