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Environmental Studies Department |
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Campus Environmental Issues CommitteeFebruary 13, 2007
Attendance: Mark Dickinson, Dan Hornbach, Claire Briguglio, Alese Colehour, Mark Stonehill, Kathy Johnson, Safiya Carter-Thompson, Sarah Stephens, Rachel Brunner, Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, Ellie Rogers, Luke Harris, Asa Diebolt, Lori Hartzell, Talia Kahn-Kravis, Dillon Teske, Chris Wells. March 1 st EnviroTuesday Mark Dickinson opened the meeting with an announcement: the EnviroThursday on March 1 will be a presentation by Eureka on information that was comprised concerning Macalester’s recycling. This will kick off the Zero Waste committee, which will involve members from several cross-campus organizations, including: reslife, food management, Environmental Studies, and a student representative. Campus Wars Timothy DenHerder-Thomas updated the group on campus wars which he feels are going well, although, he can not verify yet because data will not be collected until late into the week or next. He wants to make sure that the campus war efforts are being expressed in academic and administrative buildings. Kathy Johnson responded to this by asking: if the faculty is involved in the challenge and if so, how they can help? Tim wants to be able to notify faculty and others about what efforts can be made, and Dan Hornbach suggested putting information in the Bulletin and talking to Doug Stone. Mark Stonehill commented that he has seen lights on at night at the athletic building and wonders if they are necessary. Mark will look into that. Tim noted that if the athletic building is off of our network, it probably helps our efforts to save energy this month. EcoHouse Chris presented on the progress of the EcoHouse: a house has officially been designated on Vernon St. His senior seminar class is working on four grant applications for the house: (1) outreach activities, (2) energy monitoring systems; electric and water, (3) solar panels for the south facing garage roof, and (4) geothermal. He has been talking with the outreach group and is prepared to seek people interested in a EcoHouse student advisory board that will research potential line items with justifications for a budget. An announcement about the advisory group will be released within a few days on the ES webpage, the bulletin, and to all ES majors. Chris and Timothy also remarked on the move towards a P3 grant (People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability) for the green roof as phase 2. Macalester Footprint Dan informed the CEIC that his Environmental Studies classes have been conducting research and gathering energy data of Macalester. Using Macalester’s footprint and this data, they will begin looking at possible plans, reconfigurations, and costs for future energy usage. President’s Global Climate Commitment Timothy informed the group of the President’s Global Climate Commitment which is supported by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The Commitment allows colleges and universities to create an immediate plan for long-term management of carbon emissions. Macalester College was invited into the leadership circle which is a great honor since this plan is a nationwide campaign. President Rosenberg wanted to check various groups and departments on campus before accepting and is very interested. Mark Dickinson had a copy of the leader concerning the President’s Global Climate Commitment. The letter details the actions Macalester would have to take, a sizeable endeavor. Dan responded that he will send President Rosenberg an email to see where things stand. Wind Turbine Timothy updated the CEIC on the wind turbine. The turbine will be funded by the Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF). It is a 2.1 megawatt turbine that will be built in Western Minnesota with a group of 10 or 11 turbines in the Fall’07. Macalester would be the community partner until the predetermined quota line is reached and ownership would then flip entirely to the college. Currently, they have draft documents of the legal and financial information and are waiting for final documentation in order to proceed. Paper, Recycling, Zero-Waste Kathy Johnson addressed the CEIC about changes happening with paper purchasing. Lori Hartzell from BonAppetit also commented that she and Kathy will be meeting to discuss the food service’s use of paper products such as cups and napkins. Mark Stonehill asked if BonAppetit could help Macalester’s recycling efforts in terms of zero-waste during catered events and use of compostable items, which would be paper based products. Alese and others are beginning to plan Earth Week, and she asked if BonAppetit would be interested in catering a picnic for earth week which would emphasize zero-waste. This is being considered along with a zero-waste picnic during Spring Fest. Meeting adjourned at 12:50 pm. |
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