Two important activities going on:

• 10:00 am: People Forming the #350 Outside on the Moraine GreenDuring third week of October, Colleges, Universities, and organized groups will focus on the number 350.  Why 350?  This is the maximum number of parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (CO2) that scientists have determined will allow ecosystems on the earth function efficiently and in a healthy manner.  Currently the earth registers at 390 ppm of CO2.  On Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 10:00 am, MVCC students, professors, and staff are invited to voluntarily participate in making a human number 350 out on the Moraine Green, near the Gateway.  Glen Carpenter, Moraine’s Photographer, will take a photo and it will be posted on the 350.org website along with others from around the world.  For more educational information, log onto www.350.org.  If you are interested in bringing a class to participate in the photo, please contact Michelle Zurawski, Assistant Professor of Biology and Sustainability Coordinator of Teaching & Learning – zurawski@morainevalley.edu or (708) 974-5559.
• 11:00 am – 2:00 pm: Environmental & Social Justice Activities in the Student UnionThere will be activities and information tables in the Student Union/Café Moraine area. From 11 to 2, students, staff and faculty are invited to stop by and learn about national and regional organizations and activities that promote a healthy environment for people and the planet. Organizations highlighted are focused on environmental and social justice campaigns. Calculate your eco-footprint, identify safe cosmetics and body care choices, discover local and national groups working towards a sustainable future and what you can do to help, and learn more about sustainability.  The goal for the day is to encourage others to become interested, involved and active in positive organizations promoting a safe and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please contact Stephenie Presseller, Sustainability Coordinator – pressellers@morainevalley.edu or (708) 974-5412.

On Saturday, October 17th in Western Springs, Lyons Township High School South Campus (4900 S. Willow Springs Road) is hosting a free environmental fair “How Cool is Your Home?”.  To learn more about this free event, visit www.lagrangearealwv.org. There will be speakers, exhibits, children’s activities, giveaways, and door prizes.  Should be educational and fun for all!

This month, Community College Week, (which is a weekly news source for those of us in community colleges) has a special issue on community college efforts at going green. Here is a link to one of the articles: Saving Green by Going Green: Colleges Cut Costs, Save Energy Through Green IT Initiatives By Paul Bradley. You can read the entire issue here: Embracing Green (PDF)

Are you a loyal consumer of organic foods?  Calculate the benefits to the environment here:  http://www.organicvalley.coop/organiccounts/.  Not only has the science show they are 25 - even 50% more nutritious, but they also prevent toxins from entering the environment.  Remember, a healthy environment, means a healthy you and vice versa!  This is fun to do with the kids!

Three things to pass along:

1. The Road to Sustainability from Physics World: A cool write up about the sustainable stuff.  Here’s a little intro quote:“Sustainability” is the hottest topic in energy research today, but what does it actually mean? George Crabtree and John Sarrao describe what makes a technology sustainable, and outline the materials-science challenges standing between us and clean, long-lasting energy
2. Newsweek’s Green Rankings 2009: This years marks the beginning of Newsweek’s “green” rankings where they rank 500 of the greenest companies.  Who do you think made #1?
3. Sum Total Being Green isn’t new:

I recently came across the article “Greening the University” in Change magazine (which is one of the best publications that focuses on innovation within colleges and universities).  I think that this article really summarizes much of the energy and direction held by many of us in US colleges and universities, including those of us at Moraine Valley.  This article focuses on the work at St. John’s University, but I think it is representative of a larger effort across the country.  Here’s a short quote:

There is a growing awareness at the board level, as there is throughout society, that sustainability and conserving energy are very important priorities. It is a wonderful way to use the university’s enormous resources —the faculty, students, and the administration—to give back to society. Our primary function has always been education, but beyond that there is so much more a university can do.—Thomas McInerney, chair, St. John’s University Board of Trustees 

Read the full article here: Greening the University by Jame Pellow and Brij Anand

(reposted from MNN Daily Brief, e-Newsletter, September 24, 2009) POLAR MELTDOWN: Ice sheets in Greenland and western Antarctica are melting faster than scientists previously thought, and some places are experiencing “a runaway effect,” according to a team of British scientists who analyzed laser readings taken by NASA satellites. Some Antarctic ice sheets have been losing 30 feet of thickness annually since 2003, and while many areas are up to a mile thick to begin with, the melting is speeding up - the rate of Antarctic thinning was 50 percent higher between 2003 and 2007 than it was from 1995 to 2003. The problem isn’t warmer air, but warmer water, which wears down the ice from the outside in. “To some extent it’s a runaway effect,” says the lead author of the study, which was published online today in the journal Nature. “The question is how far will it run?” (Sources: Associated Press, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle)

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An amendment proposed by Senator Murkowski (Alaska) is hitting the Senate floor in the next few days.  If it passes, the EPA will no long be able to regulate greenhouse gases.  You know, the ones that cause climate change.  Please call or write your Senators to vote against the Murkowski Amendment.  This link will bring you the the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of all of the US State Senators:   http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

Since I am a librarian, I have to pass along this piece from the Mother Jones Web site, Econundrum: Kindles vs. Books. It answers the age-old question, which saves more CO2 your book or your kindle? Or, (gasp) should you use your library card?

Today, we had a Green Team meeting. (The Green Team is the advisory committee for our college’s sustainability initiative.) We discussed the “single stream” recycling program that our college uses. Which got me asking, what is single stream recycling? This YouTube video explains. I thought I’d share: