Don’t Touch That Dial

Upon the recommendation of the University Sustainability Committee and with the approval of President Ruscio and the President’s Council, the University is embarking on a program to reduce energy consumption through temperature regulation in University facilities. The settings for all buildings will be 68 degrees maximum during the winter months and at 74 degrees minimum through the summer months.

 

Maintaining these temperatures will conserve energy, save money, and reduce the University’s carbon footprint. The success of this program depends on participation of all students, faculty and staff.  Please contact Facilities Managment at 8490 for more information about the policy o, if the temperature is exceedingly cold or hot in your space, to submit a work order.

‘Lectric Vehicles Seen on Campus!

The Facilities Management and ITS Departments as well as the University Mail Room are now using electric vehicles.  These vehicles are compact, extremely quiet and have no exhaust smell so they are great for on-campus use.  These low speed vehicles are ’street legal’ on roads where the speed limit is no more than 35 MPH so they can also be used around town.  Even though they are not zero emission vehicles when pollution from electrical generation is factored in, they are more energy effecient and produce fewer greenhouse gases than petro powered vehicles.  Service costs are also lower since the vehicles are extremely simple.  For instance the brakes are regenereative – they produce electricity to recharge the batteries instead of using disposable brake pads.

Cultivating Sustainability Conference

Washington and Lee Dining Service will host the Cultivating Sustainability Conference on Wednesday, September 30th. School nutrition and food service personnel, school and university officials, local legislators, administrators, farmers and producers, and those involved in food system development are invited to attend. The conference will offer strategic directions for scaling up a regional food system, discuss the critical role institutions can play in the development of a regional food system, and practical tracks for food service personnel to learn to source locally for their institutions.

Mackenzie Brown Inducted Into Omicron Delta Kappa

Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society founded at W&L in 1914, held its annual inductions as part of the convocation ceremony.  ODK was the first college honor society of a national scope to give recognition and honor for meritorious leadership and service in extracurricular activities and to encourage development of general campus citizenship.

Mackenzie Elise Brown of Kingwood, W.Va, ‘09, Environmental Studies major, along with twenty-six other students, both law and undergraduate, as well as two local community members were inducted at the convocation on Monday, Jan 19, at 11:45 a.m. in Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University.

RECYCLEMANIA!!!

Recyclemania is an annual 10 week effort of colleges and universities across the country to maximize recycling after minimizing waste. Recyclemania 2009 will run from January 18th to March 28th.

Washington and Lee has signed the Presidents Climate Commitment which requires participation in the waste minimization component of Recyclemania.  Although it is great to have a high percentage of waste resources diverted form the trash to recycling it is better to reduce the total amount of waste (trash plus recycling).

Please think about what you purchase and what you throw in the trash in relation to how much energy and natural resources are being wasted.  Be mindful of the future.  REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Your comments and ideas for conservation are always welcome at recycling.wlu.edu.

BLUE BIKES!

Check out a Blue Bike at Leyburn. See http://library.wlu.edu/services/Bikes.asp or contact Chris Wise at
X8253 or jwise@wlu.edu

Dining Services Sustainability Initiative

Food Service is an agricultural business. It involves people, soil
and plants, and it requires a sustainable approach that is now the
backbone of Dining Services initiatives. We have become an important
social medium to carry the “social interaction” and the “learning
outside of the classroom” platform forward. We are now mixing the
reliable service and good quality food program you have come to
expect with solid sustainable actions in support of W&L’s commitment
towards institutional social responsibility.

In the spirit, we are introducing a line of to-go greenware
containers that are 100% renewable and compostable that delivers
positive economic, social and environmental advantages. These
benefits lead to reduced fossil fuel usage and decreased landfill
contamination. At specific composting conditions, our to-go
containers will now be gone in approximately 50 days.

Choosing how best to dispose of to-go containers is important, but it
is only one aspect of the total environmental footprint. In the end,
we believe changing how these products are made – rather than relying
on consumer behavior – let us be more proactive and has the greatest
environmental impact.

Beginning this fall, Washington and Lee University Dining Services
will be featuring a completely sustainable line of to-go products
that replaces its petroleum-based counterparts. This is only one of
our list of commitments towards a more sustainable business approach.

Marketplace Going Tray-less

Effective Sunday, August 31, the Marketplace is going tray-less!

The simple act of going tray-less will:

• Minimize Food Waste
• Reduce Water and Energy Usage
• Reduce the Release of Chemicals Into the Environment
• Reduce Costs
• Support the University Environmental Sustainability initiatives

Please join us on the path to sustainability!

Earth Day 2008

On April 22, 2008 Washington and Lee celebrated Earth Day along with the Virginia Native Plant Society, the Program in Environmental Studies, the Student Environmental Action League, and the Outing Club, highlighting native plants, the W&L back campus garden and treading lightly on nature.

Fifty pumpkin, zucchini, summer squash and cucumber seeds were planted at the back campus garden table during the Earth Day. Members of the classes of ‘08, ‘09, ‘10, and ‘11, as well as, faculty and staff from Teacher Education, Public Safety, Religious Life, Greek Life, English Dept, Anthropology Dept, the Business Office, Environmental Studies, the Law School, Portuguese Dept, Journalism Dept, the Sheperd Poverty Program, Religion Dept, University Computing and WLUR participated.

The plants have spent two weeks in the University greenhouse and are now ready to plant in the back campus garden. Dr. Bill Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Biology, is coordinating the planting which will take place the week of May 12-16.