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

Campus Sustainability Week at W&L Kicks Off with Concert

Campus Sustainability Week at Washington and Lee University, Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, is an educational and awareness event to bring sustainability to the forefront of the consciousness of W&L students, faculty and staff and the Lexington/Rockbridge community. All events are open to the public.

Free Home Energy Audits

The local BARC electric coop is offering a free inspection of coop
members’ homes in order to figure out what can be done to reduce
energy usage. The inspector will make recommendations of actions
that can be taken and calculate the pay-back period.

For more information contact BARC at 800-846-2272.

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!

2009 Earle Bates Prize Winners

The 2009 Earle Bates Prize in Environmental Studies has been awarded to McKenzie Brown ‘09 and Elissa Hanson ‘09. The Earle Bates Prize is awarded to a graduating environmental studies student in honor of Earle Bates, a strong supporter of the Environmental Studies Program and a role model of environmental citizenship. The award recipient is chosen by the Environmental Studies core faculty on the basis of general academic performance, academic performance in the Environmental Studies Program, participation in co-curricular activities and contributions to campus and community 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.

The Conference on the Ecological Dimensions of Biofuels

On March 10th, 2008, this conference explored the ecological dimensions of biofuels production and identified management strategies and research opportunities to ensure their sustainability. 350 attendees heard invited presentations by leading scientists on:

• sustainable development and use of biofuels;
• social, biogeographic, land use, and biodiversity considerations; and,
• ecological dimensions of alternatives for crop selection and production, harvest and transport of product to refinery, and refining of liquid fuels and other co-products.

The conference concluded with an evening social featuring additional poster presentations and opportunities for attendees to network with presenters and others working in this important field.

Washington and Lee University students and faculty who attended include Dr. James Kahn, Dr. Bill Hamilton, Clarice Bayer, Christina Ballisteri, Maria Albuja, Louise Brooks, Abel Delgado, Michael Thompson, and Yan Yan.

Powershift 2007

On November 2, 2007, thousands of young adults converged on Washington, D.C. for Power Shift 2007, the first national youth summit to address the climate crisis. Youth of all backgrounds used their experience from local and state level climate change movements to create a fresh, positive, and inspiring vision of the future, one focused on their potential to overcome the challenges of the 21st century, build a clean energy economy, achieve energy independence, create millions of green jobs, increase global equity, and revitalize the American economy. The conference took place over three days, followed by a ‘lobby day’ where almost 3000 young adults went to Congress and lobbied their representatives to support their goals.