sustainability

C.U. Campus Life Strives to Increase Sustainability

Elizabeth Krevsky — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

This is the first article in a series analyzing how various aspects of campus life impact Cornell’s collective commitment to sustainability.

Have you ever opened your window in the winter time to cool down an overheated dorm room, or left the lights turned on even though you left your room for several hours?

These types of environmentally unsustainable decisions “have both economic and environmental impacts,” according to Student Trustee Mike Walsh grad, a member of the President’s Climate Commitment Implementation Committee.

Anshul Kumar ’09, a Jameson R.A., considers himself “fairly conscientious” about energy consumption; he turns off lights when not using them, turns the heater down when leaving for breaks and does not use full pressure in the shower.

Cornell Seeks Ideas in Move Towards Campus Carbon Neutrality

Emily Cohn — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Moving ahead in its endeavor to achieve climate neutrality, Cornell is taking initial steps towards developing its Climate Action Plan. The Idea Exchange is soliciting all members of the community to speak their mind and contribute ideas about what it will take to make Cornell climate neutral through Monday.

To date, 567 ideas have been submitted on the Idea Exchange website. According to the Climate Action Plan staff, ideas are grouped into “major themes” that include green development, energy conservation, biofuels and renewable energy, carbon offsets and policy. According to the staff, “No idea is too big or small” to be submitted on the site.

Students, Alum Discuss Future Of Sustainability Under Obama

Eve Shabto — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last night, over 20 Cornell students gathered around a dinner table to participate in a conversation that extended beyond typical dining hall chatter. Art Purcell Ph.D ’66, an environmental policy and sustainability expert, hosted the dialogue “What an Obama Administration Might Mean for Environmental Policy and Sustainability,” provoking many students to think about the importance of the integration of environmental and economic policy.

“We’re in an era where there’s hope again,” Purcell began. He continued to say that it is a matter of “timing and an efficient use of resources” to push the country towards a more sustainable and green future.

Schools Come Together to Create Sustainability Course

Cameron Breen — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

In an effort to increase the sustainability of the Cornell community and the world, the Johnson Graduate School of Management and the School of Hotel Administration have teamed up to create a course for all students, Sustainable Global Enterprise Practicum in the Hospitality Industry. This course gives both undergraduates and graduates the chance to learn about sustainability and, in conjunction with HEI Hotels & Resorts, perform fieldwork and research in the real world.

Former president Jeffrey S. Lehman issued a call to action during his tenure as University President, which spanned from 2003 to 2005. Increasing sustainability would be one of his three overarching goals.

Student Leaders Brainstorm for Carbon Neutral Campus

Eve Shabto — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

For the 60 student leaders from various campus groups who attended Saturday’s “Deciding Neutrality: Generating Ideas” conference, the only thing cooler than being cool is being Carbon neutral. The discussion session — which was hosted by the Student Climate Action Plan Committee — was meant to spawn ideas and action to reduce Cornell’s carbon emissions.

Experts Question Green Initiatives

Steven Xu — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

This weekend the Cornell Law School hosted students, professionals and academics to discuss the role the law can play in achieving sustainable development. The event, “Defining Sustainable Development: Land Use, Climate Change and Water Resources,” was held at Myron Taylor Hall and was organized by the Environmental Law Society and the Development-Related Outreach Program for Sustainability.

Day Celebrates University Sustainability Efforts

Steven Xu — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Various environmental groups gathered on Ho Plaza and the Straight yesterday to get the spread the word about sustainable efforts and promote Campus Sustainability Day, an event sponsored by the Sustainability Hub.

In addition, “Getting to Zero” was sponsored by the President’s Climate Commitment Implementation Committee and was held at Weill Hall.

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The Campus Sustainability Day exhibit displayed a number of local and student organizations.

Risley Removes Dining Trays for Sustainability

Elizabeth Krevsky — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As part of its ongoing effort to engage in sustainable practices, Cornell Dining has begun a new initiative to eliminate the use of trays in dining halls — starting with Risley Dining Hall.

According to Doug Lockwood, office manager for Cornell Dining, students first brought forth the idea of removing dining hall trays last spring. After researching the results of tray-less dining at other schools and after a vote to approve the pilot program by Risley’s governing council, the decision was made to eliminate trays for the start of the fall semester.

Risley Removes Dining Trays for Sustainability

Elizabeth Krevsky — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As part of its ongoing effort to engage in sustainable practices, Cornell Dining has begun a new initiative to eliminate the use of trays in dining halls — starting with Risley Dining Hall.

After piloting the program at the beginning of the semester, Risley Dining has completely removed trays from its dining area.

Prof Challenges Univ. To Limit Use of Bottles

Cara Sprunk — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Sparked by recent debate over bottled water and its environmental implications, Prof. James Quest ’56, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the School of Hotel Administration has devised a competition to encourage students to look for alternatives to bottled water.

The objective of Quest’s H2O Competition is “to invent the best concept for finding a solution to the multi-faceted issue of U.S. consumption of bottled water and its resultant impact on the environment.”

C.U. Receives 'B+' Grade on Sustainability Report Card

Dani Neuharth-Keusch — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The Sustainable Endowments Institute published its 2009 College Sustainability Report Card last Wednesday, an annual analysis of the environmental and economic policies of the 300 most affluent universities in the U.S. and Canada. Cornell received a B+, showing consistent improvement from the B it received in 2008.

The report card, according to the SEI, is the “only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities.” The combined endowments of the universities surveyed total over $380 billion.

According to Bethany Rogerson, a spokesperson for the SEI, each university in the study received a campus survey, an endowment survey, and a dining survey. Over 97 percent of the schools responded to at least one survey. Cornell responded to all three surveys.

KyotoNOW! Urges That University Consider Energy in Election

Abubakar Jalloh — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Prior to the Educate the Vote panel at Bailey Hall last Friday, members of the KyotoNOW! were on the Bailey Plaza campaigning for “Green Jobs Now” and calling for young voters to pledge to make energy policies a top priority in the upcoming election.

The purpose of Green Jobs Now is to get voters to discuss the potential to revitalize our economy with clean, safe and just green jobs that lift people out of poverty.

“We are trying to make clean energy and green jobs a part of the debate and a part of what people think about when they search for [their] candidate’s policies,” Kimberly Schroder ’09, tabling chair for the Power Vote campaign said, standing next to a poster, which read in bold green letters “GREEN JOBS … helping the environment and our economy.”

As Gas Prices Rise, C.U. Works To Limit Consumption of Fuel

Chris Kim — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Although skyrocketing gas prices have made headlines and worried consumers recently, Cornell’s fuel-related projects have pushed ahead without notice as the school year eases into rhythm.

Rising fuel costs — while a major concern for the general public — are not the primary motive behind many of Cornell’s green initiatives designed to cut emissions and reduce fuel usage.

“It’s more of an environmental issue than a monetary one,” said Director of Transportation David Lieb ’89. “One of President Skorton’s major policies for the University is to be at the cutting edge of green technology.”

Rep. Hinchey Visits C.U. For Podcar Convention

Alix Dorfman — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The age of the Jetsons is finally upon on us.

Yesterday evening, an international delegation of academics, engineers and policy makers gathered in the Johnson Museum to mark the commencement of the three-day Podcar City Conference — one devoted to further developing the use of Personal Rapid Transit. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) expressed his excitement concerning the convention by addressing the positive implications of the proposed alternative mode of transportationOpen up to the future: Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) speaks at the opening event of the Podcar City Conference at the Johnson Museum yesterday., which involved computer-programmed cars run on elevated guide-ways.

C.U. Alum Wins Sierra Club Prize

Emily Cohn — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A few weeks following his graduation last spring, Carlos Rymer ’08 received an e-mail containing news. Rymer — whose legacy at Cornell reads like a laundry list of the University’s recent sustainability initiatives — had won the Sierra Club’s 2008 Joseph Barbosa Award.

Rymer was nominated for the award , which recognizes club members under 30 years old who have “a demonstrated record of service to the environment,” by Bonnie Tillery, who worked with Rymer at the local Sierra Club near his hometown in New Jersey. He will fly to San Francisco on Sept. 20 to be honored by the Sierra Club, where he will receive a $250 grant for his work.

Profs Consider Reality Of Climate Commitment

Abubakar Jalloh — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

When President David Skorton signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment last year, he joined administrators from other institutions in an effort to enact climate change action and strive to make Cornell a carbon neutral institution. As a result, some members of the Cornell Community were charged with the responsibility of overseeing the agreement.

President’s Climate Commitment Implementation Committee and the Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Neutrality currently act as liaisons between researchers on sustainable energy and Skorton. Members of these committees include students, professors and University staff.

Princeton Review to Include ‘Green Rating’ in Annual Guide

Elizabeth Patrun — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In deciding what colleges to apply to and ultimately attend, applicants may consider academic offerings, location, size, reputation, financial aid offerings and extracurricular opportunities. Another factor may soon come into play in light of The Princeton Review’s recent announcement that it will publish a “Green Rating” alongside ratings of selectivity, quality of life and financial aid in the 2009 edition of its annual college guides, which will be available mid-summer.

The green rating was designed to measure how effective a college’s environmental polices are in providing a better campus experience to students. The rating will also consider how successful colleges are in promoting learning opportunities and sustainable lifestyle choices.

Student Groups Hold Earth Day Celebration

Elizabeth Krevsky — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“If you don’t recycle, ninjas might kill you,” read a t-shirt distributed by the Ecology House at yesterday’s Earth Day celebration. Student groups celebrated the day by spreading awareness and promoting action for social and environmental issues.

According to Rachel Cluett ’10, a member of the Sustainability Hub and one of the primary organizers of the event, Earth Day aims to “give student organizations a chance to talk about what they’re doing and to educate other students about what’s happening on-campus and in the community.”

Ithaca Supports Fed. Carbon Tax

Emily Cohn — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last Wednesday, the Ithaca Common Council voted in favor of a resolution urging federal and state officials to support a federal tax on carbon emissions. According to Sylvester Johnson ’71, a coordinator involved in drafting the resolution, the motion was the first mark of support for the initiative from local governments across the nation.

The Council voted 9-0-1 in favor of the resolution, which supports imposing a federal tax on carbon emissions as an alternative to implementing a national cap on carbon emissions.

Mann! Local Food Hits the Spot

Tyson Buerkle — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:41:39 -0500

When we buy ‘locally grown,’ the food doesn’t have to travel 1,500 miles from the farm to your fork – which is the average distance an American bite travels these days. In a world threatened, as ours is, by climate change, the amount of carbon emissions we save by eating local food is very important.