Moving Forward

By Bill Brown, Director of the IU Office of Sustainability

Just as the Campus Master Plan highlighted the importance of sustainability in campus design and operations, President McRobbie’s New Academic Directions Committee called for IU to “seize opportunities for strategic structural innovation.” Included was the recommendation to “develop a new interdisciplinary undergraduate major in sustainability studies and a strategic plan for service learning and community outreach in sustainable development.” Creating new interdisciplinary majors is much more difficult than, say, unifying a comprehensive campus-wide recycling program, but it is critically important work and the initiative is moving forward.

The IU Office of Sustainability (IUOS) will be searching for ways to greatly expand our current collaborative programs to catalyze sustainability research and curriculum development in 2012. Assistant Director Emilie Rex will continue to oversee one of the country’s largest and most successful student sustainability internship programs as an effective way to integrate research and teaching into campus operations.

Here’s a brief preview of what 2012 may hold for IUB Campus Sustainability, organized by the seven working groups of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board:

What does “Living Sustainably” mean?

“Sustainability” seems to be one of the hottest buzzwords in today’s lexicon; however, what does sustainability really mean? While some of the confusion on the topic may stem from the fact that there is no one set definition of sustainability, I think that much of the confusion surrounding the word is due to its broad scope, as well as the fact that many peoples’ current lifestyle choices and practices don’t necessarily line up with sustainability concepts. After all, it is one thing to define sustainability, but what does it mean to truly live sustainably?

Getting people to live more sustainably involves branching the gulf that exists between current lifestyle choices and more idealized sustainability practices. While some changes can be harder to make than others (and even more importantly, to stay committed to in the long run), making incremental changes in behaviors and incorporating sustainability concepts into ones’ life doesn’t have to be painful- in fact, many times the more “sustainable” choice is often more economical and/or efficient in the long run!

This Week in Sustainability 2.20.12

If you are interested in having an event sent out over the listserv, please send an email with the title, time, date, location and description to susevent@indiana.edu  by the Saturday evening before your event occurs. 

IUOS Website | Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

Upcoming Events:

Monday, February 20
Informal presentation for prospective participants of two summer “expedition” courses:  “Volcanoes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada” and “Learning from Nature: Permaculture”
When: 6:00 pm
Where: Foster International Living-Learning Center, Foster-Shea Lounge
Description: Students!  Interested in an exciting new way to take an introductory science course in a spectacular field setting?  Come to this info session for some free pizza and to learn about two new courses, offered by Collins LLC, in conjunction with the Dept. of Geological Sciences and COAS, that offer students a unique opportunity for summer field study. The two courses are open to both science and non-science students and both offer College CASE N&M credit:
Geology G188 (Collins L130) “Volcanoes of the Eastern Sierra Nevada: Geology and Natural Heritage of the Long Valley Caldera,” offers a hands-on, inquiry-oriented introduction to geological and environmental sciences in some of the most spectacular and geologically active areas of the western U.S. The class is taught by Michael Hamburger, professor of Geological Sciences and John Rupp, research scientist with the Indiana Geological Survey.  Further information is available at the course web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~sierra/
Collins L230, “Learning from Nature: Permaculture” is taught by IU Religious Studies professor David Haberman, in conjunction with Peter Bane, author of The Permaculture Handbook: Garden Farming for Town and Country, Keith Johnson, Editor of Permaculture Activist magazine, and Rhonda Baird, permaculture practictioner and teacher.  This course offers students hands-on experience with the rapidly growing and internationally recognized design system for creating sustainable human environments that create ecologically sound and economically prosperous human comunities. Further information is available at the course web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~llc/academics/permaculture.shtml

This Week in Sustainability 2.13.12

If you are interested in having an event sent out over the listserv, please send an email with the title, time, date, location and description to susevent@indiana.edu by the Saturday evening before your event occurs. 
IUOS Website | Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Read our Blog

Upcoming Events:

Monday, February 13

Department of Geography Colloquium: “Changing Sea Ice of the Canadian Arctic” by Dr. Stephen Howell, Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellow, Climate Research Division, Environment Canada
When: 4:00 p.m.
Where: Ballantine Hall 005
Abstract: The Arctic climate system is now in the midst of rapid change.  A consequence of the changing Arctic has been warming and surface air temperatures have increased by 1.36°C per century since 1875, accelerating in the last decade to 1.35°C per decade.  One of the impacts of increased Arctic warming has been the gradual reduction in end-of-summer sea ice extent that is now decreasing at a rate of 12% per decade. While it is certain that a warmer Arctic will continue to bring about lighter sea ice conditions, considerable regional variability is apparent. This presentation i) outlines the remotely sensed techniques used to monitor the changing sea ice of the Canadian Arctic and ii) discusses the role of atmospheric forcing on the changing Canadian Arctic sea ice.

Screening of “The Oil Crash: A Crude Awakening”
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Myers Hall 130
Synoposis: Supported by a powerful mix of archival footage, NASA shots of burning oil fields, and, often unintentionally hilarious, historical film excerpts, OilCrash guides us on an exotic, visual journey from Houston to Caracas, the Lake of Maracaibo, the Orinoco delta, Central Asia’s secretive republic of Azerbaijan with its ancient capital Baku and the Caspian Sea, via London & Zürich. Oil Crash visits cities around the world to learn of our future from such leading authorities as oil investment banker Matthew Simmons, former OPEC chairman Fadhil Chalabhi, Caltech’s head of physics, Professor David Goodstein, Stanford University political scientist, Terry Lynn Karl, peak oil expert, Matthew Savinar and many more. Free pizza will be provided. Event sponsored by Volunteers in Sustainability. 

An update from the Edible Campus Steering Committee

The Edible Campus Steering Committee, formed in September 2011, is charged with utilizing the expertise of campus and community stakeholders, to develop academic and community outreach opportunities and volunteer programming in support of edible gardening spaces that enhance the historical character of the IU Bloomington campus.

The committee, made up of 35 faculty, staff, and students and co-chaired by Campus View Childcare staff member, Amy Roche and Anthropology faculty member, Catherine Tucker, has decided to divide themselves into three sub-committees to adequately address their objectives this growing season: Food Production and Use, Academic Initiatives, and Volunteer Engagement.

The Biking Habits of King James

Let’s keep the Lebron James theme going!  In the last blog post, Ben argued that in a head-to-head match with Kobe Bryant, Lebron would clearly be seen as the more efficient player.  Ben used efficiency metrics similar to sustainability metrics to reach his conclusion, but I’d also like to support his claim with a picture taken on January 31 of Lebron James riding his bike to a Miami Heat basketball game. 

This Week in Sustainability 2.6.12

If you are interested in having an event sent out over the listserv, please send an email with the title, time, date, location and description to susevent@indiana.edu by the Saturday evening before your event occurs.

IUOS Website | Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Read our Blog

Upcoming Events:

Monday, February 6
“U.S. Energy Outlook, Whatever happened to ‘Peak Oil?’” – lecture by Marcia McNutt, Director of the US Geological Survey
When: 4:00 p.m.
Where: Fine Arts Auditorium (FA 015)
Description: Marcia McNutt, Director of the US Geological Survey, will give a talk titled: U.S. Energy Outlook: Whatever Happened to “Peak Oil?”  A public reception will be held after the talk.
Abstract: Not so many years ago, the public heard much concern that the nation, and the globe, had or was about to reach the point of peak oil production and would be on a downward trajectory due to declining resources. The current fact is that despite growing demand for energy, fossil fuel resources have never been higher. This presentation will review the US outlook for fossil fuel resources, but also the challenges that we face in developing these resources. For that reason, the USGS is also supporting wind and solar energy development to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

Kobe, Lebron and the Stats of Sustainability

by Ben Inskeep

Fact: Kobe Bryant is better than Lebron James.

Or is he? The criteria we use to compare these two athletes will likely determine our conclusion. Kobe has won five national championships.  But Lebron has better stats over his career in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals. Kobe scored 81 points in a game and is a proven performer in clutch situations. But Lebron has won two Most Valuable Player awards to Kobe’s one.

So who wins the argument? On some metrics Kobe is more impressive, but if you look at different measures Lebron is clearly dominant. The point is that something as straightforward as determining who is a better basketball player isn’t actually quite so simple, even when you have a stack of statistics in front of you. It all depends in your definition of what makes a good basketball player. Is it winning championships? Having the best stats? Intangibles like “making your teammates better” and the ability to nail a last-second, game-winning shot? Or some combination of these things?

This sports example is analogous when we talk about trying to become a “leader in campus sustainability”. When comparing how sustainable IU is relative to other universities – or even just within our own university across time – it is challenging to determine who is more sustainable or if our university is becoming more sustainable every year. After all, there are many definitions of sustainability, each with different criteria for measuring it. For example, as IU continues to expand, it will add additional buildings, thereby increasing total energy consumption. Bad news for sustainability, right? But if IU switched from a primary energy source of coal to natural gas during that time period, its carbon emissions would fall dramatically – despite the increase in energy consumption.  Add another layer of analysis into the mix – for example, the environmental harm associated with hydraulic fracking used to extract natural gas – and things can get pretty hairy.

This Week in Sustainability 1.30.12

If you are interested in having an event sent out over the listserv, please send an email with the title, time, date, location and description to susevent@indiana.edu by the Saturday evening before your event occurs.

 

IUOS Website | Follow us on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, January 31
Info Session for the Summer 2012 Internship Program in Sustainability
When: 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Where: E-House, the new home of the IU Office of Sustainability, 704 E 10th St
Description: Today we begin accepting applications for our sixth summer internship class, and we want to give you an opportunity to learn more about the program and the application process. We’ll be holding an info session this Tuesday, January 31st from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. at E-House, the new headquarters for the IU Office of Sustainability.  Please join us for snacks from Bloomingfoods and to discuss:
-Sustainability 101: What is the Office of Sustainability’s mission on campus, and how are students interns critical to our success?
-Internship Projects: Sustainability interns take big ideas and work with campus and community stakeholders to make them a reality. Learn about summer projects like the Big Red Eats Green Fall Festival, our second annual celebration of restaurants and market venders who supply us with delicious local food, or the Bicycle Friendly Campus Initiative, a new steering committee aimed making biking easier and safer for our community.
-A Day in the Life of an Intern: Former and current interns will be on hand to discuss their experiences in the program and answer questions.
-Application tips: IUOS staff will share suggestions for how to improve your application. A PDF version of the application (without position descriptions) is available for download here, and you can learn more about the program and application here. Check them out before the session, and come prepared with questions!
Click here to register! Questions may be directed to Emilie Rex at ekrex@indiana.edu.

Wednesday, February 1
Whether to Weather Workshops for IU Students
When: 4:00 PM
Where: E-House, the new home of the IU Office of Sustainability, 704 E 10th St
Description: Tired of cold winter weather and high energy bills? Want to do something about it? Participate in a FREE winter weatherization workshop for IU students! You’ll get the opportunity to:
- Learn how to weatherize your home to make it more energy efficient
- Enjoy tasty snacks from Bloomingfoods
- Take home a weatherization kit that includes materials for weatherizing your own home, including: weatherstripping, insulation for light switches and electrical outlets, rope caulk, and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)

Click here to register. Questions may be directed to Rachel Irvine at rmirvine@indiana.edu.

Keeping up with the Dunns

Did you know that Indiana University’s physical plant picks up 1,500 pounds of litter every 24 hours, which amounts to about 15,000 pieces of trash daily? Consequently, IU’s Office of Sustainability has created an open internship for an undergraduate student to take on the task of creating a more beautiful IU campus than ever before.

I was originally hired as an intern that dealt with evaluating current sustainability metrics, but IUOS’s Director, Bill Brown, called me shortly after my initial interview and asked if I could partake in a different role, a role that he has been thinking about for some time. I obviously was incredibly excited to venture into a zone that no prior intern had been exposed to and told him I would be in the office on Monday to discuss this new internship position.

I had previously worked on sustainable and environmental issues through McNutt Student Government, Gamma Phi Beta, and Greeks Go Green. Therefore an internship involving beautifying IU’s campus through the launch of an anti-litter campaign would be my next step in making sustainability differences on campus before my impending graduation date.

Indiana University is nationally acclaimed for its beautiful campus and is admired by many when visiting Bloomington. I know personally I was taken aback by IU’s marvel especially when I visited Purdue the week before.