• 

  The Case for Trayless

  March 1, 2009 at 11:54 pm

  (Note: John Kraus has updated his February article about Trayless Dining at Carleton, and the updated version has been reposted here.)

  According to Food for Thought (A Carleton student group), the Carleton dining halls produce about 2,700 pounds of food waste per day.  Colleges, in an attempt to reduce waste and save money, have experimented with various ways to reduce food waste.  Going to tray-less dining has generally shown a reduction in food waste of 25-30%; Hamline College recently implemented this step and expects to save $25,000 a year.  In the following article John Kraus ('10) outlines a well researched case for trayless dining at Carleton.

  • Read more of “The Case for Trayless”
  • Permalink
• 

  Get back to the land.

  February 6, 2009 at 9:31 am

  Applications are now available to be a student farm intern for the 2009 growing season of the Carleton Student Farm.  Two student interns will be accepted for the position this summer. The season will begin with a farm-planning independent study this spring, continue with experiential education every day in the Carleton garden and in field trips to surrounding farms through the summer, and end with fall harvest.

  • Read more of “Get back to the land.”
  • Permalink
  • View comments (2)
• 

  World of Greencraft?

  February 3, 2009 at 12:51 pm

  Over the last few years, the popularity of smart meters has grown substantially.  Something else that has seen massive growth in use are online social networking and role-playing games.  Recognizing what a powerful tool both of these can be Stanford Professor Byron Reeves (a specialist in psychological processing of media) has decided to design a computer game that encourages productive use of smart meters.  His prototype will connect a virtual world, where players interact and compete, with the real data of home, building, and city energy consumption.  The hope is for more motivated citizens, higher efficiency in energy use, and more saved money.  This article contains a YouTube demo video well worth your time.

  • Read more of “World of Greencraft?”
  • Permalink

• Carleton student stress patterns and the SRF Initial Proposal deadline: an informal study

  January 14, 2009 at 10:02 pm

  Sustainability Revolving Fund projects are being submitted through a new format this term.  The SRF Committee will review all project ideas submitted by Friday of 3rd week (Jan. 23).  The Committe will then provide detailed information about campus resources specific to your project and identify the keys to turning your idea into a successful application.  "But I'm stressed," you say.  Nay nay.  Read the following ground-breaking study which will explain how there is no time like the present to reduce some GHG emissions at Carleton, making us all happier in the process.

  • Read more of “Carleton student stress patterns and the SRF Initial Proposal deadline: an informal study”
  • Permalink
• 

  A tour of Carleton's Facilities Plant

  December 1, 2008 at 2:16 pm

  As our college emphasizes the development of new energy sources and pursues means by which we can reduce our own energy consumption, it is important that people educate themselves on what kinds of systems are providing them with energy and utilities in the first place. Carleton offers an excellent opportunity to see very large systems, unfortunately these opportunities are underutilized by students.

  • Read more of “A tour of Carleton's Facilities Plant”
  • Permalink

• Global Food Movements, Local Connections: Terra Madre 2008

  November 10, 2008 at 12:32 am

  Vera Chang and I presented about our experiences at Terra Madre last week, but I’ll elaborate here as well. We attended the Slow Food international Terra Madre conference in Torino, Italy October 25-28. The conference was a gathering of the world’s food communities—thousands growers, producers and eaters all converged to discuss the issues facing our food system, learn from world leaders, and celebrate our unique but interconnected food cultures and traditions.

  • Read more of “Global Food Movements, Local Connections: Terra Madre 2008”
  • Permalink

• College Sustainability Rankings, Subjectivity and Criteria

  October 15, 2008 at 4:34 pm

  Carleton recently recieved an A- for the second straight year from the Sustainable Endowments Institute and was an honorable mention for the Sierra Clubs "Top Ten Cool Schools" list.  But Carleton has been conspicuously absent from other list.  Ray McGaughey explains how these rankings are very subjective and differ in their grading criteria.

  • Read more of “College Sustainability Rankings, Subjectivity and Criteria”
  • Permalink
  • View comments (1)

• Increased Biofuel Production Linked with Global Food Shortage

  May 8, 2008 at 2:13 pm

  The World Bank reported that worldwide, food prices have gone up 83% and the developing world is being hit the hardest.  On April 10, Haitians took to the streets demanding the resignation of their president when the price of food staples like rice and beans increased more than 50%.  In addition, in the last few weeks there have been protests related to food in Egypt, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.  Developed countries are not immune—in the U.S. food costs increased 4% last year and are expected to rise at the same rate in the coming year.  There is no doubt that this is a complex problem with no easy solution.  Droughts conditions (particularly in Australia, normally one of the world’s largest wheat producers), rising oil prices (making petroleum based fertilizers more expensive) and new food policies discouraging large food reserves all contribute to the food shortage that has led to this world-wide price increase.

  Another factor related to food shortage seems relatively preventable: the move from food production to biofuel production.   Despite the fact that U.S. is one of the world’s top producers of wheat, a staple food throughout much of the world, pressure is growing for many American farmers to switch from crops such as wheat to corn to be used for biofuels. And, this pressure is coming from the government.  In President Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address, Bush called for biofuels to replace 15% of gasoline used in the United States.  In an attempt to pass supposedly environmentally friendly legislation, the US has made it its policy to subsidize biodiesel and ethanol.  As a consequence more and more of the corn, soybeans and palm oil once produced for food as now being produced for biofuel. 

  It seems fairly obvious that the United States needs to rethink its “green” policies if they threaten the food security of the rest of the world. 

  • Permalink
  • View comments (1)
• 

  Sustainable development and indigenous rights through reforestation in Guatemala

  November 7, 2007 at 8:30 am
  A dinner fundraiser for the Chico Mendes Reforestation Project in Cantel, Guatemala, at St. Olaf College last Thursday illuminated some of the struggles and triumphs of sustainable development. Stories from Carleton and St. Olaf students who had visited the reforestation project during a study abroad program helped give a human face to these difficult international issues.
  
  The Chico Mendes Reforestation Project was founded in 1999 in response to a dwindling groundwater supply because of decades of deforestation. As a result, Cantel only has access to water for a few hours a day. The project has planted hundreds of thousands of trees, including 65,000 last year alone. Planting trees in Cantel is considered a subversive political act, a defiant stance against the government that allows this deforestation to continue--a sharp contrast, the students noted, to the idea of connecting to the earth and holding hands and singing Kumbaya. Here, planting trees is a necessity to the continuity of community life, and a politically subversive one at that.
  
  

  Under Guatemalan law, there must be a certain number of trees planted to replace those that are cut down. The loggers usually do a pretty hasty job of replanting and then leave the seedlings alone. This is not an effective solution. As the students learned in Cantel, it takes a lot of love to make just one tree grow. The Chico Mendes Reforestation Project actually devotes the time and care to the trees they need to thrive.

  Continue by clicking the "read more" link below
  

  • Read more of “Sustainable development and indigenous rights through reforestation in Guatemala”
  • Permalink
  • View comments (1)

Show all items