January is the month of the annual Detroit Auto Show (the biggest auto show is North America)! Despite the fact that some automakers are grappling  with bankruptcy this year, all of the automakers arrived in style last week.  Though the mood was less celebratory than usual, each company was ready to show off its latest models—these included a variety of  hybrid and electric vehicles.  The NY Times reported that this competition between companies to establish “green and electric credentials” is a new phenomenon given that the Detroit Auto Show is usually simply “the high temple of brute horsepower”.

The Sustainability Assistants recently applied for and won the UN Climate Crews Contest, aimed at helping schools get at those issues that are most weighing them down in the quest for a more sustainable campus. The grant money was awarded to proposals that would best address those points of the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s Annual Sustainability Report Card that the institution most needed to improve.

It is snowy and quite cold these days in the Arb, and not all of the animals are present or active. However, white-tailed deer are as common in the winter as they are in the summer.

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.

Minnesota's weather often seems to me the creation of a disgruntled, vindictive child.  Take, for example, the average wind speeds in the months of December and January.  At the time when temperatures begin to really dip, southern Minnesota often experiences some of its highest average wind speeds of the year, so that an otherwise reasonable 5 or 10 degrees F can go to 10 or 15 below in a heartbeat.  But while it's bad news for my face, all that wind is great news for wind turbines.

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.

It’s getting chilly outside, but the Arb is heating up! Though the ground will be frozen and the trees will be naked, the Arb will be far from dormant this winter. Ever-Green Energy will be collecting the brush piles from the Arb to generate energy through their combined heat and power facility in St. Paul---electricity is going to be generated through the Arb’s waste.

While I was a student at Carleton I was often frustrated with the Administration for what I felt was occasional feet-dragging on environmental and sustainability issues at our college.  I felt that a lack of commitment to environmental sustainability was a poor reflection of the values of the student body.  As a staff member then, one of my biggest suprises has been the much more serious attitude toward environmentalism from the staff and faculty as compared to the student body.

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.

A Walk and Talk with Mister Gary Wagenbach. Last week the Arb Naturalists explored Big Woods State Park. Big Woods nests near Nerstrand, MN, about 10 miles south of Northfield. The 2,882 acres of parkland primarily consist of mature upland forest with sugar maple, basswood, ironwood, red oak, and bur oak

American colleges are looking for ways to encourage less students to bring cars to campus in an effort to save their colleges money, reduce school GHG emissions, and improve student health and well-being.  A variety of approaches are being tried, with a number of factors influencing the success of different programs in different places.  Eliza Berry discusses these programs and what might be reasonable at Carleton.