Funding Sustainability at Union!

Have a great idea to make the campus community more environmentally friendly?

Apply for funding through the

Presidential Green Grants

or 

The Union College Green Fee Fund

Presidential Green Grants-funding for up to $2,000 for the following types of projects:

• Campus projects: These are projects that will make Union more sustainable in such areas as energy use, recycling, transportation, or dining, among others.

• Research projects: These are projects that will make specific contributions to sustainability at the regional or national level.

Students, Faculty, and Staff are welcome to apply.

DUE DATE: MONDAY, OCT 14th, 2013 at midnight

Guidelines and application form: to print, save image (forms) on your computer
For more information or a pdf copy of the RFP contact sustain@union.edu

The Union College Green Fee - $25,000 is available for a project that will measurably reduce Union's carbon footprint. 

 $25,000 available to a student(s) proposal which will measurably reduce Union College's carbon footprint. Proposals are assessed for creativity, uniqueness & reduction of the carbon footprint. Projects should not only reduce Union's Carbon Footprint, but also make a statement on campus that Union as a community is moving towards a carbon-free future. 

Proposals must be submitted by fully matriculated undergraduate students but collaboration with faculty & staff is strongly encouraged.

Contact Lucas Comstock: comstocl@union.edu for more information or pdf version of RFP.

DUE DATE: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1st, 2013  at midnight

Guidelines and application form: to print, save image (forms) on your computer

Welcome back Union! We have a lot planned for 2013-2014. Here is what you need to know to get involved...

Looking to get involved in one of our environmental groups or need to contact one of our leaders?

Our events coming up will be listed in blue under the appropriate group

U-Sustain
 A committee of students, faculty, staff and administrators who work together to help reduce Union's carbon footprint and make the college more sustainable.
U-sustain meets on Wednesday of Week 2, 5, and 8 in Old Chapel during Common Lunch!

Faculty Leaders: 
Jeff Corbin: corbinj@union.edu
Laura MacManus-Spencer: macmanul@union.edu
Student Leaders: 
Max Fey (Co-chair): feym@union.edu
Jordan Pulling (Co-chair): pulling@union.edu
Marissa Peck (Education and Outreach): peckm@union.edu
Jill Ackermann (Secretary): ackermaj@union.edu

U-Sustain meeting Wednesday, September 18. Old Chapel. Common Lunch.

Meet the action groups and begin planning projects for this term.

Environmental Club
An all student run organization where the ultimate goal is to raise environmental awareness on campus. The club brings speakers to campus, raises money for ecological organizations, petitions and works on community service projects. Club meets Mondays at 8:00pm in Humanities 115. 

The club is working to send some students to represent Union to

US Power Shift 2013 in Pittsburg, PA (Oct. 18-21). 

 Talk to (BLANK) if you are interested in going.

 

Octopus's Garden
The garden was a student initiative funded by a Green Grant in 2008. The idea was conceived with the intention of producing delicious produce for those without access to fresh vegetables in our community. In recent years OG's produce has been donated to the food pantry, used for Ozone Cafe and in the dining halls. Very recently, a new collaboration has formed between OG and Campus Kitchens which we will continue to foster considering that it brings us back to our original mission!

The garden is always in need of tending, so.....

If you are interested in getting down in the dirt contact: 
Connie Schmitz at octopusgarden@union.edu

Last fall harvest on Saturday September 21.

Come and enjoy the life of the Octopus Garden and celebrate the end of a bountiful season!

Octopus's Garden Club!!
OGC is being re-formed this year. A very successful meeting was held during week 2 and officers were chosen! And during week 3 potatoes were harvested! Weekly meetings will be held on Thursdays at 6pm in Golub Great Room!

Contact Ram Batta: batta2@union.edu


Campus Kitchens
Student volunteers take excess food from Union's dining halls and create a healthy, balanced meal which they deliver to the City Mission of Schenectady. 
CKUC Meets Saturdays from 11:00-1:30 in College Park Hall.
 
Contact: 
Tori Chee: cheev@union.edu
ckpunion@gmail.com

Ozone Café
A student run café that offers a local & organic freshly made lunch on Fridays in Old Chapel from 12 to 1:30pm. The best meal you'll have all week is just a meal swipe away!

If you are interested in serving contact: 
Maxwell Prime: primem@garnet.union.edu

Ozone Café every Friday in Old Chapel from 12-2pm.

One meal swipe for a delicious lunch made with local ingredients served by the members of

Ozone house and others on campus

Green Fee Governance Committee (GFGC)Committee creates and releases The Green Fee RFP. The GFGC reviews proposals and determines proper allocation of funds. Committee Members include:

Chair: Lucas Comstock comstocl@garnet.union.edu
Vice Chair: Lauren Hafkemeyer hafkemel@union.edu
ENS faculty member: Kristen Bidoshi bidoshik@union.edu
ENS student: Lucas Comstock comstocl@garnet.union.edu
Facilities Services staff member: Paul Matarazo matarazp@union.edu
VP of Sustainability: Max Fey feym@garnet.union.edu
U-Sustain student: Jordan Pulling pulling@union.edu
Sustainability Coordinator: Meghan Haley-Quigley haleyqum@union.edu
Environmental Club student: Lauren Hafkemeyer hafkemel@union.edu
Committee on Committees student: Peter Durkin durkinp@garnet.union.edu

Vice President of Sustainability
Max Fey: feym@union.edu


Sustainability Coordinator 
Meghan Haley-Quigley: haleyqum@union.edu

 Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook!!  

www.facebook.com/garnetgoesgreen

www.twitter.com/garnetgoesgreen 

The Kids are Alright!

Welcome back to campus, Union Students!! And pat yourselves on the back. The next time someone (an adult, a parent, or even a professor) spouts the cliche about your generation being self-centered, individualistic, or materialistic, tell them that's not necessarily true.

I mean, think about it: You've entered College and/or are on the cusp of entering a world of bleak economic opportunities and unprecedented environmental challenges. It would be entirely reasonable for this generation to have a "to hell with it" attitude and double-down on selfishness. But that's not the case.

BOXED IS BETTER: One small step for Ban Bottled Water, One GIANT leap for Sustainability at Union!

An example of the Boxed Water, coming soon under a chair near you. 

The website starts with the line: "Part sustainable water company, part art project, part philanthropic project, and completely curious" and to be honest, so were we! Union College and USustain have collaborated and compromised on the bottled water issue under every chair at Commencement and helped us bring "Boxed Water" to our campus.

Now I bet we are all wondering, what is heck is this? Boxed water? The company agrees with with you. They feel that sustainability is an important cause and they want to give back to community as well. They started a company that provides sustainable packaging for water that has a lower carbon footprint than current plastic bottled water and with the profits they earn, they give back to foundations.

Now of course, many ask if this carton contains any plastic? The box itself comes from around 76% renewable resources and of course, trees. But it's okay! The trees are from certified, well managed forests that keep being healthy because the company donates 10% of their profits to reforestation foundations. Other materials come from the cap and the lining of the carton but the best part is it is ALL RECYCLABLE. The CO2 emissions per carton ins around .031 kg, which is about 1/7 the emissions for a 1 liter standard sized plastic bottle (around .223 kg).

This is a great replacement than the water bottles, helping the Ban Bottled Water group on campus take one step further to that ultimate goal!

All graphics were from boxedwaterisbetter.com. Any questions about the processes please refer to that site!
Any questions about Union's transition, please email Meghan Haley-Quigley at haleyqum@union.edu

Bike To Work Day is May 17th!

Attention all Union College faculty and staff! This Friday, May 17th is Bike to Work Day! 

For all those bikers out there, Union will have a buffet this Friday from 8:15-10:30am in the courtyard outside Schaffer Library! 

Please register for our Union team here! 

http://bikeatoga.org/portfolio_archive/initiatives/

What are some benefits for biking to work? 

Biking provides exercise that is good for the body AND mind, free gym membership!

Reduce carbon emissions 

Less expensive than driving a car

Avoid traffic!

Avoid the stress that comes with looking for a parking spot

Reminder: There are several resources on campus to facilitate biking to work. Mens/women's bike commuter locker rooms are located in the basement of Science and Engineering. Alumni Gym also has lockers and showers available.  Bike racks are located all around campus as well! 

400 ppm: What Does This Mean For The Climate Crisis?

If you haven’t already heard, the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii has reported that we have reached atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of 400 parts per million. So what does this mean and why is this big news? This milestone that we have reached unfortunately shows we are moving in the wrong direction. Scientists tell us that we must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we have in the atmosphere to below 350 parts per million (ppm) to be in the “safe zone” from the climate crisis. This milestone is evidence that while we need to be reducing our CO2 emissions, we are actually increasing emissions. Much of the carbon dioxide that is released into the environment is from human activity and if we do not reduce our output soon, we will cause damage to the planet that can last thousands of years. For those unfamiliar with the Mauna Loa Observatory, atmospheric carbon dioxide readings have been taken on a daily basis since the mid 1950s and have steadily been increasing since then. There is a yearly fluctuation in carbon dioxide levels due to the change in seasons but the overall yearly change has been increasing drastically.

This milestone may seem like a defeat for those fighting to stop climate change, but it is actually a wake up call to those who have not yet made the decision to change. In order for 350 ppm to become a reality, the whole world must agree to change since the majority of the rise in CO2 levels is from burning of fossil fuels. The last time the concentration of greenhouse gasses including carbon dioxide reached this mark, many animals were living in the high Arctic and seas were at least 30 feet higher; today this sea level rise would destroy many coastal cities. 

So what should we do? On an individual level, there are many things that can be done to reduce carbon emissions. We can carpool to work, ride bikes and walk to our destinations when we can. We can turn off electronics and lights, and lower the heat when not in the house. While small changes on an individual level will make a big difference, we also must make changes on the national and international level. We must urge our government to acknowledge climate change, pass laws to reduce fossil fuel emissions and reject the Keystone XL pipeline. On an international level, the Global Power Shift is the new phase of the global climate movement. Climate leaders from around the world will meet in Turkey this June and create a new strategy to tackle climate change and spend the rest of the year using this strategy to take action around the world. The more of us that work together around the world, the more of an impact we can make! 

For more information: 350.org, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/10/atmospheric-co2-concentrations_n_3253757.html, globalpowershift.org/get-involved/

Native vs non-native vs invasive; weed vs wildflower - what's the difference?

Happy Spring! Gardening weather has returned to the northeast! With it comes an interest in landscaping and getting outside to enjoy our local biodiversity.

Gardening and the biodiversity of our natural habitats sometimes clash because some species that are planted intentionally for landscaping purposes escape cultivation and wreak havoc in nearby forests, wetlands, and grasslands. Government agencies and non-profit organizations such as The Nature Conservancy spend millions of dollars each year trying to prevent the introduction of such plants and to reverse their impacts.

There are many terms associated with this issue - native, non-native, and invasive species are only a few of the descriptions that are thrown around. Weed and wildflower are similarly vague and not always defined. What do they all mean? Let me try to help.

Japanese maple tree

• Typically a native species is one that naturally occurs in a particular region. The opposite is a non-native species, which is one that has been transported outside its native range to another place. So, a red maple tree is native to the northeast; the common ornamental Japanese maple tree is non-native to the northeast but native to Asia. Usually the introduction of non-native species is associated with human transportation, trade, etc., though with shifts in species ranges due to climate change, there may be more and more examples of species entering new areas with relatively little human assistance.

Japanese barberry in a forest understory

• An invasive species is a non-native species that is particularly worrisome because it is capable of expanding into natural areas or protected habitats. While Japanese maples are non-native, they for the most part stay in the yards in which they are planted - I have two in my own yard - rather than produce new offspring that grow into surrounding forests. Therefore, they are not considered invasive. The term invasive is reserved for species whose ranges are able to expand in size or whose populations are able to grow in number. Another species from Asia, Japanese barberry, is also widely planted in landscaping, but it is also a highly invasive shrub in surrounding forest understories. Barberry seeds are transported by birds to neighboring habitats where they grow and reproduce in abundance. So, not all non-native species are invasive, while the term "invasive" is pretty much reserved for non-native species (though there are some exceptions).

Dandelion in a salad - not a weed



Dandelion in a lawn - a weed

• Weed is a term that is basically defined by the context of its presence retaliative to human uses. Many native species are weeds in agricultural fields because they decrease a farmer's productivity. And the same species may be a weed in one context and not a weed in another context – for example dandelions in your lawn versus in your $10 salad.

Red trillium

• Lastly, the term wildflower is usually reserved for native, often herbaceous species. However, it is important to note that many non-native – including invasive – species were specifically cultivated and sold for their pretty flowers. There are few if any prohibitions against selling non-native species in nurseries in NY state – many plants that are the target of expensive eradication programs are widely sold in garden centers.

So, what is a gardener to do armed with this knowledge? By all means, get out there, enjoy the outdoors, and get dirt under your fingernails. When you do, give a special nod to your native vegetation that can support diverse pollinators and birds and that values the unique ecological and environmental history of our region.

I recommend following this hierarchy:

1. Where you can, plant a native species. There are excellent resources for gardeners interested in native landscaping. This is an excellent resource by Donald Leopold for the northeast region. Better Homes & Gardens has a list of the top 15 native plants for northeastern gardens. There are many other similar publications and lists for other regions. Also consider planting native species that support native pollinators such as butterflies and bees. Many of these pollinators' populations are struggling due to loss of habitat, climate change, and increasing pollution. So they need all the help they can get.
2. When you do plant a non-native species, make sure it is not invasive. The innovative "Don't Plant a Pest" program is a cooperation between the California Invasive Plant Council and the state's horticultural community to offer alternatives - both native and non-native - to invasive species that might be planted in people's gardens. Similar programs exist elsewhere, and you can also visit sites such as New York's Invasive Species Clearinghouse to see lists of priority invasive species.
3. Get out there and pull! There are many opportunities to volunteer to control invasive species in parks and natural areas near your home. Contacting your park or local chapter of The Nature Conservancy is an excellent way to get involved in biodiversity conservation.