WELCOME TO BlueGreen
Issue 4 ~ January 14, 2004
The BlueGreen electronic newsletter is a handy bi-weekly update of sustainability initiatives and events on campus and in the local region. It will automatically arrive as an e-mail link for those whosign up (by clicking on the words sign up) for this list serve. Otherwise it is available on our website at http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/enviro/publications/
We started this communication piece last year as a means to keep the Middlebury community better informed about the numerous environmental projects, presentations and opportunities on or near our campus. To submit information for the next issue of BlueGreen, send an e-mail (including graphics) to Connie Leach Bisson, Campus Sustainability Coordinator at cbisson@middlebury.edu
On the Calendar
Calendar Highlights at-a-glance
Tues. Jan 13
5-7 p.m. Voter Registration in Proctor Foyer
5:30 p.m. Community Service Roundtable in Ross Seminar Room B11
7:30 p.m. Mountain Club Gear Hours - Borrow outdoor adventure gear. 3rd floor Adirondack House.
Wed. Jan 14
5:00-7:30 p.m. Voter Registration in Ross
Thurs. Jan 15
5:00-7:30 p.m. Voter Registration in Ross
7:30 p.m. Mountain Club Gear Hours - Borrow outdoor adventure gear. 3rd floor Adirondack House.
Fri. Jan 16
5:00-7:30 p.m. Voter Registration in Ross
Sat. Jan 17
1:00-4:00 p.m. Voter Registration at The Grille
Sun. Jan 18
4 p.m. Spirit in Nature's EcoSpirit Award will be presented to Barry & Warren King by Professor Stephanie Kaza. Mitchell Green Lounge.
Thurs. Jan 22
7 p.m. Screening of multi-award winning television program Natural Connections that explores how nature and human nature are intertwined. Discussion with Mike Rosen co-sponsored by Environmental Studies, Atwater Commons and the Office of Environmental Affairs. (Bicentennial Hall Room 220)
7 p.m. Vermont BioFuels Association meeting at St. Stephens Episcopal Church (Middlebury).
Fri. Jan 23
10-4 p.m. Middlebury College Health Fair featuring info on stress management, yoga, massage, chiropractic care, and the College's new Optimal Health Initiative. McCullough Social Space.
Sat. Jan 24
9-4 p.m. Battell Old Growth in Winter. Visit this rare remnant of Vermont's original forests. Track wildlife in the snow and see how this diverse, unlogged forest fulfills the habitat needs of many species. Registration required. To pre-register for an event: call Forest Watch at 223-3216 or e-mail contact@forestwatch.org(mailto:contact@forestwatch.org) .
9-Noon Winter Tracking Workshop w/Greg Borah at Lincoln's Colby Hill Town Forest. www.familyforests.org for directions.
5-9:30 p.m. American Flatbread benefit for Middlebury College Organic Garden (At the Marbleworks in Middlebury).
January 27
4:30 p.m. Environmental Council meeting (Old Chapel 401).
January 31
9-12 p.m. The Art of Maple Sugaring Workshop led by David Brynn and Ben Shepard at the Elder Family Forest on Ruby Brace Road in Starksboro. $15 www.familyforests.org for directions.
Sat. Feb 14
9-5 p.m. Vermont Youth Peace Summit Exploring Peace in Action sponsored by the Vermont Peace Academy (for middle and high school students) www.vermontpeaceacademy.org (Goddard College in Plainfield, VT.)
From Governor Jim Douglas' State of the State address, delivered on January 6, 2004 in the Vermont House of Representatives.
Excerpt taken from: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/vpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=587602
In the coming weeks, I will set forth a far-reaching plan to transform state government into a role model for environmental stewardship. We will reduce the impact of state government's daily activities and, in turn, increase market demand for environmentally sensitive products and services. This plan will include a new management system for the state's fleet of vehicles. With this ambitious strategy, we will aim to reduce government's contribution of greenhouse gasses by 25%, more than 34,000 tons of pollutants, by 2012. ……..
Sustainability Discussion Course
A 9-week lunch time discussion course "Choices for Sustainable Living" began January 7th and it's not to late to join in. Our first week focus was on the role of work, causing us to evaluate how sustainable our approach to work is in each of our lives. The discussion course is coordinated by Professor Bob Osborne and Campus Sustainability Coordinator Connie Leach Bisson. There are short readings and a set of questions developed by the Northwest Earth Institute that are used as a framework for the weekly discussion. Contact Connie at cbisson@middlebury.edu if you'd like more information.
2004 Vermont Comprehensive Energy and Electric Plan
Comments Requested
The Vermont Department of Public Service has released its Final Draft of its 20-year Energy Plan in December. They held five public hearings around the state in early January and are accepting written comments through Friday, March 12, 2004.
http://www.state.vt.us/psd/Menu/DPS_State_Plans/2004%20Ex%20Summary.pdf
Electricity Reduction Contest Launched
In a twist on new year resolutions, Midd students are being challenged to reduce their kilowatt use in 2004. Organized by the college's Carbon Reduction Initiative with assistance from the Commons Environmental Liaisons, residence halls are competing this January to reduce electricity use over that documented for each building in January 2003. At the end of the month, (after normalizing on a per capita basis), the residence hall in each Commons with the greatest reduction in killowatt use compared to last January, will receive a percentage of the financial savings. Posters in Ross and Proctor are updated weekly - keeping students apprised of their efforts, Dining Services is supporting the initiative with candlelight dinners, and the environmental liaisons are helping to suggest ways for students to alter behaviors to trim more watts.
Fair Beans Campaign: Fair-Trade Coffee over Waste 
A group of Middlebury students is challenging their peers to trade a wasteful behavior for socially responsible fair-trade coffee. Accepting an innovative challenge from Dining Services, these students are hoping to reduce the significant quantity of food waste that is generated at each meal. According to Alysse Jumars, one of the sparkplugs behind the campaign, Middlebury students waste between 1/10 and 1/5 of a pound of food at every dinner. "That's over 60,000 pounds wasted at dinners alone during the academic year." Based on information they learned from Dining Services staff, the average pound of food represents $2 that could have been spent elsewhere - say, on fair trade coffee. They hope to reduce food waste by 10,000 pounds a year through an educational campaign that began in January. Volunteers are scraping plates and weighing the discarded food in both Proctor and Ross and advocating that their peers join them in assessing their hunger level before filling their plates -- advocating going back for seconds is always an option.
One early "perk" of this initiative is that there will be one pot of fair-trade coffee in each of the dining halls during J-Term.