Middlebury students  joined thousands of young climate activists in Washington D.C. this past weekend for Power Shift. Participants held a rally on the capital steps and met with elected officials from all 50 states, urging congress to support renewable, clean energy and other initiatives to address climate change. With over 190 students attending, Middlebury had one of the largest groups of students from any school in the nation.

Bill McKibben will speak Feb. 19 at the launch of the College's biomass gasification plant. Join Middlebury in recognizing a key milestone on the way to carbon neutrality. The biomass plant will reduce our carbon footprint by 40% and switch half of our campus heating and cooling from fuel oil to a local, renewable resource.

Art, science, and nature merge together at the first installation of Firefly, an environmental art project where you can see wind blowing. Each small turbine powers an LED light that glows according to the intensity of the wind. At night, with many of these fireflies sprinkled over the landscape, the flowing patterns of the wind emerge. This week there will be three different evening installations, Thursday 1/15, Friday 1/16, and Saturday 1/17.

Environmental Council is seeking collaborative and individual grant proposals from Middlebury students, faculty, and staff. The deadline is Jan. 22, 2008, so get yours in soon!

The Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest has received Platinum certifcation from the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program - the first building in Vermont to receive the highest level of certification!

This building brings together students, faculty, and staff involved in learning about and acting for a more sustainable future in one place. The Franklin Environmental Center at Hillcrest is a historic 18th century structure with a 21st century ecological design.

Bike Week, which runs from Oct. 27-31, was organized by Middlebury College senior Will Drucker. His goal is to have a fun community gathering and to raise awareness about reducing carbon emissions. This week's events culminate with the Halloween Bike Ride in which community members of all ages, both from the college and from the town, will ride 7.5 miles starting at Twilight Hall.                        
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Middlebury College set the goal to be Carbon Neutral by 2016.  Read the Oct. 15 update to find out what is being done to achieve this goal, including updates on the biomass plant, willow project, solar and wind energy, and the MSIWIG implementation teams.

The Middlebury College Environmental Council announced its request for proposals today. We are seeking proposals from students, faculty and staff that will advance the College's efforts to create a more sustainable campus and that will help advance its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.
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As part of MiddView, Middlebury freshmen on the Sustainable Enterprises Tour visited Shelburne Farms to learn about sustainable agriculture. They also met up with environmental artist Jito Coleman, creator of the Firefly Project.

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MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - The Middlebury College board of trustees approved the most far-reaching and environmentally progressive campus master plan in the college's 208-year history at their annual May meeting. The plan, which was built on a foundation of sustainability principles, will guide the college's growth and development for the next 50 years.
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