Sustain UW-La Crosse

UW-La Crosse Green Fund Applications Due Nov. 9th

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 16:11:00 -0500

Green Fund proposal applications are now being accepted for Fall 2013. All UW-L students, faculty and staff are eligible to submit Green Fund applications.

The deadline for submissions is November 9th. You can find out more at: www.uwlax.edu/sustainability. Contact Ian Wright, Green Fund coordinator at greenfund@uwlax.edu with any questions.

UW-L Now Educational Partner with National Organization, Leave No Trace

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 09:19:00 -0500

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse recently signed an educational partnership with the national organization Leave No Trace. LNT is the most widely accepted outdoor ethics program used on public lands — adopted by federal agencies such as the U.S. National Park Service and The Bureau of Land Management. Read more in UW-L's Campus Connection article

President Obama Outlines Climate Change Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 14:53:00 -0500

Today President Obama outlined his new climate change plan at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. As part of his plan Obama will include new rules to restrict the "limitless dumping of carbon pollution by power plants. He will also promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In reference to current and future generations he said, "the question is not whether we need to act -- the overwhelming judgment of science, of chemistry and physics and millions of measurements, has put all that to rest." Obama will also direct the Environmental Protection Agency to establish new carbon pollution limits for current and new power plants.

Watch a recording of the live event courtesy of USTREAM.

Video streaming by Ustream

UW-L Vermicomposting Update

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:34:00 -0600

Photo courtesy UW-L University Communications

UW-L's Campus Connection did an article about the vermicomposting machine purchased with funding from UW-L students' Green Fund. The vermicomposter was originally purchased in 2011 and is now going strong in a cooperative effort with Western Technical College and Hilview Urban Agriculture Center.

Read the entire article here.

Hillview Urban Agriculture Center Meet & Greet and Film PLANEAT

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:54:00 -0500

Hillview Urban Agriculture Center Meet & Greet

Wednesday, October 24
5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wormington H.Q.
North of Bittersweet Flower Market @N3089 HWY 16
Come to the new home of our worm composting system ‘Wormington'. Meet the worms and meet the board of directors!

Film PLANEAT

Wednesday, October 24
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Viterbo University
Brophy Center 122 (Dahl School of Business)

PLANEAT is the story of three men's life-long search for a diet, which is good for our health, good for the environment and good for the future of the planet.

UW-La Crosse Hosting UW System Sustainability Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 09:03:00 -0500

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will be hosting the 2012 UW System Sustainability Meeting on November 1-2. The agenda includes presentations about AASHE's STARS program, water conservation, energy, native plantings, sustainability in the curriculum and more. The agenda and registration information are available online.

Making Connections Between Schools and Local Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:42:00 -0500

From the La Crosse Tribune, June 25, 2012

Josh Miner, husband of UW-La Crosse biology faculty member Meredith Thomsen, is working to make it easier for local Wisconsin food growers to have their fruits and vegetables in local school cafeterias. Miner is featured in the June 25th Monday Profile in the La Crosse Tribune.

Read more here...

Researcher Park Williams to Speak on Forests and Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:35:00 -0500

Dr. Park Williams, a researcher from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, will be speaking at UW-La Crosse about the affect of global climate change and drought on forests.

Thursday, April 26
4:00 p.m.
1400 Centennial Hall
Free and open to the public

You can read more about Williams and his research in the UW-L Campus Connection article.

You can also download and read Dr William's journal article (PDF), "Forest responses to increasing aridity and warmth in the southwestern United States."

UW-L Green Fund Summaries Now Online

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:23:00 -0600

Summaries for UW-La Crosse Green Fund projects for 2009, 2010 and 2011 are now online. Take a look to see all of the great ways student supported funding has improved the sustainability of the UW-L campus.

Dr. Stanley Temple, Aldo Leopold Foundation Senior Fellow

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:18:00 -0600

Dr. Stanley Temple

On Thursday, February 9th, the film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time was shown on campus. Introducing the film and leading a discussion afterwards was Dr. Stanley Temple, now a senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation. For 32 years Dr. Temple held the same faculty position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as Aldo Leopold.

Here's an article about Dr. Temple and his thoughts on Aldo Leopold written by Kjerstin Lang with UW-L University Communications.

http://news.uwlax.edu/what-we-can-learn-from-leopold/

Vermicomposting at UW-La Crosse

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:22:00 -0600

In a cooperative effort with Hillview Urban Agricultural Center (HUAC) in La Crosse, UW-L is using vermicomposting to recycle pre-consumer food waste. With funding from UW-L's Green Fund, created with student paid segregated fees, an 8’ x 32’ industrial-scale continuous flow reactor vermicomposting unit and an initial 100 lbs of Eisenia foetida (red wiggler) worms were purchased and installed at HUAC. Read more about this very cool initiative.

UW-L Green Fund Applications Now Being Accepted

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:25:00 -0600

Application information is now available for 2012 Green Fund proposals. You can find the application document, background information and contact information at: http://www.uwlax.edu/sustainability/html/green-fund.htm.

Any UW-L student, faculty or staff can apply for sustainability project funding through the Green Fund.

Seeing How Population Grows to 7 Billion

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Tue, 1 Nov 2011 08:30:00 -0500

This visual representation of world population growth does a great job of explaining how we got to where we are today. You can read the full story at: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141816460/visualizing-how-a-population-grows-to-7-billion

Rachel Lee Blogs About Transportation and Food During No Impact Week

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:38:00 -0500

Hello again! This week I have been participating in Colin Beavan’s No Impact Project and UW-La Crosse’s No Impact Week. The theme for Tuesday was transportation and today’s topic is food. Yesterday I woke up early and finished my Alternative Transportation poster to put in Cartwright Center. I started researching the benefits of alternative transportation when I realized that sometimes people are merely nervous or uneducated about how to be a part of the green transportation movement. Sometimes riding your bike on a busy street can be intimidating and driving seems like an easier alternative. I decided to address this issue by putting a bicycler’s code of conduct on my poster, as well as some quick maintenance tips on how to keep your bike up and running. The benefits of alternative transportation, such as biking and mass transit, are immense! According to the American Public Transportation Association, “the average household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes into buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing.” Imagine the dollars you would be able to save by adjusting your car usage to a need only basis or eliminating this expense all together! We are lucky that in La Crosse we have access to the MTU, and as a student this service is FREE*! This service does not only venture within the city of La Crosse but extends to French Island, portions of Onalaska, and La Crescent, Minnesota. So next time you are running a quick errand or need to head to the mall, take the MTU or hop on your bike and do the environment and yourself a favor!

As for today’s topic of food, where do I begin?!? Obviously, food is the thing that keeps us alive and gives us our daily sustenance but it can be so much more than that. It is time we start taking the time to find out where our food comes from and its nutritional content. Many times we are tricked into thinking something is healthy because a label says “Low Fat”, “Zero Calories” or even “Natural” but this can be misleading. Having knowledge about how food works in your body and how it affects the environment around you is very important. Learning what those confusing ingredients on the back of a package are may save you from serious health ailments in the future. Even better, pick up a piece of fruit or some fresh veggies! Fresh produce is amazing for your body and gives you many vital nutrients that packaged food just cannot give you. Throughout the summer and early fall months La Crosse has multiple Farmer’s Markets where you can get amazing local produce. Why not give your money straight to the person who put time and care into their food production instead of massive farms that spray their fields with herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers (not to mention GMOs)? I take pride in supporting local famers, as well as walking out of my back door and picking herbs, leafy greens, peppers, carrots and more! Putting love into the food you create is, in my opinion, one of the most satisfying feelings you can have. You get to literally eat the fruits of your labor and feel a sense of pride and accomplishment with every bite and, I swear, it tastes better. I know growing your own food can seem daunting for those living in the dorms or in small apartments, I’ve been there, but there are other options. You could join a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, volunteer at one of the community gardens, grow some herbs or greens in a pot, or make a friend that is a farmer! Nevertheless, get involved with your food because you really are what you eat.

*This service is a part of your tuition.

UW-L Student Rachel Lee Blogs About No Impact Week

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:44:00 -0500

UW-La Crosse student Rachel Lee will be blogging over the next several days about her participation in the La Crosse + Viroqua, WI No Impact Week taking place October 9-16. Below is Rachel's first blog post.

Monday I kicked off my participation in the UW-La Crosse No Impact Week. I, Rachel Lee, decided to get involved with Colin Beavan’s No Impact Project after learning about his mission and book entitled No Impact Man through Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability. Over the last few years I have been very interested in greener and more holistic ways of living, which made participating in No Impact Week a no brainer. It has been great educating myself about the different ways I can make a difference in my own life, as well as the environment around me. Colin’s No Impact Project Manual has many different ideas of ways to eliminate or dramatically reduce your global footprint by doing things as simple as recycling and riding your bike and unique as creating your own hygiene products. By acknowledging the effect that my everyday activities have on my health and environment I am able to make better decisions and actively participate in more facets of my daily life.

Yesterday, I woke up and finished a poster that I was creating for Monday’s E-Waste Recycling event and began researching the topic of recycling and technology. Currently we are in an age of rapid technological innovation and our previous technologies are getting thrown away at an astounding rate! These machines have been created with different sorts of metals and chemicals, that when improperly dealt with, have a very negative effect on our soil and water supply. In La Crosse and Wisconsin there are many facilities that are in place to protect us from threats like lead and cadmium pollution from these discarded machines. It was great to see Dynamic Recycling involved in our project because they provide a very important service by protecting our local environment, as well as stimulating our local economy by creating jobs. I was very happy to be a part of this project because doing just this one thing benefited our community and was incredibly easy! We need to remember that doing the right thing only takes putting in a little effort and being an active participant in the community you live in. I look forward to the other projects that we are participating in this week, as well as taking part in more of No Impact Project’s mission.

WI Solar Energy Tour on Oct. 1st Highlights La Crosse Home

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:42:00 -0500

This Saturday's 2011 WI Solar Energy Tour will include a home very close to La Crosse. The newly constructed single family home on a small farm features passive solar design on a northwest facing hillside. Features include: masonry stove, off-peak electric, heat storage water heater, and in-floor radiant heat.

This home is just one of many homes and businesses across the state featured on the tour. The tours are free and open to the public.
Saturday, October 1
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

https://www.midwestrenew.org/janssontempfarm

Complete information about the WI Solar Energy Tour can be found at: https://www.midwestrenew.org/solartour

Defining Sustainability, Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:50:00 -0500

Defining sustainability in terms of ecological integrity

UW-L's weekly online news publication, Campus Connection, is doing a series of articles about sustainability on campus. This is the third article in the series:

“We have one planet. Let’s plan accordingly.” That’s Biology Professor Rob Tyser’s central message when discussing how humans can preserve their environment.

Defining Sustainability, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:21:00 -0500

Sustainability in terms of economic security

UW-L's weekly online news publication, Campus Connection, is doing a series of articles about sustainability on campus. This is the second article in the series:

Donna Anderson, UW-L Economics professor, discusses the radical re-thinking of the relationship between the human economy and nature.

Defining Sustainability, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:17:00 -0500

Understanding Social Justice in Terms of Sustainability

UW-L's weekly online news publication, Campus Connection, is doing a series of articles about sustainability on campus. Here is the first article in the series:

For a practice to be sustainable in society it must benefit the population over the long-term. Therefore, it must benefit all people, according to two UW-L instructors, Guy Wolf and Al Gedicks.

Mining in Wisconsin: A Threat to Tribes, to Wild Rivers, Groundwater and Lake Superior

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:54:00 -0500

Penokee Hills mine location

A public forum on the largest mining project ever seen in Wisconsin.

Frank Koehn, president of the Penokee Hills Education Project will be taking part in the forum.
Wednesday, September 14
7:00pm, Room 1400 Centennial Hall
Sponsored by the UW-L Native American Student Association, the UW-L Progressives, Environmental Council and the Dept. of Sociology/Archaeology. Free and open to the public.

UW-L Dining Services Highlights Local, Healthy Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:15:00 -0500

Eat Local Week at UW-L – Sept. 12–16

from UW-L's Campus Connection

Buying quality, fresh, sustainable ingredients is a high priority for UW-L Dining Services, and with September being Eat Local Month, Dining Services is dedicating a week to feature local foods from regional suppliers.

Highlights of the week include:

Eat Local Special Dinner – 4-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, Whitney Center, All You Can Eat dining room. Everyone welcome. You do not have to be on a meal plan. Cost: $11.08 (includes tax).
Wellness Day Kick-Off at The Galley – 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Wednesday, Sept. 14. Free samples featuring local products. Every Wednesday following Dining Services will offer Wellness Days at The Galley featuring specials from the Terra Ve (vegan/vegetarian) station.
Cheese Curd Thursday at The Galley – Thursday, Sept. 15, at Smashers. Enjoy fresh lightly battered cheese curds from Ellsworth Creamery, $1.99 (special one-time introductory price).
Farmer’s Market at The Galley – 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16
Breakfast for Lunch Special at The Galley – 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16. Join Executive Chef Randy Hanson as he prepares breakfast for lunch with local ingredients.

The Climate Reality Project Takes Place Sept. 14

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 08:22:00 -0500

Al Gore announced on July 12, 2011, his latest project called Climate Reality Project. This 24 hour global event will take place on September 14 throughout the world to focus on the climate crisis.

On September 14th there will be 24 Presenters in 24 time zones in 13 Languages. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, in every time zone around the globe. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the man made pollution that is changing our climate. The event will offer a round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot of the climate crisis in real time. {from the Climate Reality Project}

Learn more about the Climate Reality Project at: http://climaterealityproject.org/

New Graduates Attracted to Sustainability Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Tue, 5 Jul 2011 12:08:00 -0500

From the NY Times, June 24, 2011

"Suddenly, “sustainability” seems to resonate with the sex appeal of “dot com” or “start-up,” appealing to droves of ambitious young innovators. Amelia Byers, operations director for Idealist.org, a Web site that lists paid and unpaid opportunities for nonprofit groups and social enterprise companies — some 5,000 of which are environmental organizations — said the number of jobs related to environmental work has roughly tripled in the last three years. “A lot of new graduates are coming out of a world where volunteerism and service has been something that has helped define their generation,” she said. “Finding a job with meaning is an important value to them.”

The rapid expansion of green jobs isn’t confined to the nonprofit sector. There is money to be made here as well. Ivan Kerbel, director of career development for the Yale School of Management, a graduate-level business program, noted that environmental issues like reducing waste and carbon footprints were increasingly important to corporations of all kinds, something business students are recognizing. Even ultra-ambitious M.B.A. candidates with C-suite aspirations are integrating issues like sustainability into their education, he said."

Read the entire NY Times article.

UW-L Year of Sustainbility During 2011-2012 Academic Year

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 18:23:00 -0600

UW-La Crosse will have a Year of Sustainability theme during the 2011-2012 academic year. The theme year was approved by Chancellor Joe Gow and all four UW-L governance groups. The Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability is planning and coordinating sustainability activities and events during the Year of Sustainability. Learn more by reading the Campus Connection article.

UW-L College of Business Administration Considers Sustainability Minor

noreply@blogger.com (Larry Sleznikow) — Sat, 5 Mar 2011 18:14:00 -0600

Faculty members Donna Anderson, Economics; Nicole Gullekson, Management; Tom Hench, Management; Steve Tippins, Finance, and Maggie McDermott, Marketing have formed an ad hoc committee to explore the possibility of offering a business sustainability minor in the College of Business Administration (CBA). CBA will offer a pilot course in Principles of Business Sustainability this fall to evaluate student interest in offering a potential business sustainability minor. Read the Campus Connection article.