Read the full story in the Washington Post.
Bottled water: It’s a vending machine’s healthy alternative to sugary soda, a convenient way to hydrate on the go and, lately, a total faux pas on many college campuses.
Some environmentally gung-ho students are not only glaring at those who choose to chug from disposable bottles — rather than earthy-friendly reusable containers — they are also pushing for restrictions on bottled water sales on campus.
Read the full story in the Cornell Daily Sun.
Cornell’s Sustainability Hub is trying to keep the streets of Collegetown clean through their waste reduction project Collegetown ART (Art, Recycling, and Trash cans). The student-run project started with Chelsea Clarke ’10 and Whitney Larsen ’10. They have installed two new pairs of trash receptacles brightly decorated with local art on College Avenue and Dryden Road. The new receptacles have clearly labeled recycling and trash units to help reduce litter and promote proper waste disposal practices in C-town.
Read the full story from the Associated Press.
In Texas, where football fields are hallowed ground, the state’s oldest historically black college is planting the seeds for community change between its fading goalposts.
Yellow and purple onions, beans and strawberries are sprouting from rows of dark, rich earth where visiting teams once clashed with the Paul Quinn College Tigers.
The idea of turning the once-weedy football field into a student-run, 2-acre urban farm has given the struggling college an unlikely bond with Yale University, and has grown into a project that experts say feeds a growing interest among U.S. students about their food sources.
Read the full story at Diamondback Online.
Instead of using chemicals to combat the tangle of weeds in the public health school’s proposed garden, students contracted goats to spruce up the area.
For three days and two nights, more than 30 goats grazed on the weeds, poison ivy and thorns on the plot of land between the Eppley Recreation Center and the School of Public Health building, clearing the land for students to grow their own fruits and vegetables, meditate, take classes or simply hang out.
The Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr. Ian Gates and Dr. Michael Kallos, associate professors in chemical engineering, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project titled, “Anaerobic Microdigesters with Micro Combined Thermoelectric Heat and Power Generation to Convert Human Excreta to Electricity, Heat, Methane, Fertilizer, and Water.”
Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges. Dr. Gates’s and Dr. Kallos’s project is one of over 85 Grand Challenges Explorations Round 6 grants announced today by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
See a list of the winners. Of particular interest to ENB readers are the Edison Green Awards and the winners in the Energy & Sustainability category.
Read the full story in The Onion.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called a press conference Monday to publicly denounce the environment for blatantly refusing to pull its weight in mankind’s ongoing efforts at ecological conservation.
This Notice announces the acceptance of applications for funds available under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for Fiscal Year 2011 for financial assistance as follows: grants, guaranteed loans, and combined grants and guaranteed loans for the development and construction of renewable energy systems and for energy efficiency improvement projects; grants for conducting energy audits; grants for conducting renewable energy development assistance; and grants for conducting renewable energy system feasibility studies. The Notice also announces the availability of $70 million of Fiscal Year 2011 budget authority to fund these REAP activities, which will support at least $42 million in grant program level and up to $61 million in guaranteed loan program level. If additional funding becomes available by a Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations Act, a subsequent NOFA will be published in the Federal Register.
DATES: In order to be considered for Fiscal Year 2011 funds, complete applications under this Notice must be received by the appropriate USDA Rural Development State Office no later than 4:30 p.m. local time of the dates as follows:
- For renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grant applications and combination grant and guaranteed loan applications: June 15, 2011.
- For renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement guaranteed loan only applications: June 15, 2011.
- For renewable energy system feasibility study applications: June 30, 2011.
- For energy audits and renewable energy development assistance applications: June 30, 2011.
As we all know, what consumers say they will do and what they actually do are often contradictory. Consumers may have the best intentions, but how do we actually motivate them to act on these intentions? This is what OgilvyEarth set out to uncover in their latest research.
The findings enable marketers to understand the “Green Gap,” the discrepancy between stated intention and behavior when it comes to living sustainably, offer solutions on how to close the Green Gap and reveal the opportunities that exist for the brands who are able to change consumer behavior.
Read the full story from GreenBiz.
Waste Management Inc., the firm striving to turn the traditional model of garbage handling on its head, is expanding its business in organics recycling by investing in a company that owns the largest composting facility in the eastern U.S. and by building a new organics processing site in Florida.
The two moves announced this week are intended to strengthen Waste Management’s position in organics processing and recycling and further the firm’s efforts to recast its business model.
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