Early 2009 Update

After a lengthy holiday, the Sustainability Committee is revving back up for a productive spring semester. First off, we should mention that the College will celebrate homecoming the week of January 26-30, and there will be events taking place all week, beginning with the screening of a compelling documentary film: "Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars," on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Maybank Hall. Staff from the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League will lead a discussion afterward about local efforts to stop the building of a coal-fired power plant in Florence County.

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, staff members from The Sustainability Institute will be on campus to host an energy conservation training session. The event runs from 7:00 to 9:00 in the Admissions Auditorium in the Robert Scott Small building. 

Then on Thursday, the Green Fair takes place, which will feature exhibits and demonstrations by sustainable businesses and environmental organizations from all around the Lowcountry. The Green Fair is scheduled to be held on the Cistern yard, on George St., and in the Stern Center Gardens. Enjoy free food, fun and art from 11:00 to 3:00 and take a moment to talk to the folks who represent these sustainable organizations and businesses. 

The current semester offers numerous opportunities for students, faculty and staff to get involved in sustainability. One easy opportunity is Recyclemania, which began on January 16. This is a nationwide competition among colleges and universities to see which ones can be most effective at reducing their waste streams and increasing their recycling efforts. The College has participated for the past two years, but we've not done very well. So, 2009 is a big opportunity for the College to make a statement about the importance of recycling on campus. Nikki Seibert (an MES student) is in charge of the event for the College, so get in touch if you'd like to help out (seibertn@gmail.com). Recyclemania runs for 10 weeks.

Remember, there are lots of ways for individuals to get active and support the many sustainable initiatives that are in motion here at the College. If you want to participate in the Sustainability Committee's work, contact one of the task force leaders and they'll get you plugged in:

Policy task force.....Burton Callicott callicottb@cofc.edu

Education and Marketing task force.......Dan Dickison dickisond@cofc.edu

Waste Stream task force.......Amy Pierson piersona@cofc.edu

Buildings and Energy task force......Madison Hohman mlhohman@edisto.cofc.edu

and so it begins anew

The school year began with a flurry as usual. Although extremely hectic, this is my favorite time of the year. The students are excited, revved up, and feel like they can conquer the world and this feeling is infectuous. As I was shlumping through campus the other day, my mind fixated on the merry-go-round of all the things I needed to do (and all of the e-mail responses I haven't recieved) when a student hailed me with a gracious "Hey Burton Callicott! Are you having a lovely day?" The question took me aback. The short answer was "no, not really..." but the warmth and spirit behind the question begged the follow up question "why am I not having a lovely day?" I am alive and healthy and doing something about which I feel strongly. It took a few minutes and the student had already gone on, but I realized that yes, indeed, I am having a lovely day!

The Sustainability Picnic during Welcome Week went very well indeed. All of the food, generously provided by Aramark, went very fast -- a good thing considering the heat! As far as I know, there was zero trash associated with the event. Aside from the napkins, everything was either eaten or re-used.

I attended the first APE (Alliance for Planet Earth) meeting last night and was so pleased to see so many eager, active, engaged students show up. The scene was so uplifting and right on time as I had been finding myself overwhelmed and dejected. I was asked to let everyone know about The Sustainability Committee and what we are up to and I had to pause for a second. It seems that with all of the meetings and discussions and e-mails!, we really have not done much of any REAL WORK or accomplished anything tangible at this point. I have high hopes for the Sustainability Corridor and feel that it could be the one project that really sets everything in motion. Despite a plan and a promise, to date, nothing has happened on this front. I have to keep reminding myself that change often happens slowly on a College Campus and everyone involved, including myself, are doing this "on the side" and have plenty to do in terms of our "real job." I am still hopeful that, with time, things will shift and Sustainability will be our job, or at least a significant part of our job. I have seen first hand the power of our students and, with this group of APEs, I left feeling a newfound sense of hope.

Not surprisingly, our goal of completing the Sustainability Plan by the end of the summer had to be... revised. I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the first quarter. This is another piece that, once completed, could get us well on the way to some serious progress. We had a good discussion at our last meeting about composting on campus and I am very hopeful that we can begin to work towards a "zero waste" campus. I have been getting e-mails from the President's Climate Commitment office reminding me that our Green House Gas emissions report is due soon. I am hoping that this will give us some leverage and provide an opportunity to get more people involved in the effort. Once we finish the GHG audit, then the real work begins -- how to bring out emissions down to zero! Though the Climate Commitment organization does not have any police or official sanctions, they do have the power of embarrassment and bad press. I am hoping that the carrot proves to be sufficient...

I continue to drive myself crazy by subscribing to various environmental e-mail listservs. Just since starting this post I have received two e-mails from the Recyc-l list and one from the GreenSchools list. Just about every post brings the now all too familiar mixed emotions of exultation and depression. I am so happy to hear about the good work that other schools are doing and so sad to realize that it will probably be quite awhile before I can contribute to the conversation with communiques about the great things that are happening at The College of Charleston.

--Burton.

welcome

Working or studying at a place that is so far behind in terms of energy efficiency, waste minimization, and a general culture of environmental awareness, is difficult for many of us on campus that are concerned about the environment and our collective legacy. I am constantly reading about the amazing, progressive things other colleges are doing. Just yesterday, numerous people sent me a link to a Chronicle of Higher Ed article entitled "A Green Curriculum Involves Everyone On Campus." Here the author notes: "Like an increasing number of our peer institutions, Oberlin College has adopted a comprehensive environmental policy on energy use, purchasing, building construction and management, food, transportation, waste, grounds management, and education." While I rejoiced when I read this, I also cringed knowing that The College of Charleston was far from being one of those peer institutions. Just trying to figure out where to start here at the CofC can be crippling. There is so much to do and so many people that need to be involved that finding a handhold or crevice to grab just in order to start the climb seems almost impossible.

Although it may be hard to see it at this point, we are making progress. By the end of the summer we hope to have produced a 50-year sustainability plan for The College that will guide us, ultimately, to zero waste and zero greenhouse gas emissions! It will be ambitious indeed but, for a number of reasons, it has to be. Lets not forget that the place that we call home is called the Lowcountry for a reason. With even a small rise in sea levels, the peninsula and surrounding areas will face serious flooding problems that could jeopardize the very existence of the current campus. As a place of higher learning, we have to set an example and do all that we can to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. And, if for no other reason, we’re obliged to work in this direction because President Benson signed the College and University President's Climate Commitment. By signing this document, he has committed the College of Charleston to work toward becoming "climate neutral." For more info and to see the commitment itself go to http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/ I look forward to sharing the sustainability plan with you once it is completed and receives administrative approval and support.

In the meantime, we are putting together a plan for a "Sustainability Corridor" on campus. Based on the SC Heritage Corridor, the plan, as proposed by Jerome Clemons, Jr., would establish a section of the campus that will be truly sustainable. Due to the fact that many buildings on George St. are already slated to be re-furbished to LEED Silver status, as well as the fact that this sector includes Randolph Hall, the section of George St. from St. Phillip to Coming was chosen to be the initial leg of the corridor. Those buildings not slated to be "migrated" will still receive attention to increase their efficiency and reduce waste production. As part of this proposal, the Cistern would be returned to working order and supply water for the surrounding grounds (foreseeing we get some rain!). The President's office would become a model for sustainable practices (comprehensive recycling, energy conservation by employees, etc.). Members of the Sustainability Committee are very excited about the corridor -- it might just be the handhold that we have been seeking. The plan provides the potential to raise awareness and, if successful, the means to grow and expand until the entire campus is sustainable. The other great thing about the corridor is that it does not have to stop at the campus border. We hope that it will eventually continue on to King St. and follow pathways throughout the city. Ultimately, we hope that this corridor will provide an opportunity for The College to influence and work with the greater community. I can envision a student run environmental consulting firm that brings together majors in marketing, entrepreneurship, economics, biology, and chemistry all working to help local businesses reduce their environmental footprint and educate the community.

RECYCLING! though the least effective of the three R's (“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”), recycling is important nonetheless. It will come as no surprise to many that the College of Charleston has one of the worst recycling rates for a college/university in the country. In the 2008 Recyclemania competition, we came in 149th out of 163 schools with a recycling rate of 1.4%. We have all seen the recycling bins full of trash, the trash full of recyclables, and everything going into the dumpsters. It’s time to STOP COMPLAINING and do something. Anyone can take trash out of the recycling bins and put it in the trash. And anyone can take recyclables out of the trash and put them in a recycling bin. If you see problems with our recycling program, call the physical plant 953-5550. Or, take action by writing a note to President Benson. You or your department can also adopt a building. Or go old school and organize a sit-in. Join the recycling committee [go to http://www.cofc.edu/~recycling/ for more info and ways to get involved with recycling] As soon as the beginning of the Fall semester, you should see brand new, maroon recycling bins in buildings around campus. Use them! Talk about them. Mention them to your students, co-workers, colleagues. Then, reduce, reuse, and rot (compost) -- this will do much more for the environment than recycling. It is my sincere hope that at some point, CofC cans will be trash free: everything that comes onto the campus will either be recycled, re-used, or composted. The college is currently spending over $400,000 a year, just to have the trash hauled away. Couldn't we shift that funding toward a serious recycling and composting program? We could even sell the excess compost: Cougar Compost and possibly even turn it into fuel.

And, while I’m ranting, what about water bottles? Please, these things are ubiquitous and really not good for our society, nor the earth. Get yourself a steel, reusable water bottle and fill up at the tap. It is cheaper, cleaner, and much, much less environmentally damaging than buying water bottles. It’s known that 1.5 million tons of plastic are used worldwide to make water bottles and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, plastics make up the fourth largest category of municipal solid waste.

OK, that’s my word for now. Remember, we’re all in this together and, in time, we can make the College a model of sustainability.

Until next time, thanks for reading my rant.

Burton.
Burton Callicott
Librarian
Sustainability Committee Chair