AASHE Blog: Campus Sustainability Perspectives

AASHE Launches STARS 1.0!

Submitted by Laura Matson on February 2, 2010 - 9:44am
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After three ySTARS Logoears of widespread collaboration with the higher education sustainability community, AASHE launched STARS 1.0 on January 19.


Surplus Property Recycling

Submitted by Justin Mullikin on January 29, 2010 - 12:57pm
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One of my favorite movies growing up was The Brave Little Toaster. There’s a particularly memorable scene in which the Brave Little Toaster and his appliance friends, while searching for the owner who abandoned them, are taken to the back room of a pawn shop.


Greening of the Campus VIII Proceedings and Keynote Videos

Submitted by Niles Barnes on January 14, 2010 - 3:56pm
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The Greening of the Campus VIII conference has officially come and gone, but it lives on in virtual space.  Below I've compiled links to articles, videos of keynotes and awards, and photos from the conference for those who were not able to attend - and for those who were! 


AASHE Interview Series: Angela Halfacre, Director of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability and Professor of Political Science, Furman University

Submitted by Niles Barnes on January 14, 2010 - 3:35pm
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This week’s interview is with Angela Halfacre, Director of the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability and Professor of Political Science at Furman University. At Furman, Dr. Halfacre teaches environmental policy and sustainability courses and directs the Shi Center for Sustainability, especially its curricular programs and community based research efforts. In her interview, Dr. Halfacre discusses the many ways she is involved in advancing sustainability on Furman’s campus and surrounding community, advice she has for others in similar positions, and the area she views as having the largest potential for growth in the field.

If you are interested in participating in the AASHE Interview Series or wish to nominate someone to participate please email me. To read past interviews, click here.


Final Live from Copenhagen Q & A call recording and highlights

Submitted by Justin Mullikin on January 8, 2010 - 3:46pm
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The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education at Dickinson College in conjunction with the Office of Global Education recently lead a delegation of 15 students to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 15th Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, Denmark as part of a year-long intensive course on policy development, climate change, and public communication. AAHSE conducted three question and answer conference calls with the students while they were in Copenhagen.  Below are some highlights from the calls followed by the third "Live from Copenhagen Q & A call" available for listening and download. The previous two call recordings are available here.

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Third Live from Copenhagen Q & A Call

Call for Articles for AASHE Bulletin: Global Edition

Submitted by David Abell on January 8, 2010 - 11:50am
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College and university campuses around the world are making strides towards sustainability, the evidence of which was in the first AASHE Bulletin: Global Edition, published in August 2009. Institutions from over 10 countries and 4 continents were represented in the inaugural publication.


AASHE Launches STARS 1.0 -- Don't Miss the Webinar!

Submitted by Jillian Buckholz on January 7, 2010 - 2:39pm
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The full, formal launch of STARS 1.0 (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) will take place on Tuesday, January 19th. Already over 100 institutions have registered as STARS Charter Participants.


Models for Success and Lessons for the Future: COP15 Analysis

Submitted by Rima Mulla on January 5, 2010 - 12:40pm
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by Sarah Brylinsky, Sustainability Education Coordinator, Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, Dickinson College

Should we be disappointed, or hopeful?

It was the question on everyone’s mind as the professors, administrators, and students who had spent two weeks in Copenhagen learning from and influencing the negotiations of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) flew home to celebrate the holidays, reflect on the outcome and process, and prepare for work ahead in 2010.

From a political perspective, there is much work yet to be done. The intent of the conference was to complete legally binding negotiations on a new international agreement as the Kyoto Protocol winds to a close in 2012. The aim was lofty -- to create a new agreement be reached, one which surmounts the difficulty of balancing cost-effectiveness with equitable policy architecture and generates enough consensus to come into effect as a long-term solution to mitigating and adapting to climate change.


Lessons Learned from Using Building Energy Intensity to Guide Climate Action Planning Efforts at Foothill College

Submitted by Rima Mulla on January 5, 2010 - 11:12am
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by Robert Cormia, Faculty, Informatics and Nanotechnology, and Brenda Davis Visas, Director of Facilities, Foothill College

Foothill College’s ten-point climate action plan addresses both energy and GHG emissions by focusing on a key figure of merit, Building Energy Intensity (BEI), which helps inform data-driven decisions for building retrofits and onsite PV (solar) energy infrastructure, and helps us plan future energy budgets and manage our GHG emissions. Building energy, expressed in annual BTU/sq-ft, is the established reporting mechanism for California Community Colleges and provides both a baseline and benchmarking mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness of energy projects, as well as a means of comparison to similar colleges in similar regions.


Facilitating Green Building at Under-resourced Colleges and Universities Through Technical Assistance Grants for Local Consultants

Submitted by Rima Mulla on January 5, 2010 - 9:58am
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by Ilana Schoenfeld, Program Associate for Strategic Initiatives, Second Nature

Many under-resourced colleges and universities rely heavily on their local and regional building contractors, including architects and engineers, to provide the technical expertise necessary to carry out green building projects. Institutions located in remote areas, or in regions where green buildings are few and far between, are often subject to higher premiums charged for these project by contractors with little training or experience in green building.

Second Nature, with funding from The Kresge Foundation, is inviting colleges and universities that have received Title III/V designation from the Department of Education and that are in states with relatively low numbers of green building projects (MO, SC, TN, UT, AR, KY, KS, ID, NE, LA, MS, WV, OK, WY, ND, SD, AL, IN, MT, NM) to apply for green building technical assistance grants of up to $2000 each.