Going Green: A Blog About Sustainability

How sustainable is sustainability?

2009-05-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

For this blog post, I thought I'd pose a question: how sustainable is sustainability? Now at first you may say, "that's a silly question." But let me provide some context...

Everyone seems to be jumping on the "sustainability wagon," but what I wonder is how long it will last. Is it possible that we will grow tired of the green messages and sustainability efforts out there? Is sustainability just a fad or will it actually continue on?

I thought of this question when I met with a group of conference planners. We're looking at conference themes for 2010 and of course, sustainability came up. But before we put the green stamp on that topic, we had to stop and ponder... will people be tired of it by then?

What do you all think?

How To Line Dry Clothing

2009-04-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

For a Ethics class project I am working on informing the community just how simple it is to live more sustainably, with a focus on line drying clothing.

Benefits of line drying your clothing:

- Reduces wear and tear on your clothing

- Reduce costs for new clothing because your old clothing doesn’t wear out as fast

- Reduces energy costs.

By line-drying 2 laundry loads per week (many families do more than this), in one month you will reduce your energy cost by $2.80 a month, and that adds up!

- Helps the environment.

By line-drying 2 laundry loads per week for one month, you will reduce your CO2 emissions by 37.6 lbs.

How to do it:

1. Buy a clothesline. You can get these at pretty much any store (try to get the ones specifically labeled clothesline to make sure that it won’t damage or stain your clothing). Dollar Tree is a good place where you can get a 70 ft line for $1 in a bunch of different colors.

2. Buy clothespins. These can also be found at the Dollar Tree, for just a dollar!

3. Buy strong hooks to hang clotheslines up in your house, or just tie the line around a couple of trees in your backyard (make sure the hooks are strong, wet clothing is pretty heavy!)

Two other options:

- If this is still too big of an investment for you try drying your clothes on hangers in a place that is well ventilated.
- If you want to invest more in a smaller device buy a drying rack, these are convenient because they have a lot of space to hang clothes in a little area, and you can move them outside easily on sunny days to dry clothes much faster.

What are you waiting for? Start line-drying your clothing today and help your budget and the environment! Keep an eye out around campus for other ways to live sustainably in the coming weeks.

To learn more about my project go to my project blog at:
http://ra-cep.blogspot.com/

1.2 Gigabytes Saved From Download on Earth Day

2009-04-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

On April 22nd, Pacific University recognized Earth Day with a low-energy version of our homepage. In comparison to our typical homepage, yesterday's version took up only 10% of the file size significantly lowering the amount of data that was being transferred when visitors accessed the Pacific website.

Calculating the exact amount of energy we saved is a complex matter; however, we can say that with over 6,000 visitors yesterday, we ended up saving about 1.2 gigabytes (270 KB per visit). Now, your average computer can hold a number of gigabytes, but to put it into perspective this is equivalent to about 2 CD-ROM discs or, in terms of the amount of data that can be held on a printed publication, about one pickup truck bed full of paper. And this is only the amount of data saved on one day by redesigning one web page. Imagine the result if those of us in the Internet industry took sustainability into consideration on a regular basis. The carbon footprint of the web as a whole could be significantly reduced quite easily.

Here at Pacific University, we would like to offer a couple of tips on reducing your own carbon footprint online:

If you frequently use a particular web page, bookmark it or set it as your browser's homepage. This saves energy by giving you a direct path to the website instead of having to navigate a series of links or search for the information that you need. We recommend that staff and faculty here at Pacific do this instead of using the homepage as a link hub. If you need instructions on how to do so, please contact webmaster@pacificu.edu.

Think twice about sending an email. If you are in the same building as the person you are communicating with, perhaps your message can be delivered in person. Do you need to hit reply-all when you only need to communicate with one or two people? You can save a lot of energy by cutting back on email, and could possibly increase your personal health by walking to a colleague's office instead of sitting at your desk all day.

Consider whether or not you really need to have data sent from the web to your mobile devices. Doing so not only puts a burden on your phone bill, sending data to your mobile devices is also particularly consuming of energy.
When you are able to, choose renewable power. One of the main reasons that the Internet's carbon footprint is so high, is that the electricity that powers it does not come from renewable sources. You can help by choosing renewable energy to power your own computer (if it is available and reasonably priced), and you can choose to do business with companies that use renewable energy. Decreasing the number of data centers and ISPs that get their electricity from coal plants could have a significant, positive impact on our environment.

If you have some other ideas related to saving energy online, please leave a comment. We would love to hear from you!

Sustainable Web Design: Celebrating Earth Day With Reduced Energy

2009-04-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Recent studies have found that digital media is not necessarily "green media." You may have heard the news reports that spam is to blame for emitting 17 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere annually or that a Google search, on average, is equivalent to driving 2 miles. As the saying goes, we may not be cutting down trees, but we are certainly inconveniencing a large number of electrons by communicating online. How? Well, the internet runs on electricity, and not always the most renewable energy sources.

Think about it for a second. Your computer and mobile devices consume energy; the server holding any files you are requesting online consumes energy; transferring those files between the server and you consumes energy. What does this mean for web developers? If we want to be environmentally conscious, we need to be concerned about the energy consumption used to view the online content we are creating.

Pacific University's homepage is viewed for approximately one thousand hours each day. During that time, thousands of scripts run on our servers and a significant amount of data is sent out all over the world. Today, we are choosing to publicly acknowledge and compensate for some of the energy that we use regularly in order to deliver that data.

The energy consumption of your website can be limited in a number of ways.
The first is to simply provide smaller, less complex files. In order to view today's version of our homepage, you are only receiving approximately 30 kilobytes of data in comparison to the usual 300 kB. We have done this by decreasing the resolution and size of any images and by eliminating any unnecessary code from our files. Our servers are not having to work as hard to send data to you, and your computer is not having to work as hard to access it.

Another concern for web designers when examining the amount of energy required to make your site available to users is color. Monitors require energy to display a website, CRT monitors in particular. While a good number of web users are now accessing your data through an LCD screen (LCD screens require approximately the same amount of energy to display any color combination), some of Pacific's visitors are still viewing our files on a CRT screen. The US Department of Energy has set ratings for the average amount of energy required for a CRT monitor to display a solid color:

White - 74 Watts	Fuchsia - 69 Watts	Yellow - 69 Watts	Aqua - 68Watts
Silver - 67 Watts	Blue - 65 Watts	Red - 65 Watts	Lime - 63 Watts
Gray - 62 Watts	Olive - 61 Watts	Purple - 61 Watts	Teal - 61 Watts
Green - 60Watts	Maroon - 60 Watts	Navy - 60 Watts	Black - 59 Watts

Therefore, at 1000 hours of viewing per day, the difference that color choice can make in energy output can end up being as drastic, approximately the same difference as switching about 1/4 of your standard light bulbs to compact florescent bulbs. Although we regularly use fairly energy efficient colors on our website, today we have consciously chosen to use colors that are darker in order to ensure that the people viewing our site on CRT monitors are not consuming as much energy in order to do so.

Although internet energy consumption is a topic that is rarely addressed when discussing green living, we at Pacific University believe it is important to realize that providing information online is not necessarily a simple alternative to printing. Just as we need to be careful about what we print and how we print, we also need to be conscious of how we provide our messages online.

Remembering Amy Young

2009-04-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

There are many things I have been meaning to write about on this blog - many student initiatives that are transforming our campus and community to make it a more sustainable place - but all those stories are going to have to wait a little longer. Because right now I want to take a moment to remember a Pacific University alumnus whom I never knew very well, but who I know made a very significant impact on this campus and on all those around her. I just recently learned of Amy Young's passing away on December 2nd, and it is her life that I want to commemorate, however inadequately, in this post.

As I said, I did not know Amy very well - other people on this campus could and have described her accomplishments far better than I. But here is what I did know: Amy was compassionate, sincere, creative, and cared deeply about the world. She appreciated the small things in life. She was an activist in a way that I'm afraid I will probably never be; Amy could bring people together to laugh and have a good time while making the world a better place. I know that I am am sometimes a bit of a down-with-the-evildoers type of activist, with a tendency to focus on the negative. Through what I had a chance to see of Amy's work, I glimpsed a different way of changing the world - one that is deeply compassionate, inclusive, and positive. In addition to her Creative Writing major, Amy pursued a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies, and she cared deeply about people and the environment. I know this caring came across in her involvement in many activities on the Pacific campus.

I want to dedicate this post to the memory of Amy and what she did for those around her. I myself am a senior scheduled to graduate from Pacific next month, and I know that as we students prepare to go out into the real world we have a tendency to focus on our own lives, our career goals, our plans for the future. But what if you didn't have much longer to contribute to this world? Would you be able to say that, like Amy, you used your time here to help others in the best possible way? In Amy's memory, I urge anyone who reads this to take some time out of your next afternoon just to smell the grass or enjoy the sunshine; to make someone else smile; to perform some small act of compassion and kindness. This is a blog about sustainability, about world-changing. And in the end, isn't it through small acts like these that we will really change the world?

No life with as much promise and potential as Amy's had should be cut off as soon as her extraordinary life was. But even to those who knew her just slightly, like myself, she has left behind a legacy of kindness. If each of us could make the positive impact on this planet that Amy did, the world would be a much better place. Please remember Amy's struggle.

Remember Amy Young.

Organic Farming

2009-03-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks, there has been some excitement among groups supportive of organic farming over a bill on food safety that is currently in the house. When I got an email telling me to take action to “Stop the Outlawing of Organic Farming”, the first thing I did was to look up the bill to read it for myself to see if I could figure out what it was about.

If you don’t have legal training, understanding the implications of these things can be hard. Even if you can figure out what they are saying, projecting the possible scenarios that could be a result of the policy is often a stretch, even for well-educated people. After reading the bill along with some interpretations by a few sources that have a record of presenting balanced information (such as the Organic Consumers Association website), my take on this bill is that it is troublesome - not because it might put organic farmers out of business, but because it attempts to address symptoms (food safety problems caused by industrial farming) rather than causes (industrial farming). But how do you fix industrial farming? Industrial farms are typically large corporations; corporations are required by law to make decisions that will profit shareholders. So despite the common perception that global corporations comprise some sort of evil empire, they are only acting as they were meant to do.

But this is an easy fix you say. All we need to do is make a law that forces corporations to consider other things besides profit! If you’ve heard of the triple bottom line - people, planet, profit – you probably understand this as an attempt to do just that. But how do you legislate “people” and “planet”? In our current system, the way to do it is through putting a price on these things so that it becomes unprofitable to exploit people or the environment. This is what cap and trade systems, EPA fines, and other policy-driven approaches have been attempting to do since the 70’s. Unfortunately, a look any any graph that describes the progress of deforestation, depleted fisheries, species extinction, atmospheric carbon, etc. over the last 40 years will tell you that these approaches have not been as effective as we would like them to be.

So the big burning question becomes: why do things keep getting worse when we all really want them to get better? (I’m assuming that for the most part, even the CEO’s of big corporations don’t really want to destroy the planet)

I think its because, as a culture, we’ve delegated our moral and ethical responsibilities to a system that is unable to consider these things in its decision-making processes. Though there may have been good reasons for separating church and state, it may also be that we’ve thrown out the baby with the bathwater by creating a system that separates the valuing of life and community from the profit-making motive. In some ways, it seems to me that the “sustainability movement” is, in effect a new religion that is attempting to instill a collective consciousness that bypasses the legal system and makes it unprofitable for any corporation to disregard the effects of its profit-making on the people and the planet.

Some ways people are doing this are by:

Refusing to buy goods from companies that disregard human rights and cause pollution

Deciding that happiness does not come from purchasing consumer goods but, instead comes from becoming part of and contributing to a thriving and vibrant local community

Becoming less dependant on large corporations by taking personal responsibility for providing ourselves with at least some of the things we need such as by growing our own food or making our own clothes.

So even though the the science and the graphs are terrifying in their implications, I am encouraged by these signs of change and hopeful that the time will soon come when we won’t need to worry about what those corporations are doing because it will be in their best interests to consider the impacts of their decisions on both the people and the planet in order to be profitable.

Spudware or Silverware?

2009-03-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Our campus Dining Services offers the options of spudware and silverware eating utensils. The spudware was introduced as an alternative to plastic utensils, which patrons would use for to-go orders. They are conveniently placed throughout the food service area and are more readily accessible than the regular silverware.

I think this is a great step in the right direction. But, it begins to make me question just which of the two are more ecofriendly? I don't claim to know the facts, but I believe I can ask some insightful questions regarding the pros/cons of each to start a dialogue:

which one has a more environmentally-friendly manufacturing/production process?
even though the spudware will biodegrade, it only does so if its composted correctly -- if proper systems aren't in place to ensure this, are we perhaps creating more waste in the landfills?
supposedly some spudware is highly durable and can be reused -- but is exposing these possibly porous materials to cleaning chemicals potentially harmful to humans?
let's say silverware is better because its reusable -- but what's the affect on the environment caused by all of the water, energy and chemicals used to clean them?

I think these questions lay the groundwork for a dialogue about the eating utensils issue. And I definitely welcome feedback and insight from the experts out there.

Spirited Organic Cotton

2009-03-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

On Friday, February 20, 2009 the Boxer women’s and men’s basketball teams took on University of Puget Sound. During the games the Pacific University Student Alumni Relations Council launched a total of 50 free t-shirts in to the stands.

These were not ordinary t-shirts however; they were intentionally selected organic cotton t-shirts printed at a local printing company.

Why did we intentionally select organic cotton, not only for these shirts, but for most of the promotional shirts used at our events and distributed to our alumni?

In short because “the fabric of our lives” can have a significant impact on the health of the earth, animals, other plant and humans.

Prior to the advent of modern chemical pesticides, cotton production was a fairly low-impact industry.

However, after World War II the use powerful pesticides became common. In addition chemicals are now used to fertilize soil, keep weeds at bay and as a defoliant since leaves must be removed before cotton is harvested. Add wasteful irrigation practices and genetically modified seeds and we have recipe for environmental havoc.

Use of chemicals in conventional farming has been linked to a myriad of environmental issues including global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer.

There is concern that pesticide use is connected with the loss of bee colonies in the United States and it is estimated that more than 67 million bird deaths are linked with pesticides each year.

The list goes on …

Organic cotton represents an attempt to recapture simpler cotton farming practices. Organic cotton is grown with non-GMO seeds (that have not been pre-treated with fungicides or pesticides) planted in soil made strong through the age-old practice of crop rotation. A lack of synthetic fertilizers means the soil can more absorb water, necessitating less irrigation. Weeds are prevented by careful cultivation and hand hoeing. Pests are driven off by introduction of beneficial insects. Defoliation usually occurs naturally with first freeze.

So the lucky Boxer fans who caught Spirit Night t-shirts on Friday, caught more than a free t-shirt. Fifty luck fans also caught our commitment to the earth and its inhabitants in selecting organic cotton.

T-shirts produced by Anvil Organic and printed at EvolTwin Printing.

Marketing Sustainability

2009-02-27T09:21:00.000-08:00

How do you market your organization's sustainability efforts? More importantly, is it worth it? Right now, it seems that sustainability is the "hip and trendy" thing to do. Companies are jumping on the "green wagon" and riding environmentalism into the sunset. They've got a vehicle made out of renewable resources, organic food for the journey and recycle/green logos stamped all over the place. How do we authentically show that we're being green, not just to be green, but because that's who we are?

At Pacific, we choose to print as many of our publications on recycled paper as much as possible. We work closely with printers to choose the right balance of green and green -- sustainable yet affordable. We're looking into options of how to communicate more electronically, to reduce the consumption of paper and ink. And we're also investigating materials for other products, such as banners and promotional items, that have the lowest impact on the environment.

But how do we show this to the larger community? Do we stamp the recycle logo and our commitment to sustainability statement on every piece? We want to show that we truly are thinking about sustainability, but we don't want to hit you over the head with it. We've been doing it for years. Its been a silent story here. And I still wonder, what's the best way to share it...

Going Green the Vegan Way - is it sustainable?

2009-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

I have been a vegetarian for 20 years. About a year and a half ago I changed my eating habits to include more organic foods and removed all dairy products from my diet, making that subtle change to a vegan. Quite a bit of discussion has been given to this topic and I wanted to share a nuance that some may see as not sustainable! *Taken from the Good Human

Sustainability and waste of resources. More than 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow go to feed animals. If that food were to go to humans instead, it would be enough to feed everyone in the world. Another fact: half the water used in the United States and nearly 80 percent of the land are used to raise animals.
Eating animals causes global warming. A major report by the University of Chicago in 2006 found that adopting a vegan diet has a greater impact in the fight against global warming than switching to a hybrid car does.
Worker rights. The fast line speeds, dirty killing floors, and lack of training make animal-processing plants some of the most dangerous places to work in America today. Nearly one in three slaughterhouse workers suffers from illness or injury every year, compared to one in 10 workers in other manufacturing jobs. The rate of repetitive stress injury for slaughterhouse employees is 35 times higher than it is for those with other manufacturing jobs.
World hunger. Land, water and other resources that could be used to feed humans are being used to grow crops for farmed animals instead. Crops that could be used to feed the hungry are instead being used to fatten farm animals raised for food. Eating meat is inherently inefficient, as it takes 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of flesh. And because the industrial world is exporting grain to developing countries and importing the meat that is produced with it, farmers who are trying to feed themselves are being driven off their land.

So, what do you think? I think it makes a great case for why sustainable practice should include diet!?!?

Pacific Students Start Community Dialogue on Sustainability

2009-02-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

This month saw six Pacific students (myself included) organized the Washington County Sustainability Summit at Pacific University - a two-day event that engaged locally elected officials and community organizers in a dialogue about environmental issues with Pacific students and Washington County residents. Topics covered at during the Summit included everything from preparing our region for peak oil and higher energy prices, to environmental and social justice issues connected with the Palomar Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline proposed to cut through Forest Grove.

Pacific's own Professor Terry O'Day and Miguel Cervantes, coordinator for the B St Farm Permaculture Project, spoke about the role permaculture can play in making our communities more sustainable. A panel of local government officials representing the Washington County Board, Metro, and the cities of Forest Grove, Beaverton, and Hillsboro explained what local governments are doing in our area to save energy, and what still remains to be done. Community organizers such as Peter Lunsford of Washington County Peak Oil and Olivia Schmidt of Columbia Riverkeeper urged listeners to get involved in sustainability initiatives that have the potential to transform our local area. These were just a few of the knowledgeable and inspirational speakers who came to Pacific to participate in the Summit.

To me, though, the true test of the Sustainability Summit's success will be in how it triggers future involvement in projects with the potential to make change - on the Pacific campus and beyond. I'm happy to report that so far I personally have seen Pacific students getting delve into the issue of Liquefied Natural Gas development and attend a community meeting on peak oil as a direct result of activities at the Summit. The event also helped consolidate a new student group, the Pacific University Cascade Climate Network, which will continue to build on the foundation laid by the Sustainability Summit by involving Pacific students in the most important environmental issues facing our local community.

The message of the Sustainability Summit seemed to be that our area is well positioned to become a leader in green initiatives. Washington County's plentiful farmland and proximity to the new clean energy in Oregon means the community perfectly placed to invest in locally grown food and renewable energy projects. Meanwhile our very own Pacific University, as the only major institute of higher in the county, has a unique opportunity to move the regional sustainability movement forward. It is my hope that this month's Sustainability Summit is a harbinger of things to come: of a future in which Pacific University is seen as a vital player in building a new and greener future for our region. Let the story continue!

Special thanks to Pacific students Olivia Round, Brenda Mbaabu, Guthrie Straw, Mikaila Way, and Jordan Nakayama for helping make the Sustainabiliy Summit happen, and to Professors Deke Gundersen and Terry O'Day for their support. For further updates on initiatives inspired by the Summit, please visit http://sustainwacounty.blogspot.com/

Living Green

2009-02-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

So upon our arrival to Gilbert Hall in late August of 2008, I was excited to see that many of the sustainable features of the building blended into the overall aesthetic so well. The technology incorporated in the building does not intrude upon the students' lives, and this is why I think the students here at Pacific University are so receptive to our efforts to lead sustainable lives. Students, in my experience, have come to realize that simple adjustments to everyday habits and behaviors are contributing to the greater good.
With a recycling room on each floor, the residents have been doing really well at separating their non-recyclable items, and then even taking the step further to separate their recyclable items into their proper containers. The Resident Assistants have put up signage indicating what items are recyclable and which containers to use. Not only does recycling eliminate waste in landfills, it slows the number of times the kitchen trash has to be taken out!
As we closed the building for Winter Break, several students either stopped by or sent me an email to get some information on what an appropriate temperature to set their thermostat would be. Several students have commented on how they keep their thermostats set at lower temperatures during the academic year, and just add on another sweatshirt or blanket when the outdoor temperature takes a dip.
Lights and electronic devices in the common areas are all set to timers or motion sensors to reduce the amount of electricity the building uses. Additionally, students seem to be taking this into consideration as well, because a look from the outside of the building doesn't show many windows illuminated on a constant basis. Knowing that my residents and neighbors are all pretty busy people and are often elsewhere on campus or in the community, it's nice to see that lights are turned off in the apartments when no one is home.
The idea of bringing your own flatware or dishes to programming is catching on as well. Not only does this save me some $$ in my programming budget by not having to buy disposable or paper-goods, it's doing the environment a favor as well. BYOB (bring your own bowl) ice cream parties have been sponsored by the Gilbert staff as well as the Gilbert Hall Council.
Many residents may have chosen to live in Gilbert because it was the newest building with the best amenities, but throughout our time during our first year in Gilbert, I think students have built some skills and habits that will carry-over to living elsewhere on campus or beyond upon their graduation from Pacific. While there is always more we can do as a group or as an individual, I'm proud of the efforts the Gilbert residents have made this year, and I think their efforts have been contagious to other residence halls on campus.

Sustainability can be simple

2009-02-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

The work of building a sustainable environment and neighborhood is something that should start close to home. It goes beyond just recycling in some ways and can be as simple as picking up trash in your neighborhood or on campus. Taking pride in your surroundings helps you to take pride to a global level and work to take care of our earth.

Pacific University is a beautiful campus. One that all students, faculty and staff should and do take pride in. Helping keep it beautiful is everyone's responsibility. Not littering is a start, picking up litter as you see it is another. Joining in on the orientation event every August, and "Sprucing Up the Grove, is yet another. There are also several groups on campus that have "Adopt A Road" programs and they get out and help keep our roads in and out of Forest Grove looking good. So join them or get your own group together.

So as you walk on Pacific's campus, whether it be the Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Portland or Eugene site, take pride and help keep our environment looking its best. Do your part, it is up to all of us.

Welcome!

2009-02-03T13:20:00.001-08:00

This blog exists as a forum to foster collaborative, fluid dialogue around the topic of sustainability. The authors are experts and shapers of Pacific's sustainable practices. They look forward to sharing thoughts and anecdotes that we hope will spark further inquiry into this important subject. We invite you to respond and play an active role in this conversation.

Disclaimer:
The opinions on this site are not intended to represent the views of Pacific University as a whole. They are instead meant to spark civil discourse and active academic inquiry into sustainable issues. We offer this forum as a place where we can offer up insight, inspiration and ideas and as a place where we can move toward creative solutions as a community.