Sustainability, environmental education
This University took real steps in 2009, as former interim chancellor David Ward liked to say, in reclaiming its 1970s title as “Eco U” and reaffirming its commitment to environmental education for the 21st century.
UW-Green Bay launched EMBI, the Environmental Management and Business Institute. Chancellor-designate Harden flew in to Green Bay for the “Green Innovations” kickoff symposium on the 40th Earth Day in April 2009; the University held its second annual symposium on Earth Day 2010. EMBI has provided a useful hub for increasing the number of student internships, faculty research grants, public-education initiatives and green collaborations. EMBI also began offering a new certificate program for undergrads.
Other “green” developments of 2009-10:
- When Gov. Jim Doyle’s updated his “off the grid” timetable in December, the resulting publicity was positive, for this campus. While he had to back away from his ambitious 2006 prediction of UW-Green Bay energy self-sufficiency by 2012, the Governor did call attention to our one-third reduction in energy use since that time, double-digit reductions in carbon emissions and progress on other key environmental indicators;
- Students committed to the “U-Pass” mass transit initiative after a one-year trial. Largely through a voluntary increase in student fees, free bus ridership is now available via Green Bay Transit to all holders of a University ID card;
- Our 2009-10 Common Theme, “Realizing our Sustainable Future,” was enthusiastically embraced, with well-attended lectures, fine arts performances and special events all addressing environmental topics;
- Facilities Management piloted a test run of biodiesel in the campus boilers; the tests were successful, and could be revisited if rising fuel prices make this alternative economically viable;
- The sustainable food movement took hold with a student-led push to convert landscaping beds outside the University Union to vegetable gardens, producing fresh produce for our dining service. Additionally, our food service provider contracted with a small local dairy for milk, a change well-received by student consumers;
- The University’s Center for Food in Community and Culture collaborated on a book with chapters contributed by faculty across the institution, addressing issues in sustainable agriculture, health and food economics;
- Staff members took the lead in everyday recycling and instituted new campaigns creating central collection points for both batteries and toner cartridges;
- Grad student Adam Snippen helped change the law and close an environmental loophole. He testified and contributed research on behalf of AB 256 banning used oil filters and absorbent materials from landfill disposal, potentially preventing hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste oil from entering the system. The law takes effect this year;
- Last fall, grad students in the Capstone Seminar in Environmental Policy spurred public dialog (full-page coverage in the Green Bay Press-Gazette) with their report on climate change and the potential real-world fallout from slightly warmer temperatures in Northeastern Wisconsin.
Deserving of its own mention among the year’s green innovations was the decision this spring by the Computing and Information Technology to make Century Gothic (instead of Arial) the new default e-mail typeface.
The headline on the first AP report — ‘Here’s a legal way to print money: change the font’ — touched off worldwide publicity. Inquiries from universities, government agencies, businesses and private citizens followed.
From the outset, UW-Green Bay spokespeople acknowledged they didn’t expect savings to be huge. CIT staff calculated the institution purchases about 1,000 ink and toner cartridges per year, at a total cost of roughly $100,000, and in theory most users aren’t supposed to be printing out many emails. But a savings of even a few percentage points with a less ink-intensive typeface could save a few thousand dollars. And it certainly touched off great discussion of the underlying concept of sustainability: small choices, made every day, add up to big things.
This University took real steps in 2009...in reclaiming its 1970s title as “Eco U” and reaffirming its commitment to environmental education for the 21st century.
