w w -- IM Wednsday Novembes,200//Thtaemn Wednesday, November 10, 2010 // The Statement news in review Five of the most talked-about stories of the week, ranked in ascending order of actual importance AN EFFORT IN SUSTAINABILITY he environment has long been a concern to faculty and admin- istrators at the University. it can be seen in efforts to encourage recycling in the residence halls or in policies that require eco-friendly construction of buildings. But amid growingnational support for sustain- ability, President Mary Sue Coleman has recently vocalized her desire to increase the amount of effort and attention the University community places on the environment. "With the pressing challenge of climate change, we are elevating our emphasis on sustainability at Michigan," Coleman said in a 2009 press release. "From teaching and research, to hands-on engagement, we are going to leverage our many strengths so we can make significant contributions to solving a genuinely complicated problem." To accomplish these goals, the University is taking a three-pronged approach that explores a balance between daily activities and lifestyles and Earth's resources and processes, focusing specifically on education, research and campus operations. The ultimate goal is to manage the devel- opment of both the University and the world at large in a way that will promote the health and wellbeing of the planet. CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT To ensure this goal is a University- wide commitment and not simply a student-activist effort, Coleman cre- ated the office of Sustainability last year and established a new position, Special Counsel to the President for Sustainability. Engineering professor Don Scavia, who also serves as direc- tor of the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, was the first to be chosen for the role. Scavia has been using resources provided by the Graham Institute - ail interdisciplinary partnership that manages and coordinates the Univer- sity's sustainability initiative - and working with the Office of Campus Sustainability to evaluate the cam- pus's current carbon footprint. This work comprises the Campus Sus- tainability Integrated Assessment, through the Environmental Sustain- ability Executive Council Coleman created in October of last year. "The long-term goal is to support the kind of research that can help tackle some of those complicated sus- move the Universit tainability problems in the globe and ward in our cam to have a more sustainable campus so efforts." Recently that we're actually walking the talk the project into Ph as we go forward," Scavia said in a with the initiative' phone interview. In Phase Two To accomplish these goals, Scavia is looking to devi is working alongside faculty, staff and eral areas based o students on the Campus Sustainabili- synthesized from ty Integrated Assessment to research possible goal is and make recommendations in seven sustainable buildir core areas: buildings, energy sources, plans on projects t transportation, land and water, food, $10 million, decrea purchasing and recycling and cul- bicides and pestici ture, according to the Graham Insti- locally grown food tute's website. A final report will be printed and shared once the assess- EDUCATION A ment is completed. The University Despite the chaotic schedule that several hundred c( accompanies his multiple roles at the graduate and un University, Scavia is passionate about that focus on sust the environment and his ability to ing to the Offic help it. He has been interested in the ity's website, and t subject since he was an undergradu- Environment is t ate, and had worked for the federal LSA major. government on environmental policy But Scavia wan for 30 years before comingto the Uni- education about versity as a professor. initiative doesn't e "One of the things that I came to students who majo learn through all that process was that do this, he puttoget focusing on the environmentby itself is inar about sustain not going to get us very far in terms of along with the Ce overall sustainability," he said. "Butyou on Learning and7 really need to bring together perspec- wants to bring mo tives from the environment, from the directly into the ci economy and from the social structures and policy making to really move for- 'FOCUSING ward in sustainability." In order to bring together these ITSELF IS N( different perspectives, Coleman's sustainability initiative is just as VERY FAR" dependent on student minds as it is on distinguished faculty. About 45 students hired by the Graham insti- Scavia and the E tute were divided into seven faculty- tee are working w led teams to discuss solutions to these the University to d various issues. Their ideas were then es in sustainability divided into five main categories: Natural Resources climate, human health, ecosystem ment taking the le health, materials footprint and com- and education fron munity awareness. These students "The instructio work with University Operations covers a much lar staff to examine what is being done campus sustainab on campus now and what can be done is essentially globa in the future. and its ambition," "(Their job is to) put together .a al, a professor and set of recommendations for Presi- dean in the SNRE. dent Coleman on establishing a set of The SNRE has sustainability goals for the campus," in recent years cr Scavia said. a larger staff and Scavia said in a University press courses to meet its release that the first phase of the unique obstacle to project was about "generating well- evolving issues informed ideas that could potentially faces. offered clas ty of Michigan for- pus sustainability Scavia has moved hase Two, satisfied s progress. , the University elop plans in sev- n the information Phase One. One developing more ng and renovation with new information and issues, Argawal said. Agrawal further explained that SNRE will expand in newly devel- oping areas of research, like climate change and ecosystem services, to bring the University to "the fore- front of research of the most impor- tant environmental challenges that emerge." that cost less thanO OPERATIONS AND sing its use of her- CO-CURRICULAR EDUCATION ides and buy more To meet the demands of Coleman's for the University. initiative, Scavia has been working with the Office of Campus Sustain- ND RESEARCH ability to study campus behavior and currently offers discuss possible initiatives in town ourses at both the hall meetings. dergraduate level in Phase One of the assessment, ainability, accord- the analysis teams received about 200 e of Sustainabil- students ideas, comments and sug- he Program in the gestions through these meetings and he fastest-growing online, accordingto a University press release. In order to gather and imple- its to ensure that ment more ideas and information, the the environment University also hosted an eventin July nd with only those to examine similar initiatives at other r in the subject. To universities and organizations. ther a provostsem- While these town hall meetings ability last spring are open to the entire University nter for Research community, many of the participants Teaching. He also are members of the Student Sus- re green education tainability Initiative - an entirely assroom. student-based project made up of students across ON TH EENV RO M NT colleges and ON THE ENVIRONMENT disciplines to )T GOING TO GET US spread environ- mental aware- tory for implementing sustainabil- ity improvements on campus, kind of like starting close to home," she said. "And if we can be successful here, then people can gobe successful else- where." THE GREEN WOLVERINE Within the masses of the sustain- ability initiative as well as the indi- viduals in the SNRE, there seems to be a consensus that in order for any- thing to actually happen, a cultural and social change is necessary. "There's only so much you can do with tweaking the technologies, alot of what we need to do is get people more aware of turning off the water, turning off the light, just changing their behaviors to become more sus- tainable," Scavia said. To this end, there is a team of people doing research on incentives that can be implemented to promote conservation as a way of thinking. Researchers are also workingto over- come the challenge of measuring the obscure and elusive factor that is the culture of sustainability. Agrawal said what the campus needs is to promote awareness of environmental sustainability and sustainability issues, coupled with activities that encourage student par- ticipation. "So I think by participating in work that is environmentally con- scious and environmentally positive, we can create a culture among our students that makes sustainability a more important value for everyone," he said. "Consciousness alone doesn't do it, you have to encourage things to happen." The University has promoted environmental awareness and social change through its annual Energy Fest, where students can learn about "energy conservation, energy effi- ciency and alternative energy tech- nologies," according to the Utilities and Plant Operations website. The University also took part in Earth Fest, an event to promote sustainabil- ity through various fun educational activities. Scavia said one of his additional goals is to make the University more appealing for potential students interested in learning about environ- mental issues to build a foundation for future careers or simply to imple- ment into day-to-day life. But he also See SUSTAINABILITY, Page 8B Queen Elizabeth II, the 84-year- old British monarch, joined Facebook, updating the people who frequent her page on her daily goings-on as of Monday. The Queen will appear in videos, photos and news items. Australia's national carrier Qantas Minnesota, Tennessee and Ohio grounded six double-decker A380 officials arrested 29 members of a planes - the world's newest and Somali sex-trafficking ring accused largest airliner - after an engine of forcing girls as young as 13 into burst shortly into a flight. The com- prostitution for money and drugs. pany has discovered engine leaks The ring is believed to have been in three Rolls-Royce engines. recruiting girls since 2000. r ------ ------ ------ ---- Hundreds of people in Haiti have died over the last few weeks from a cholera outbreak, for which U.N. peacekeepers might be responsible. Under this suspicion, hundreds of Haitians protested the peacekeepers last week. The incoming GOP majority plans to take action to block as much of President Obama's health care bill as it can, including taking steps to make sure the IRS can't enforce the provision that makes buying health insurance mandatory. 0 imlof 1 1111117 11 [111 1 17.1 1 1111 111 1 12111 3 7 5 6 7 8 7 7 T .. 10 quotes of the week "One day you're world champions, and the next day, no toys for you." DANIEL CONWAY, spokesman for the California Restaurant Association,on his reaction to San Francisco's decision to ban restaurants from giving away toys with meals that don't meet certain nutrition restrictions. "Tomorrow, I'll be back where I truly belong - indoors, under artificial light." CONAN O'BRIEN, talk show host, writing on his Twitter the same day his new show debuted on TBS. "No placards, no flags, no shouting and no slogans. Only kissing allowed." A FACEBOOK PAGE FOR SPANISH GAYS AND LESBIANS, organizing a homosexual kiss-in when Pope Benedict XVI visits Spain this weekend, call- ing it a "queer kissing flashmob." the rules No. 287: No. 288: No. 289: Yes! It's finally Ugg V.v.V makes a It's been a really season, lobster in Gchat, long time. By now Seriously, though, you should know check it out. how to Dougie. on the cheap going green on the cheap Executive Commit- 'ith schools across develop new cours- 'with the School of and the Environ- ad on the research it. n of sustainability ger stage (than the ility initiative). It al in its orientation said Arun Agraw- research associate expanded greatly eating the need for a wider variety of students' needs. A SNRE is the ever- the environment sses must keep up ness and to promote change on campus. SSI also helps organize numerous sus- tainability projects thatvarious cam- pus organizations undertake. Lisa Pappas, marketing commu- nications specialist for the Graham Environmental Sustainability Insti- tute, said the overall campus sus- tainability initiative, as proposed by President Coleman and directed by Scavia, is about taking action to become a more sustainable soci- ety so that it can lead by example in green initiatives occuring across the country. The Integrated Assessment project among others at the Univer- sity can research and define ways the University can be used as a potential test run and showcase of ideas to help the environment on a larger scale. "It's just a very good opportunity to use the campus as a living labora- T he University has gone to great lengths to promote environmental awareness. But even though many students want to become "Green Wolverines," organic food and clothing can often come with a large price tag. But there are a lot of ways to stay green without break- ing your budget. First, buying organic food is good not only for the environment, but for your body as well. Some healthfood stores can be expensive, but try Trader Joe's organic food, or the People's Food Co-Op for less expensive organic options. Also, make sure to bring your own bags to the grocery store. Or, if those stores are too expensive for you, you could always try growing your own vegetables. In terms of non-perishable items, like clothes and furniture, staying green on the cheap is extremely easy: reuse as much as possible. Consider going to second-hand stores to buy new things, or simply reuse what you already own. Don't worry, the stains add character. There are also some day-to-day ways to stay green that don't cost anything: Turn off lights and appliances when you leave the room and carpool, walk or bike whenever possible. Have advice for life on the cheap? Let us know E-mail onthecheap@umich.edu. byCOURTESY OF BBC.COM The number of cholera patients who The number of people whose lives have The number of suspected cholera cases in the are currently in a hospital in Haiti, as been claimed by the recent cholera out- Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, as of Monday of Monday night. break in Haiti, as of Monday night. night.