Another fantastic semester has come to a close! Several key events took place this fall, and many more are underway for the coming year.  Below is a brief summary of the activities that the Office of Environmental Policy hosted and participated in, encouraging sustainability and environmental awareness.

Green Game Day

On September 7^th, almost 50 volunteers gathered to promote recycling at the Green Game Day for UConn Football versus Stony Brook.  Everyone who came to the game enjoyed seeing a closely contested 19-16 UConn victory.  The volunteers teamed up in groups to pick up recyclables at each of the tailgating lots.  This allowed for an interactive learning opportunity for the wider community regarding everything that UConn does to be more environmentally conscience. For more information, click here.

Climate March

On Sunday, September 21^st, over 80 UConn students participated along with 400,000 others in the People’s Climate March (PCM) in New York City. The march was organized, leading up to the UN Climate Summit on September 23^rd, to raise awareness about and form a united front against climate change. UConn’s participation in the march was a reflection on both the university’s goals to protect our local environmental and our planet.  To see more pictures and read one of our interns’ perspective on joining the march, please click here.

EcoMadness

Two all-time EcoMadness records, the most volunteer Eco-Captains we’ve had in the past five years, and a lot of UConn Dairy Bar ice cream highlighted this year’s EcoMadness Competition. The winners cut down water usage to an incredible 17.9 gallons of water used per student (Grange/Hicks), reduced water consumption by 20% per capita (Troy/Shakespeare), and conserved energy by 23% (Buckley). These impressive reductions were made possible by increased collaboration with residence assistants and student leadership through Eco-Captains. If you would like to learn more about this year’s competition click here!

Sustainability Report

This fall also saw the release of UConn’s very first sustainability report. Through a collaborative effort, the report highlights both the university’s environmental outreach efforts as well as a wide range of sustainability metrics from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) survey. Click here to access the 2014 Sustainability Report.

UConn will celebrate Arbor Day in a big way in 2015!

Stemming from the enthusiasm of the UConn Arboretum Committee, UConn has a deeply rooted tradition of campus tree care and species diversity.  By branching out and becoming the first school in Connecticut to receive the Tree Campus USA recognition, UConn has committed to sprucing up campus and increasing public outreach in regard to campus trees.

The process of completing our re-certification application for the National Arbor Foundation’s Tree Campus USA program is currently underway. In addition, the UConn Office of Environmental Policy recently submitted a contest application to the National Arbor Day Foundation outlining how we would celebrate Arbor Day in 2015. Through this competition, UConn had a chance to win $500 of funding and outreach materials to celebrate Arbor Day on campus. UConn was selected as a finalist by the Arbor Day Foundation and was eventually voted a winner after receiving almost 3,000 votes nationwide! This was a great accomplishment considering the hundreds of Tree Campus USA schools competing. Ten schools in total won the contest, divided based on campus population into small and large school categories.

Winners in the large school category include Colorado State University, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Vermont, University of Connecticut, and University of Alaska-Anchorage. Winners in the small school category include Berry College, University of Alaska-Monticello, Washington & Jefferson College, Wabash Valley College, and Morrisville State College.  Check out the official winner’s page here!

The contest prizes will ensure an even larger audience for UConn’s Arbor Day Celebration than last year. In 2014, the Arbor Day Celebration was held on Earth Day (April 22^nd) in conjunction with Earth Day Spring Fling, a campus-wide environmental event showcasing various student organizations, campus dining, and eco-friendly third party vendors. This year, UConn plans to utilize the contest prizes to hold an outreach event focusing on campus trees and their maintenance.

We are currently working on some exciting ways to celebrate Arbor Day 2015 and hope you will be excited as well! With your help, our sports teams won’t be the only seeded programs in April.  If you have any questions or ideas for how we could celebrate Arbor Day or would like to participate, please contact UConn’s Office of Environmental Policy at EnvPolicy@uconn.edu.

-Chris Bruno

Two all-time EcoMadness records, the most volunteer Eco-Captains we’ve had in the past five years, and a lot of UConn Dairy Bar ice cream wrapped up UConn’s 8^th annual, world-famous EcoMadness Competition!  Congratulations to Troy/Shakespeare, Grange/Hicks, Buckley, and Chandler/Lancaster, winners in each of the four coveted award categories during this one-month, inter-dorm, energy and water conservation competition!

A big shout out to residents of Grange/Hicks, who set an all-time EcoMadness record for water conservation with an incredible 17.9 gallons of water used per student over the course of the competition, earning a resounding first place in this category!  That’s just over half the gallons used per day, per student by most previous EcoMadness winners in this category and about a quarter of the daily water consumption for the average college student in the U.S.! Sprague/EcoHouse (East) and Russell (Northwest) claimed 2^nd and 3^rd place in the water usage per student category. Sprague also broke the previous EcoMadness record.

In the overall per capita rate of water reduction category, Sprague held onto first place through most of the competition, with Terry (Northwest), Alsop (West), and Troy/Shakespeare (West) following closely behind.  However, in the final week of the competition, Troy/Shakespeare (West) overtook the competition, leaving EcoHouse out of a first place finish in any of the four  EcoMadness categories for the first time in five years.  Tory/Shakespeare claimed first place with an outstanding 20% reduction.

In the energy reduction category, Buckley, the first-year Honors program dorm in East, surged from second place to first in the last week, finishing with an impressive 23% energy use reduction, also a new EcoMadness record! A pair of Buckley Eco-Captains created an Honors Eco Tie Dye event to raise awareness and team spirit. They focused their tie-dye discussion on simple ways to conserve resources in their daily lives — given their record energy-saving results, must have succeeded. Chandler/Lancaster (West) took first place in the energy usage per student category with 3.23 kWh of energy used per student.

Needless to say, in this the 8^th annual EcoMadness competition, the 2014 winners have raised the bar! Compared to EcoMadness 2013, the winners particularly excelled in two categories:

• Energy use – reduction from 6.4% (2013) to 23% (2014)
• Per capita water use – from 31.9 gallons per student (2013) to 17.9 gallons per student (2014)

These impressive reductions can be explained by a number of factors, the most important of which was increased collaboration and student leadership. This year, the Office of Environmental Policy focused more on meeting directly with area councils and residence assistants to help spread the word. Additionally, more students got involved as Eco-Captains this year than in the previous 4 or 5 years, helping to boost awareness and friendly competition among their fellow student residents.

Looking back eight years ago, during the first EcoMadness, only seven dorms from South campus were included in the competition. With a 6% reduction in energy and water computation, their results seem feeble compared to the over 20% reductions seen in recent years.  It was not until 2007, when the competition expanded to 23 dorms, including Northwest, Towers, and Shippee, that Eco-Captains became part of the event.  The effects of the Eco-Captains could be seen in 2008 when the energy and water reduction increased to 10%.  Since then, percentage reductions have been on the rise.  The dramatic increases in energy and water reductions over the years reflect Eco-Captain involvement, proving the importance of peer-to-peer student engagement and leadership.

Thank you to student Eco-Captains: Haley Brennan, Emily Napear, Haris Qureshi, Adrianna Antigiovanni, Benjamin Breslau, Kassra Farahbakhshian, Kimberly Armstrong, Esther Kim, Joan Bosma, Miranda Squillace, Brianna Costello, and Christopher Tan! Without your support, hard work, leadership and passion during the competition, EcoMadness would not have been as successful. All of you were outstanding!

Although the competition is over, continue to keep up the great work and remember to continue conserving water and energy! To the four winners, congratulations again and we hope you enjoyed your ice cream party – check out scenes from a few of the parties below! You should all be very proud of yourselves for demonstrating excellent conservation and sustainable lifestyle practices. Great job, everybody!

Matt DeLeon is a 1^st semester ARE major and a student in OEP Director Rich Miller’s Honors UNIV course in Environmental Sustainability.  He attended Anthony Leiserowitz’s Teale Lecture on Nov. 20^th, and wrote this reflection, as a voluntary class assignment.

Anthony Leiserowitz’s lecture entitled, Climate Change in the American Mind, was extremely worthwhile to attend and was quite possibly one of the most unique and important perspectives that I have heard on the global warming issue to date. Leiserowitz is the Director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and a Research Scientist at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. His talk to the UConn community was less about the “science” behind global warming, but more about how it is perceived by Americans, and why it has caused so much debate.

Leiserowitz opened the lecture with his “Big 5 Beliefs about Climate Change.” These five beliefs amount to only ten words, but encapsulate what he believes are the five salient facts that all Americans should know about climate change. They are as follows: It’s real, it’s us, it’s bad, scientists agree, there’s hope. This idea simply conveys to the public that climate change is occurring due to human activities, that it is actually causing harm, which all scientists agree on, while there still is a chance to stop and possibly reverse the negative effects, if the global community acts now. I thought that this message was extremely powerful, because most people are apathetic to global warming because they think that it is too complex for them to understand, but by just remembering these five short facts, any American can learn the truth about global warming.

I also found the many statistics that Leiserowitz presented to be very interesting and a great enhancement to the presentation. One of the first statistics that he shared was that, according to his research, 66% of Americans think that climate change is real, while 18% believed that it is not real. He also shared with UConn the fact that only 50% of Americans believe that global warming is caused by human effects and that a mere 11% responded that they are “very worried” about climate change. Many of these results can be explained by the fact that it is impossible to visually “see” climate change. Leiserowitz explained that most people associate climate change with melting polar ice, which is why that image frequents media outlets, but this leads to a major problem. Polar ice is distant to most Americans and the fact that it is melting seems to be much less important than finding a job, protecting ourselves against terrorism, or paying off college loans. He also stated that these photos tend to not show human beings, so climate change is perceived to not be a threat to humans. Leiserowitz believes that these false notions are why climate change action has not gained much momentum in the United States, as its consequences on human health are not fully recognized or understood by the public and it is seen merely as a partisan political issue.

There has been a fairly significant decline in the belief and or significance of climate change over the past few years as well. Leiserowitz explained that the poor economy and unemployment played a key role in this trend, as well as declining media coverage. He proposed that most Americans learn about climate change via the media, since it is more of a scientific issue and most Americans don’t know a scientist, so media outlets are their only sources of information, since they do not read scientific journals either. If the media stops reporting on global warming, the public will not hear about it as much and not see it as a big deal. Within the past year, however, the American people have started to think about global warming more, as the economy has improved and the media coverage has increased. Another critical factor is that there have been many major weather events that hit Americans hard over the past two or three years. Hurricanes that caused a lot of damage in places that normally do not experience hurricanes, like New England, occurred twice, with Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy. These storms were accompanied by the snowstorm, Nemo, in the winter of 2013. These weather occurrences can actually be felt by the public and sparked interest in this issue, as a hurricane in your backyard resonates better with Americans than melting polar ice, thousands of miles away.

One of Leiserowitz’s other salient points in the lecture was that there are “Six Americas” when it comes to global warming. They consists of those who are alarmed (16%), concerned (27%), cautious (23%), disengaged (5%), doubtful (12%), and dismissive (15%). These numbers are somewhat optimistic because they reveal that the two highest categories consist of people who are concerned, or at least cautious about the effects of global warming. However, the problem with having “Six Americas” when it comes to this issue, according to Leiserowitz, is that there is not a unified conversation going on about the issue. For those who are alarmed or concerned, the conversation revolves around “what can we do to stop it?”, while the cautious and disengaged are more focused on “how does it affect me?” The final group consisting of the doubtful and dismissive are more interrogative and are simply asking, “is it real?” The lesson to be learned from the “Six Americas” of climate change is that if action is to be effectively and immediately taken, the country needs to be, for the most part unified, and have related dialogues.

Overall, the lecture by Anthony Leiserowitz was extremely worthwhile and definitely changed the way that I look at global warming and how I will talk about and approach the issue in the future.

The University of Connecticut currently owns and maintains approximately 500 vehicles including buses, emergency vehicles, and any vehicle that is owned by a UConn department.  Of these 500 vehicles, there are currently 14 hybrids, and 11 fully electric vehicles.  Although these vehicles only comprise a small percent of the current fleet, UConn is making great strides to incorporate more high efficiency vehicles.

The University was awarded a grant through the Connecticut Clean Fuel program, which reimburses a portion of the cost of a clean-energy vehicle.  Some of the vehicles UConn has already purchased with the program are the new GEM (Global Electric Motorcar) Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs).  These are small vehicles that have a top speed of about 25 mph and are fully electric – perfect for local, on-campus trips.

The University is also governed by federal and state mandates that require any purchase of a light-duty vehicle must be clean energy.  All small vehicles and some trucks, regardless of whether or not they are eligible for Clean Fuel funding, must be what is called an E85 vehicle.  E85 means the engine is compatible with E85 fuel, a type of ethanol blend.  The Clean Fuel program, along with these federal and state laws, have helped the UConn fleet begin to increase the number of efficient, alternative-fuel, and hybrid vehicles on campus.  Those numbers will continue to increase as UConn replaces its old fleet with new vehicles in the coming years.

-Marisa Smith

What was the People’s Climate March?

On Sunday, September 21^st, the People’s Climate March (PCM) was held in the streets of New York City. It has since been estimated that up to 400,000 people attended the event, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former Vice President Al Gore, Bill McKibben, Jane Goodell, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The mission of this march was to form a united front in support of reducing greenhouse gases.

How was UConn involved?

Approximately 80 UConn students participated in the march. While there were a handful of Environmental Science majors and EcoHusky and EcoHouse members, there were also Business students interested in the economic implications of climate change and Political Science majors invested in the human rights aspect of the march. In fact, the diversity of studies included Animal Science, Psychology, Biology, Marketing, Finance, ACES, Natural Resources, Environmental Engineering, and more. Additionally, a bus of around 50 members from the Mansfield community joined the UConn students at the march.

Why was this march so significant?

Government action is stagnant. Climate change, however, is hurdling forward with an intense ferocity. Even the most conservative predictions of how our planet will be affected are deeply troubling. The three pillars of sustainability require that we find a balance between economics, society, and the environment but the heat of politics has made this difficult to achieve. We need to hold the government accountable for the lack of climate policy. Resolving this issue is vital to our survival. Thus, we as citizens need to put pressure on our government to develop international emission reduction commitments and PCM provided an audible platform for us, the people of UConn, the people of the United States, and the people of the world, to do so.

Why is it important that UConn students participated?

Education is the key to environmental progress. The academic setting of our country’s universities is where we need to introduce the concept of green living to the young minds of America and inspire our students to take action. Students are our future. They will become the policymakers, lawyers, activists, engineers, consultants, professors, and researchers that we need to build a sustainable planet. UConn is at the forefront of sustainability and our participation in the march both reflects our environmental goals for our university as well as for our planet.

Student’s perspective:

My name is Emily McInerney and I am a senior at UConn majoring in Natural Resources. I have always cared deeply for the environment but this was my first opportunity to participate in an environmental activism event. To be surrounded by such a large group of individuals who share the same passion for environmentalism was an exceptionally rewarding experience. The thousands of creative displays and signs were outstandingly impressive. While the march was a call for urgent action, it was conducted peacefully, with lively music and dancers filling the street with the optimism of a green, clean energy future. The defining moment of the event was at 12:58pm when there was a moment of silence. New York City is never quiet but for two brief minutes all that could be heard were distant cars and the steady breathing of the marchers as they joined their hands together. This was followed by a long string of howls and cheering. Witnessing these four minutes alone was enough to give someone the shivers and it made me proud to be involved in such a monumental moment in history.

What’s next?

The UN Climate Summit convened on September 23^rd and this march helped spark discussion about supporting renewable energies and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Ultimately, we need to implement international laws to support the reduction of greenhouse gases. Whether this will happen only time will tell. Regardless, our voices were heard. Our presence was not only felt on the streets of New York but also throughout the globe, through social media, the news, and the various other climate activism events that took place in other parts of the world in conjunction with PCM. The fight however, is not over. Hopefully the people of our planet will continue to strive for sustainability. UConn and its many environmentally devoted students certainly will.

This past Saturday, September 7^th, almost 50 volunteers from EcoHouse learning community, the EcoHusky student organization, the UConn Honors Program, Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity and the UNIV 1784 Environmental Sustainability class teamed up to promote recycling at the Green Game Day for UConn Football versus Stony Brook. Everyone who came to the game enjoyed seeing a closely contested 19-16 UConn victory.

The Office of Environmental Policy (OEP) set up a brand new tent, along with several games and give-aways at the Football Fan-fest outside of the stadium. Streams of UConn students, alumni, and families came by the tent to learn about Green Game Day recycling and initiatives the university is taking to improve its environmental footprint.

Volunteers wearing blue and green EcoHusky and EcoHouse T-shirts teamed up in groups to pick up recyclables at each of the tailgating lots (Red, blue, grey). Tailgaters were very appreciative of the efforts and were open to discussing UConn sustainability initiatives. Overall, the event was very successful – volunteers filled the dumpsters with recyclables and fans were eager to participate!

Green Game Day serves as an interactive learning opportunity for the wider community about everything that UConn does to be more environmentally conscience. It also gets student volunteers involved and sparks their interest in pursuing more environmental efforts. There will be more Green Game Days to come this year – one for each of our National Champion Men’s and Women’s basketball teams!

-Chris

Sustainability related events are already taking place on campus this week! As you pass through the Homer Babbidge Library, make sure to check out the Average Joe Photo Show.

 

Average Joe Photo Show, a Photo Exhibit/Benefit for Water.org

 Children of the Daasanach people, like all the tribes in Ethiopia, want your empty water bottles as they serve as an easy method to carry small amounts of drinking water. Water is in short supply in this part of the world. The tribal people drink and bathe from rain puddles, and so do their livestock. I will think about this every time I let water run in a sink.

– Leighton Gleicher, Average Joe Photo Show 2013

Leighton Gleicher’s observation accompanies her image of two smiling Ethiopian children, plastic water bottle in hand, posted above a display showcasing dozens of empty water bottles in the Average Joe Photo Show now on view in the Homer Babbidge Library’s Norman Stevens Gallery. The show, which includes 234 eclectic images taken with cell phone or mobile device by professional and amateur photographers from this country and well beyond, all feature water and the human figure and were the result of an online appeal issued by two friends, one an accomplished artist and gallery owner, Lori Warner, the other an art historian, Rebecca Steiner, both from Lyme, Connecticut. In devising the project, the two sought to examine the increasingly important role technology plays in our daily lives and to consider our use of water, something we simply cannot live without.

Lori Warner, left, and Rebecca Steiner in the Stevens Gallery, UConn

Gleicher, Water Bottles Ethiopia

The project also includes a philanthropic twist: a portion of all proceeds from photo sales benefits water.org, an organization providing access to safe water and sanitation to people in Africa, South Asia, and Central America.

“Working on this project I have been continually struck by how much we take for granted – and what is so easily accessible to us — in the developed world,” observed Rebecca Steiner. “Yet for so many people in other countries or walks of life, both ever-present technology and natural elements (like water) are true luxuries. Given how organically the “Average Joe Photo Show” evolved out of an intersection between seemingly contrasting components, perhaps this project will inspire people to see connections in our greater shared global community they might not otherwise have imagined.”

The Average Joe Photo Show is now on view in the Norman Stevens Gallery in Homer Babbidge Library through October 24.   A public reception will take place on Thursday, Aug. 28, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

For more information about the project or to submit a photograph, please see the website www.averagejoephotoshow.com .

Hi, everyone! I’m Sarah, the new sustainability coordinator at the Office of Environmental Policy. I began working at the OEP in April, alongside Corinne Tagliarina, as the assistant sustainability coordinator. Since beginning, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work with our very talented interns on STARS, recycling updates, and the GreenMetric survey. I’m looking forward to working with them even more once the school year begins! 

I am a third year Ph.D. student in the department of Political Science. My current research focuses primarily on political psychology and elite decision-making during times of crisis, but most of my previous work investigates European Union member state challenges to implementing EU environmental and economic policy.

My interest in Europe and the environment began from an early age, since both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Germany. As a child, I would visit family and would be fascinated by how environmentally conscious Germany is, as well as the many methods Germany uses to produce clean energy. After living in Central Europe for a year during my master’s program, I quickly found out first-hand that not all countries take environmental protection seriously. Needless to say, this sparked my interest in environmental policy, and I have been working in the field ever since!

Prior to coming to UConn, I worked closely with the Sustainability Department at my alma mater, Guilford College. Now at UConn, I have had the opportunity to assist Dr. Oksan Bayulgen and Dr. Richard Parnas with their “Sustainable Energy in the 21st Century” course for the past two years.

I’m thrilled to join the OEP, and look forward to an exciting and productive school year!

This past Tuesday marked the 44^th annual Earth Day!  Despite my original nervousness due to some uncertainty concerning the weather (it was, after all, a Tuesday in Storrs), I am happy to report that April 22^nd was a gorgeous day on campus, which made UConn’s yearly Earth Day Spring Fling a fantastic success.  Sun shined down over the thousands of students, faculty, community members, and environmental exhibitors, all gathered to celebrate sustainability.

From 11am to 2pm, vendors ranging from student organizations to state departments, NGOs to sustainable stores and businesses, all set up camp on Fairfield Way.  They provided recycling games galore, scrumptious free samples, environmentally friendly products, and information on a wide variety of environmental issues and practices.

Appealing to the many music lovers out there, we were lucky enough to have Dave Wanik and Meredith Rose perform.  Their beautiful acoustic compositions set the perfect background vibe for the chatter between curious attendees and knowledgeable table hosts, as well as diners drawn in by the aromas of grilling.

The mouthwatering zero-waste barbeque, provided by our good friends from Dining Services, proved just how delicious local and sustainable foods can be.  Diners strolled down the line, choosing from hamburgers and hotdogs from Connecticut, vegan veggie burgers from New Jersey, vegetarian Italian sausage from Massachusetts, and more.  By keeping menu items to this New England crew, we shortened each food’s journey to UConn, reduced our carbon footprint, and helped promote local businesses!  Once finished with their meals, attendees headed over to our sustainable waste stations, where they learned which parts of their waste were compostable and recyclable.

Finally, thanks to the help of our intern, Andy Bilich, we were able to plant a Quercus alba (or white oak, for those of you who are like me and don’t understand Latin) next to the Student Union.  The tree stands as a tribute to Arbor Day (which is today!), as well as an informal symbol for the university.

Overall, the event was a great one.   If you didn’t get a chance to come out and celebrate with us this year, be sure to come check out Earth Day Spring Fling next year!