Rss

Archives for : Sustainability

Sustainability: big part of Linfield

Posted by :Troy Thomas On : September 10, 2013
0

Category: Culture

Tags:, ,

Welcome back, Wildcats! I hope you are all ready for a great new school year. This year we have a lot on tap as far as sustainability projects and events go. But first I believe an introduction is in order. My name is Duncan Reid, and I am the Sustainability Coordinator here at Linfield College. I graduated from Linfield in 2010 and I now serve the community by working with students, faculty and staff on sustainability projects of all kinds. You can consider me to be your sustainability counselor of sorts.

If you have questions about sustainability programs or simply want to discuss an idea please do not hesitate to reach out and contact me. You can usually find me in my office (Cozine 109), in the garden or walking around campus. Come and say hi sometime!

For those of you who are new to our campus community, you may have noticed that sustainability is an integral part of our community at Linfield. The Green Team talked to colloquium groups during your orientation programs and provided opportunities for recycling and composting at the welcome picnic. For those of you who I haven’t had the chance to get to know here are a few things that are happening this year with sustainability:

First off, as a part of our Zero Waste project, we are piloting a few new recycling and composting bins in a few buildings on campus including Elkinton, Frerichs, T.J. Day, HHPA and Riley. New bins will also shortly be featured outside of Dillin next to the solar powered trash compactor. Please help us by using these bins properly. If you have questions or comments about these we would love to hear them. You can also look out for opportunities to participate in these new systems at upcoming campus events. One thing to note about the compost: our compost goes to feed local pigs so please do not throw anything in there that a pig couldn’t eat. Thank you in advance for helping us reach Zero Waste!

This week has been busy for our office. Thank you to all of you who have come out to participate in the farmer’s market, the wood fired pizza dinner, the lecture on “The War on Agriculture” and the gardening workshop. These are just the first of many events that we have already planned for this semester.

Coming up this month:

9/13-15, 2 p.m. Friday–2 p.m. Sunday, Greenfield Retreat, Westwind (Oregon Coast) 9/18, 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., Sustainable Agriculture Internship Presentation, T.J. Day 219 9/22, 3 p.m.-5 p.m., Composting Workshop, Renshaw 106

Feel free to contact me for more information about any of this. Thanks again everyone and I look forward to a great year building and participating in a sustainable community here at Linfield.

Duncan Reid

Duncan Reid

Posted by :jprokop On : March 10, 2013
0

Category: Features

Tags:, , , ,

New & improved
Linfield is taking large steps in sustainability efforts, starting with the hiring of
Linfield’s new sustainability coordinator, alumnus Duncan Reid

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Linfield alumnus Duncan Reid extends his arms, palms close and parallel to each other. He is describing the narrowness of a street in a snug Lake Oswego neighborhood and how plum trees line each side.

“Which are so beautiful in the summer,” Reid said, “and every house has one.”
Behind one of those plum trees sits a humble cottage with a generous yard— the place Reid spent most of his time romping around outdoors as a child.

“That’s still such a reminder for me, I get so busy with things here, which is great, but I need to get back out into the wilderness areas once a month,” Reid said. “When I’m there, I’m like, ‘oh my god, this is so rejuvenating and inspiring – this is why we’re doing this.”

Reid is speaking of the initiatives he is constructing with Linfield’s Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability (ACES) as the new environmental stewardship and sustainability assistant.

The new position requires Reid to work closely with the facilities staff to develop and maintain sustainable practices, as well as to work closely with students who wish to be involved in the emerging projects.

Although the position is new, Reid’s passion and endeavors to create and maintain sustainability within the community are not.
It wasn’t until after high school, however, that Reid developed interest in the field he now has expertise in.

“I was just a high school student, I wasn’t doing what I did in college,” Reid said. “I went to school, hung out with friends, and played golf.”
His interests in the natural world peaked during the summer before he would attend Linfield as a freshman, during which he worked as a canvasser for Environment Oregon’s environmental campaigns.

“I would go door to door and raise money for the campaigns,” Reid said.
His time as a canvasser sparked his growing captivation with matters of the environment and from then on, he began to eagerly self-educated himself on climate change.

“That was a real turning point for me,” Reid said. “I was starting to become aware of global issues and taking them seriously.”
However, his first day at Linfield brought him his first challenge.
“When I got to Linfield, there wasn’t a lot going on about environmental awareness,” Reid said.

Reid wasn’t disheartened by the shortfall.
“I recognized my role as a foundation builder,” Reid said.
Just four years later, Reid had built more than just a stable foundation.
Before graduating with a degree in environmental policy, Reid established the ever-growing Greenfield club, helped to found the bike co-op, led an alternative spring break program and wrote into legislation the Sustainability Grant Fund.
“I thought, okay, I have limited occupancy, so what kind of things can I put into place that will help students like me to be more effective?” Reid said.

Having built the foundation that is now quickly growing, Reid is excited about his return to his alma mater to continue the efforts.
Already, Reid has hired four students that make up the new Sustainability Team.
“There are so many ways to get involved,” Reid said. “It means a lot more if there are students behind something.”

Reid wants to be available as a resource to students and encourages those who have an interest to be actively involved.
“Students really do have the power,” Reid said, “but they have to go and do something about it.”

For more information about the sustainability efforts and how to get involved, Contact Duncan Reid at:
sustainability@linfield.edu or call, (503) 883-2738 (ext. 2738)

Whats Next:
This semester, there will be a meeting to implement a new Waste Task Force: It will be a campus effort to move towards a more sustainable waste relationship. Contact Duncan Reid for more information.

Earth Week is April 15-22. Keep an eye out for events and hands-on service. There will be education and awareness throughout that week.

Chrissy Shane/Features editor

Chrissy Shane can be reached at linfieldreviewfeatures@gmail.com

Turn your sex life green

Posted by :jprokop On : February 28, 2013
0

Category: Culture, The Rest

Tags:, ,

As an environmental studies major and the author of this sex column, I think I have found the most awesome thing: green sex! I know, I know, there’s that word again: “green.”

Many people are sick of it, especially when it’s only used as a marketing ploy or plastered on something that isn’t environmentally friendly or sustainable. And paired with sex—how can sex be more environmentally friendly?

The company is Scarlet Girl based in Portland with another location in the San Francisco Bay Area. Similar to Pure Romance, this company employs consultants who throw “pleasure par- ties” all across the country and it sells online. What makes it different is its “green practices.”

It does all the expected sustainable actions a company would do. It uses electronic means when accept- able, recycles paperwork with no sensitive information (shreds and recycles the rest) and reuses any kind of boxes for shipment. It even gathers and donates phones to domestic abuse prevention organizations.

But there’s something that makes this company really stand out. Scarlet Girl recycles sex toys, and it is the only adult company to do so. Portlandia episode, any- one? It sounds awful and unsanitary, but it’s not what first comes to mind. The toys are not reused. Rather, they are broken down in a method developed by an environmental engineer and recycled by OSHA and EPA regulations.

They also provide toys that are more eco-friendly, such as a solar powered bullet, a hand powered vibrator and various rechargeable toys. There are also vegan and water- based lubricants.

For customers who want to be greener, there are recommended alternatives to birth control and safe sex.

The hormones from hormonal birth control are released into waterways by urine, a contributor to excess estrogen in the environment.

Intrauterine devices (IUDs) are an alternative because they use fewer hormones than the pill, patch or ring during a long period of time.

Condoms are another option to reduce hormones in the body and released into the environment, but they create waste.
Besides the traditional condoms, there are a few other options that are veg- an, hypoallergenic and bio- degradable, but each has a trade-off that must be considered. For example, lamb- skin condoms are natural but they are obviously not vegan, and do not protect against STDs.

Kourtney Bailey

Sex Columnist

Kourtney Bailey can be reached at linfieldreviewbailey@gmail.com

Sustainability Council to host grant writing workshop this week

Posted by :jprokop On : September 27, 2011
0

Category: News

Tags:,

The Sustainability Council will host a grant writing workshop open to all students at 7 p.m. on Sept. 28 in Riley 210. Most students are unaware that there are grants that they can access, but even fewer realize that the money available to them is technically their own money.

The sustainability grant is available to students to create sustainable projects on campus and also goes toward renewable energy. $10 of every student’s tuition each semester goes toward funding for the grant. Half of the money goes toward capital management and planning for renewable energy products, such as the solar panels on top of TJ Day Hall, and the other half goes toward the Sustainability Grant that students can access.

The purpose of the upcoming workshop is to make it clear to students that this money is for them to use to benefit Linfield and to explain the intricate process of actually receiving the money to be used. Because students must go through a grant writing process to be considered for receiving the grant, the sustainability council is working to help students become more familiar and comfortable with the process.

Junior Kit Crane, who will help host the workshop, said that coming just to learn about the options available for students is important and will be helpful to those interested in becoming an active member on campus.

“The first workshop will focus on brain storming for students who want to get involved on campus or think that there are tools or services on campus or things that could be done more efficiently or sustainably,” Crane said. “People who want to get involved and make Linfield more sustainable but don’t have any ideas are welcome to come too.”

Crane said that it will also be helpful for students with ideas because she and others running the workshop will be able to connect them to the resources required to make their ideas come to life.

In recent years, the grant has been used to fund recycling bins, build the sustainable bike shelter, purchase safety equipment for the bike co-op and purchase reusable water bottles for all incoming students.

With knowledge of the many opportunities available, Crane said that if a student has an idea, they will find support within the Linfield community, whether through the grant or through people who sincerely want to help.

“If you want to get more water and energy efficient washers and dryers, you can do it,” she said. “People will support you in making our community more sustainable and more efficient. Linfield is about sustainability and we want to be able to sustain our beautiful campus and the resources we have.”

At the grant writing workshop, Crane said this idea will be expanded upon, as well as the grant’s history and purpose.

“I think this grant is super important, and it’s important for students to learn about it because it’s a great opportunity to make their dreams come alive here, it’s a great opportunity to get grant writing experience and it’s a great opportunity to network amongst the community and the faculty and staff here,” Crane said.

Anyone is welcome to the workshop, even if they don’t have ideas but simply want to learn about the grant. There will be more workshops held Oct. 18 and Nov. 9, as well as another series of workshops in the spring.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Andra Kovacs/News editor
Andra Kovacs can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

Reusable bottles serve as gifts and reminders for sustainability

Posted by :jprokop On : September 12, 2011
1

Category: News

Tags:

After months of imagining the small aluminum bottles, her face lit up with pride as she tore open the first box filled with the end result of all her hard work.

Junior Kit Crane’s idea to design reusable bottles and give them as a gift to incoming freshmen had been in the works for almost a year from the day they were distributed.

Last year, as a transfer student, Crane walked into Fred Meyer Lounge for orientation and was hit with inspiration.

Next to the orientation table sat the green team, and across from them, a stack of single-use plastic water bottles.

“I remember I could see [the frustration] in their eyes every time somebody handed a student a water bottle,” Crane said. “You could just tell they were thinking we don’t have to be doing this, there’s a better way. If you want to be hydrated and healthy there’s a way to do that in harmony with our environment and community, and that’s why I’m passionate about it.”

Since that  first day at Linfield, Crane developed her plan, wanting to not only help the environment, but also teach the students that Linfield is eco-friendly, and they can help make it that way.

Once she had enough research, power and people behind her, she put her plan to action.

The largest hurdle was finding the funding because the bottles were about $15 to $25 per bottle.

“When creating a budget for my position as the service and sustainability coordinator, I requested $3,000 to put toward it,” she said. “I submitted a request to get a sustainability grant to help funding for it, as well as asking for money out of the orientation budget.”

With all of her requests received, Crane said that she felt empowered by all those people who stood behind her to continue working toward her goal.

One person in particular was incredibly supportive and Crane said that she couldn’t have done it without her.

Senior Rachel Coffey, the Associated Students of Linfield College president said that she was determined to help Crane succeed because she saw her passion and the benefits that it would bring.

“The idea emerged from a couple things,” Coffey said. “One, she wanted to give a sustainable, reusable gift to the freshman class and tell them that [environmentalism] is something Linfield stands for. And two, there are students, including [Crane], that are really striving to educate Linfield about using reusable water bottles. So it was the dual idea and to me, both ideas sound great and I think it’s a great gift to give the freshman class.”

Between Coffey, Student Affairs, Student Admission, ASLC Senate and Cabinet, Crane said that the support she gained from all different sections of the campus was empowering.

“I’ve never felt so supported,” she said. “That’s one of the best things about Linfield—the various clubs on campus and all the great faculty and staff. They so badly want you to succeed so if you want to do something like I did, the support is there. You just need to be clear about your goals and be reasonable and realistic.”

With all the funding and planning in place, Crane designed the logo, which displays the recycling arrows growing from a small green leaf and the words “Associated Students of Linfield College Service and Sustainablility.” The logo was finalized for the bottles, and the order was placed.

Soon after, more than 500 reusable water bottles were in the hands of new Linfield students.

Crane said that walking through campus and seeing the bottles being used is one of the most rewarding feelings she has experienced.

“It’s super empowering to be able to say ‘Oh yeah, I did that’ every time I see a student with the water bottle,” Crane said. “Just seeing it and knowing it’s one less [plastic bottle] makes me so happy and really proud of our school.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Andra Kovacs/News editor
Andra Kovacs can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

Touring performers provide inspiration about sustainability

Posted by :jprokop On : April 23, 2011
0

Category: Culture, News

Tags:, , ,

Performers of the touring Muses’s Market play live music focused on sustainability and environmental issues during an April 20 Earth Week event in Ice Auditorium. Megan Myer/Online editor

Performers of the touring Muses’s Market play live music focused on sustainability and environmental issues during an April 20 Earth Week event in Ice Auditorium. Megan Myer/Online editor

The performers of a “Muses’s Market” lectured and sang about the importance of sustainability in the Pioneer Reading Room and Ice Auditorium on April 20.

According to its website, Muse’s Market is “a nationally touring, carbon- neutral, theatrical concert presenting inspired musicians, educational speakers, spoken word poetry and fine art in performance arts spaces where listening is the priority.”

Performer Chris Garre gave a lecture and discussed the concept of waste vegetable oil as a sustainable form of fuel for vehicles that have diesel engines. Waste vegetable oil is carbon neutral; it provides the same gas mileage as a vehicle using standard fuel, and it can save people money because they can collect it themselves, he said.

Garre also noted that 90 percent of waste vegetable oil goes to the dump and only 10 percent of it is recycled.

“We highly recommend it for someone who is driving a lot of miles,” Garre said.

The evening performance in the Ice Auditorium was inspired by theatrical production. It included live music, speeches and poems related to sustainability and environmental issues.

Garre’s speeches included several statistics and facts regarding the environment. He said that we dump 16 tons of sewage into our water every minute and that billions of plastic bags are thrown away every year. He also brought up the point that 31 countries suffer from water shortage and that CEOs earn 400 times as much as their workers.

Garre said that his main motivation for touring is to put the issues out in the open.

“We just want to encourage people to talk,” he said.

Senior Avalon Fox attended the concert as a way to get involved with Earth Week.

“I think it is great to raise awareness about environmental issues. It provides social commentary,” Fox said.

Senior Sarah Valentine also attended the event and said she was impressed with the truth behind the messages.

“We, as a society, have not been willing to face these issues, and we will have to in the coming years,” she said.

Senior David Kellner-Rode is involved with Greenfield, and he arranged the Muses’ Market performance at Linfield.

Kellner-Rode became acquainted with Garre and singer song-writer Gabrielle Louise of Muse’s Market when he was traveling in British Columbia. He began talking with them about their touring in a vehicle that used waste vegetable oil for fuel. He developed a friendship with the group, and this year marks their second performance at Linfield.

“I thought it was really awesome,” Kellner-Rode said. “It was an amazing use of media and art to send a message. The direction we are headed as a society is very negative.”

Chelsea Bowen/Opinion editor
Chelsea Bowen can be reached at linfieldreviewopinion@gmail.com.

Planning for a ‘green’ scene

Posted by :jprokop On : December 4, 2010
0

Category: Features

Tags:, ,

In September, students picked produce from the Linfield Community Garden. In October, compost bins for students to put in their kitchen and assorted wastes were made available. In November, vegetation sprouted on the eco-roof of the bike shelter between Elkinton and Terrell halls. What will happen next?
These projects were supported by Linfield’s Strategic Climate Action Plan. Finalized in early September as part of The American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), the plan was implemented to “balance leadership in sustainability and climate change action with the academic and financial integrity of the institution,” according to the official copy of the plan.
This strategic 28-page plan reviews Linfield’s sustainability achievements during the past 12 years, introduces current factors and ongoing projects to reduce the college’s greenhouse gas emissions and identifies potential opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.
“The plan is a framework for what we actually do,” John Hall, sustainability coordinator and director of capital planning & development, said.
The plan
As defined by the GHG (greenhouse gas) Protocol, a standard for emissions reporting, emissions sources are
divided into three scopes. Each scope takes behavioral and infrastructural sources into account (see figure below).
As part of its commitment to ACUPCC, Linfield aims to reduce the school’s emissions to below the baseline identified in Linfield’s 2007 greenhouse gas emissions inventory by Clean Air Cool Planet Campus Carbon calculator and initially contributed from the environmental studies senior capstone class. Eventually, Linfield anticipates that it will be zero.
“Those [strategies in the plan] are detailed in curriculum or facilities. House sustainability is a significant part of what we’ve been doing. We have saved both emissions and financial resources as we are progressing to the future, for example, renovating Northup Hall to LEED silver,” John McKeegan, Advisor to the President and Co-chair of Advisory Committee on the Environment and Sustainability, said.
The college calculated the efficiency for several potential projects. According to the official documents, one of the projects will remove outdated control systems and replace them with campus standard system which will potentially result in $19,369 annual savings.
Hall said that some of the renovations to T.J. Day Hall (formally Northup Hall) include environmentally friendly technology, such as an energy-saving roof with solar panels to capture sunlight and convert it into electrical energy for the building.
Difficulty and possibility
Since it’s mostly responsible for the Strategic Climate Action Plan, ACES faces challenges with its implementation.
One of the biggest problems is the school’s reluctance toward devoting more resources to making this plan a reality, senior David Kellner-Rode, sustainability intern and a member of ACES, said in an e-mail.
“There are various ways for the college to actually achieve carbon neutrality, but it’s going to be a collaborated effort,” McKeegan said. “I identify alternative strategies [in the plan]. The community as a whole makes some fundamental decisions about which we want to pursue.”
Hall said besides requirements the college got to do including gas emission inventories and climate action plan, Linfield is still struggling as a
community to identify what sustainability means to ACES, what it means to Linfield, not just the 5 percent of students that advocate for it.
McKeegan said he doesn’t want the impression to prevail that Linfield is doing nothing. He also said one thing ACES didn’t do a good job of is letting people know that the college has urged for sustainable actions.
Belief in the future
Kellner-Rode leads three other students on a sustainability work study team that works on Linfield’s 2011 greenhouse gas emissions inventory and will release a new report next May.
“Hopefully, [the new greenhouse gas inventory] will give [people] a clear picture of where we are and whether initial projection that we are going to see is correct. Then we will decide potential strategies,” McKeegan said.
Hall praised Kellner-Rode and other students who are involved in increasing sustainability on campus. He said their passion helps push the process of the plan.
Hall said that strategic plan is the first step, and that the college needs to look at additional details to develop a specific action plan with one or two more steps.
“A good next step is to engage the Linfield community, and tell them the plan exists,” Kellner-Rode said.

by Jaffy Xiao/Features editor,
Jaffy Xiao can be reached at linfieldreviewfeatures@gmail.com.

Notable numbers from the Strategic Climate Action Plan:

In an effort to reduce energy consumption for heating, cooling, hot water production and lighting, Linfield has developed a Comprehensive Energy Conservation Plan, which has yielded extraordinary results. During the last 10 years, Linfield College has implemented many energy efficiency conservation projects saving $2.2 million in operating costs.

During the spring and summer of 2009, the college implemented lighting retrofits in many of its buildings. These retrofits included reducing the number of lamps in a fixture by half and installing high-quality reflectors. The combination of new, high-efficiency T8 lamps, new generation ballast and reflectors created significant savings along with the installation of double pane windows in the college apartments. Total electrical savings came to 528,009 Kilowatt hours per year.

Although Linfield has no Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity as calculated by the Clean Air Cool Planet calculator, the college recognizes the benefit of reducing electricity usage. Regional and national sources of carbon neutral electricity are limited, and by reducing Linfield’s electricity usage, capacity is made available to others. Linfield has calculated that the use of hydroelectric and wind power instead of regional average electricity sources allows Linfield to avoid emissions of 4,800 MT carbon dioxide equivalent annually, or an increase of 60 percent of the emissions calculated. This knowledge will allow Linfield to demonstrate the impact of future reductions in electrical usage.

Linfield students have participated in so many cultural travel programs that 26 percent of Linfield’s GHG inventory comes from study abroad air travel. This is a higher emission impact compared with the average eight percent of emissions from air travel calculated by other colleges that have signed the ACUPCC.

‘Green’ roof shelter completed

Posted by :jprokop On : November 13, 2010
0

Category: News

Tags:, ,

Lizzie Martinez (top left), AmeriCorps Vista Volunteer; Dawn Graff-Haight (inside), professor of health, human performance and athletics; and seniors Katie Kann (top right) and Dayna Tapp (bottom left) use sod to assemble an eco-roof Nov. 5. Sarah Hansen/Photo editor

Students, faculty, Facilities Services and alumni came together Nov. 5 to complete an eco-roof to go atop a covered bike shelter between Elkinton and Terrell halls.
Alternative Spring Break program participants proposed the idea before last Spring Break, but city permits did not go through for the project until April 2010. An eco-roof is covered in vegetation and is also known as a living roof.
“[The project’s] purpose is to educate students on issues and topics and provide new knowledge to hands-on service projects,” Community Service Coordinator Jessica Wade said.
Members of last year’s Alternative Spring Break group, faculty and several alumni met Nov. 5 and discussed the advantages of an eco-roof. Wade described it as a “comprehensive presentation.”
Dan Manning of Ecoroofs Everywhere and Rachel Burand, class of ’10, explained the benefits of eco-roofs at the meeting.
According to Ecoroof Everywhere’s website, the company “works with architects, landscape architects, engineers and contractors to design and build innovative storm water solutions.”
Burand’s senior thesis centered on green roofs in small communities.
“I was surprised at how quickly we were able to install the roof,” Wade said.
Senior David Kellner-Rode, sustainability intern and participant in the Alternative Spring Break program, said it took the group less than two hours to complete the roof on Nov. 5.
“I’ve put in 10 hours total working on the roof. Facilities [Services] reallyhelped us out with manpower and tools,” Kellner-Rode said.
Wade said she was excited about the finished product.
“My favorite part about the project was seeing all the volunteers smiling at the end of the day as they looked at what they achieved,” Wade said. “It was a long time in the making.”
Wade also stressed Facilities Service’s role in the process.
“Facilities Services was very supportive. Without their assistance the whole project wouldn’t be finished,” Wade said.
She also said the purpose of the project was to increase the “sought after” covered bike parking.
Wade and Kellner-Rode said the roof will be aesthetically pleasing as it grows, fills in and changes throughout the seasons. They will also put up educational signs explaining the advantages of an eco-roof.
“It was a great opportunity to bring together Linfield alumni, local community-based organizations, faculty, students as well as Facilities Services,” she said.
Kellner-Rode explained that water runs off of normal roofs into sewage systems, causing sewage overflows. Green roofs minimize storm runoff.
Eco-roofs also provide a habitat for birds, squirrels and various small animals.
“The roof is an educational outlet for the college. It is a physical representation of our commitment to the environment,” Wade said.
The Corporation for National Community Service funds Learn and Serve America, the program that funded the eco-roof. They have a relationship with the Oregon Campus Compact. Wade said the Oregon Campus Compact is “dedicated to strengthening civic servicesof higher education.”
There are 15 colleges in Oregon, Washington and Idaho that are a part of the Northwest Sustainability Initiative. Linfield is one of four in Oregon.
Kellner-Rode said the green roof will show prospective students that Linfield is an environmentally-friendly campus. He said he hopes it will attract the type of students who want to continue making changes here.
“Linfield has a lot of potential to be a green campus. The structure is a symbol of what we can become,” Kellner-Rode said.

Hillary Krippaehne/Copy editor
Hillary Krippaehne can be reached at linfieldreviewcopy@gmail.com.