Sustainability Spotlight September 2013
Workshop Advances Grassroots Water Research Community at KU By Kevin Boatright, Director of Communication, Office of Research & Graduate Studies
More than 120 KU faculty and staff researchers, above, from 30 departments and centers, participated in the Water Research Workshop September 13 at The Commons in Spooner Hall. The goal was to define opportunities for collaborative research and develop a grassroots community of water researchers at KU. Karen Flournoy, above, director of the Water, Wetlands and Pesticides Division for Region 7 of the Environmental Protection Agency, was a guest speaker. Susan Stover, left, manager of High Plains Issues at the Kansas Water Office, served as moderator. Jeff Vitter, provost and executive vice chancellor, also spoke, as did Steve Warren, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies. Ed Martinko, director of the Kansas Biological Survey and a member of the workshop planning committee, said, “The grand challenge with water research goes well beyond science and engineering. To understand it
KU Center for Sustainability
Page 1 1
Sustainability Spotlight September 2013 we need to engage the humanities, the arts, the social sciences and education. KU has research strengths in all these areas and the workshop is an opportunity to bring them together to think about water in new and challenging ways.” A directory of workshop registrants, with contact information and their research interests, was distributed at the meeting, along with a 12-page selection of water-related funding opportunities drawn from the PIVOT online database. A new website – www.water.ku.edu – will include this and other information and be a resource for others wishing to get involved in water-related collaborative research at KU.
Call for Attendees, Power Shift 2013
By Maslyn Locke, Sustainability Ambassador for Psychology & Global and International Studies Imagine being in a room with 10,000 other college students who want to make a difference in the world. You and all your friends are meeting other students and professionals who have the skills and knowledge you need to help stop the environmental crisis facing the world. After four days, you have learned valuable skills and you leave with a feeling of empowerment that is unmatched. You are ready to go back to your campus and make a difference. Sound too good to be true? Well it’s not! This October over 10,000 youth will be gathering in Pittsburgh, PA, to learn grassroots organizing skills, leadership development skills, and network with professionals to give students the connections they need to stop the climate crisis that is facing not only the United States, but the whole world as well. Students will participate in trainings that will teach them how to organize for change on their campuses and in their communities. But there’s more! Along with the trainings there will be concerts and guest speakers. Bill Mckibben and Josh Fox, the creator of Gaslands, will be joining the lineup this year, as well as musical guests! Power Shift 2011 played host to the Roots! Attending Power Shift is an experience unlike any other. Being in the same space as 10,000 others who feel the same passion that you feel, who want to make a difference, is exhilarating and empowering. Join the movement. Make a difference. And register for Power Shift 2013!! You can register at http://www.wearepowershift.org/register. For more information contact Maslyn Locke at m.locke@ku.edu or (505)2317130.
KU Center for Sustainability
Page 2 2
Sustainability Spotlight September 2013
Rock Chalk Recycle, First Game a Success By Blaine Bengtson, Center for Sustainability On September 7, Rock Chalk Recycle launched its full game day recycling and composting initiative. There were approximately 75 volunteers out to support the effort including groups like the Theta Tau engineering honor society and Hawks Helping Hawks. During the first game Rock Chalk Recycle composted 1,242 lbs. and recycled 3,000 lbs. These totals represent a diversion rate of 22%, which significantly surpasses any waste diversion efforts at past athletic events. With such success at the first football game, Rock Chalk Recycle is hoping to double the diversion rate at the second game on Saturday, September 21, 2013. Volunteers are still needed for the September 21 st game and all other events throughout the year. To help at this Saturday’s game, please fill out this web form: https:// docs.google.com/forms/d/1d8uGFr0oSkHdhdSYeiy7m0nr5O8l7RdddnufTflLrZ8/viewform To sign up for all other events, please visit rockchalkrecycle.com or email rockchalkrecycle@ku.edu. We look forward to seeing you on game day!
Sustainability Performances Presented at the Lied Center Fables on Global Warming Armitage Gone! Dance Created by Lawrence native Karole Armitage Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. Fables on Global Warming is a "performance art musical" that tackles sustainability issues using traditional animal fables from China, Europe, India and Africa. Eight dancers and three musicians entwine dance, song, science, imagery and puppetry to form a piece that explores the connections between humans and animals, culture and nature, and science and art. For more information please visit the Lied Center website.
red, black & GREEN: a blues Explore race, culture and environment with passionate spoken-word poetry, music and dance Saturday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. red, black & GREEN: a blues is a visceral, interactive and moving work that employs spoken-word poetry, storytelling, music, dance and movement to bring the stories and voices of black America into the center of a conversation about race, class, culture and the environment. For more information please visit the Lied Center website. The Lied Center offers student and faculty & staff discounts. Tickets available in the Ticket Office, 1600 Stewart Dr., via phone 785-864-2787 or online at lied.ku.edu. KU Center for Sustainability
Page 3 3
Sustainability Spotlight September 2013
KU Center for Sustainability
Page 4 4
Sustainability Spotlight September 2013
Become an Ambassador
Live Sustainably
Are you interested in becoming a
Upcoming Campus and Community Events
Sustainability Ambassador, or know someone in your department who may be? KU faculty, staff, and students can serve as Sustainability Ambassadors for their departments, administrative units, or student organizations. The ambassador network strives to create a more sustainable KU through generating new ideas, establishing partnerships, and sharing information about sustainable research and practices with the campus community. For more information visit the Center for Sustainability website
9/28 Fables on Global Warming 7:30 PM Lied Center 9/21, 10/5, 10/19, 10/26, 11/16, 11/30 Volunteers Needed: Recycling at KU Football Times vary Memorial Stadium Visit www.rockchalkrecycle.com or contact rockchalkrecycle@ku.edu to help. 9/27 Coffee & Conversation with Timothy Egan Spooner Hall, The Commons 10/4 Volunteers Needed: Late Night at the Phog Allen Field House Visit www.rockchalkrecycle.com or contact rockchalkrecycle@ku.edu to help. 10/9 City of Lawrence MMS Open House Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center
or email sustainability@ku.edu.
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 West Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS 66045, (785) 864-6414, 711 TTY.
Join Us For more information about sustainability at KU, visit www.sustainability.ku.edu like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KUSustainability, or follow us on Twitter @SustainKU.
KU Center for Sustainability
Contribute Is your department or organization contributing to a more sustainable KU? We’d love to hear about it and include your efforts in our next issue of the Spotlight! Send submissions to sustainability@ku.edu.
Page 5 5
KU RECYCLING SORTING GUIDELINES September 2013 KU Recycling collects the following materials at most locations.
OFFICE PAK
ALUMINUM CANS
Includes: White Paper Pastel Colored Paper Brochures Stapled Books Envelopes Manila File Folders Junk Mail Greeting Cards Heavy Weight Paper
Does Not Include: Newsprint Cardboard or Chipboard Paper or Styrofoam Cups Napkins of Tissues Food Contaminated Paper Magazines or Glossy Paper Books with Glued Binding Paper Bags
Includes: Aluminum cans ONLY
Steel or Tin Cans
STEEL CANS Includes: Steel (tin) cans ONLY
NEWSPAPER Includes: All Newsprint
Does Not Include: Magazines or Glossy Paper Phone Books or Catalogs
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD Includes: Corrugated Cardboard Boxes Corrugated Packaging
Does Not Include: Soiled Pizza Boxes Waxy Cardboard Any boxes that have food contamination
CHIPBOARD Includes: Other Paperboard Packaging
Does Not Include: Corrugated Cardboard
MAGAZINES Includes: Magazines Glossy Paper
Does Not Include: Aluminum Cans Bottles of any kind Sheet or Scrap Metal
TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES & CATALOGS Includes campus and municipal phone books and catalogs with similar construction (heavy-weight cover with newspaper-like pages)
Mixed Paper Grades of paper not listed above, including journals, hard-back books and glue-bound books should be recycled separately from other materials.
Shredded Paper Does Not Include: Junk Mail Phone Directories
#1— #7 PLASTICS Any #1-#7 plastic (salad bar take-out, plastic packaging etc)
KU Center for Sustainability
Does Not Include: Foil Food Wrappers
Bags of shredded paper should be tied shut to close bag completely. Do not put shredded overheads or any other type of plastics in with the shredded office pak. DO NOT put shredded paper in, or stack on top of or next to the regular recycling bins. Instead, contact KU Recycling for a special collection.
Page 6 6