Event of the day
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 65, ISSUE 4
Interested in learning strategies to develop your interviewing skills? Attend the Career Center’s “Effective Interviewing Workshop” and receive information on what employers expect from candidates during interviews.
When: 1 p.m. Where: PSU Career Center
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INSIDE NEWS PSU hosts sustainability and values conference Scientist Philip Mote will deliver keynote speech on climate change PAGE 3
ARTS
PSU seeks carbon neutrality by 2040 2010 Climate Action Plan serves as “road map” to implement goals Anna Snook Vanguard staff
Celebrating July Oregon-style Upright Brewing Co. is Portland’s gem PAGE 4
Crossword Puzzles: Not Just for Old Ladies Rubicon pilot shows promise PAGE 5
OPINION
Our generation of communication The ways we keep in touch have changed, but should they? PAGE 6
In a time when “going green” straddles the line between being a joke and a serious undertaking, it’s hard to tell what needs to be done and what can actually be accomplished. Portland State is forging ahead with its own Climate Action Plan that outlines what the university will do to create a carbonneutral campus by 2040. Carbon neutrality is a point that’s reached when the carbon emissions are completely offset by sustainability. This can be achieved by using less energy, producing less waste and efficiently using the rest. “Carbon reductions are this idea of a clean energy future,” said Fletcher Beaudoin, the environmental programs manager at the Campus Sustainability Office. “There’s a market for it, there are jobs for it. There’s increasing support for cleaner, greener energy in our [society].” PSU’s CAP includes an overview of the university’s data collection and analyses, the specific goals and targets of the action plan and its appropriate implementation, including changes in business travel, building renovations and development of future green projects on campus.
In 2007, PSU signed on to the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which now boasts 685 colleges across the nation, 16 of which are Oregon schools. The challenge posed to the colleges is to reduce their carbon footprints and to possibly reach a goal of carbon neutrality. “This is not a traditional form of planning,” Beaudoin said. “This is kind of a new realm of planning. For PSU, it’s important to have a plan in place, because so much of what we preach is [carbon neutrality].” However, the concept of carbon neutrality is not necessarily new to the university. As early as 1994, PSU began taking measures such as tracking student and employee commuting. In 2003, a group of students put together a carbon inventory with the CSO. But in 2007, PSU agreed to start tracking more greenhouse gas emissions. According to the CAP, the university emitted approximately 106,000 metric tons of CO2 in the 2008 financial year. Almost 50 percent of the emissions were from purchased materials, followed by building use. The rest of the emissions stemmed from travel and commuting. Between 2000 and 2008, PSU reduced its energy-use index by 8 percent. Today, five PSU buildings have been certified—two gold and three silver certifications—by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
Heather Noddings/Portland State Vanguard
Fletcher Beaudoin: He is the environmental programs manager at the Campus Sustainability Office.
With data collection underway, the university has set some goals: 80 percent reduction of campus CO2 emissions by 2030, and complete carbon neutrality by 2040. The CAP stipulates one-year goals and three-year goals that will be points at which the plan will be reassessed to get a better grasp on how best to reach the ultimate carbon neutrality goal.
OUS puts forth restructuring solution Board votes on proposal that would grant OUS more freedom, flexibility Corie Charnley Vanguard staff
Due to the current economic climate and the continuing decrease in state funding for higher education, the possible restructuring of the Oregon University System has sparked heated debate since the release of the Frohnmayer report last November. However, at its meeting this month, the State Board of Higher Education voted on what could be a possible solution: a restructuring proposal that would change the legal status of the OUS from a state agency to that of a public university system. If passed, the legislative concept—which will be introduced to the next governor and legislature—would grant the OUS
more freedom and flexibility in areas such as setting tuition, budgeting, spending, purchasing insurance and risk management coverage. “In essence, this proposal will give OUS greater control over its revenue and expenditures,” said Jay Kenton, OUS vice chancellor for finance and administration, in an e-mail. “Today the state establishes about 55 percent of our costs and only provides 15 percent of our total revenues.” According to the board’s July meeting summary, the proposal reflects the structure of Oregon’s community colleges, which operate as special districts established by legislature, meaning they do not face the same restrictions a state agency. Commenting on those restrictions, OUS Director of Communications Diane Saunders said that K–12 schools and community colleges are given block
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“We think we have a good idea of how to reduce emissions by 80 percent,” Beaudoin said. “[We want] a solid road map for specific actions we want to take, and can take. We want it to be something that’s feasible, very actionable and doable.”
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Capital projects proposed for PSU Construction on two PSU buildings recommended by board Virginia Vickery Vanguard staff
The State Board of Higher Education recently approved capital construction project requests for two Portland State buildings totaling over $100 million. The intended projects would allow upgrades to plumbing and electrical systems in Neuberger Hall and an expansion of the School of Business. On July 9, the board met to discuss and approve its biennial budget proposal and to decide what capital construction projects to put forward for consideration. The board decided to ask the state for $83 million for improvements to Neuberger Hall and $35 million for additions and renovations to the School of Business. The proposal for funds will go to the governor, who decides
Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard
whether or not to include the request in the gubernatorial budget proposal to the legislature during its 2011 session. However, if the projects are approved, the money needed for them must be obtained through the selling of bonds, which could not be done until the 2013 legislative session, said Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert Simonton, who oversees capital programs for the Oregon University System.
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