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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Christa Owens
Position (in student organization): Environment Task Force Leader, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Date survey submitted: 23 July 2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Minnesota Public Interest Research Group
Number of active members: 12 at Carleton; many more at 7 chapters across the state of Minnesota
Website: www.mpirg.org
Date of last meeting: May 27
Frequency of meetings: once per week; additional meetings with professional staff/campus organizers and with core members
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008: worked on campus sustainability and three key pieces of legislation: the MN Clean Cars Standards, equivalent to California's standards; the Toxic Free Kids Act, which required regulation of toxins in children's products; the Bisphenol-A Phase-out, which phased out the harmful toxin BPA from bottles, sippy cups, and other children's products
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: passed both the BPA Phase-out and the Toxic Free Kids Act, making Minnesota the first state in the nation to regulate toxins in children's products
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition: Dorm Wars/Green Wars
Year initiated: unsure; perhaps 2005 or 2006
Frequency of competition: yearly
Participants: all students
Incentives: awards for the student dormitory that reduces the most energy
Goal of competition: decrease energy consumption in the month of February; learn lasting habits to reduce energy usage
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced: winning dorm reduced energy consumption by 26%, overall by only 3%, compared to last February's numbers
Lasting effects of competition: TBD
Website: N/A
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[ x ] Yes. Please describe: The Environmental Advisory Committee works with the administration and the faculty on different initatiatives, and to educate and publicize their work. Please visit http://apps.carleton.edu/orgs/csa/about/currentinitiatives/EAC/
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: held multiple events on campus to raise awareness about environmental issues, promote green lifestyles, and to advocate for institutional change; for instance, held a Detox Day in May, giving students the opportunity to learn about toxic chemicals that we encounter daily, to make their own "green" cleaning products, and to call our governor to urge him to phase-out BPA in children's products; overall, a dozen students made their own cleaning products and 80 students, faculty, and staff called Governor Pawlenty
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
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Food Truth--committed to raising awareness about food issues and enjoying food
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SOPE (Students Organized for the Protection of the Environment)--working to make Carleton more sustainable and environmentally conscious;
http://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/sope/
Outdoor Lighting Taskforce--dedicated to improving outdoor lighting fixtures at Carleton, reducing light pollution, and cultivating appreciation for the night sky
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CANOE (Carleton Association for Nature and Outdoor Enthusiasts)--lead frequent wilderness excursions and organize the annual ; http://orgs.carleton.edu/CANOE/about.htmlCarleton Bicycle Co-op--repairs old bikes, which are free for students to use
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Environment Advisory Committee (EAC)--composed of students, faculty, and staff working to bring about institutional change regarding sustainability at Carleton
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Sustainability Assistants (STAs)--student work study devoted to working on various sustainability initiatives at Carleton
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition): MPIRG is a state-wide nonprofit organization that works in coalition with other non-profits, such as the Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP)
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Name: John Kraus
Position (in student organization): member of the Student Organization for Protecting the Environment (SOPE)
Date survey submitted: 14/7/2009
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: SOPE
Number of Active Members: 35
Website: https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/sope/
Date of Last Meeting: May 2009
Frequency of Meetings: weekly
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008: sustainability revolving fund (low flow showerheads and outdoor LED lighting), creating a campus thrift store, Green Wars residence hall energy competition, and going trayless in the dining halls.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: All projects have been completed or will continue to progress during the 2009-2010 school year (e.g. going from Trayless Fridays to completely trayless).
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
Yes
Name of Competition: Green Wars
Year Initiated: 2005
Frequency of Competition: Annual
Participants: All residential halls on campus, approximately 80% of the student body. And 15 other private colleges in Minnesota.
Incentives: Glory and a Pizza Party.
Goal of the Competition: Reduce consumption of energy and water in the residence halls.
Percentage of Water/Energy Reduced: This question is best answered by this website: https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/sustainability/Shrinkingfootprints/?story_id=522335
Lasting Effects of the Competition: Affirmed the efficiency of low flow showerheads—they are now being installed campus-wide.
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
Yes, there is a member of the Student Senate who is selected as the Liaison between the Senate and the Environmental Advisory Committee. This position looks to be especially important during the 2009-2010 school year as the EAC will be making major proposals that will impact student life. These proposals may include: reducing the temperature set point for heating, fining students for leaving windows open during winter term, subsidizing new ZipCar and bus services, increasing the fee for student parking, going completely trayless in the dining halls, and prohibiting freshmen and sophomore from bring a car, minifridge, or space heater to campus.
The Student Senate also has formed a working group to discuss sustainability issues on a regular basis. https://apps.carleton.edu/orgs/csa/about/currentinitiatives/EAC/
The CSA has also established a Green Fund to provide all student organizations on campus to make their activities and events more sustainable by buying local food, buying offsets for travel, etc.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school: SOPE has also organized meetings with student environmental groups in the Twin Cities, and 10 SOPE members attended PowerShift this past year.
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
FoodTruth (much more active than the website suggests): https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/foodtruth/
Engineers Without Borders: https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/ewb/
Farm Club: http://orgs.carleton.edu/farm/
Kids for Conservation: https://apps.carleton.edu/student/orgs/kfc/
MPIRG: http://www.mpirg.org/
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition): Non-affiliated.
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Name: Katie Blanchard
Position (in student organization): Co-President
Date survey submitted:
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
1) Please describe the student-run campus environmental/sustainability organization in which you have a leadership role.
Name of organization: Farm Club, Food Truth (2 organizations)
Number of active members: 30 members in each organization, with some overlap
Website:
Date of last meeting:
Frequency of meetings:
Farm Club: one meeting per year, work days 1-3 times per week in the fall and spring
Food Truth: one meeting per week
Key issues addressed and programs implemented since August 2008:
Farm Club: total revitalization of our Student Organic Farm, huge expansion of garden, implementation of summer intern positions, relationship created with Bon Appetit Dining Services for purchase of all produce from the farm, planning and planting an edible landscape garden in the center of campus called Eat the Lawn
Food Truth: Many events to engage the local Northfield community on issues related to local food in the area. We have planned and hosted numerous events, including a community discussion about local women in food and agriculture, a teach-in with Rainforest Action Network about the human rights and land abuses of multinational corporations such as Cargill, a teach-in and discussion with Fair Food Across Borders about migrant farmworker issues in the US and Mexico, a panel about fair trade issues that included the Local Fair Trade Network and Peace Coffee, and our annual spring Food Truth week centered on the local food system and related issues.
Both organizations are part of the national student network and campaigns of the Real Food Challenge.
Progress made on each issue/program since August 2008: all of the above has happened this year.
SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND COMPETITIONS
2) Does your group organize any sustainability challenges/competitions for your campus and/or with other colleges?
[X ] No
[ ] Yes. Please list details for each competition.
#1 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
#2 - Name of competition:
Year initiated:
Frequency of competition:
Participants:
Incentives:
Goal of competition:
Percent of energy/water/waste reduced:
Lasting effects of competition:
Website:
SUSTAINABILITY IN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
3) Does your student government include a specific position or committee dedicated to campus sustainability issues?
[ ] No
[X ] Yes. Please describe: There is a permanent liaison from our Environmental Advisory Committee to the Carleton Student Government and many task forces are often created about sustainability issues: Sustainability Revolving Fund, Green Fund, Transportation
OTHER ACTIVITIES
4) Please describe any additional campus sustainability activities or projects that you or your group has initiated at your school:
5) Please list and briefly describe any other student-run organizations related to campus sustainability at your school, and provide URLs if available (e.g., student groups; student government committees; student-run food co-ops, gardens/farms, bike co-ops) and provide contact information of the student leaders, if possible:
Questions 6 is for informational purposes only; your response will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
6) Please list any regional or national networks with which your group is affiliated (e.g., Energy Action Coalition/Campus Climate Challenge, Sierra Student Coalition, a state PIRG, a state student sustainability coalition): Real Food Challenge www.realfoodchallenge.org
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