Sustainability at the University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati recognizes its role as a leader in environmental stewardship, social responsibility and economic prosperity and seeks to incorporate the concept of sustainability into its academic and research programs; the design, operation, and maintenance of its buildings and landscapes; and its organizational structure and management; while preserving safety and comfort.

CURRENT NEWS
	UC|sustainability announces major lineup of events for Winter quarter 2010 January 14, 2010 UC|sustainability has announced an aggressive lineup of events for Winter quarter 2010 sustainability programming.  As always, these events are free and open to the public.  Their main purpose is to help educate the UC community and larger region about sustainability issues and create dialogue and engagement.  They would not be possible without the support of MainStreet who hosts most of the lectures and all the films in the MainStreet Cinema and the workshops in Catskeller. The events feature a record five lectures in the Climate 101 lecture series, in addition to new series of films and workshops.  The lectures range from visiting experts in the fields of sustainable engineering, soil fertility and global water issues to local experts on the Ohio River and recycling.  The film series features over a dozen movies, all related to sustainability.  They are not limited to just important and cutting edge documentaries, but also fun and unique feature films, many of which have a "cult" following.  The workshops range from an introduction to permaculture and vermicomposting to methods for reducing your energy bill, using rainwater and making your own ginger beer.  Please click here to see the poster for more information.
	Director to speak at UC and screen regional premiere of One Water January 6, 2010 On Thursday, January 14 at 12:30pm in the MainStreet Cinema, Ali Habashi will present his recent film One Water, a documentary about our changing relationship to potable water and the global water crisis.  This Climate Commitment 101 lecture will kick off both our Winter 2010 lecture series and film series.  Ali Habashi is a filmmaker and professor at the University of Miami and the Director of the Arnold Center for Confluent Media Studies.  One Water is a unique collaborative project initiated in 2003 at the University of Miami between the School of Communication, College of Engineering and the Frost School of Music to address the global freshwater crisis.  The film was shot in 14 countries and features interviews with the Dalai Lama, Vandana Shiva, Robert Kennedy Jr., Felipe Fernández-Armesto and Oscar Olivera - among others. To view the event poster, please click here.
	UC Participates in national RecycleMania competition December 22, 2009 RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Over a 10-week period, schools report recycling and trash data which are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or have the highest recycling rate. With each week’s reports and rankings, participating schools watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more. We will be competing against hundreds of other universities. The winners will get national recognition, and will receive a permanent award with their school name, competition category and year inscribed.  For more information click here
	CARE/Crawley Building Receives LEED Gold Certification December 15, 2009 The Center for Academic and Research Excellence (CARE)/Crawley Building in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Academic Health Center has been awarded LEED Gold certification, emblematic of excellence in sustainable building practices. Officially opened in September 2008, the CARE/Crawley Building houses some of the most technically advanced laboratory research and teaching space in the nation. It was designed with sustainability in mind, from its overall design to the methods and materials used in its construction.  To continue reading, click here.
	UC students recycle 5.4 tons during Bearcat football season December 7, 2009 During the 2009 Bearcat football season, University of Cincinnati students volunteered at the 6 homes games to recycle a total of 10,800 lbs. of plastic, metal, glass and cardboard.  Organized by UC|sustainability, with the help of UC Athletics, the initiative is called Bearcat Recycling and is in its second year at UC. During the 6 games, volunteers placed bins at the tailgating lots on campus, as well as at special receptions, at the Bearcat Family Zone and inside Nippert Stadium.  Hundreds of tailgating fans helped the effort by placing their recyclables in clear bags which the students handed out.  Vendors also made a sizeable difference by diverting their plastic bottles and cardboard boxes into recycling bins instead of trash dumpsters.  To continue reading, click here.
	UC offers intro course on sustainability, open to all majors November 25, 2009 UC's School of Architecture and Interior Design will offer a course Winter quarter 2010, open to all students at UC, which will focus on global sustainability issues.  "Humans and Global Sustainability: the end of nature" will encourage individual awareness and action through hands-on activities, films, light reading and lectures.  The 3 credit hour course meets Mondays and Fridays from 3:30pm-5:00pm in DAAP Aronoff 3410. For more information, please click here to see a poster and to register visit OneStop.
	HCC encourages UC residents to reduce electricity/water usage November 8, 2009 The biannual Housing Conservation Challenge will run from November 8 - December 9, 2009 and is a competition between residence halls on UC's West Campus.  The HCC challenges residents to reduce their consumption of electricity and water in order to become the hall with the highest savings per resident.  The winner of each category will receive prizes (to be announced at a later date) and will have their hall places on a plaque.  The Housing Conservation Challenge began in 2007 and occurs twice each year, during Fall and Spring quarters.  UC was one of the first schools in Ohio to have such a program and is being considered for a pilot competition between Ohio colleges and universities.  For more information, please contact your hall government and click here to view real-time data of the HCC progress.
	UC alumna is delegate to UN Climate Talks in Copenhagen October 29, 2009 Liz Trombley graduated from UC in 2008 with a degree in International Affairs and History, in which she specialized in the Middle East.  Her interest in Mid East oil policy led her to attend PowerShift in Washington DC in February 2009.  Weeks after the event where 12,000 young people listened to speakers and lobbied Washington to pass strong climate and clean energy legislation, Trombley received an email asking her to apply to be a delegate to the United Nations climate talks in December 2009.  She applied and was one of only 27 people chosen to represent the youth of the U.S. at the momentous talks between all members of the United Nations.  To continue reading, click here. Photo: Justin Tepe for The News Record
	UC receives B+ on The College Sustainability Report Card October 10, 2009 On October 7, 2009 the Sustainable Endowments Institute released its 2010 College Sustainability Report Card and the University of Cincinnati's ranking rose from a B- to a B+, placing it among an elite group of 80 Campus Sustainability Leaders across the United States and Canada.  The University of Cincinnati is also among the top three grades in the state of Ohio (University of Dayton also received a B+ and Oberlin College received an A-). UC's News Record published an article, "Sustainability profile, grade improve," on the Report Card and on some of the current sustainability initiatives at the University of Cincinnati which include a lecture series, public transit subsidies, farmers market, bike share pilot and recycling/reuse programs.  For more information on UC's grade and to compare it to other schools, please visit www.greenreportcard.org. Photo: Coulter Loeb for The News Record
	UC completes comprehensive Climate Action Plan September 29, 2009 This Summer, the University of Cincinnati completed its Climate Action Plan as part of our fulfillment of the ACUPCC President's Climate Commitment.  This document discusses our carbon footprint  and outlines both current initiatives and opportunities for reducing UC's environmental impact with the goal of reducing our carbon emissions and becoming more sustainable.  To learn more about the process of creating the Climate Action Plan, to find out how you can help achieve its goals, and to give feedback be sure to attend the Climate Commitment 101 lecture on Campus Sustainability Day - Wednesday, October 21 from 12-1pm in the MainStreet Cinema. Click here to view/download the Draft version of UC's Climate Action Plan 2009.  For more information, please email green@uc.edu.
	Cincinnati Streetcar September 17, 2009 The Cincinnati City Council has approved a measure to bring streetcars back to the streets of the city for the first time in several decades.  The first phase would be a 7.9-mile loop connecting The Banks to Findlay Market, passing throughout the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine.  The second phase would connect to Uptown, passing by the University of Cincinnati and ending at the Cincinnati Zoo.  The two phases are estimated to cost $185 million and would not require any additional tax levies.  A University of Cincinnati study estimated that the initial investment could see economic development benefits of up to $500 million. This November, a City of Cincinnati ballot initiative has the potential to halt plans for the streetcar and could have the unintended consequence of halting plans for a federally-funded high-speed rail system which would connect Cincinnati to Dayton, Columbus and Cleveland.  The City is holding several open houses so that citizens can learn more about the plan and to encourage people to vote No on Issue 9.  Please visit the City of Cincinnati Streetcar page for more information.  To continue reading, please click here. Photo: Mark Crew and Michael Moose/glaserworks for New York Times
	Cincinnati working on Bicycle Master Plan September 9, 2009 The City of Cincinnati has been working on a Bicycle Master Plan and is recently held open houses for input on the draft version of the plan.  The City has been improving bicycle infrastructure by installing additional bike racks, creating dedicated bike lanes and becoming the first city in the region to paint "sharrows" on some roads where bicycles and vehicles should be sharing the same lane.  You can see these lanes along Clifton Avenue near the University of Cincinnati Uptown campus. Meanwhile, the University of Cincinnati is also creating its own Bike Plan and is in the process of creating a pilot Bike Share program.  All interested individuals are encouraged to participate in the planning process and give suggestions.  To get involved, please email green@uc.edu.

UPCOMING EVENTS

________________ February 9, 2010 5:00pm Green Workshop Series: make your own Valentine gift [free and open to all] Catskeller POSTPONED (new date below)

________________ February 10, 2010 7:00pm Film Series: The Age of Stupid [free and open to all] MainStreet Cinema

________________ February 11, 2010 5:00pm Green Workshop Series: make your own Valentine gift [free and open to all] Catskeller RESCHEDULED FROM TUESDAY

________________ February 15, 2010 5:30pm Student Sustainability Coalition meeting [open to all] Steger 6th floor

________________ February 15, 2010 9:00pm Film Series: Powaqqatsi[free and open to all] MainStreet Cinema

________________ February 16, 2010 12:30pm Climate 101 Lecture: Reducing, Reusing, Recycling 101 with Holly Christmann [free and open to all] MainStreet Cinema

________________ February 16, 2010 5:00pm Green Workshop Series: Vermicomposting [free and open to all] Catskeller

________________ February 17, 2010 7:00pm Film Series: No Impact Man, preceded by The Story of Stuff [free and open to all] MainStreet Cinema

________________ February 19, 2010 9:00am PACES Steering & Implementation Committees meeting TUC 423

to view archive of past events, click here

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK

Say good-bye... plastic bottles are out! Economically and environmentally, bottled water doesn’t make sense.  Bottled water costs up to 1,900x more than tap water and uses up to 2,000x more energy to produce and deliver.  Sure, now you can recycle your bottles, but even recycling takes energy!  Get a reusable bottle, you’ll save money and dramatically reduce the amount of plastic you use!  Read more... previous green tips