Minutes 2012 October 24

Greens Meeting 10-24-12

 

E-forum:

What does “green” mean to you?

  • Recycle
  • Buzz word
  • Carbon footprint
  • Green washing (cool)
  • Justification for consumption (if a product is labeled “green”, it’s ok to consume)
  • More than just green products
  • 1st world problem
  • Branding
  • Green practices interfering with comfort and convenience

 

What role do institutions play? Which institutions have an effect?

  • Government
  • People who donate to colleges
  • College investments (endowments)
  • Fight back – divestments
    • Invest in green institutions that make the same amount of money for the long term

 

What is your role?

  • Hire contractors that have green practices
  • City planning…homes near public transportation
    • Income? Affordability? Attractive?
    • Designing homes to use passive energy – solar, wind
      • Does green cost more?
      • What about free options?
    • Social stigma: money vs. not-money
    • Education system: more relevant to every day life regarding a more sustainable lifestyle
      • Applicable to BMC?

 

BMC and Sustainability

  • LED lights in Brecon
  • Solar panel! 1st one by SGA house! Will power SGA house emergency lightening
  • Still need to CUT BACK
    • REDUCE, REUSE, then recycle
    • Library computer labs – talk to IT about turning all off at night
    • Why Styrofoam?
      • Health code issues with using reusable containers
      • Overcrowded dining halls – don’t physically have space to dry containers
      • Many variables and interrelated maths
      • All trash incinerated – Styrofoam produces less CO2 (but more chemicals) than paper
      • 50,000 take out containers per year
    • Sustainable Food Committee
      • Running food week
      • Where does our food come from?

 

Debrief:

Did we really start a conversation?

Continue with this type of conversation a couple times a year

 

Roses:

  • Diversity of people and lots of people
  • People were authentic and shared a diversity of opinions
  • The people there carried the conversation

 

Thorn:

  • More time!
  • Some voices were heard more often than others
  • Some were more opinionated than others and they carried the conversation in the direction that they wanted it to go

 

Bud:

  • Mix of class years – will help carry this forward
  • Possibility to expand for next time

 

Next time:

  • More focused conversation and have a more cohesive direction?
  • Have projects come out of e-forums?
  • Try to be more of a liaison between the students and the administration about green issues

 

Environmental Senior Seminar:

Develop a sustainability tour with admissions for prospective students

November 13th!!! 4:30-6: Tri-Co Environmental mixer!! Fun times!!!! J

Greens can help fund this event!

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