MINUTES for Meeting #3

Green Council Minutes
2/26/09

I. RECYCLING
a. Waste Management is the company we are going to use starting in March
i. They will come once a week and take everything
ii. 5 or 6 locations for the bins on campus, we have purchased a few containers
iii. bins for composting near Penelope’s kitchen
iv. single-source recycling (all in one dumpster)

II. FOOD DAY UTENSILS
a. Communal utensils
i. Plastic, pie tins
1. Families could donate pie tins
2. StuCo
ii. Cleaning up?
1. Faculty advisors connected to clubs could make sure it gets done

III. MORE INVOLVEMENT
a. Freshmen/Sophomore/Junior involvement
b. Zip code parties
c. Freshman foundations
d. Orientation/freshman retreat
e. Senior advisors

IV. SOLAR
a. Big push for sustainability
b. Solar panel costs are going down
i. Will cost $200,000 after rebates
c. Financing issues
d. Probably happening, but no guarantees
e. Investment pool
f. 60% of school’s energy would be from solar power

V. LEED CERTIFICATION
a. Platinum LEED certification is attainable, standard will be set high
b. CPS will shoot for platinum, but costs might prevent us
c. Environmentally Friendly Product Purchasing
i. Green Business Program Certification
ii. Green Products like dry erase markers, fluorescent lights
d. Just picked a general contractor

VI. TRANSPORTATION
a. Parking lot (will be expanded on the side with the wooden retaining wall)
b. Bicycle racks need to be covered
c. Bicycle ramp on Golden Gate in place of stairs (CPS Day?)

U-Tube about "Clean Coal"

Here's an entertaining item I received --

When it comes to making cutting edge films like "Fargo," "No Country for Old Men," and "The Big Lebowski," Joel and Ethan Coen are the real deal.

Now, they've got one more title on that impressive list.

"Air Freshener" is directed by the Coen brothers, and we're proud to say it's Reality's latest ad -- calling out the coal industry's ridiculous claims that coal is clean as only the Coen brothers can. Watch it now:

http://action.ThisIsReality.org/coenbrothers

A lot has happened since we launched the Reality Campaign to call out the coal industry for their dirty lies. The devastating coal ash spill in Tennessee last December was a painful reminder that using "clean" to describe coal doesn't make it true. And last week, the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to reconsider carbon dioxide regulation was a tremendous wake-up call to the coal industry.

Now is a crucial moment. Our message is working, and we've got to take this opportunity to turn up the heat. With help from folks like the Coen brothers, it's a little easier (and funnier). Will you help spread the word, too?

Watch how this Air Freshener "cleans," and join the Reality Campaign to help push the coal industry to come clean about dirty coal.

http://action.ThisIsReality.org/coenbrothers

It's time for the coal industry to make an immediate investment in new technology, to show real commitment to clean energy solutions. The ball is in their court.

Thanks,

Brian Hardwick
Reality Coalition

P.S. After you watch the video, check out the Reality blog, the newest addition to ThisIsReality.org

Cool Rooftops!

In thinking about LEED certification, I remembered past class discussions in AP Environmental Science about the value, in terms of energy saved and increased albedo,of white rooftops. I heard a great interview on NPRs "Living on Earth" about this topic a few weeks ago, and was surprised to learn that California has had a requirement since 2005 that flat roofs be painted white, and starting next year, will require new buildings in the warmest parts of the state to have roofs painted either white, or with new "cool pigment" paints that reflect light. You can see the transcript of the discussion here. I also found a terrific summary of the entire issue; the pdf can be found here.

What is LEED Certification?

I was recently told that CPS has decided to have all of our new construction built in accordance with the standards required for the highest level of LEED certification, platinum. Whether or not we pay the cost of actually becoming certified will be decided later, and is somewhat beside the point. If you would like to find out more about LEED certification and what aspiring towards platinum involves, go to the main LEED website.