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| RCC Home Department Links Instructional Programs Faculty Search Page Title III Watching Movies On Campus On-Line Tutoring WebCT | Rogue Green Team
Are you Ready?
E-mail the Green TeamDecember 12, 2008
Community Colleges for Sustainability Conference Call Jeanne Howell writes: You probably didn't get to connect to the CC Conference call today [Dec 11, 2008]. Here are the details with some good web sites and interest group connections. Notes from the Conference Call. Thanks, Jeanne!
December 12, 2008 All Of RCC: Recycle Your Books Jennifer Roberts, Redwood Campus advisor for Phi Theta Kappa, writes: Tired of staring at the piles of books occupying your study/office/living room floor? Want to clear some bookshelf space while supporting a good cause? The RCC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa--the international honor society of the two-year college--is sponsoring a book drive through Better World Books, with Books for Africa as its recipient. Book collection bins have been placed in the Student Center on the Redwood campus by the cafeteria, bulletin board, and student government offices.
What books are accepted?
What a great opportunity to re-cycle and re-use a book! Thanks, Jennifer!
December 12, 2008 Save the Planet, Win Fame + $5,000 JustDoOne.org, an online community for sustainable living, has issued a global call for personal green solutions. The Just Do One organization invites ideas for more sustainable living, summarized in short YouTube-style videos. The organization will share the entries online, and the best video entry, as judged by an expert panel, will win international acclaim and a $5,000 cash prize. Video entries may be up to three minutes in length. Entries will be accepted from January 1 to March 1, 2009. Winners will be announced April 1, 2009 in time for media coverage leading up to Earth Day. Link via Mary O. ~ thanks!
December 11, 2008
More Crafting Project Ideas A friend on the Green Team writes: I just read that St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital accepts the fronts of all (including Christmas) used cards. The children use them to recreate their own cards for family and friends. The other option for Christmas cards, which I have done, is to use the front of the cards as nametags for the following year. They are bright, colorful and big enough to write who the gift is to and from on the reverse side. What great ideas! Craft materials can be sent to St. Jude's at the following address:
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital I'll bet there's all kinds of recycling/reusing we can do during the holidays - other than re-gifting the same fruitcake every year, that is! If you've got an idea or solution, send it to RFelthousen@Roguecc.edu and I'll get it posted to the site! Link via Cindy ~ thanks!
December 11, 2008 Crafting Projects Using Plastic Bags CRAFT magazine is a fantastic resource for the DIY crafter - whether you're an expert knitter, hobbyist toymaker, or amateur soap carver. The Redwood Campus library subscribes to CRAFT (the recent issue focuses on "green" projects, by the way), but there's also a great website for when you need your crafting ideas right now. Speaking of CRAFT, websites, and green projects, the CRAFT website offers an assortment of free online projects using plastic bags. We all know how bad plastic grocery bags are for the environment. Research suggests that 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. The city of San Francisco will be first city in the U.S. to take a stand and ban plastic bags in large markets and pharmacies. But what can a crafter do to help the cause? Round up the bags you do have laying around in the house or collect them from neighbors and friends to start reusing plastic bags for your next craft project. Here's a post rounding up some of the best projects we've seen around. Sew 'em up, cut them into strips for knitting or crochet -- the possibilities are endless!
HOW-TO - Make Plastic Bag Yarn ...and so on. Click here to browse CRAFT's list of plastic bag projects.
December 11, 2008 Recession Bad for Recycling, Too The New York Times reports that recycling contracters are having a hard time selling the used cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals they are accumulating: Across the country, this junk is accumulating by the ton in the yards and warehouses of recycling contractors, which are unable to find buyers or are unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices. Ordinarily the material would be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics. But with the slump in the scrap market, a trickle is starting to head for landfills instead of a second life.
 Click here to read the whole story. Link via Alex ~ thanks!
December 8, 2008 GreenFILE in RCC Library GreenFILE is a database that has been added to RCC's EBSCOhost subscription. From the release: GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records. Click here to start EBSCOhost (login required if off-campus).
December 1, 2008 Free Seminar: Waste to Energy Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District announces...
Wood scraps, manure and other “waste” can create electricity, heat our homes and fuel our cars. Come learn how other communities are using this technology and how we can use it here in the Rogue Valley.
Link via Melissa ~ thanks!
November 26, 2008 RecycleMania is Coming to Town What Is RecycleMania? 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.
 Recyclemania begins January 18, 2009, and ends March 28, 2009. RCC is competing with Linn-Benton Community College (in Albany, Oregon) - who will recycle the most? who will produce the least trash? CWE (Cooperative Work Experience) Credit may be available to students that volunteer for RecycleMania, and volunteers are needed! Interested in getting college credit while helping the college's recycling efforts? Contact RCC's Sustainability Club at rccsustainabilityclub@gmail.com. Link via Alex K. and Melanie J. ~ thanks! November 26, 2008 National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions Melissa Nystrom writes: Rogue Community College has the exciting opportunity to take part in The National Teach-In on Global Warming Solutions scheduled for Thursday February 5th 2009. The National Teach-In supports an emerging, intergenerational movement of students and citizens demanding clean energy solutions to global warming. February is at the beginning of the first 100 days of the new administration, and the National Teach-In on Global Warming will engage over a million Americans from hundreds of colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, faith groups, civic organizations and businesses in solutions-driven dialogue and education. Last year in Oregon, 89 institutions joined together to create the biggest national teach-in in history, and hopefully this year will be bigger than ever!
This year, The National Teach-in's goals for Rogue Community College’s
Riverside and Redwood campuses include:
As educators, we owe our students and our community a focused conversation about the critical decisions that will determine the future of the global climate. What we do in the next months can truly help change the direction of this country and set us on a course toward energy independence. If you are interested in participating in the Teach-In, please contact Missy Nystrom at mnystrom@roguecc.edu or 956-7082. Thank you! And thank you, Melissa, for such an important notice! November 24, 2008 How to Set Up Recycling at Your Workplace Recyclespot.org has a ten-point list for starting a recycling program at your workplace. From the site:
Link via Jeanne and Grant ~ thank you!
November 24, 2008 Third Annual Chill Out The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is currently accepting entries for its Third Annual Chill Out: Campus Solutions to Global Warming competition, the nation’s only competition recognizing colleges and universities for their efforts to solve global warming issues. NWF is looking for the best campus-based projects in clean energy, energy efficiency, transportation, habitat restoration, waste reduction and more. Students, faculty and staff are eligible to enter by writing a 500-word essay or uploading an original three-minute video about the project. Entries are due by Nov. 30. For contest rules and entry form, go to Web site. If you have questions, contact Jen Fournelle.
 Link via Mary O. ~ thanks!
November 24, 2008 Oregon Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. The link below provides a very comprehensive list of rebates, loans, grants, tax credits, tax exemptions and other incentives for going or being green in the state of Oregon. There are options for businesses and organizations, as well as homeowners. Link via Mary O. ~ thanks!
November 13, 2008 RCC Construction students moving “green” house project forward Progress continues on track for the “Eco-Cational House” being built in Eagle Point by a partnership that includes a professional organization, a contractor, and Rogue Community College. The “green” house is a collaborative effort between the Homebuilders Association of Jackson County, Knouff Homes, and the RCC Construction Technology Department. The floor and walls of the single-family home have been framed and trusses are being set, said Avi Zohar, project manager and RCC instructor. The team is working steadily to “dry in” the house as fast as possible. Work remains on schedule to wrap up by summer 2009. Public tours will be available on completion. The project, which incorporates a variety of green building techniques, serves as a classroom laboratory for RCC students, apprentices, area contractors, and the public. Approximately 30 students from the RCC Construction Technology program are working on the project this fall. Joining them are students from Crater High School studying construction at Rogue. Students in the college’s electrical and heating and air conditioning apprenticeship programs are taking part as well.
 “There’s great excitement about having the opportunity for this hands-on experience in constructing an actual ecologically conscious residence,” Zohar said. Green technology being incorporated into the project includes ducts and crawlspaces that run inside the building to avoid exposure to outside temperatures, high performance windows, and materials from sustainable local sources. “Students are excited about finally getting to build something that will last and not have to be torn down as soon as they’re finished,” said Zohar. General contractor Mark Knouff will donate proceeds over and above the construction costs to the RCC Foundation for construction student scholarships. Financing for the project is through Evergreen Federal. Tax deductible donations to the project, including money or construction materials, are welcomed and will help increase the amount dedicated to scholarships, Zohar said. Donations such as flooring, paint, carpeting, heating and air conditioning equipment or other construction-related items also would be appreciated. Construction students designed the home after studying the various green building options and selecting those to be included in this project, said RCC Construction Department Head Ralph Henderson. Earth Advantage and Energy Star green building certification program are providing technical assistance.
October 30, 2008 SOU On List of Top 20 'Green' Colleges/Universities As reported in the Medford Mail Tribune: Because of its high use of renewable energy, Southern Oregon University has been named to the Top 20 list of Green Colleges and Universities by the Environmental Protection Agency. In Oregon, only SOU and Oregon State University made the list. SOU came in at No. 18 with 17.6 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy, OSU at No. 4 with 66.6 million kwh. The universities purchased green tags through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to fund alternate energy generation. SOU achieved the distinction of buying more green energy than it uses — 154 percent, with all of it going to wind generation. Click here to read the article. Link via Mary ~ Thanks!
October 30, 2008
Rocky Mountain Institute
Here's a great link: the Rocky Mountain Institute's sustainability page.
"College campuses have long been hotbeds of social change. The Civil
Rights Movement, the Free Speech Movement, human rights causes, and
numerous anti- war and social justice movements can all trace their
roots—at least in part—to campuses across the United States and abroad.
And the persuasive power of dedicated, idealistic young students can
often be harnessed to bring about the greatest social change."
Today, many college campuses are focusing on a new kind of societal
transformation by leading the green movement and doing what they can
to address environmental problems. What used to be the occasional
recycling program or an inclination toward organic food has become a
full-fledged international movement that many observers believe will
revitalize communities, introduce new areas of academic study, alter
traditional career choices, and revolutionize education itself.
Link via Alex ~ thanks!
October 16, 2008
Green Team Presented to RCC Board
On Tuesday, October 14, 2008, members of the RCC Green Team made a
formal presentation to the Rogue Community College Board of Education,
Advisory Committee, and Foundation Board. We addressed such questions as:
You can see what we said by downloading our
presentation (here in pdf format).
Overall it was a great experience, the Board members were very
appreciative of our work, and there are some other positive
developments from this meeting that will be reported later.
October 15, 2008
Study finds bottled water has contaminants
Reported today on Yahoo News:
The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch —
that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say.
However, all the brands met federal health standards for drinking
water. Two violated a California state standard, the study said.
The study's lab tests on 10 brands of bottled water detected 38
chemicals including bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever
acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the
radioactive element strontium. Though some probably came from tap
water that some companies use for their bottled water, other
contaminants probably leached from plastic bottles, the researchers
said.
The researchers recommend that people worried about water
contaminants drink tap water with a carbon filter.
Click here to read the article.
And of course, using a filtering system produces much less waste than
drinking from plastic bottles, anyway.
According to one water-filter manufacturer, their products will filter from
40 to 100 gallons of water before needing replacement - that's equivalent to
150 to 378 plastic one-liter bottles.
October 14, 2008
PTK's Renewable Energy Awareness Day
Jennifer Roberts, the Redwood campus advisor for RCC's chapter of
Phi Theta Kappa, writes to remind us:
Phi Theta Kappa is sponsoring a Renewable Energy Awareness Day this
Wednesday, October 15, from 10 to 3 in the Student Center on the
Redwood campus. Biomass expert Kelpie Williams and representatives
from Renewable Energy Systems and Alternative Power and Machine will
be on hand to answer questions about solar energy, bio-energy, and
hydroelectric power.
Refreshments will also be served. Hope to see you there!
Questions? Call Jen Roberts at 441-3295 or e-mail
jroberts@roguecc.edu
Thanks for the reminder, Jennifer!
October 7, 2008
Study: Green-tech could create
Portland Business Journal
The report, “
Carbon-Free Prosperity 2025,” is a joint effort by the
research and publishing firm Clean Edge and advocacy group Climate
Solutions.
The study, based on interviews with 50 industry, policy and financial
experts, shows that green technology employment could match the height
of the microchip manufacturing sector employment in the region.
It focuses on five sectors:
To achieve those goals, the study proposes a 10-point plan for the
region, including putting a price on carbon, passing leading green
building codes, and ramping up public investment in clean technology
funds.
“Clean energy is increasingly identified as the sector with the
largest growth potential in the U.S. economy, and offers the best
promise of meeting the twin challenges of economic and environmental
decline,” Ron Pernick, Clean Edge’s co-founder and managing director
and co-author of the report, said in a news release. “This report is
a case study for how the Pacific Northwest region can seize a
leadership role in the clean-tech economy.”
Click here for source.
Link via Alex ~ thanks!
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