Working to develop an effective, Maine-wide network of colleges, universities and partners that will stimulate the continual improvement of environmental sustainability in our campus-based institutions through communication and education.
Past Stories...
Bates Heating Student Residences with B-5 Biodiesel Bates College, which last fall contracted to buy all its electricity from renewable sources, has taken another step toward environmental sustainability with an arrangement to heat some of its student residences with cleaner-burning biofuel.
$10 Million Program to Study Forest Byproducts at UMO UMO has won a $6.9 million National Science Foundation [NSF] Research Grant to investigate the possibilities of a forest based biorefinery. The NSF grant for 2006-2009 will be joined to a $3.5 million UMaine contribution, making this a 10 million dollar venture.
Bowdoin's Two New Dorms Win Silver LEED Rating The two 35,000-square-foot first-year residence halls are heated and cooled geothermally, using water from seven 1,500-foot-deep wells and heat pumps. Well-insulated groundwater, pumped into the buildings, remains at a constant temperature of around 50 degrees; the heat pumps extract 15 to 20 degrees to heat or cool the buildings. The system allows Bowdoin to save over 40% of the energy usually consumed in a residence hall.
UMM Plants Garden in Spirit of Earth Week Sustainability is a hot topic for the University of Maine at Machias food service department these days.
The employees of ARAMARK, the school's food service provider, have begun a garden project to get the students involved with Earth Week and the university's mission.
Maine Student Climate Change Summit and "Campus Sustainability Actions” Conference On February 11, 2006, Bowdoin College hosted the third annual Maine State Summit on Climate Change. There were a variety of workshops throughout the day, on topics ranging from clean energy for campuses, to advocating for state climate action legislation, to understanding climate science. Students from across the state participated in the summit’s workshops and presentations. Colby: Environmental Attitudes Student Survey Maine Students March in Montreal Students from GCC colleges including Unity College, College of the Atlantic, Bowdoin and USM went to Montreal this fall to take part in the 189 nation UN Conference on Climate Change. They took part in demonstrations and other activities in support of the Kyoto Protocol and against global warming. Their battle cry was “its our future.”
College of the Atlantic Campus Sprouts Green Cones! If you take a stroll around the College of the Atlantic campus in Bar Harbor Maine you will notice green cones sprouting even though it feels like winter! They look much like the orange traffic cones we occasionally see on our roads directing us around construction activity, except green cones are a little larger and of course green in color. UMF Students Visit Maine Solar I n Introductory to Environmental Science at the University of Maine at Farmington we had the opportunity to visit Maine Solar. Maine Solar is owned and operated by Floyd Severn in Starks, ME. Floyd’s business is run out of his home which is considered an “off the grid” system. This means that through the use of solar energy, Floyd can run his entire home and business. Floyd has allowed UMF students to visit his home and business for the past three years. He does this so that he can teach students about the benefits of solar energy and passive solar heating.
GCCM on New York Campus Sustainability Website Click here to go to site with link to GCC Bates College Commits to Maine 'Green Power' for All of Its Electricity
Bates College will purchase its entire electricity supply from renewable energy sources in Maine, specifically biomass generating plants and small hydroelectric producers, President Elaine Tuttle Hansen announced today. Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center at Colby College Colby has long been committed to campus sustainability practices that emphasize energy efficiency and resource conservation. With these values in mind, Colby’s Environmental Advisory Group (EAG) developed a green construction policy entitled, “Green Building Principles and Guidelines.” This document outlines Colby’s environmental goals as they pertain to campus construction and renovation, while also considering the important relationship between the built environment and the natural environment. These principles and guidelines are being applied to the construction of three buildings that will border the new Colby Green and significantly expand the main campus quadrangle. The Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center is the first of the buildings planned for this location. The combination of the College’s desire to expand the main quadrangle and the existence of green building principles and guidelines provided the perfect opportunity to implement our green construction goals and practices. We also sought Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for this building to help evaluate the success of this project.
Go to storyColby’s Environmental Initiatives in Dining Services “The Fish List” is a nationally recognized guideline for making eco-friendly and sustainable seafood purchasing choices. In response to concerns about overfishing and destructive fishing practices, Colby has established a policy that adheres to this List in the dining services board meal plan. We haven’t stopped there. Following recommendations about additional fish populations at risk, Colby goes beyond NECSC Conference Presentation Click to go to the Harvard Conference Web site. http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/NECSCconference/presentations.php
Maine Students At Free- the- Planet Leadership Conference in Washington Three students from Portland, Maine, attended a national environmental leadership training conference in Washington, D.C. July 30 - August 4, 2005. Two are students from the University of Southern Maine, and the third attends Carleton College in Minnesota. This year was Free-The-Planet’s 10th Annual Project LEAD (Leadership for Environmental Action and Development). Free-The-Planet is a national student advocacy organization based in D.C. For five days, over thirty students from around the country met at Georgetown University to improve skills in environmental leadership and advocacy. UMO's Green Campus Initiative Click here for brochure in PDF format. Sustainability Workshop as a Catalyst in Maine for Curricular Change Sustainability…be careful with that word! Its currency today in the literature has created confusion well beyond its six syllables. For example, corporations sometimes use the word to refer to business operations that are able to sustain themselves; charitable organizations sometimes use the term sustainability in relation to international relief efforts, as in Heifer Project International’s gifting of animals to families in need; and environmental organizations sometimes use the “s” word to discuss the Earth’s ecological health.
Bowdoin Heating Plant Continues Major Environmental Upgrades Bowdoin’s central heating plant, which keeps the majority of Bowdoin’s buildings warm during Maine’s long heating season, is once again making some major improvements. During the summer of 2003 the heating plant switched its boilers from the thick and heavy #6 fuel oil to #2 fuel oil, which significantly reduced the plant’s air emissions. Unity College Professors Build Straw Bale House Unity College Professors Mick Womersley and his wife Aimee Phillippi have built an off grid two hundred straw bale home in the woods in Monroe, Me. The 900 sq. foot project was built almost entirely of recycled or renewable materials. It is a model of sustainability. College Of The Atlantic Creates The First Known Zero-Waste Commencement "There will be no trash, no trash at graduation," runs the current mantra of the Zero Waste Graduation Committee at College of the Atlantic. Students, staff and faculty are preparing for the first-known zero-waste graduation of any college in this country.
COA Students At UN Conference on Sustainable Development For ten days in April, College of the Atlantic students Jessica Glynn and Juan Pablo Hoffmaister joined representatives from around the world for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. This commission seeks to develop a global plan to promote economic, social and balance equity. As youth working to promote sustainable technology, Glynn and Hoffmaister want to make sure their voices are heard.
UM Studies Consumer Interest in Green Vehicles Few consumers take environmental factors into account when they buy a new vehicle, according to early results of a University of Maine research project. With support from a $399,979 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), researchers are meeting with consumer panels, conducting surveys and testing the effectiveness of vehicle performance information targeted at the public.
Completed USM John Mitchell Center Advanced Technology Wing Unveiled 12/10 USM's Advanced Technology Wing, a 23,000-square-f oot addition to the John Mitchell Center on the Gorham campus, is completed, thanks to $8 million in public and private funding. The USM expansion gives students and Maine businesses greater access to the educational resources, technology and services they need to grow the manufacturing and advanced technology industries in our region.
Green Campus Consortium of Maine Contributes Energy to Physical Plant Administrators Conference in Portland, Maine Maine’s just warming up! After Maine passed the “Act to Provide Leadership in Addressing the Threat of Climate Change” (the Act), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was assigned to create initiatives that assist Maine in reaching the goals set forth in the Act. These goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause health ailments and contribute to global warming. The Act requires Maine to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2010 and 10% below that by 2020. UMO Engineering Students Build Environmentally Clean Snowmobile
The University of Maine’s Clean Snowmobile Challenge team received a Best Value Award at a national competition in March. It came in fourth in competition among with 13 teams at Michigan Tech lin March.
Global Warming Legislation Before Maine Legislature
Using an E-Mail Listserv To Foster Environmentally Sustainable Behavior This case study describes a social marketing campaign to foster environmentally sustainable behavior among employees of Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A successful e-mail campaign was developed using the social marketing tools of commitment, prompting, and social norms, which are recommended in the book, Fostering Sustainable Behavior (McKenzie-Mohr and Smith, 1999). The results suggest that listservs, which leverage social networks, can be an efficient, effective vehicle for changing behaviors. While this campaign promoted energy-efficient behavior at home, listservs are likely to be effective at changing workplace behaviors. Bowdoin College Energy Conservation Dorm Competition Bowdoin College’s Facilities Management has run an annual energy conservation dorm competition for the past three years. Starting in 2002 with a weeklong competition, then two weeks in 2003, and this past fall we extended it for one month. In this past fall’s dorm competition all 19 dorms combined for an average reduction of 24.69% in electricity use, a big improvement over last year's combined reduction of 16%.
Harvard Green Campus Initiative Launches New Web Site! The Harvard Green Campus Initiative has developed and launched a comprehensive new web site which highlights Green Campus activities on the Harvard University campus.
Colby's Environmental Initiatives in Dining Services “The Fish List” is a nationally recognized guideline for making eco-friendly and sustainable seafood purchasing choices. In response to concerns about overfishing and destructive fishing practices, Colby has established a policy that adheres to this List in the dining services board meal plan. We haven’t stopped there. Following recommendations about additional fish populations at risk, Colby goes beyond “The Fish List” to provide students with not only healthy but sustainable seafood. According to staff scientist Tim Fitzgerald of Environmental Defense (one of the three organizations behind ‘The Fish List”), Colby appears to be a national leader on this issue, showing our commitment to protecting the environment through sustainable seafood choices Residence Recycling at the University of Maine Collection of recyclables in Residence Halls has, at best, been a very difficult endeavor. In 2004, the 18 Residence Halls and 3,600 residents at the University of Maine recycled 3,700 pounds of recyclable material. The system in place was simply that students were to take their trash and recyclables to an identified room(s) of their dormitory. Trash was to be placed in large trash cans with liners and recyclables separated into their appropriate containers. Students Walk Away From Conference Empowered to Slow Climate Change COA Seeks Sustainability Director
