New President at EMU - Sustainable a +

They have just posted the first ad for our new president at EMU. Same old, same old.

I have now traveled to many schools and interviewed people at forward and progressive schools that see what the future is - a positive future - one of the main features these schools have is a President who supports sustainability. The faculty and staff speak proudly of their president - the support, the care, the commitment to making their school shine.

Why can't this happen at EMU? Yes, I know we have many a problem, but why not wipe the slate clean of that past, and step into the future, oh, it isn't the future anymore, but the present? Seek a president who believes in sustainability, and give the students a boost, give Michigan, and of course, EMU something to strive for - teaching our students to live in their future. Giving them the tools to make this a better world. With so many other schools preparing their students, why should they have a leg up and our students not at least hear what this all about, and why it is so important for their future?

And so I leave today with a list of issues that our new"sustainable" president should sponsor.
First of all, the ad should change, and focus on the 3 legs of sustainability

• Environment: healthier ecosystems
• Social: social justice
• Economy: stronger economies

The President of EMU should be someone we can be proud of and trust. Someone who believes that sustainability should be a part of:

• Our mission
• Curricula
• Student life
• Research
  
• Facilities
• Purchasing and investments
• Legislative efforts
• Informing the public
• Community Partnerships
• Professional Development

Who can be against such things?
No one.
Then sustainability should be a requirement in our search.

AASHE Executive Director, Tom Kimmerer

It has been a long time coming getting this video up, but things are moving pretty fast right now. My book on a Sustainable US and Canada is in the final draft stage and I am focused on getting this little bit of sustainability to light. Plus!!! The Sustainable development class is a go and I still have lots of work to make this an excellent class for the our student's future.

We were in a hot and humid Lexington, Kentucky in June this year. Tom Kimmerer, who just came aboard AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) in February, kindly submitted to my questions about AASHE, even though he had just come in from riding his bike and didn't realize we would be filming. Sorry about that! But he was gracious and willing to go ahead an educate me and now you as to what AASHE is and its mission.

EMU is not a member of AASHE, but for $1500 a year we could be and share what 300 other schools are doing to make education and our future a better place. I did ask if they took individual memberships but they do not. So its all or nothing EMU! I vote for all.

A Sustainable EMU?

Things are beginning to happen here at EMU. More student and faculty are realizing that we are on the brink of something new and that it is time for the school to be a part of it. The work is far from done, but soon, if we are lucky there will be a resolution given to the administrators to recognize sustainability issues and to create a committee to identify the issues and do something about them. I still think an environmental audit is the first step, and maybe it will actually come to be. Other faculty have been supportive and are doing "Robert's Rules of Order" things that I prefer not to get involved in. I am so happy that they care enough to push in ways that I do not. Let EMU get the message from all angles!

There is slowly building a mass of students willing to take the "Sustainable Development" course that I will be offering next semester. It will be the first time such a course is available at the school, and I am working hard to put together a worthy course to educate those who can see this future, or at least want to understand it.

That is all for now. I have a great deal of work to do, but thought I would relate the positive actions happening on our campus.

Money Available

The longer we wait to accept the future the farther behind we will be. The following was just announced. $5 Billion for exactly the types of upgrades and improvements that would help EMU become a part of the future, so we too can offer our students a place in the new paradigm. All we need to do is sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).

$5 Billion in Financing Made Available for Campus Retrofits
Former President Bill Clinton recently announced a new partnership between the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and signatories of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). This partnership seeks to enable colleges and universities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower their energy bills, and upgrade campus facilities without dipping into their capital budgets or increasing monthly operating expenses. Specifically, the partnership gives signatories of the ACUPCC access to funding mechanisms, technical assistance, and discounts on products from companies who have signed Memoranda of Understanding with the CCI. The CCI has secured commitments from 5 global financial institutions to each offer $1 billion of financing for energy efficiency retrofit projects, from eight leading energy services companies to perform building retrofits and guarantee the energy savings, and more than twenty five manufacturers of energy efficient products who will offer discounts of up to 70 percent to project partners. Eleven ACUPCC signatories also announced the launch of pilot projects with the CCI that will serve as models for other colleges and universities.

Just Scary -Arizona Water

I don't get it. I looked in vain for the plentitude of solar energy panels I knew I would find in Arizona. In vain. But I didn't expect to find a denial of water issues in the desert too. I don't get it.

For a state that has mandated that all state buildings are to be LEED certified, in a state that has schools that are way ahead in their sustainable goals, in a state with almost unending sunshine - there is little to no use of solar energy. Even Arcosanti the experimental community north of Phoenix is only 15% solar, though they do conserve their water (and I will get to the wonderful ideas that ARE being pursued there, later).

Why is there no solar or water conservation in Arizona?

I went searching to see if it was just me, but found that I am not hallucinating in the sunshine.

PHOENIX - Arizona could become the nation's leading generator of solar power but isn't taking the steps needed to do so, leaving neighboring states to reap the benefits of harnessing the sun's energy, officials told state lawmakers and regulators Thursday.

"The technology to mine your sun exists. I believe this state has been ignoring that resource," said Fred Morse, co-chairman of the Western Governors' Association Solar Task Force. (Tucson Citizen, 2/2/07)

Arizona's relentless sunshine has enough energy to power the entire country.
Yet solar supplies less than half of 1 percent of the state's power. (Arizona Republic, 7/8/07)

Arizona makes me feel better about the poor state of affairs in Michigan. Arizona wastes water - wake up.

To reduce evaporation, water in the early evening or morning. Avoid watering during the middle of the day or late evenings (10 p.m. to 3 am). During the heat of the day, water is wasted by evaporation. (Montana(!!) water tips)

Water early in the morning. Water when temperatures are mild and winds are calm, so less water will be lost through evaporation. (Maryland water tips)

Water your landscaping during the cool of the day: Watering landscaping in the early morning or late evening reduces water waste through evaporation and avoids peak use times of day, which helps us stabilize water pressure. (Modesto California)

Water early morning or late evening versus midday, when evaporation is greatest. Note that morning watering reduces problems with mildews and soil-borne diseases. (Virginia Nursery and Landscape)

You get the idea. Everyone, except Arizona, seems to know that watering in the early morning is the way to go. They seem to be in denial that they live in a desert.

A Meeting of Minds at Prescott College

Prescott College is small in its size, but in my mind, big in its reputation. It attracts people who are interested in Sustainability, and they come to learn. The school offers degrees in sustainability (among others) from undergraduate to a Doctoral in Sustainable Education. I was very impressed with what I heard and saw and hope you will find inspiration from the founder of the Sustainable Community Development program, Terril Shorb, who shared some time with me recently.

Arizona State University (ASU) began as a teacher college in 1885, became a leading research university (Carnegie I )in 1994, and is today one of the leading proponents of Sustainability in the nation. One of the reasons that Sustainability has been able to have a foot hold at ASU is support — from students, administration, faculty, donors, the state, and the University President.

The state has mandated all new state buildings to be silver LEED certified, programs are in place that encourage faculty to work together, students are included in the plans, and — and this is important — the President in on board. Much as I found at Berea, having the support of University President Michael Crow provides a focus at all levels of the schools. For example, ASU is pursuing full carbon neutrality, and has signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Bonny Bentzin, a manager of sustainability initiatives said that the cutting the bureaucracy red tape is difficult but having the President involved gives the process gravitas.

Please, please, please, those who are on the committee for another President at EMU, find one who supports sustainability, so that we can give our students an education to prepare them for the future of America.