January/ February

2016

Sustainability Bulletin

4 RecycleMania

6 Trashion Fashion

8 Sustainability Speaker Series

10 #UAlbanyGivingTuesday

12 Around Town

Wh

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January 22nd at 3PM

Farewell Party for Mary Alexis

University Hall Atrium

January 27th at 2:45PM

Power Dialog and Clean Power Plan

Humanities 20

February 7th through April 2nd

RecycleMania Competition

February 15th at 7PM

Connected by Coffee Film

The Madison Theater

February 23rd at 7PM

"After Paris, The World Needs New York: The Next Step to Save the Future"

Campus Center Assembly Hall

March 29th

Trashion Fashion MyInvolvement Submission Deadline

April 5th

Power Dialog

Campus Center Ballroom

April 6th

Trashion Fashion Dress Rehearsal

Campus Center Ballroom

April 7th

Trashion Fashion Show

Campus Center Ballroom For a full event calendar, click here.

2016 marks UAlbany’s ninth year competing in RecycleMania, a friendly national

competition among over 400 colleges and universities to see who can recycle the

most. During the course of eight weeks beginning on Feb. 7th, schools across the

United States and Canada report data on their recycling and trash, which then is

used to designate rankings based on who recycles the most on a per capita basis, as

well as which schools have the best recycling rate as a percentage of total waste and

which schools generate the least amount of combined trash and recycling.

Here at UAlbany, recycling is made easy. Our university offers a comprehensive,

single-stream recycling program, which means that you can toss cardboard, paper,

cans, bottles, and plastics in one bin. Your recyclables travel from that bin to the

Recycling Center, where they are sorted so they can move on to a second life. For

some items, such as bulk cardboard and paper from offices, we choose to send this

to a separate recycler because they are more valuable.

Have a break today? Check out this Ted Talk titled “We Can Recycle Plastic.” In ten

short minutes, you will gain a new outlook on the stuff in your life.

"Reduce" means using fewer

resources in the first place. This

is the most effective of the three

R's and the place to begin. One

easy way to reduce use less

paper is to only print when you

need to, and when you do, print

double sided.

Before you recycle or dispose of

anything, consider whether it has

life left in it. Reusing keeps new

resources from being used for a

while longer, and old resources

from entering the waste stream.

Water bottle refilling stations are

placed across campus to make it

easier to use your water bottle.

Recycling is the "R" that has

caught on the best. Here at

UAlbany, we have commingled

recycling, which means you

can put all your recyclables in

the same bin!

Save the date for UAlbany’s Third Annual

Trashion Fashion Show! The show is a

creative and fun event for students to

showcase their artistic side, while raising

and practicing environmental awareness.

Students, faculty, and staff are challenged

to create an outfit made up of recycled or

upcycled materials. The submission

categorizes are: Student Group, Quad,

Greek Life, Individual, LLC, and Campus

Office. The winners for each student

category will be awarded with cash! The

best faculty or campus office design will

win a free breakfast!

This is an official call for volunteers to serve on the Trashion Fashion

Committee!

Please email gogreen@albany.edu if you would like to help out with

planning the show, designing the set, or if you are interested in performing

or being an emcee.

planning the show, designing the set, or if you are interested in performing

Important Dates To Remember: March 29th

Trashion Fashion MyInvolvement

Submission Deadline

April 6th

Trashion Fashion Dress Rehearsal

Campus Center Ballroom

April 7th

Trashion Fashion Show

Campus Center Ballroom

In April 2016, more than ten thousand students

across the country will speak their truth about

power. The Power Dialog is organizing nationwide

meetings between college, graduate, and high

school students with their state officials in charge

of implementing the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

Under the EPA Plan, states are required to reduce

global warming pollution from the electric power

sector -- 32% by 2030.

In accordance with the national event, the

University at Albany will be hosting the New York

State Power Dialog on April 5th, 2016.

On Wednesday, January 27th, Eban Goodstein, the

Director of the Bard Center for Environmental

Policy on Power Dialog, will be speaking to the

University at Albany about the Power Dialog and

the Clean Power Plan. The presentation will take

place at 2:45pm in HU 020.

The University at Albany created a course for

Spring 2016 that aligns with the Power Dialog.

Judge Eleanor Stein will be instructing POS204:

Power Dialogue: Conversations on Climate Change,

Energy and the Environment. This course explores

January 27th 2:45PM in Humanities 20

“What is the Power Dialog and Clean

Power Plan?”

Eban Goodstein, Director of the Bard

Center for Environmental Policy on

Power Dialog

February 23rd 7PM in Assembly Hall

“After Paris, The World Needs New

York: The Next Step to Save the

Future”

Hunter Lovins, Founder of Natural

Capitalism Solutions, co-founder of the

Rocky Mountain Institute

March 22nd Time and Place TBD

Professor Tomislav Friscic from McGill

University on Green Chemistry

April 5th 6PM in Campus Center

Ballroom

The Power Dialog

Richard Kaufman, Chairman of Energy

and Finance for NY (tentative)

Jared Snyder, Assistant Commissioner,

Office of Air Resources, Climate

Change and Energy, DEC

On Wednesday, January 27th, Eban Goodstein, the

Director of the Bard Center for Environmental

Policy on Power Dialog, will be speaking to the

University at Albany about the Power Dialog and

the Clean Power Plan. The presentation will take

place at 2:45pm in HU 020.

The University at Albany created a course for

Spring 2016 that aligns with the Power Dialog.

Judge Eleanor Stein will be instructing POS204:

Power Dialogue: Conversations on Climate Change,

Energy and the Environment. This course explores

the current scientific and social understanding of

climate change and responses to it, both locally

and globally. It culminates with the Power Dialog,

an organized public meeting including top state

government officials discussing how to meet the

goals of the Paris agreement, the national Clean

Power Plan and New York’s commitment to clean

energy.

To get involved or attend this event please fill out

this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/

r/8SYKDFY

Thank you

for your

generosity to

the UAlbany

Sustainability

Fund on

Giving

Tuesday!

We’d like to extend our sincerest thank

you to all of those who donated to the

Sustainability Fund to help us meet our

goal on Giving Tuesday! The Office of

Environmental Sustainability worked

with the UAlbany Fund to set a $2,000

goal, and an anonymous donor

matched each gift! The support of the

UAlbany Sustainability Fund is crucial in

assisting the Office of Environmental

Sustainability build a culture of

environmental consciousness on

campus and provide programming. This

spring, the UAlbany Sustainability Fund

will support the Power Dialog, which

will allow students from across New

York State to engage in a face-to-face

dialogue with state-level regulators

about implementing the Clean Power

Plan. This initiative would not be

possible without your support!

This spring, we’ll be saying

goodbye to the Office of

Environmental Sustainability

Program Assistant Mary Alexis

Leciejewski who has been with

us for the last three years. Join

us as we say goodbye to her on

Friday, January 22nd from 3PM-

5PM in the University Hall

Atrium.

Cassidy Drasser will be filling

Mary Alexis’s shoes for the

spring semester. You’ve

probably seen Cassidy around

the office or during

sustainability programs as she’s

been working with Mary Ellen

since she was a freshman. Now

she is finishing up her Master’s

degree in Biodiversity,

Conservation, and Policy and is

ready to take the reigns as the

spring Program Assistant.

Ch– Ch– Ch– Changes

Summer Intern Summary

Peregrine Falcons Return

On February 6th at 1PM, the Audubon

Society of the Capital Region presents

“Peregrine Falcons Return.” Mathew

Perry of the Utica Peregrine Falcon

Project will share a fascinating

presentation on his work fostering the

first and second pairs of Peregrine

falcons to nest and fledge young in

downtown Utica, NY. The presentation

will be held at Mabee Farm Historic

Site.

Almost Full Moon

Hike

Enjoy the Pine Bush at night

with a hike under the full

moon. Plan to walk 1.4 miles

over rolling topography

stopping intermittently to look

at the night sky and for night

vision and sound observations.

Meet at the Discovery Center

on Friday, January 22nd at

6:30PM and then caravan to

the Blueberry Hill west

trailhead (# 5). Participants

must provide their own

transportation.

Bike Share

How to Do It: Identifying Trees in Winter

Tree identification can be tricky. We

often start by looking at the leaves on

trees. But what do we do in winter

when there are none? Practice

identifying deciduous trees with the

“Winter Tree Finder” and conifers with

the “Tree Finder” as our guides. If you

have your own “finders,” bring them

along. We will have several for loan for

the program at Five Rivers

Environmental Education Center on

Saturday, January 30th at 2PM.

Cooking with Oddball

Grains

Does Honest Weight’s Bulk

Department make you dizzy with

choices you’re not quite sure how to

pronounce, let alone cook? Leyla

and Levi will guide you through

preparation methods for some of our

nutritious and delicious, if a little

unusual, grains in this oft-requested

class. Class begins at 2PM on

Saturday, January 23rd at the

Teaching Kitchen at Honest Weight

Food Coop.

Decolonizing Sustainability Film Series