Vermont Students Towards Environmental Protection

Heating Beyond Oil: How We Get There (with Senator Tim Ashe) →

Visit: http://bit.ly/cleanheatforum to RSVP today!

Investing in heating efficiency is one of the single most cost-effective ways Vermonters can reduce carbon emissions, save money, and help build the local economy. The heating efficiency bill, H.520, passed by the House recently doesn’t nearly get the job done. While the bill takes a number of small steps to help Vermonters use less energy to heat their homes and businesses, it doesn’t provide an additional dime in funding for heating efficiency programs. The Senate has the opportunity to improve the bill by adding the robust funding essential to meeting the state’s goal of weatherizing 80,000 homes by 2020.

With the first half of the 2013 legislative session in the books, our decision makers have yet to take action to promote clean, local heating sources in Vermont. Heating Beyond Oil: How We Get There will provide an overview of the importance of clean and affordable heating sources, the current legislative lay-of-the-land in regards to clean heat and most importantly, what YOU can do to make a difference in the coming weeks on this critical campaign.

What: A public forum hosted by VPIRG’s Clean Energy Advocate Ben Walsh on clean heating options and what YOU can do to get involved

When: April 10th, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Where: The Gallery at Main Street Landing (60 Lake Street) in Burlington

*Free Coffee, Tea and Dessert will be provided

THIS IS TODAY!!! do it do it do it

# thermal efficiency

Posted 1 month ago
BURACK LECTURE SERIES - Jonathan Rubin, PhD Friday, April 5, 3:00pm, Billings North Lounge LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION FUELS: CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY SECURITY A national low carbon fuel standard has been proposed as a way to lower the carbon intensity of the nation’s transportation sector while still providing for economic growth and mobility. An important method for lowering the carbon intensity of transportation is to substitute lower-carbon alternative fuels such as advanced biofuels, electricity, CNG, and H2. This talk will discuss the economic implications of different designs for a national low carbon fuel standard in terms of economic costs and energy security impacts.Dr. Rubin’s work spans the disciplines of economics, agriculture and public policy. He is active with the National Academy of Science’s Transportation Research Board as Chair of the Committee on Transportation Energy. Dr. Rubin’s academic research investigates low carbon transportation fuels, biofuel pathways, and the potential economic and environmental impacts from trading greenhouse gases and fuel efficiency credits for automobiles and light-duty trucks. link: http://uvmbored.com/event/burack-lecture-jonathan-rubin/

BURACK LECTURE SERIES - Jonathan Rubin, PhD

Friday, April 5, 3:00pm, Billings North Lounge

LOW CARBON TRANSPORTATION FUELS: CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY SECURITY

A national low carbon fuel standard has been proposed as a way to lower the carbon intensity of the nation’s transportation sector while still providing for economic growth and mobility. An important method for lowering the carbon intensity of transportation is to substitute lower-carbon alternative fuels such as advanced biofuels, electricity, CNG, and H2. This talk will discuss the economic implications of different designs for a national low carbon fuel standard in terms of economic costs and energy security impacts.
Dr. Rubin’s work spans the disciplines of economics, agriculture and public policy. He is active with the National Academy of Science’s Transportation Research Board as Chair of the Committee on Transportation Energy. Dr. Rubin’s academic research investigates low carbon transportation fuels, biofuel pathways, and the potential economic and environmental impacts from trading greenhouse gases and fuel efficiency credits for automobiles and light-duty trucks.

link: http://uvmbored.com/event/burack-lecture-jonathan-rubin/

Posted 1 month ago

TOMORROW (Thursday the 21st) is Vermont Energy Independence Day! →

Lobby Training: Meet at First Christ Church @ 64 State Street, Montpelier VT 05602

10:00 – 10:30     Check in/Refreshments/Welcome 
10:30 – 11:45     Training: Focused lobby and issue training

All Citizen Lobbyists meet at Christ Church to go together to State House:

11:45 – 1:30   Walk to State House and Lobby! 
1:30 – 4:00     Report back, then watch hearings/floor debate, participate in grassroots action – Room 11, State House
4:00 – 5:00     Premier of Vermont Energy Independence Day film (click here for more details) – Room 11, State House

Posted 1 month ago

Better Bring Your Own: University Of Vermont Bans Bottled Water →

When students at the University of Vermont resume classes on the snow-covered Burlington campus Monday, something will be missing: bottled water. UVM is the latest university to ban on-campus sales of bottled water.

At one of UVM’s recently retrofitted refill stations, students fill up their reusable bottles with tap water. For many of the 14,000 students and staff on this campus, topping off their refillable bottles is an old habit.

“It’s much more convenient to fill up your water bottle at a water fountain than to buy bottled water,” says Mikayla McDonald, a recent graduate, who a few years ago helped to launch the campaign that led to UVM’s ban. McDonald hopes it will reduce waste. But for her, it’s not just about changing behavior on campus.

“Bottled water is a symbol of our culture’s obsession with commodifying things that should be public trust resources,” she says.

In that spirit, a few other American colleges have restricted or banned the sale of bottled water to promote sustainability. But the University of Vermont is the largest public institution to do so, and that development disappoints beverage companies.

“I think they’re concerned because it’s such a radical step,” says lobbyist Andrew MacLean, who represents local water and soft drink distributors in Vermont. He agrees with the students’ environmental goals, but he thinks an outright ban restricts free choice and will ultimately fail.

“The factors that will result in more materials getting out of landfills is going to be a cooperative effort promoting strong recycling,” he argues.

But at least one New England town says recycling isn’t enough to keep plastic bottles out of its waste stream. Concord, Mass. — perhaps best known for its role in the American Revolution — joined the student movement this month, outlawing the sale of single-serve plastic water bottles in its stores.

— NPR

# bottled water ban uvm refill

Posted 4 months ago
uvmlittlebird: Recycling just got a little cooler.   Part-time art professor Beth Haggart, along with dozens of student volunteers, is creating a ten-foot tall arch to be placed in the Davis Center this Tuesday, through the rest of the semester.  Each of the columns has about 700 water bottles, stuck in bike tire tubes, held up by vertical cardboard tubes.  The entire arch, which, when finished, will use almost 2,000 total bottles.  The top of the arch is made of chicken wire, and the total cost of the project is estimated at under $100. (If you recycled the entire structure’s bottles and received 5 cents for each bottle, you’d have almost $100.) Bottled were collected at UVM from mid-October, but came from “hotels, conventions, anywhere,” according to Haggart.  ”It’s to celebrate what is going to happen January 1st.  The bottle ban will go into effect.” After it leaves UVM, Beth hopes it will travel to other locations “where somebody else can use it asa symbol of wanting to recycle.   There are a couple of places where it can go,” she said, but they haven’t settled on anything yet. The project has gone through three names, first A Colossal Monument to Waste, then Gateway to a Greener Future.  Now, they’ve settled on an “awkward and out-of-control” name for the arch: Inherently Unstable and Prone to Collapse. Might it actually collapse?  ”That’s what I want them to think,” Beth said.  ”Because that’s what I want it to feel like.  It feels tenuous, and it feels like it’s about to collapse.”  She assures us the structure is safe, but noted that it takes just one person to push it over. She estimates the arch to have taken a total of 500 hours combined.  It will be unveiled this Tuesday evening in the Davis Center. uvmlittlebird: Recycling just got a little cooler.   Part-time art professor Beth Haggart, along with dozens of student volunteers, is creating a ten-foot tall arch to be placed in the Davis Center this Tuesday, through the rest of the semester.  Each of the columns has about 700 water bottles, stuck in bike tire tubes, held up by vertical cardboard tubes.  The entire arch, which, when finished, will use almost 2,000 total bottles.  The top of the arch is made of chicken wire, and the total cost of the project is estimated at under $100. (If you recycled the entire structure’s bottles and received 5 cents for each bottle, you’d have almost $100.) Bottled were collected at UVM from mid-October, but came from “hotels, conventions, anywhere,” according to Haggart.  ”It’s to celebrate what is going to happen January 1st.  The bottle ban will go into effect.” After it leaves UVM, Beth hopes it will travel to other locations “where somebody else can use it asa symbol of wanting to recycle.   There are a couple of places where it can go,” she said, but they haven’t settled on anything yet. The project has gone through three names, first A Colossal Monument to Waste, then Gateway to a Greener Future.  Now, they’ve settled on an “awkward and out-of-control” name for the arch: Inherently Unstable and Prone to Collapse. Might it actually collapse?  ”That’s what I want them to think,” Beth said.  ”Because that’s what I want it to feel like.  It feels tenuous, and it feels like it’s about to collapse.”  She assures us the structure is safe, but noted that it takes just one person to push it over. She estimates the arch to have taken a total of 500 hours combined.  It will be unveiled this Tuesday evening in the Davis Center. uvmlittlebird: Recycling just got a little cooler.   Part-time art professor Beth Haggart, along with dozens of student volunteers, is creating a ten-foot tall arch to be placed in the Davis Center this Tuesday, through the rest of the semester.  Each of the columns has about 700 water bottles, stuck in bike tire tubes, held up by vertical cardboard tubes.  The entire arch, which, when finished, will use almost 2,000 total bottles.  The top of the arch is made of chicken wire, and the total cost of the project is estimated at under $100. (If you recycled the entire structure’s bottles and received 5 cents for each bottle, you’d have almost $100.) Bottled were collected at UVM from mid-October, but came from “hotels, conventions, anywhere,” according to Haggart.  ”It’s to celebrate what is going to happen January 1st.  The bottle ban will go into effect.” After it leaves UVM, Beth hopes it will travel to other locations “where somebody else can use it asa symbol of wanting to recycle.   There are a couple of places where it can go,” she said, but they haven’t settled on anything yet. The project has gone through three names, first A Colossal Monument to Waste, then Gateway to a Greener Future.  Now, they’ve settled on an “awkward and out-of-control” name for the arch: Inherently Unstable and Prone to Collapse. Might it actually collapse?  ”That’s what I want them to think,” Beth said.  ”Because that’s what I want it to feel like.  It feels tenuous, and it feels like it’s about to collapse.”  She assures us the structure is safe, but noted that it takes just one person to push it over. She estimates the arch to have taken a total of 500 hours combined.  It will be unveiled this Tuesday evening in the Davis Center.

uvmlittlebird:

Recycling just got a little cooler.  

Part-time art professor Beth Haggart, along with dozens of student volunteers, is creating a ten-foot tall arch to be placed in the Davis Center this Tuesday, through the rest of the semester.  Each of the columns has about 700 water bottles, stuck in bike tire tubes, held up by vertical cardboard tubes.  The entire arch, which, when finished, will use almost 2,000 total bottles.  The top of the arch is made of chicken wire, and the total cost of the project is estimated at under $100. (If you recycled the entire structure’s bottles and received 5 cents for each bottle, you’d have almost $100.)

Bottled were collected at UVM from mid-October, but came from “hotels, conventions, anywhere,” according to Haggart.  ”It’s to celebrate what is going to happen January 1st.  The bottle ban will go into effect.”

After it leaves UVM, Beth hopes it will travel to other locations “where somebody else can use it asa symbol of wanting to recycle.   There are a couple of places where it can go,” she said, but they haven’t settled on anything yet.

The project has gone through three names, first A Colossal Monument to Waste, then Gateway to a Greener Future.  Now, they’ve settled on an “awkward and out-of-control” name for the arch: Inherently Unstable and Prone to Collapse.

Might it actually collapse?  ”That’s what I want them to think,” Beth said.  ”Because that’s what I want it to feel like.  It feels tenuous, and it feels like it’s about to collapse.”  She assures us the structure is safe, but noted that it takes just one person to push it over.

She estimates the arch to have taken a total of 500 hours combined.  It will be unveiled this Tuesday evening in the Davis Center.

Reblogged 5 months ago from uvmlittlebird 6 notes
BOTTLED WATER RETIREMENT PARTY in the DC Atrium tomorrow! 12-2pm. On January 1, 2013, UVM will become one of the first universities in the country to end the sale of bottled water (the flat, unflavored variety) on its campus. In celebration of this environmentally friendly policy — the result of years of lobbying by students — a “retirement party” for bottled water will be held Wednesday, Dec. 5 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Davis Center’s atrium. To be unveiled at the event is a giant eco-sculpture made from approximately 3,000 empty water bottles — a visual reminder of the amount of waste that can be eliminated by using refillable containers at the 200-plus drinking fountains and 75-plus bottle refill stations conveniently located around campus. The event is open to all and will include speakers, games, taste tests and discounted water bottles. Come get your picture taken with your beloved reusable water bottle, taste test bottled water versus tap water, and eat cookies!!!!!! Facebook event page here.

BOTTLED WATER RETIREMENT PARTY in the DC Atrium tomorrow! 12-2pm.

On January 1, 2013, UVM will become one of the first universities in the country to end the sale of bottled water (the flat, unflavored variety) on its campus. In celebration of this environmentally friendly policy — the result of years of lobbying by students — a “retirement party” for bottled water will be held Wednesday, Dec. 5 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Davis Center’s atrium.

To be unveiled at the event is a giant eco-sculpture made from approximately 3,000 empty water bottles — a visual reminder of the amount of waste that can be eliminated by using refillable containers at the 200-plus drinking fountains and 75-plus bottle refill stations conveniently located around campus.

The event is open to all and will include speakers, games, taste tests and discounted water bottles.

Come get your picture taken with your beloved reusable water bottle, taste test bottled water versus tap water, and eat cookies!!!!!! Facebook event page here.

Posted 5 months ago
http://www.uvm.edu/sustain/cef/share-your-ideas Voting extended to this Friday! Register with your UVM NETID to vote. Help shape UVM’s energy future!  Faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to participate.

 The CEF generates ~ $225,000 each year from student fees to fund renewable energy projects on campus. 
CEF-funded projects include solar PV installations, compost heat recovery projects, and student internships. View Larger

http://www.uvm.edu/sustain/cef/share-your-ideas

Voting extended to this Friday! Register with your UVM NETID to vote.


Help shape UVM’s energy future!  Faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to participate.

 The CEF generates ~ $225,000 each year from student fees to fund renewable energy projects on campus. 
CEF-funded projects include solar PV installations, compost heat recovery projects, and student internships.

Posted 5 months ago
This documentary examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil. Thursday, November 29th Lafayette L108 @ 7:30 PM P.S. Bottled water retirement day is coming up on December 5th! View Larger

This documentary examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil.

Thursday, November 29th

Lafayette L108 @ 7:30 PM

P.S. Bottled water retirement day is coming up on December 5th!

Posted 5 months ago