Week of May 16

Environmental Club members & supporters,


The year is almost over! We are having coordinator elections - if you have any interest in leading, apply. We will train you if you're elected, so don't stress. Our second to last meeting is next Thursday with an earlier starting time (4:30).


Environmental Club events:
Environmental Club Meeting - Change in Starting Time
Thursday, May 20, 2010
4:30 pm
GreenSpace, SMSU 28

At our 2nd to last meeting this year, we'll be accepting coordinator applications. We'll also be talking about this year, how it's gone, what we should do over the summer, our upcoming volunteer activities, and maybe more about the ridiculously horrible oil spill. Maybe we can do something for it

Hope to see you here.


So You Want to Be a Coordinator…
Elections are coming up! Apply to be a coordinator. We'll train you. Elections will be held at our final meeting (with Hot Lips pizza) on Thursday, June 3. The decision is made by the entire group.

POSITION DUTIES:
Coordinator position:
3 available positions
6 - 10 hours a week average
$111/month, 9 months of pay, from end of Sept until end of June, summer prep time is required, and will be determined by elected coordinators
Duties: planning and leading meetings, helping coordinate a campaign (like this year's Take Back the Tap or Earth Day program - campaigns are decided by members at beginning of year), answering emails, staying on top of paperwork for budget, planning events, keeping in touch with other coordinators

Assistant coordinator position:
(was originally Native Garden coordinator)
~4 hours a week
$0/month (But, oh, the satisfaction!)
The assistant coordinator position is a good lead-up to being a full coordinator. Less hours, less responsibility, but good experience.
Duties: helping plan & set up events & meetings, overseeing the Native Garden and organizing a work party if necessary (or convincing someone else to do so!)

Please prepare the following application information:
    * your full name and PSU ID number
    * your motivations for applying
    * previous organizing experience (don't worry if you don't have any, and organizing a study group does count)
    * time availability next year
    * people skills - ability to compromise, fulfill obligations, etc
    * do you have easy access to campus? (live near, bike, or etc)

Submit application no later than the Environmental Club meeting on Thursday, May 19th at 7pm.


Volunteer at the Learning Gardens
Saturday, May 22, 2010
6801 SE 60th Ave.
10:15am - 2pm

Come and help the Environmental Club at their summer kick-off volunteer event!  Join us at the Learning Garden Laboratory for an afternoon of gardening and community.  And guess what!?  Those of you not a fan of our usual early morning volunteer events will be happy to know that this event starts at 10:15!  After a short orientation we'll get our hands in the dirt.


Campus events:
Portland State University's Third-Annual Sustainability Celebration
Monday, May 24, 2010
Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom 3rd floor
4-6 p.m.
4 p.m. Reception and poster session
5 p.m. Program and climate action plan signing

Join us for a celebration of this year's sustainability activities at Portland State University, including:
• Official signing of PSU's 2040 Climate Action Plan by President Wim Wiewel
• Introduction of Robert Costanza, incoming director, Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices
• Sharing of successes by students, faculty and staff
• Poster session for sustainability projects

Light refreshments served. Free and open to the community.

www.pdx.edu/sustainability


Climate Action Plan review
Dear Environmental Club Members,

I am pleased to present the latest version of the PSU Climate Action Plan for review by members of the Environmental Club.

The Plan is available for download at: http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/climate-action-plan
We are hoping that faculty and students will help us identify campus-based research projects that can be included in the Plan.

Comments are being accepted through May 16 at greencampus@pdx.edu and through the following surveys:

    * Students
    * Faculty
    * Staff

Please join us
Portland State University's 3rd Annual Sustainability Celebration will be taking place 4-6pm May 24, 2010 in the SMSU Ballroom (rm 355).
- 4pm Reception/poster session
- 5pm Program with remarks by the President, signing of the Climate Action Plan, stories from PSU students/faculty/staff, and an introduction to the new CSP2 director, Robert Costanza.

Thank you for your consideration,
Noelle Studer-Spevak


Other:
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
I found some interesting info about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Thought I'd share.

Video of the oil leak - shows oil gushing out of broken pipe:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/05/12/us/1247467832643/video-shows-oil-gushing-into-gulf.html

Other problems the Gulf of Mexico faces - dead zones, trash, industry, and now the oil spill:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/09/weekinreview/09marsh.html

Shows daily spread of oil:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html


Almost dead week? No, not really.

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant


Check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/

Earth Day this THURSDAY 10 am - 6 pm

Environmental Club members & supporters,


Earth Day is Thursday!!

• Go to the Festival, visit the Environmental Club tables (Take Back the Tap, Mix Your Own Green Cleaner, Start Your Own Seeds), check out all the vendors, artists, and bands!
  
• If you have these materials, please bring them to the GreenSpace TOMORROW between the hours of 10 am - 4 pm
• seeds & egg crates for "Start Your Own Seeds"
  
• jars, plastic screw-lid containers, & essential oils for "Mix Your Own Green Cleaner"
  

PSU Earth Week and Earth Day 2010
http://psuearthweek.org

Earth Day Festival
April 22 event features bands, vendors, demonstrations and keynote by Sightline Institute’s Alan Durning

WHAT: Portland State University students will host an all-day Earth Day festival, featuring outdoor performances by bands, a noon address by Sightline Institute Founder Alan Durning, food, community groups, vendors, sustainable technology demonstrations, and more.

Performers include The Soul Mechanics (with members of Hot Buttered Rum and Fruition), Morning Teleportation, Everyday Prophets, Luck One, Sudden Anthem and Off the Grid.

WHEN: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday, April 22, 2010

WHERE: South Park Blocks at Portland State University

COST: The event is free and open to the public.

CONTACT: PJ Houser, PSU Earth Week Coalition, psuearthweek@pdx.edu. For more information and a complete list of Earth Week activities (April 17 – 24), visit www.psuearthweek.org. Find us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/bJNtZh

BACKGROUND: PSU Earth Day 2010 is the culmination of a full week (April 17-24) of “Sustainability in Action”: student-led sustainability projects across the city. Activities range from planting gardens at Portland Public Schools and an eco-documentary marathon to cooking in a cob oven and mixing green cleaning products.

SPONSORS: PSU Earth Week is sponsored by Students for Leadership in Ecology, Culture and Learning; the PSU Environmental Club; and the Sustainability Leadership Center.

Additional support comes from community sponsors, including Dave's Killer Bread, Columbia Gorge Organic, Portland Farmer's Market, Andie Petkus Photography, Renewable Project Northwest, Natracare, and others. The Bonneville Environmental Foundation will provide carbon offsets for the entire event.

psuearthweek@pdx.edu
http://psuearthweek.org


Campus events:
Student Elections - Vote!
Protect the Environmental Club's and other student groups' funding!

Voting for ASPSU president, vice president, senators, and Student Fee Committee (in charge of $12 million of our student fees). Sign in to Banweb, click on Student Elections 2010, and vote! Deadline is 5 pm, Thursday, April 22nd.



Earth Day Earth Day Earth Day!

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant


Check out our updated website at http://eclub.groups.pdx.edu

Also, check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/

Week before Earth Day 2010

Environmental Club members & supporters,


Earth Day is next Thursday! PSU Earth Week kicks off Saturday, April 17, and includes a ton of fun activities, from garden planting to cob oven cooking to green cleaning DIY. The highlight of the week will be the Earth Day festival on Thursday, April 22 from 10 am to 6 pm in the PSU Park Blocks. There will be several local bands, tons of artists, vendors, non-profits, activities, and campus groups. Visit psuearthweek.org for a schedule of events.

P.S. There will be no Environmental Club meeting next week because we'll all be at the Earth Day festival!


Environmental Club events:

• PSU Earth Week and Earth Day 2010

Campus events:

• PSU participates in AASHE's Sustainability Tracking and Rating System
• PGE and PSU partner for sustainable projects

Community events:

• Hands On Greater Portland Cares Day
• MHS Green Team hosts 2nd annual Greenstock Earth Day Concert
• TapIt lists Portland cafes that will provide tap water to the public, no complaining!
• Portland BPS chooses recipients for the 2010 Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program

Other:

• President Obama Challenges Americans to Take Action to Improve the Environment in Honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
• Define Our Decade Summer
• Colorful Energy Awareness Widgets
• For sustainability outreach fans: Applying the Transtheoretical Model to Energy Feedback Technology Design
• A Tucson school and its No-Oreo zone: Kids at school can't bring processed food
• Innovative architecture and design for sustainability
• Internet collaboration at its best - Indoor Hydroponic Window Farms
• 20 billion ways to save water

Environmental Club events:
PSU Earth Week and Earth Day 2010
http://psuearthweek.org

Earth Day Festival
April 22 event features bands, vendors, demonstrations and keynote by Sightline Institute’s Alan Durning

WHAT: Portland State University students will host an all-day Earth Day festival, featuring outdoor performances by bands, a noon address by Sightline Institute Founder Alan Durning, food, community groups, vendors, sustainable technology demonstrations, and more.

Performers include The Soul Mechanics (with members of Hot Buttered Rum and Fruition), Morning Teleportation, Everyday Prophets, Luck One, Sudden Anthem and Off the Grid.

WHEN: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday, April 22, 2010

WHERE: South Park Blocks at Portland State University

COST: The event is free and open to the public.

CONTACT: PJ Houser, PSU Earth Week Coalition, psuearthweek@pdx.edu. For more information and a complete list of Earth Week activities (April 17 – 24), visit www.psuearthweek.org. Find us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/bJNtZh

BACKGROUND: PSU Earth Day 2010 is the culmination of a full week (April 17-24) of “Sustainability in Action”: student-led sustainability projects across the city. Activities range from planting gardens at Portland Public Schools and an eco-documentary marathon to cooking in a cob oven and mixing green cleaning products.

SPONSORS: PSU Earth Week is sponsored by Students for Leadership in Ecology, Culture and Learning; the PSU Environmental Club; and the Sustainability Leadership Center.

Additional support comes from community sponsors, including Dave's Killer Bread, Columbia Gorge Organic, Portland Farmer's Market, Andie Petkus Photography, Renewable Project Northwest, Natracare, and others. The Bonneville Environmental Foundation will provide carbon offsets for the entire event.

psuearthweek@pdx.edu
http://psuearthweek.org

Volunteer opportunities - we need your help!
Before Earth Day:
Promotional team: Pass out fliers in Park Blocks, table, visit classrooms, or put up posters on campus and around the city.

At the Earth Day festival...
Green Team: Help PSU Recycles monitor recycle & compost bins and prevent contamination.
Set up: Help set up tables, chairs, tents, etc. Shift is from 8 am - 10 am.
Take down: Help take down the event. Shift is from 6 pm - 8 pm.
Info booth: Provide guidance to visitors, vendors, etc. 2 hour shifts from 10 am to 6 pm.
Activities leader or assistant: We need people to lead the activities and assist. Multiple activities will be occurring throughout the day at the festival, such as face painting, yoga, green cleaning products, etc. The activities aren't finalized. If you have any ideas, please submit them to psuearthweek@pdx.edu or ecpsu@pdx.edu. If you would like to lead any of the activities or know someone who could, please email us.

To volunteer, contact psuearthweek@pdx.edu or reply to ecpsu@pdx.edu


Campus events:
PSU participates in AASHE's Sustainability Tracking and Rating System
...& PJ is famous
For the second consecutive year, Portland State is participating in the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System, a comprehensive program that collects data from campuses nationwide to determine how universities stack up in terms of sustainability.

The program, commonly known as STARS, considers everything from classes at a university to its waste management and recycling programs. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education oversees the collection of data from 130 colleges and universities across the nation to offer a comprehensive look at how sustainable a campus is, according to the program’s Web site....

PJ Houser, assistant in the Campus Sustainability Office, said that PSU participated in the pilot year to gather data and look at which areas of sustainability the campus is strong in and where it needs improvement.
http://www.dailyvanguard.com/reaching-for-stars-at-psu-1.2213683


PGE and PSU partner for sustainable projects
Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon
Nathalie Weinstein
March 31, 2010

Portland State University and Portland General Electric on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding for a long-term partnership to make Portland a more sustainable city.

The partnership came from a task force appointed by PGE president Jim Piro and PSU president Wim Wiewel to see how the groups could work together on urban sustainability projects.

Now, the university and the utility will work together on research, economic development, community and professional training projects, including a project to get Portland wired for the roll out of electric vehicles later this year.

The MOU also included a $50,000 commitment over two years to create a PGE Foundation Renewable Energy Research lab. The lab will be managed by chemistry faculty Erik Johansson and will look at how semiconductor photovoltaic and photo-electrochemical devices can be made more efficient.
http://www.pdx.edu/news/daily-journal-of-commerce-oregon-pge-psu-partner-for-sustainable-projects


Community events:
Hands On Greater Portland Cares Day
Saturday, April 24th
Times & locations vary

April 5, 2010 - On Saturday, April 24th, Comcast and Hands On Greater Portland will mobilize over 1800 volunteers who will donate 3 hours of their time revitalizing parks, painting schools and sprucing up local non-profits to spark change in our community. You can find a project in your neighborhood by visiting http://www.handsonportland.org/HomePage/index.php/home.html. But sign up fast! Slots are already beginning to fill up for our most popular projects! If you have any questions, please feel free to email James Crews at james@handsonportland.org

Hands On Greater Portland
503.200.3371
james@handsonportland.org
http://www.portlandonline.com/oni/index.cfm?c=29385&a=294651


MHS Green Team hosts 2nd annual Greenstock Earth Day Concert
Saturday, April 24th 2010
12 pm - 9 pm
Molalla, Oregon

The 2nd annual Greenstock Earth Day Concert will take place in the verdant Clark Park near downtown Molalla. The MHS Green Team has organized the event in order to spread environmental awareness and promote a greener way of thinking. 

The program will include numerous bands - such as The Hugs, Boy Eats Drum Machine, A Blinding Silence, and Midnight Callers - as well as provide information about recycling, composting, alternative energy and other ‘green’ topics.

Tickets are $2 at the gate, opening at 11am. Music starts at noon and runs until 9pm. Food concessions will be available. The concert will offer patrons a family friendly opportunity to enjoy a day of eclectic regional music, food, and information on how to live more in harmony with the earth.   

“We wanted to find a way to reach the community that is not only educational, but also incorporates fun and entertainment.” Kyle Lindsey, Green Team President.

As a club dedicated to environmental consciousness and resource conservation, the purpose of the Green Team is to educate people on the ways we can all work together to make our community and ultimately our planet a better place. Greenstock is one way to expand the community’s environmental IQ through a leisurely day of great entertainment.

For more information contact:
Molalla High School Environmental Club (The Green Team):
Kelila Eichstadt, Communications Officer
503-313-8864
kelilaeichstadt@hotmail.com


TapIt lists Portland cafes that will provide tap water to the public, no complaining!
April 5, 2010 - TapIt is new to Portland and will make it easier for Portlanders to find tap water while on the go. TapIt is happy to be officially launching our program in Portland this week.

We have signed up over 50 local Portland food service businesses to be official 'TapIt Partners' who will always offer free tap water to the public. When on-the-go, Portlanders or visitors can use the TapIt iPhone app, mobile website or look for a TapIt sticker on the windows of cafes to find where they can easily refill their personal water bottles, no questions asked.

TapIt was inspired by the idea that we should all have easy access to a great public resource like water. Even if you are away from your home or your office, you should not feel forced to buy water in a plastic bottle. You should have a clean place to get a water refill, for free. Our partner businesses believe in this idea and want to support the community by offering this service.

We think that using the TapIt network can be fun and helpful. We also hope TapIt will encourage people to think about water, how important it is to us and how we need to work together to keep it clean and plentiful.

Media Inquiries? pr@tapitwater.com
Own a business and want to become our partner? Visit us on the Web!
Find out more about us on Facebook and Twitter (@tapitwater).

William Schwartz
TapIt Water
Community Coordinator
http://www.portlandonline.com/water/index.cfm?c=39678&a=294731


Portland BPS chooses recipients for the 2010 Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program
Portland, Ore – The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program.

BPS received a total of 30 applications and 18 groups were funded through the program. The organizations ranged from schools to neighborhood groups to grassroots organizations.

The grant’s goal is to offer neighborhood, community and nonprofit organizations money for projects or items that will help them overcome barriers to waste prevention and increase recycling while educating the community.
 
Program funding is part of an initiative of the Portland Recycles! Plan for outreach and education around increased waste prevention and recycling in the Portland community.

Some projects include Friends of Trees and Junk to Funk. For more 2010 funded organizations and projects, see
http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?&c=44851&a=294642


Other:
President Obama Challenges Americans to Take Action to Improve the Environment in Honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
April 13, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama today challenged Americans to take action in their homes, communities, schools, or businesses to improve the environment in honor of the upcoming 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2010.  In conjunction with the video message of President Obama, the White House unveiled WhiteHouse.gov/earthday as a resource guide for all those interested in learning how they can help make a difference in their community.

The full text of the video is below:
"Forty one years ago, in the city of Cleveland, people watched in horror as the Cuyahoga River - choked with debris and covered in oil - caught on fire.

Images of the burning Cuyahoga shocked a nation, and it led one Wisconsin Senator the following year to organize the first Earth Day to call attention to the dangers of ignoring our environment.

In the four decades since, we have made remarkable progress. Today, our air and water are cleaner, pollution has been greatly reduced, and Americans everywhere are living in a healthier environment. We've passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and founded the Environmental Protection Agency. And in Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River is cleaner than it's been in 100 years.

But the true story of the environmental movement is not about the laws that have been passed. It's about the citizens who have come together time and time again to demand cleaner air, healthier drinking water and safer food - and who have demanded that their representatives in government hold polluters accountable.

That progress continues today, as individuals and entrepreneurs across the country help lay the foundation for a Clean Energy Economy - one solar panel, smart meter and energy efficient home at a time.

Since taking office, my Administration has been a partner in the fight for a healthier environment. Through the Recovery Act, we've invested in clean energy and clean water infrastructure across the country. We're taking the necessary steps to keep our children safe and hold polluters accountable. And we have rejected the notion that we have to choose between creating jobs and a healthy environment - because we know that the economy of the 21st century will be built on infrastructure powered by clean energy.

But even though we've made significant progress, there is much more to do. And as we continue to tackle our environmental challenges, it's clear that change won't come from Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen.

That's why, as we get ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I want to leave you with a challenge.

I want you to take action - in your home or your community; at your school or your business - to improve our environment. It can be as simple as riding the bus or the subway to work, making your home more energy efficient, or organizing your neighbors to clean up a nearby park. 

Just go to whitehouse.gov/earthday to learn how you can help. And then tell us your story about what you're doing to make a difference.

In the end, it's people like you - the small business owners and community leaders; the teachers and the students; the young people and the grandparents - who have made Earth Day so successful.  And it's going to be up to you to make an even bigger difference over the next 40 years.

So let's get to work. Together, we can continue to make progress towards a cleaner environment and a healthier planet."


Define Our Decade Summer
Over the last several weeks young people across the country met with their elected officials to declare our vision of an America powered by 100% clean electricity in the next the 10 years.

But it's not just talk! That's why this summer Energy Action Coalition is partnering with 10 local projects across the country to Define Our Decade with community-based clean energy solutions. Being a part of one of these projects will give you a chance to actually build the world you want to see. These programs will give you the training, tangible first hand-experience, allow you to build lasting friendships, and deepen the movement for change.

Apply today to be a part of the Define Our Decade Summer.

Choose from one of these 10 exciting projects:

    * Cleveland, Ohio: Green a city block through home weatherization and urban gardening
    * Corvallis, Oregon: Organizing to adapt clean energy solutions to community needs
    * Detroit, Michigan: Create a model clean energy community through home weatherization and local food production
    * Fredricksburg, Virginia: Prevent the construction of a dirty coal plant
    * New England, (multiple sites):  Bike across the region to connect local solutions and leaders
    * Salt Lake City, Utah: Move beyond dirty coal facilities and tar sands oil development
    * San Antonio, Texas:  Environmental justice focus through energy efficiency and urban gardening
    * Twin Cities, Minnesota: Organizing for community-based geo-thermal energy and other local solutions
    * Washington, DC: Create jobs through community driven home weatherization programs
    * West Virginia, (multiple sites): Create community clean energy solutions in the coal fields

These projects exemplify the healthy and just future our generation believes in. Learn more about each project here. to the climate challenge in our own communities so let's get to work! Are you ready?

Apply today to be a part of the Define Our Decade Summer.

Programs have a limited space so apply TODAY before the priority deadline: Next Tuesday, April 20th.

In Solidarity,
Ethan Nuss
Co-Field Director
Energy Action Coalition


Colorful Energy Awareness Widgets
Power Aware Cord
http://gizmodo.com/210972/power-aware-cord-glowing-guilt
Maybe if you could actually see how much energy you're using, you wouldn't leave that PC running all night. That's the idea behind the Static Energy+Design Network's Power Aware Cord, a power strip whose connecting cable glows and pulses. Its electroluminescent wires embedded inside get brighter when more power flows through, pulsing and scintillating with various patterns that are difficult to ignore.

Energy Joule
http://www.ambientdevices.com/products/energyjoule.html
Use the Energy Joule in your home and know immediately when energy prices are rising or falling. Adjust your discretionary energy use in response to the changing color of the Joule, you can save hundreds, even thousands per year while reducing load on the grid. Display shows weather forecast, high temperatures, current cost of electricity and your current energy usage.


For sustainability outreach fans: Applying the Transtheoretical Model to Energy Feedback Technology Design
How can energy feedback technologies leverage existing techniques and theories within motivational psychology to more effectively motivate sustainable energy consumption behaviors? In approaching this question, we argue that designers of such technology need to consider two important points:

1. Different people hold different attitudes, beliefs and values [5], and are motivated by different things. As such, designers need to develop a range of strategies in order to account for the complexity of human behavior.
2. Intentional behavior change does not occur as an event, but rather, as a process in a series of stages as defined by the Transtheoretical Model [38]. Individuals move from being unaware or unwilling to acknowledge the problem, to considering the possibility of change, then preparing to make the change, then taking action, and finally, to maintaining the desired behavior over time [38].

See the rest of the report at http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47425/1/2009-943-22.pdf


A Tucson school and its No-Oreo zone: Kids at school can't bring processed food
Arizona Daily Star
Stephanie Innes - Apr. 14, 2010

TUCSON - As her second-grade students take out their lunches, teacher Leticia Moreno quickly spots two with forbidden food - a burrito and quesadilla made with white flour tortillas.

"I will get them peanut butter and honey on whole wheat," Moreno says, taking away the offending meals.

Moreno is a teacher at the Children's Success Academy, a 10-year-old school on Tucson's south side for children in kindergarten through the fifth grade. The school is unique for its food rules - it bans not only white flour, but refined sugar and anything it defines as processed food.

See the rest of the article at http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/04/14/20100414arizona-school-bans-processed-food-for-kids.html


Innovative architecture and design for sustainability
http://www.inhabitat.com/ is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.


Internet collaboration at its best - Indoor Hydroponic Window Farms
http://www.windowfarms.org/ Window Farms are vertical, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield edible window gardens built using low-impact or recycled local materials.

Goal 1: to start a Windowfarming craze in New York City and other dense urban areas, helping people grow some of their food year-round in their apartment windows.

Goal 2: give ordinary folks a means to collaborate on research and development of these vertical hydroponic food-growing curtains through the community site at our.windowfarms.org

The Windowfarms Project operates in what seems a small niche, but we hope it might be what Buckminster Fuller would call a "trim tab," a small part that turns giant ships by being particularly well placed. Growing some of our own food is a simple pleasure that can make a big difference in our relationship with nature. As we choose nutrients to feed plants we hope to eat in turn, we gain experience with a nearly-lost fundamental human art, get a microcosmic view of the food system, develop a stake in the conversation, and come up with new ideas for how to take care of ourselves and our planet in troubled times. Let's make this experience possible for anyone!

Each participant in the project makes it easier for the next windowfarmer to grow some of his/her own food. The system design and instruction sets evolve as each person comes up with ideas for improvements or points out problems and we collectively test solutions proposed by the group.


20 billion ways to save water
Some interesting ones:
#10 For cold drinks keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.
#13 Wash your fruits and vegetables in a pan of water instead of running water from the tap.
#94 Wash your pets outdoors in an area of your lawn [or garden] that needs water.
#106 For hanging baskets, planters and pots, place ice cubes under the moss or dirt to give your plants a cool drink of water and help eliminate water overflow.
#110 Keep a bucket in the shower to catch water as it warms up or runs. Use this water to flush toilets or water plants.

For the other 106 tips, see http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php



April showers bring May flowers... more flowers?!

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant


Check out our updated website at http://eclub.groups.pdx.edu

Also, check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/

-- PJ Houser Portland State University Sustainability Office Assistant Environmental Club Coordinator

Week of the Almost Dead Week

Environmental Club members & supporters,


At our last meeting, we went to the exhibit Design for the Other 90%. Talk about amazing! So many innovative, yet simple ideas for making people's lives easier.

In the last newsletter, I included the wrong date for the last Earth Week planning forum - it is actually TOMORROW, Thursday March 4th in the Multicultural Center from 11am-12pm.


Environmental Club events:
One more Environmental Club meeting this term!
Thurs, Mar 11
4:30 pm
GreenSpace

One more meeting this term, then Spring Break! Don't worry, we'll be back Spring term. Activities for the meeting to be announced.


Plugging in for Sustainability
Interested in...

• Take Back the Tap? Contact Lisa Meersman at ecpsu.redwood@gmail.com OR just come to our next meeting!
• Recycling and composting on campus? Contact Honore Depew at hbdepew@pdx.edu. There are plenty of opportunities to make sure composting and recycling are fully utilized at events and throughout campus.
• Energy efficiency? Contact Kelly Larson in the Sustainability Office at klar@pdx.edu
  
• Community service? Stay tuned or contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com for SOLV events.
  
• Local food? Contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com to help compile a seasonal, local, & sustainable Portland cookbook.
  
• Bikes? Sign up for the [bikes] email list and keep up-to-date on all bike-related events
  

Also, PSU's Sustainability Leadership Center has started a general volunteer sign-up for all campus-related sustainability events and issues - check it out, fill it out, get involved!


Campus events:
Final Earth Day Forum TOMORROW
Thursday, Mar 4th
11 am
SMSU 228

Tomorrow is the third and final Earth Week Student Forum. Please join us in the Multicultural Center this Thursday, March 4th from 11am-12pm to get updates on Earth Week projects and to engage in finalizing the projects for the week. This will be a great forum and we can't wait to see everyone there!


Community Saturday coffee rides
Sat, Mar 6th
11 am - 1 pm-ish
meet in front of Millar Library

Ride bikes! Socialize and drink coffee! Join our friends from PSUBAC and others for the weekly Saturday coffee ride. Leaves from PSU Millar Library at 11am, ride to two coffee shops within 5 miles and hang out. Always good company and lots of fun. Rain or shine.Community Saturday coffee rides


Message from the new PSU Bike Hub

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On behalf of Transportation & Parking Services we want to welcome you to visit the new PSU Bike Hub. As a PSU student, faculty or staff, you are also welcome to become a member of the Bike Hub.  Below you will find information about Bike Hub services, programs, upcoming workshops, and directions on how to sign up to be a member. You can visit us online at http://www.pdx.edu/bikehub.

Located at the SW corner of the new ASRC (corner of SW 6th & Harrison),  The PSU Bike Hub is a ten-fold expansion of what had been the PSU Bicycle Cooperative -- a five year long program to help support and encourage bicycling as a means of transportation for PSU students and employees. After much success and a rapidly growing number of PSU community members making the switch to bicycle commuting, the PSU Bike Hub represents the next generation of sustainable and active transportation services. Our mission remains the same: increase the number of bicycle commuters at PSU and empower cyclists with the ability to understand and maintain their own bicycle.

Membership is available for all students, faculty, and staff.  To see a full list of membership benefits and fees please visit our website at: http://www.pdx.edu/bikehub/membership-info.

As a member, you will have access to our expanded self-repair area, receive expert advice from our friendly and knowledgeable staff, join bike maintenance and commuting workshops for free, and get discounts on many of our retail items. Be sure to stop by and check out our new selection of commuter accessories, including lights, locks, helmets, bags, rain gear, and all the essential repair parts like brake pads, cables, chains, tubes and tires. We have also added a professional service repair option so that when you’re busy, you can simply drop off your bike for quality repairs at an affordable price.

Winter & Spring 2010 Workshop Schedule:
Mar 8 - Advanced Repairs (Wheels)
Mar 31 - Commuter 101 Class
Apr 6 - Basic Maintenance
Apr 15 - Women's Maintenance/Commuter Class
Apr 19 - Advanced Repairs (Drive-train)
May 3 - Basic Maintenance
May 11 - Women's Maintenance/Commuter Class
May 27 - Advanced Repairs (Bearings)

*NOTE: All workshops are scheduled for 5:00pm-8:00pm. Women’s classes are taught by female staff

Lastly, we'd like to cordially invite you to our Grand Opening festivities, scheduled for April 1st. In conjunction with Campus Rec, we will be offering a variety of events and fun-filled reasons to engage with our new facility. Please be sure to check our website for more details in the coming weeks. For further updates and questions please visit us at http://www.pdx.edu/bikehub.

Happy and safe riding,

Ian Stude
Transportation Options Manager


Community events:
Ecoroof Portland
Fri & Sat, Mar 12 & 13, 2010
10 am - 6 pm both days
Leftbank Annex, 101 N Weidler St, Portland
Trimet: Bus lines 4, 44, or 9. MAX Red & Blue lines

The City of Portland is sponsoring Ecoroof Portland, taking place March 12-13, 2010. Come learn how ecoroofs work, why they're important, and what's next for Portland's rooftops and skyline. With nearly 200 ecoroofs in Portland and an incentive available to help with the costs, it’s the perfect time to get an ecoroof of your own.

If you own property in Portland, manage or own development projects, aspire to work in the ecoroof industry, or simply support sustainable development, Ecoroof Portland is the event to get involved with this alternative roofing approach. Activities will include Portland ecoroof tours, live ecoroof installations, presentations by local and national experts, and workshops to help you get started on your own project.

Fair attendance is free. Vendors can reserve booth space for $250 - applications for display space are available here. Fees will be waived for non-profit organizations or educational institutions that are moving the ecoroof industry forward.

Featured Speakers
Ed Snodgrass
Owner and president of Emory Knoll Farms Inc. and Green Roof Plants. Ed is a member of The Royal Horticulture Society, The American Horticultural Society, The Sedum Society, and The International Plant Propagators Society. Ed is on the board of The Maryland Nurserymen’s Association, and has a book called Green Roof Plants, A Planting and Resource Guide published by Timber Press.

Linda Velazquez
ASLA Associate, LEED AP, is founder and publisher/editor of Greenroofs.com (1999) where she writes and reports extensively about greenroofs, and is principal of Sky Gardens Design, a greenroof design and consulting firm. Linda holds a Bachelor's of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia (2000).

David J. Sailor
Dr. Sailor received his Ph.D. in 1993 in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley where he conducted research as part of the Urban Heat Island Project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Sailor's research is in the general field of "energy and the environment", with applications in air quality, human health, energy, and climate change. He has been a reviewer for and contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), culminating in his contributions to the IPCC 4th Assessment report which shared the honor of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He is actively involved in several professional societies and is currently the chair of the American Meteorological Society's Board on the Urban Environment.


See the schedule of events at:
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=52308&

See also:
http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=51717


Other:
Greenpeace Organizing Training, now accepting applications
It’s a critical time to join the fight to stop global warming and being a part of the Greenpeace Organizing Term is an amazing way to develop the skills you need to help save the planet.

You can apply today at http://www.greenpeace.org/got. We are still accepting applications for the summer 2010 semester in DC and San Francisco.

The Greenpeace Organizing Term is a semester training program where you’ll learn about grassroots organizing, media, direct action, and campaign strategy. Best of all, you’ll put those new skills into practice by working on actual Greenpeace campaigns – in the U.S. and on the Greenpeace Expedition!

Have you thought about applying before but were worried about the tuition? We can help support you through fundraising to secure funding for the program.

Concerned about taking a semester off? Many students are able to get credit for the program- so you don’t need even need to take a break from school!

Check out our website to apply: http://www.greenpeace.org/got


Plastic rubbish blights Atlantic Ocean
Guess what? They found another plastic garbage patch!!

By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News, Portland

Scientists have discovered an area of the North Atlantic Ocean where plastic debris accumulates.

The region is said to compare with the well-documented "great Pacific garbage patch". Kara Lavender Law of the Sea Education Association told the BBC that the issue of plastics had been "largely ignored" in the Atlantic. She announced the findings of a two-decade-long study at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon, US.

Read more here:
http:/ ews.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science ature/8534052.stm


St. Louis is Opening Streets
St. Louis is hosting its first car-free festival!!

Portland Online
February 26, 2010

The second stop on our tour of Ciclovias around the country is in St. Louis, MO. This is the city’s first year St. Louis Open Streets putting on a ciclovia. The Mayor’s Office of St. Louis has decided to organize four events, which they are describing as, "part bike tour, part block party, a great time for exercise, people watching, and just enjoying our region’s wonderful spring and fall mornings."

The first event takes place on May 1st as a kickoff to National Bicycle Month. It is happening in conjunction with the St. Louis Cardinals-Cincinnati Reds game at Busch Stadium that afternoon. The 6 mile route will take participants through Forest Park, one of the country’s largest urban parks at 1,371 acres (that’s about 500 acres more than Central Park in NYC), and then through the streets past city landmarks like Washington University, the History Museum, and St. Louis Public Library. Musical and cultural activities are planned to be on the route, which will be closed to automotive traffic from 8am – 1pm.

We want to welcome St. Louis to the fast-growing list of cities who are enjoying these fabulous community events!

See the original article at:
http://www.portlandonline.com/?c=51519&a=288440



Dreaming of a tree fort,

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant


Check out our updated website at http://eclub.groups.pdx.edu

Also, check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/

Week after the Sunshine

Environmental Club members & supporters,

Weeks are getting busier - and more exciting! We're going on a field trip to the MercyCorps Exhibit for our next Environmental Club meeting. Don't worry, it's only a 20 minute travel time. Make sure to show up at 4 pm in the GreenSpace instead of 4:30!


Environmental Club events:
Environmental Club meeting THIS Thursday - Field Trip to Design for the Other 90%
Thu, Feb 25
Meet at 4:00 pm (instead of 4:30 pm) in the GreenSpace

We'll be riding the MAX to the MercyCorps exhibit (28 SW 1st Ave)!

Presented by Mercy Corps and The Lemelson Foundation, Design for the Other 90% features some of the most inspired inventions to improve the lives of low-income people around the world. Go to other90.cooperhewitt.org/about for complete information about this innovative and uplifting exhibition revealing the power of design to improve the lives of millions.


Plugging in for Sustainability
Interested in...

• Take Back the Tap? Contact Lisa Meersman at
  
  ecpsu.redwood@gmail.com OR just come to our next meeting!
• Recycling and composting on campus? Contact Honore Depew at hbdepew@pdx.edu. There are plenty of opportunities to make sure composting and recycling are fully utilized at events and throughout campus.
• Energy efficiency? Contact Kelly Larson in the Sustainability Office at klar@pdx.edu
  
• Community service? Stay tuned or contact Hanna Davis at
  ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com for SOLV events.
  
• Local food? Contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com to help compile a seasonal, local, & sustainable Portland cookbook.
  
• Bikes? Sign up for the [bikes] email list and keep up-to-date on all bike-related events
  

Also, PSU's Sustainability Leadership Center has started a general volunteer sign-up for all campus-related sustainability events and issues - check it out, fill it out, get involved!


Campus events:
Bicycle Documentary Night - TWO movies!
Wednesday February 24th
7-9pm
Multicultural Center Smith 228

Hosted by the Community Development Student Group, Planning Club, and the PSU Bicycle Advocacy Collective

We Are Traffic!
We Are Traffic! chronicles the history and development of the "Critical Mass" bicycle movement-- one of the most spirited and dynamic social/political movements of the apathetic 90's. In over 200 cities in 14 different countries, Critical Mass has now become a monthly ritual of reclaiming the streets by bicycle activists riding en masse.

“Return of the SCORCHER”
Return of the Scorcher questions our obsession with "progress" and status and presents a diverse cross-section of cycling visionaries who see the bicycle as a life-affirming vehicle for change.

Food and Beverages provided.


Final Earth Day Forum
Tue, Mar 9
11 am
SMSU 228

Come to the final Earth Day forum and help us finalize our plan for an amazing Earth Week and Earth Day Festival!!


Community Saturday coffee rides
Sat, Feb 26th
11 am - 1 pm-ish
meet in front of Millar Library

Ride bikes! Socialize and drink coffee! Join our friends from PSUBAC and others for the weekly Saturday coffee ride. Leaves from PSU Millar Library at 11am, ride to two coffee shops within 5 miles and hang out. Always good company and lots of fun. Rain or shine.


Community events:
Last Metro Hearing on Rural and Urban Reserves
Thursday, February 25
2:00 pm
Metro Council, 600 NE Grand Ave

This Thursday, the Metro Council will make its final decision on Rural and Urban Reserves for the Metro region, and it looks like it will be business as usual.  Instead of embracing the opportunity to protect farm and forest land and natural resources for the next generation, it looks like a majority of the Metro Council may vote to make land available for sprawling urbanization for the next land development.

The Reserves process is supposed to protect the heart of the region's farm land and significant natural resources for the next 40-50 years, while also providing some areas for urbanization over that same period.  Clackamas and Multnomah counties, and the cities in those counties, conducted a thorough analysis of their future urban needs and balanced them with the needs of food and fiber production and natural resources.  Both urban and rural reserves in those areas reflect that balance.

Washington County did not.  Urban reserves are slated for thousands of acres of the region's - and indeed the nation's - most valuable farm land, in the heart of the Tualatin Valley.  The proposed urban reserves in Washington County represent a noose of urbanization slowly tightening around the Tualatin Valley - north of Cornelius; north, west, and south of Hillsboro; and around North Plains.  It is a very short-sighted view of economic development - as though more land is all it takes. A majority of the Metro Council stands poised to approve this.

Please attend the Metro hearing and testify or at least stand-up for local agricultural and natural resources.  We will have stickers for you to wear showing you care about local farms. Those wishing to testify will have 1 minute to do so.  Let the Metro Council know that this is their "Senate Bill 100 moment."  That's the bill that established Oregon's land use planning system - it's why this is a place we all want to call home today. Will our children?


Be the sunshine for Portland,

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant

Environmental Club members & supporters,


Welcome to the middle of the term! What an exciting time with midterms, projects, sleep deprivation, and... your friends in the Environmental Club! This last weekend, the Environmental Club did a tree planting up in Kenton. This week, we have a meeting with a guest speaker from Food and Water Watch. Hope you can make it!
 

Environmental Club events:
Environmental Club meeting THIS WEEK
Thursday, Feb 11th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
SMSU 326

Julia DeGraw from Food and Water Watch will be visiting.We'll also be sending Obama & some Congress members a few notes about the "clean" nuclear energy, coal, and offshore drilling mentioned in the State of the Union. Perhaps we can also have a handstand contest...


Plugging in for Sustainability
Interested in...

• Take Back the Tap? Contact Lisa Meersman at
  ecpsu.redwood@gmail.com OR just come to our next meeting!
• Recycling and composting on campus? Contact Honore Depew at honoredepew@gmail.com. There are plenty of opportunities to make sure composting and recycling are fully utilized at events and throughout campus.
• Energy efficiency? Contact Kelly Larson in the Sustainability Office at klar@pdx.edu
  
• Community service? Stay tuned or contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com for SOLV events.
  
• Local food? Contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com to help compile a seasonal, local, & sustainable Portland cookbook.
  
• Bikes? Sign up for the [bikes] email list and keep up-to-date on all bike-related events
  

Also, PSU's Sustainability Leadership Center has started a general volunteer sign-up for all campus-related sustainability events and issues - check it out, fill it out, get involved!


Campus events:
Community Saturday coffee rides
Sat, Feb 13th
11 am - 1 pm-ish
meet in front of Millar Library

Ride bikes! Socialize and drink coffee! Join our friends from PSUBAC and others for the weekly Saturday coffee ride. Leaves from PSU Millar Library at 11am, ride to two coffee shops within 5 miles and hang out. Always good company and lots of fun. Rain or shine.


Career Information Day Panel: Careers in Sustainability
Wed, Feb 17th
1 pm
SMSU 3rd floor ballroom

Plan to attend the 22nd annual Career Information Day on Wednesday, February 17 from 11:00 to 3:00 in the SMSU 3rd floor Ballroom. Students will be able to meet with representatives from over 60 organizations to learn about various career opportunities. You may also attend a panel discussion at 1:00 to learn about Careers in Sustainability: Food & Food Systems.


Miller Grant Student Sustainability Travel and Conference Awards
The Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices (CSP2) is pleased to announce the Miller Grant Student Sustainability Travel and Conference Awards - Round III for the 2009-2010 Academic Year. It is the intent of the CSP2 to recognize outstanding work of PSU undergraduate and graduate students in the area of sustainability and contribute to their professional development by helping to fund their travel to distant places for scholarly purposes.

Round III of funding will cover travel between April 1, 2010 through June 15, 2010. Applications are due March 2, 2010 by 5:00pm.

Instructions and Applications can be found here: http://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/research-funding-and-opportunities.


Community events:
Confluence: Water & Justice symposium at University of Portland
Fri - Sun, Mar 26 - 28, 2010

University of Portland

The University of Portland is holding a symposium, bringing together some of the nation's leading experts to examine various perspectives on water, including environmental justice, protection , science, theology, business, history, law, and the Native American perspective.

The Confluences: Water & Justice symposium opens Friday afternoon, March 26, with a lecture and cruise on the Willamette River followed by a screening of The Water Front, a documentary film on water rights in Michigan. Afterward, director Liz Miller answers questions.

On Saturday, March 27, and Sunday, March 28, over twenty experts share their expertise in concurrent sessions. Most sessions pair speakers of different viewpoints to promote discussions.

Maude Barlow - author, activist, and senior adviser on water to the president of the UN General Assembly - gives the keynote address on Saturday night.

Conference registration for Confluences: Water & Justice is free. Tickets for Maude Barlow's keynote are $10 per person; free for ILLAHEE season ticket holders, conference hosts and sponsors, and University of Portland faculty, staff, and students.


More soup & vitamin C please,

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant

Environmental Club members & supporters,

Welcome to February! Our last meeting was a riot, with green M&Ms and all sorts of upcoming events to sign up for. The next week is gonna be a riot too, in all the right ways!
 

Environmental Club events:
Environmental Club Volunteer Day with Friends of Trees
Sat, Feb 6th
9am – 1pm

Portland Village School, 7654 N Delaware Ave, Portland, Oregon, 97217

Come hang out with the Environmental Club while we plant trees! Please meet at the staging site by 9am to volunteer for this planting. If you have any questions, please contact Andy Meeks at AndyM@FriendsofTrees.org or 503-282-8846 x24. This planting is sponsored by Portland General Electric.

Next Environmental Club meeting
Thursday, Feb 11th
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Location TBA

Julia DeGraw from Food and Water Watch will be visiting.We'll also be sending Obama & some Congress members a few notes about the "clean" nuclear energy, coal, and offshore drilling mentioned in the State of the Union. Perhaps we can also have a handstand contest...


Plugging in for Sustainability
Interested in...

• Take Back the Tap? Contact Lisa Meersman at
  ecpsu.redwood@gmail.com OR just come to our next meeting!
• Recycling and composting on campus? Contact Honore Depew at honoredepew@gmail.com. There are plenty of opportunities to make sure composting and recycling are fully utilized at events and throughout campus.
• Energy efficiency? Contact Kelly Larson in the Sustainability Office at klar@pdx.edu
  
• Community service? Stay tuned or contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com for SOLV events.
  
• Local food? Contact Hanna Davis at ecpsu.cedar@gmail.com to help compile a seasonal, local, & sustainable Portland cookbook.
  
• Bikes? Sign up for the [bikes] email list and keep up-to-date on all bike-related events
  

Also, PSU's Sustainability Leadership Center has started a general volunteer sign-up for all campus-related sustainability events and issues - check it out, fill it out, get involved!


Campus events:
Community Saturday coffee rides
Sat, Feb 6th
11 am - 1 pm-ish
meet in front of Millar Library

Ride Bikes!  Socialize and Drink Coffee!

Join our friends from PSUBAC and others for the weekly Saturday coffee ride. Leaves from PSU Millar Library at 11am, ride to two coffee shops within 5 miles and hang out. Always good company and lots of fun. Rain or shine.

If coffee isn't your cup of tea, try checking out PSU Cycling's longer rides: http://psucycling.com/events


PSU Earth Week Student Forum TODAY!
Tue, Feb 2
2 - 3 pm
Smith's Multicultural Center rm 228

PSU Earth Week is hosting an Earth Week Student Forum for generating ideas and connecting students interested in participating in projects for Earth Week. Come help us brainstorm!


Community events:
University of Portland bans disposable water bottles

Letter that University of Portland faculty and students received:

Dear University of Portland community,

As you may have seen on the news or on our website, as of February 1, the University will no longer sell disposable plastic water bottles at The Cove, vending machines and concession stands and will also cease use at catering events. This move does not apply to the five-gallon Culligan jugs in use throughout campus.

You are encouraged to use reusable/refillable containers and tap water, which is available in water fountains throughout campus and at a water filling station in The Cove. The decision to discontinue the sale and use of disposable plastic water bottles was made in conjunction with Bon Appétit, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability and student groups. 

While this move will take some adjustment on everyone’s part, we truly believe it is the right thing to do. The University used over 53,000 disposable plastic water bottles in 2009 alone, a good amount of which were not recycled, and the environmental impact of producing and transporting the bottles is significant. The water contained in the bottles often comes from distant locations, which only increases the impact from shipping and baling. Furthermore, because water being sold in disposable plastic water bottles is part of a process of privatization of water resources, the sustainable purchasing decision not to buy or sell disposable plastic water bottles also fits into the Catholic belief that water should not be treated as a commodity and that access to water is a universal and inalienable right.

The University of Portland takes seriously its commitment to being a good steward of the planet, and this move will not only reduce the amount of waste generated on our campus but will help focus attention on the critical issues of sustainability and water rights. 

Thank you for helping us make our campus greener.

(Rev.) E. William Beauchamp, C.S.C.
President

Rally for Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030
Thu, Feb 4th
BUILD IT Rally from 1:30 – 2:00 pm
Public Hearing for the Portland Bicycle Plan from 2:00 – 3:30 pm
City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave.

This Thursday, City Hall will be deciding whether or not to adopt the plan. The plan has a lot of support and will most likely be adopted. However a plan without funding is only a plan, a wish, a dream if you will.

There will be a rally at the city hall hearing this Thursday to show our elected officials that while the plan is great...it needs to be funded and it needs to be built!

The rally will start outside then we will go inside for the hearing at 2:00pm. If you want to speak at the hearing get there at 1:30 to sign up, it sounds like all statements should be under 2 minutes.

BTA's BUILD IT campaign website:
http://www.portlandbikenetwork.org/toolkit/testify/

Chris Smith's blog:
http://pdxplanningcommissioner.com/2009/11/12/whats-the-bike-plan-worth/

PBOT's page (Has links to full text of the plan):
http://www.portlandonline.com/transportation/index.cfm?c=44597

If you can't make it to the rally or meeting:

* Send emails or call City Council. Tell them whatever you think, and tuck in the phrase "Built It" if you want to drive home the point that they should actually build it.  You can keep it short, or give them lots of detail.  Be sure to tell them you're a Portland voter. 
- Sam Adams: samadams@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4120
- Amanda Fritz: amanda@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-3008
- Randy Leonard: rleonard@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4682
- Nick Fish: nick@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-3589
- Dan Saltzman: dan@ci.portland.or.us 503-823-4151

* To stay current, become a fan of "Build It" on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/BuildIt2030


Volunteer at the Hedges Creek Marsh
Sat, Feb 6th
9 am - 12 pm
Meet in Kaiser Permanente parking lot, 19185 SW 90th Ave, Tualatin, OR 97062

Join our volunteer project to help harvest and install native willow, dogwood, and spirea cuttings.

Please contact Jennifer Wilson to RSVP or for additional questions.  Phone: 503.957.6980 or E-mail: jennifers@wetlandsconservancy.org

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
        -Margaret Mead

Students Against LNG Hike & Action Retreat
Sat, Feb 6th
9AM-9PM, Portland & Mt. Hood National Forest

Join students from across Oregon while we hike in Mt. Hood National Forest in an area threatened by a pipeline to import greenhouse-gas-intensive Liquefied Natural Gas. Then, we will work on planning actions and events to stop the LNG projects in Oregon. Be part of fighting the biggest threat to our sustainable future. Be a part of this movement for social justice. And, play a key role in running a strategic campaign to protect our climate. We need you!

*Car pools and a place to stay on either Friday or Saturday night will be available.

Sign up here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1810/t/10427/signUp.jsp?key=4792

What we will do:
Join the Columbia Riverkeepers' Conservation Director, Dan Serres, for a beautiful hike in Mt. Hood National Forest. Then, plan actions and events that you can bring to your campus for the other half of the day. What else could be better?

Background: The biggest dirty energy project on the west coast is proposed for Oregon. Three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and over 600 miles of pipelines are currently proposed to import greenhouse-gas-intensive foreign fossil fuels. LNG is as dirty as coal and is much more carbon intensive than the natural gas we currently use. If these projects go through, all of the progress Oregon has gained against Boardman Coal plant and all of the efficiency measures taken, WILL BE LOST.

There is a huge and growing movement against these projects. Students have played an important role in this movement in the past but now we are getting organized more than ever before! Join us and help run a five month campaign to grow the movement. The campaign will escalate over the next few months and show its face with a huge action at the NW Natural Gas headquarters during a shareholders meeting in May. Lets mobilize and escalate.

Sign up here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1810/t/10427/signUp.jsp?key=4792

Join the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=265829923839&ref=nf


Banana pants!

PJ Houser
Portland State University
Environmental Club coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office Assistant


Check out our updated website at http://eclub.groups.pdx.edu

Also, check out the EcoWiki at http://www.ecowiki.pdx.edu/

P.S. If you don't want to receive these emails, please reply with "remove me from the list" in the subject line.