Bold & Uncensored: Not Your Mama's Environmental Movement
Spring greening series:
Outlook's 'Tip of the week'
April is Earth Month 2009. As part of the campus' observation, Outlook will post a weekly tip from the Office of Sustainability to help the community take steps to help the environment.
Outlook's sustainability debates will run each Wednesday throughout April. Check back each week to view this five-part Earth Month series, during which faculty and staff at Ohio University will tackle controversial issues within the environmental movement. Jump to Earth Month Debates
Week 1: April 1-5
Week 2: April 11-14
Green Tip:
Looking for a guilt-free excuse to revamp your wardrobe? Sunday's clothing swap promises to give your closet a fresh, new feel without contributing to landfill waste or burning a hole in your wallet.
Read the full article...
Green Tip:
Looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint without giving up the daily commute? The next time you reach for a cheeseburger, try a veggie burger instead. Skipping meat at least one day a week can reduce carbon emissions significantly and potentially save money at the same time.
Read the full article ...
Week 3: April 15-21
Week 4: April 22-29
Green Tip: For a free way to conserve water, take a clean two-liter bottle, add a few pebbles to weigh it down, and place it in the tank of your toilet. It will displace two liters of clean water from being used for each flush, potentially saving thousands of gallons of clean water per year. Read the full article ...
Green Tip:
Consider holding a 'zero waste' event, the byproducts of which can all be reused or composted. Read the full article...
Take the next step:
Clickhere for Earth Month-inspired actions you can take toward a greener lifestyle.
Earth Month Debates Series
Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus takes on faculty members from across the academic spectrum, addressing some of the most controversial issues facing the environment, both locally and globally. These debates showcase the wide diversity of opinions that coexist within the community of environmental advocates.
In today's debate, Marcus and Environmental and Plant Biology Professor Art Trese weigh the value of purchasing carbon offsets as a means to address climate change. In the past, Trese has purchased carbon credits on the university's behalf, in addition to offsetting his personal energy consumption.
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Outlook readers' poll results:
71% said investment. 29% said excuse.
Week 1:
"Carbon offsets: An investment or excuse?"
In Week 2's debate, Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus and Distinguished Professor of Economics Richard Vedder discuss the environmental and economic value of local purchasing. Vedder has written extensively on various economic issues, including labor and higher education financing. In addition to authoring several books and more than 100 scholarly papers, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Investor's Business Daily, among others. In the past, Vedder served as an economist with the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, with which he continues to provide consultation.
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Outlook readers' poll results:
84% said neighborly gesture. 16% said irrational cause.
Week 2:
"Local purchasing: A neighborly gesture or irrational cause?"
Week 3 finds Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Ben Stuart arguing the merits of LEED Certification. As executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment, director of the Biofuels Research Lab, associate director of the Ohio Coal Research Center and a registered professional environmental engineer, Stuart's research centers upon issues related to energy and the environment. In his "Green Engineering" course, Stuart guides students through an exploration of LEED certification by evaluating existing buildings on the Ohio University campus.
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Outlook readers' poll results:
100% said commitment to conservation. 0% said green gone wrong.
Week 3:
"LEED Certification: A commitment to conservation or green gone wrong?"
Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus and Associate Professor of Journalism Bernhard Debatin met during Week 4 to discuss the legitimacy of clean coal -- or methods used by coal producers and utilities to reduce coal's environmental impact. Debatin addresses this topic among many local environmental concerns in his recently created journalism course, "Localizing Environmental and Science Journalism." The course was triggered by Debatin's involvement in the Kanawha Environmental Education Project, a professional development series that aims to integrate concepts of environmental sustainability into Ohio University's curriculum. In addition to teaching environmental journalism, Debatin has devoted the past two years to researching the environmental and social impacts of coal mining in Athens County.
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Outlook readers' poll results:
52% said the real deal. 48% said whitewash.
Week 4:
"Clean coal: The real deal or whitewash?"
In this week's debate, Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus and Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering Gerardine Botte debate whether or not science holds the answers to our environmental woes. As director of the university's Electrochemical Engineering Research Laboratory, Botte developed the patent-pending ammonia catalytic electrolyzer technology, which efficiently converts ammonia into hydrogen to produce inexpensive fuel. Botte's research interests also include numerical methods, mathematical modeling, material science and electro-catalysis.
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Outlook readers' poll results: 90% said solution. 10% said crutch.
