UPCOMING EVENTS
Visit our calendar for more info and updates. 

February 19:
Garden Potluck and Seed Swap
MorningStar Solar Home
6-7 p.m. 

February 28:
Two Permaculture Workshops
MorningStar Solar Home
9 a.m.-5 p.m. 

CONTACT

Lydia Vandenbergh
814-863-4893
Land and Water Research Building
University Park, PA 16802
Integrate: Sustainability & You@PSU

Why should sustainability be a part of your performance evaluation at Penn State? The simple answer is because sustainability is one of Penn State's core values and a key decision-making skill.

 

Penn State is a large institution that uses large amounts of resources. The purchase and use of these resources -- and the associated waste produced -- impacts our budgets and also imposes costs onto society and the environment in the form of pollution. As we conserve resources, we both reduce our negative impact on society and the environment, and save money. This makes Penn State more "sustainable," that is, more capable of operating efficiently, effectively-and as a good neighbor-for the long term. 

 

Through the You@PSU process, you can align your professional goals with your unit and the University's strategic goals. This will not only help you to develop professionally, but also move Penn State towards meeting its overarching goals of being wise resource stewards and training students to be leaders in solving societal challenges. 

There are numerous ways in which you can incorporate this principle in to You@PSU. Download these documents to find out more.

 

Embedding Sustainability into You@PSU  

You, Penn State and Sustainability  

CONNECT






 
Join us March 25th for a Green Bag Lunch
 
How Diversity Matters: The Connection Between Sustainability and Diversity

What is the connection between "sustainability and diversity" and does it apply to work and life at Penn State?  The Educational Equity Green Team investigates these concepts from Noon to 1 p.m. on March 25, 2015 and explores how to tie the mission of diversity into your unit's strategic plan and your personal YOU@PSU.EDU goals. Examples of activities, workshops, discussion questions and videos will be shared.

 

This presentation will be broadcast via Adobe Connect. Reserve a room and use the customizable marketing materials below to invite your co-workers to join you.
If you want to track your participation for your performance review process, please register through the Center for Workplace Learning and Performance (CWLP). 
Stuckeman Library Making Sustainable Strides - You Can Too

Last August, möbius came to the Stuckeman building - so did a big change within its library. 

Sarah Harkleroad, Information Generalist at the Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library, along with her team, saw the möbius introduction as an opportunity to make the Stuckeman Library more sustainable. Even though the library itself was not placed with a möbius station, there was one placed right outside its door, and they intended to take full advantage of it. The library had formerly been a no-food no-drink area, however they made the change to allow food and drink once möbius came to the building.

 

They decided to decrease the amount of garbage cans within the library from six to only two in an effort to encourage students to use the möbius station. Additionally, they created three stations with brown composting bags so that students could put their compost in those bags while studying, and take them out later to compost at the möbius station. They contacted Al Matyasovsky for help with this.

 

"The transition was really easy," Harkleroad said. She said that the change happened virtually over night and that the students were extremely receptive to it. Part-time employee at the library, Jonathan Hsieh, created posters to help students better understand the change.

 

Harkleroad said that students have been really good about only using the trashcans within the library for landfill waste and they have been taking all other waste to the möbius station.

 
 
Did you know? 
Safer ways to de-ice


From the Natural Resources Defense Council:

Applied to melt ice, road salt cracks pavement, undermines bridges, corrodes cars, seeps into groundwater, damages plants, endangers wildlife and alters habitat for aquatic species when washed into lakes and streams. Something this harmful must be a synthetic concoction cooked up in
a lab, right? But no, it is usually just sodium chloride, the same stuff that seasons your food, raises your blood pressure and makes you so much more buoyant in the ocean than you are in the pool. Below are some tips for using less salt this snowy season:

 

Shovel snow before it can accumulate.
De-icers are more effective with less snow in the way. This can also eliminate the need for de-icers altogether by preventing ice build-up.

Use the least toxic de-icers you can afford.
The best choice is calcium magnesium acetate (CMA). Though pricey compared to salt, new production methods may soon make it cheaper. Potassium acetate (KA) is another promising alternative.  

Apply de-icers early -- and with restraint.
Applying the de-icing agent in advance, is necessary with CMA and a good practice with salt as well. Do not use more than the amount recommended on the label. You will not get better or quicker results. 

More... 
Bamboo: Sustainable timber business

 
From GreenBiz:

From Bam-bicycles to bam-bedding to bam-beauty products - bamboo is everywhere, and for a good reason. Bamboo has nothing but a positive reputation when it comes to the environment. 

 

This "rapidly renewable" resource grows quickly, it doesn't need pesticides or much water, it pulls carbon dioxide out of the air, and it can be used in a nearly unimaginable range of products. With its well-deserved, eco-friendly reputation, companies have been quick to integrate bamboo into product lines and new bamboo-based businesses continue to pop up.

 

Bamboo goods are no longer on the fringe. They are proliferating at major mainstream retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, and being used in clothing both from eco-centric companies and more mainstream ones like JCPenney and Banana Republic. 
 
Additionally, companies like EcoPlanet Bamboo are striving to make the timber industry more sustainable.