Category Archives: Environment and Sustainability

Learning Opportunity on Campus: A Bee Fair – Where Are the Bees Going and Why Does it Matter?

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beeeA Public Event at The Evergreen State College:
The Olympia Beekeepers Association and Evergreen Academic Programs present a Community Bee Fair, featuring “More than Honey,” an internationally acclaimed film describing the looming, world-wide crisis of disappearing bee colonies.
March 8, 2014, 6:00 – 10:00 pm
A Film, Community Bee Fair and Student Displays
The Evergreen State College, Lecture Hall 1 and Lecture Hall Rotunda
Program:

  • 6:00 pm – Informational displays and student art show in the Rotunda.
  • 7:00 pm – A short film, created by Evergreen students, on the bee crisis.
  • 7:30 pm – A presentation of the “Pollinator Protector Award” will be given to local business owner Robert Thompson, Jr. of Lincoln Creek Lumber.

The feature film “More than Honey” will be followed by a Q & A with a panel of local bee experts and the filmmaker via Skype from Berlin.

Please Note:

  • Seating is limited.
  • Admission is free with Evergreen I.D.
  • For non-Evergreen attendees, tickets are $10 each, available at Traditions and Radiance in Olympia, Gordon’s Garden Center in Yelm.
  • For more information: www.olympiabeekeepers.org

Sponsored by:

Dever Kuni ’12 Takes on Statewide Leadership in Solar Power Advocacy

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From left to right: Bruce Hargrave, VP Dever Kuni '12, and President & Owner Kirk Haffner '88 -photo by South Sound Solar

Dever Kuni ’12 (center) with customer (left) and father and boss, Kirk Haffner ’88 ( right) – photo by South Sound Solar

Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association and solar power advocacy group, has named Dever Kuni its legislative and public policy committee chairwoman.

Kuni currently is vice president of South Sound Solar. Read the article in Bloomsberg Business Week.

 

 

Salimatou Pratt ’13: Putting Theory into Practice at the EPA

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SalimatouPrattRead with Greener pride this blog post by Salimatou Pratt ’13, now an intern at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. The post is published in Greenversations: The EPA’s blog about our world.

If you’re like me, talking about environmental issues is normal, especially around the dinner table with family and friends. Coming from Conakry, Guinea, and learning about how I may have been exposed to toxicity from local industries while growing up, has intensified my desire to be part of the bigger environmental discussion. Interning in EPA’s Office of Public Engagement has given me a unique perspective on how the agency connects with communities, both nationally and internationally.  Continue reading →

Alumna Elise Zelechowski – Deconstructing Chicago for the Greater Good

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Chicago’s “Garbage Guru” credits Evergreen with preparing her for social justice work.

Elise Zelechowski studied French philosophy at Evergreen. Now she’s known as a  “garbage guru.” Qu’est-ce que c’est? No, this is not a galliphobic slur; it’s the career path Elise has followed since leaving Evergreen.

In a recent interview, Elise describes how she found her calling as Executive Director of ReBuilding Exchange, a Chicago-based organization promoting the reclamation of used building materials that would otherwise wind up in landfills.

“I went to Evergreen,” she explained. “Going to school there you can’t leave without being pretty well-rounded as an environmentalist, a feminist, a social justice advocate. And then I lived in France and I was really taken by how the city of Paris functions in terms of food infrastructure, transit infrastructure, small business and recycling.”

Read the full story at occupy.com to learn how Elise has expanded her work in sustainable deconstruction and waste management to address issues of poverty, the criminal justice system, housing, and employment. You can also view Elise’s inspirational TED talk.

How did The Evergreen Mind hear about Elise? She “facebooked” us! You can share your news too. Check out all Evergreen’s social media connections including our new LinkedIn page.

 

Can Humanity Think Its Way to a Better Future?

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ONE BIG BRAIN: Can humanity think its way to a better future?

On February 21, 2014, Evergreen will host a film screening and panel discussion to explore the existence of a “noosphere” (pronounced “No-a-sphere”), a planetary field of unified consciousness that forms a layer around planet Earth, just as does our atmosphere. The event will highlight the Noosphere Endowment at Evergreen that supports faculty-student collaborative projects unifying artistic, scientific, and spiritual elements that promote the advent of a worldwide culture of peace. Adam Leveen Sher ’02 and his parents Gerson and Marjorie Sher established this endowed award to assist future generations of Evergreen students.

Here is a preview of the film that will be shown prior to the panel discussion:

Following the screening, a panel of faculty members and alumni will consider the concept of a noosphere that can act in specified ways upon our biosphere.

One of the sources of research on the noosphere is The Global Consciousness Project, an international, multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists and engineers. This organization, operating under the auspices of Princeton University, collects and examines data “to discover subtle correlations that reflect the presence and activity of consciousness in the world . . .When human consciousness becomes coherent and synchronized, the behavior of random systems may change.” 

Event information:

One Big Brain: Can Humanity Think Its Way to a Better Future?
Date:        Friday, February 21, 2014
Time:       1:00 to 3:00 pm
Location: On campus in the Longhouse Education and Culture Center

There is no charge for this event and it is open to the public.Contributions to the Noosphere Endowment are gratefully received.

Seating is limited. Faculty members who wish to bring their students should reserve seats by contacting R.J. Burt in the Office of Alumni Programs by February 15.

Paul Stamets ’80 on How Mushrooms Can Save the World

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Paul Stamets, ’79, scientist, author, world-renown mycology expert.

In an article in Discover Magazine (May 31, 2013), writer Kenneth Miller follows mycologist Paul Stamets ‘79 into the woods to learn more about how fungi can clean up everything from oil spills to nuclear meltdowns, read: How Mushrooms Can Save the World.

Also Check out Paul’s website Fungi Perfecti and Facebook Page as well as his highly reviewed TED talk and TEDMED talks: Paul Stamets: 6 ways mushrooms can save the world and TEDMED 2011.

 

Master in Environmental Studies Launch a New Blog

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Pack Forest, Washington State. Photo used with permission, MESsages blog

Editor’s Note: Just across Red Square, the faculty, students and staff of the Graduate Program on the Environment are making positive changes in the world every day.  Here’s a way to stay in touch.

MESsages, started in October 2013, is the official blog of Evergreen’s Graduate Program on the Environment, which offers a Master of Environmental Studies (MES) degree. This interdisciplinary degree teaches graduates to be creative, critical thinkers with the research skills required for the complex nature of professional environmental work and leadership. We recognize that the best environmental solutions come from a wide variety of perspectives—that is why we accept all majors, and why our students, who come to us from across the US and abroad, represent a wide range of ages, cultures, and expertise. Regardless of a student’s educational or work background, we train our graduates to build upon their strengths by creating holistic approaches to environmental challenges through exploration and collaboration.

Stay in touch with the program via the new blog, MES Weekly or contact Gail Wootan.

Robert Steelquist: Tracking Climate Change from the Top of the Country

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Robert Steelquist ’85, MES ’94

Notice of public lecture:
Robert Steelquist ’85, MES ’94, Olympic Coast National Sanctuary Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -NOAA..
Thursday, November 7, 2013 – 12:30 pm
Peninsula College, Port Angeles, Washington

For the past 19 years, Robert has been keeping tabs on the condition of Washington’s northwestern-most coastal area. Robert will share his findings and observations in his talk,  “Our Changing Ocean.”

A second Evergreen generation of Steelquists, Robert’s son Peter, matriculated this fall and is settled into a program focusing on eco-tourism with faculty member David Phillips. Robert reports that Pete is right at home in a community where he can “push around big ideas.”  Sounds like a Greener!

The Evergreen MIND asks: Are there multiple Greeners in your family?  Let us hear from you.

What Do Greeners Think About Genetically Modified Foods?

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CPJ Cartoon: Concept by Ray Still, illustration by Ruby Thomas. Used with permission.

Editor’s Note: This article is reposted from the Cooper Point Journal, October 24, 2013 issue. Visit the site for more information about Initiative 522.

Initiative Measure Number 522 (I-522) is an initiative proposed in the General Election on Nov. 5. The initiative would require “most raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, and seeds and seed stocks if produced using genetic engineering, as defined, to be labeled as genetically engineered when offered for retail sale”, according to the Washington State voters guide.

Foods that would not be labeled would be those that are not genetically engineered, certified organic foods, alcoholic beverages, food served in restaurants, medical food, food derived from animals that were not genetically engineered (“regardless of whether the animal has been fed any genetically engineered food”, according to the voters pamphlet), and processed foods produced using genetically engineered processing aids and enzymes (“Processed foods containing small amounts of genetically engineered materials would be exempt until July 1, 2019”, according to the voters pamphlet).

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If 1-522 is passed, foods that are genetically engineered must be clearly labeled as “genetically engineered”. Additionally, it would also allow Washington State Department of Agriculture to categorize unlabeled genetically engineered foods as mislabeled, and pull the foods from shelves.

The Washington State Office of Financial Management has predicted that the total cost of enacting I-522 would be just over three million dollars, with the cost spreading out between 2013 and 2019.

The initiative defines genetically engineered foods as foods that have been genetically altered through “the direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles” and the fusion of different cells that do not belong to the same taxonomic family that does not occur naturally.

The Washington State Academy of Sciences, a third-party organization that strives towards unbiased scientific research, finds that there is no statistically significant long- term health risks from genetically engineered or modified foods, but admits that most of the tests were short-term tests and did not primarily focus on the potential toxicology of genetically engineered or modified foods.

Enjoy the Cooper Point Journal on line. 

Burt Guttman: Still Finding His Wings and Teaching His Passion

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Faculty Member Emeritus Burton Guttman, teaching class of 1972 as he appeared in the first staff directory.

Burton Guttman is a man of vision and courage. In 1972, he took a leap of faith, signing on as one of the Evergreen’s first-year faculty members. The job of these pioneers? Build a new college within 1,000 acres of forest, and a curriculum based on some crazy, new ideas about teaching and learning.

Forty years later, Burt is still at it. This fall he’s busy teaching a beginning birding class offered through the Black Hills Audubon Society. The five-week program began on October 22 and will be topped off with two half-day field trips. Read more about this class in the Bellingham Herald..

An internationally respected  biologist and researcher, Burt is an author many times over. He is perhaps is best known in the non-scientific world for his Peterson Field Guide, “Finding Your Wings: A Workbook for Beginning Bird Watchers.”  birdsjpeg

Former students of Burton Guttman, be proud. Your teacher is still sharing his knowledge and passion, and making the world a better place. Theory to practice, practice, practice.