Green Plastics Breakthrough by IBM and Stanford

Think of IBM, and it's most likely that computer hardware or software will come to mind well before the development of new, greener materials. However, IBM has staked out an impressive track record in matters of environmental responsibility and sustainability over the past several years. IBM's latest contribution arrives through a partnership with Stanford University researchers with whom the company has made progress in the development of sustainable, biodegradable plastics.

As described in an article on IBM's Building a Smarter Planet Blog, the collaborative research effort is leading to findings and developments with beneficial implications for improved recycling, pollution reduction, and medicine.

Environmentally sustainable plastics, smarter recycling methods, new ways to deliver medicine – these are all areas that could benefit from recent discoveries in green polymer chemistry by some of our scientists at IBM Research and Stanford University. The discoveries will be published in a paper in the American Chemical Society Journal, Macromolecules, on March 10th. You can find an abstract of the paper now at acs.org.

IBM, Stanford Unveil Green Chemistry Breakthrough You Tube Video
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Go Green And Stay In The Black

From Forbes magazine, 20 tips for going green and saving money. As an example Vanderbilt University has installed 1,500 low-flow toilets and faucets and water-free urinals since 2008. The school is already saving $250,000 a year in water costs and keeping 37 million gallons out of treatment plants--enough to cover four football fields with 30 feet of water. To read the full article and view the slide show click here.

30 Minutes on a Treadmill, Forever in a Landfill

Great 30 second commerical from Brita Filters! Click to watch.

Click here to visit FilterForGood.com
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How Much Can Be Achieved Thru Simple Measures Like Behavior Change?

There's a lot to be said for improving the efficiency of our existing building stock. But upgrading old buildings can be an expensive business, and once you tackle the low hanging fruit, there is inevitably a law of diminishing returns. So just how far we should go in retrofitting old buildings, and how much can be achieved by simple measures like behavior change—a new flagship project aims to find out.  Read the full story on bioregional.co.uk.

Americans Have Room to Improve Their Conservation Behaviors

According to the results of a national survey released recently by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities, there is a significant gap between Americans' conservation attitudes and their actual behaviors.

Large majorities of Americans say that it is very or somewhat important to turn off unneeded lights (93%), lower the thermostat in winter (82%), and use public transportation or carpool (72%), among other conservation behaviors. Yet the study found a number of large gaps between these positive attitudes and actual behavior. For example:

• 88 percent of Americans say it is important to recycle at home, but only 51 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 81 percent say it is important to use re-usable shopping bags, but only 33 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 76 percent say it is important to buy locally grown food, but only 26 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 76 percent say it is important to walk or bike instead of driving, but only 15 percent "often" or "always" do;
• 72 percent of Americans say it is important to use public transportation or carpool, but only 10 percent say they "often" or "always" do;

The results come from a nationally representative survey of 1,001 American adults, age 18 and older. The sample was weighted to correspond with U.S. Census Bureau parameters. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percent, with 95 percent confidence. The survey was designed by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities and conducted from December 24, 2009 to January 3, 2010 by Knowledge Networks, using an online research panel of American adults. The report can be seen here.

Sustainable Campus Committee Mission Statement

"The mission of the Sustainability Committee is to provide a comprehensive strategy for improving our resource management through measures such as recycling, waste stream management, energy conservation, green purchasing, and raising campus awareness on environmental stewardship. "

Over the last few years we have made steady progress towards achieving a sustainable lifestyle at Peace College. We have migrated away from traditional cleaning products and now use green cleaning products from Rochester Midland Corporation. RMC was the first company in the world to receive Green Seal Certification (GS-37) of industrial and institutional cleaning products. Switching to green cleaners can significantly improve indoor air quality; reduce cleaning-related health problems and absenteeism and increases performance of students and staff alike. Green chemicals are safer for the housekeeping staff, everyone that works or visits our campus and the environment. In addition we have made important reductions in water and energy usage. Our reduce, reuse and recycle efforts have reduced our waste stream by nearly 1/3 pound per person and increased our recycling by 41% since 2008.

The Green Team continues to affect behavioral change throughout campus. The food and trash audits and office inspections with pass/fail certificates help to encourage each of us to reduce, reuse and recycle. Click here to view a partial list of our accomplishments.

Did You Know?

Since 2008

• That we have reduced our waste stream by 20.5%
• That we have increased our recycling by 41%

Click Here for the details.

Things you can do to help reduce our waste stream at Peace College- Cancel subscriptions to unread magazines and newspapers
- Cancel catalog deliveries from companies that you do not purchase from or those that have digital catalogs
- On average we discard 1/4 to 1/3 pound of food per person, per meal. This includes only edible food disposed of by consumers, not kitchen waste. Only take portions of food that you will eat.
- If you do not have a recycle container ask for one by sending an email to rbass@peace.edu

Did You Know?

That the Peace Community is recycling nearly twice the amount of material that we did a year ago?

That the residents of New Res consistently recycle more than any other dorm on campus? And that Finley Dorm is a close second?

That the staff members on the 1st floor west wing of Main Bldg consistently recycle more than other offices? And that Financial Aid is a close second?

That lights in the men’s restroom are off when unoccupied more frequently than in the ladies room’s?



That on average each fulltime employee and student uses 152 sheets of printer/copier paper per month?

That if each of us committed to use 1 less sheet of paper per day we would save over $2,000 per year?

That if you turn your monitor off when not in use, at the end of the day you save 17cents in energy costs per day; $62 per year? Potentially this could save Peace College more than $21,000 in energy costs annually.

That Security turns lights on at night for our safety and that we ALL are responsible for turning off lighting that is not needed?

Most environmental problems are caused by human behavior and have long-term implications. A cost effective method of reducing energy can be attributed to behavior change. As an example, the Juneau School District has saved $1.2 million by reducing its energy consumption and expenditure by 30 percent during the past 30 months.

Those savings and reductions have mostly been through "little bitty things that we're doing to change behaviors," said Joyce Kitka, the district's energy education manager. Click here to read more.

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Celebrating MLK with Quotes

On Monday January 18th we celebrate the birth and life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In observance of his birthday, Peace College is closed. Dr. King was born January 15, 1929. He would have been 81 years old on this Friday. Martin Luther King, Jr., day is observed on the third Monday of January each year. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person. Each of us has that have read quotes and/or heard Dr. King’s words have been inspired by his wisdom.

My favorite quote from Martin Luther King Jr;

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Have you got a favorite quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.? I have created a Google doc (survey) that lists some of Dr. King’s memorable quotes. Click here to choose your favorite. On Tuesday, January 19th I will share the results of our survey.