Get Ready for Step It Up!

Kerry Temple, the organizer of this Sunday's Step It Up! rally, sent me the following update. As promised, I'm passing this information along to you:

IUSB: At 3pm Sunday November 4, a group will meet at the Peach Pole in front of the Schurz Library on the IUSB campus and will walk along the St. Joe River to the Jon Hunt Plaza in downtown South Bend, right in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center.

ND/SMC: At 3pm Sunday November 4, a group will meet at the main circle adjacent to the Law School and Alumuni Hall on the Notre Dame campus and will walk to the Jon Hunt Plaza downtown. There will be a police escort for the "Notre Dame/SMC group" because of the number of streets needing to be crossed. The walkers should obey all traffic signals and proceed down Notre Dame Avenue to South Bend Avenue, turning right at Club 23, heading downhill to Colfax, taking Colfax across the bridge to downtown. [Those driving to campus for the walk could park in the bookstore lot and gather at the main circle or meet up with the marchers as they head south along Notre Dame Avenue.]

It would be great if marchers could make their own signs to carry. Choose your own slogan. Keep the Step It Up themes in mind. Let's make sure people know what we're supporting, demonstrating for.

Current TV/Alliance Ecospot Contest Wants Your Vote

I received an email from a contestant who submitted "Plastic Ocean," a public-service announcement to the Current TV/Alliance Ecospot Contest. The purpose of this contest is to create a short video message that will inspire folks to get involved in solving the climate crisis.

This contest has entered the semifinal round - apparently, hundreds of ecospots were submitted, and George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Orlando Bloom, Rihanna, among other celebrity judges, picked these 23 semifinalists.

So now, it's our turn to select the best ecospot video: http://current.com/ecospot.

The top four ecospots will be broadcast internationally on Current TV, showcased on MySpace’s Impact Channel and featured in the Alliance’s national campaign.

For the record, I will be casting my vote for "Plastic Ocean," because it's a great PSA and I want to support Manuel Reta, who brought this contest to my attention. Thanks Manuel and good luck! :0)

Building a Sustainable Campus at IU South Bend

I like checking the student-housing camera periodically because it reveals important changes that are occurring on this campus. Most notably, this construction symbolizes a different way of thinking about how our actions impact the environment. Because IU South Bend is taking strides to obtain LEED certification for student housing, that means there's a conscious effort to reduce waste while constructing this site. It also means designing a building with the ideals of sustainability in mind. I commend the administrators at IU South Bend for daring to be great by creating an eco-friendly student residence.

Plans are underway to renovate the Administration Building. Let's encourage the administrators to continue these eco-friendly practices.

Time to Step It Up! Help Spread the Word!

Folks, this is really going to happen! We're going to Step It Up by hosting a rally on Nov. 4th., from 3pm - 5pm. Here's the latest update:

The march from IU South Bend will begin at the Peace Pole located in front of the Schurz Library. We'll continue along the river walk path, crossing the Colfax St. bridge enroute to the Jon Hunt Plaza, which is in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center.

Once we reach the Morris Center, we'll be joined by students, faculty, and staff from Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College, along with the Michiana community, members of local Green
organizations, and government officials. Congressman Joe Donnelly is expected to speak around 4pm. Sociology professor, Mike Keen, will be the speaker for IU South Bend.

You can join the rally beginning at 3 pm on either campus, or you can come hear the speakers in front of the Morris Center.

This is part of a national Step It Up – One Sky movement to combat global warming by calling for a reduction of carbon emissions, a moratorium on new coal-fired plants and the creation of Green jobs and initiatives in hundreds of communities from Florida to Alaska during the same
weekend.

Sleep Deprived, Thanks to Environmentalism

I'm exhausted. For the last few days, I've been obsessed about writing a research proposal on the study of environmentalism from a cognitive science perspective. It may be an understatement to say that psychological science could offer some insights on how people conceive of environmental degradation and protection. And maybe psychology could provide some problem-solving solutions to this issue, whether it's through science education or through public policymaking. Anyway, because I can't stop thinking about environmentalism and cognition, I didn't go to bed until 4am this morning. Consequently, I can't think straight. But the good news is that now I have a working document to refine. The deadline is Nov. 6th, so there's still time to edit and craft this proposal. Wish me luck!

Crunchy's New Challenge: Keep the Thermostat Low!

Well, Crunchy Chicken has done it again! (She loves creating challenges and getting folks around the country to participate.)This time, 50 bloggers have pledged to keep their thermostats low this winter. I promised to keep my thermostat set to 60 degrees...Brr!!! This will really be a challenge for me because I'm not used to freezing my butt off (after all, I was raised in Georgia, so I'm still acclimating to Indiana's frosty climate).

But I'm optimistic about this challenge. For starters, now I'm motivated to insulate my windows (I remember someone telling me to insulate my windows when I first moved to South Bend, but I never did it- too much work, I thought.) I'm also going to be sure to bundle-up with extra clothing (I'm mastering the art of layering my clothing - trust me, there's no such thing as layering clothes in Georgia!). And I have two puppies who'll keep me warm this winter. Willy, my fluffy bichon frise, is a veritable hot water bottle, so I'll definitely be snuggling with him throughout this challenge. Jack, my miniature schnauzer, is toasty warm, too. :0)

So why keep the thermostat low? Keeping the temp low reduces my dependency on natural gas. This is important for two reasons: First, consuming less natural gas will reduce my carbon footprint - the production of natural gas contributes to global warming. And second, reducing my use of natural gas will lower my gas bill. I'm fairly confident we'll be hearing news reports about people who can't afford to pay their gas bill this winter - although I don't foresee myself being in that predictament, I don't want to pay $200 (or more, who knows!) for heating my duplex each month.

So, if you're in South Bend this winter and you stop by my place, be sure to wear warm clothing - you're gonna need it! :0)

South Bend Steps It UP!

Mark Your Calendars: On Sunday, Nov. 4th, from 3pm to 5pm, IU South Bend, Notre Dame, and Saint Mary's will be rallying to fight global warming. Plans are currently being finalized, but this is what's tentatively scheduled:

Beginning at our respective schools, we're going to march toward downtown South Bend, where we'll all converge to host Step It Up! The exact location for this rally has yet to be finalized - it may be at either Howard Park or the Jon Hunt Plaza in front of the Morris Performing Arts Center - as soon as it's confirmed I'll post an update on the blog. But for now, everyone at IU South Bend will gather at the Peace Pole in front of the Schurz Library and then we'll walk from Northside Blvd to the rally.

Right now, Mayor Steve Luecke has been invited and Congressman Joe Donnelly said he'll be at the rally. The St. Joe Valley Green Party will also participate, and the local Sierra Club group may have a representative to promote the Cool Cities program. Plans are currently underway to invite local "green" business and the Citizens Action Coalition.

So please help by spreading the word. I hope to see you at the Step It UP rally! :0)

Nix Your Unwanted Catalogs

In today's New York Times, I learned about an online service called Catalog Choice, a non-profit organization that helps consumers eliminate unwanted catalogs from the mail. Catalog Choice only been existence since last Wednesday and already 30,246 people have used this free service.

Naturally, I went online to check-out this site. It's really easy to create an account and start nixing those unwanted catalogs! I only get two catalogs: J. Crew and Barrie Pace. The J. Crew catalog I can live without because although I love their clothes, I'm not going to spend a fortune on their products. And I get Barrie Pace because of a former resident who lived in my duplex. I can definitely live without that catalog!

So with Catalog Choice, I can stop placing those catalogs into the recycling bin. Now I won't have to deal with these catalogs anymore. I'm sure trees everywhere are exhaling a sigh of relief!

We Need LEED

This afternoon I attended a talk about IU South Bend's efforts to obtain LEED certification for the new student housing, which is currently under construction. (It'll be ready Fall 2008.) Right now, it looks like this:

But with a little imagination, it could look something like this:

The Troyer Group, a local architectural firm, is closely working with IU South Bend to obtain LEED certification for student housing. In short, LEED certification ensures that the building was designed and constructed with the concept of sustainability in mind. What that means is that the Troyer Group has to make "green" decisions on site location, water management, energy performance, material use, and indoor environmental quality.

To be sure, getting "LEED certified" entails meeting several criteria, and there are different levels of LEED (certified, silver, gold, and platinum). From what I've gathered, the new building is aimed for the silver level, although that decision will be made once all the paperwork and proper inspections have been completed. So stay tuned for those updates!

One question I've been wondering, though, has more to do with what happens after people start living in this green building. How will the garbage be handled? Will there be a composting area for food waste? Will there be recycling bins available? Will people engage in eco-friendly behaviors once they start living in this eco-friendly residence?

It's Blog Action Day!

Today, 15,861 bloggers worldwide are posting their thoughts and concerns about the environment, sustainability, and climate change. I can imagine thousands of people giving their .02-cents about various environmental issues today, which is fabulous.

But today I decided to go down memory lane and reflect upon my experience hosting BagFest. In just four hours, folks in my community donated 72,571 plastic bags for recycling, which filled up half of a Wal-Mart semi-truck.

That's me captured in a spontaneous moment of acting silly inside the truck. I remember being somewhat awestruck when I saw those bags getting ready to be hauled for recycling - We actually did this - Unbelievable! It's beautiful to remember how everyone worked together to help make BagFest a successful event.

But I certainly didn't plan this event just for me to act silly in front a pile of plastic bags! And six-months later, I'm chairing the recycling committee and working on research projects that investigate the relationship between cognition and environmentalism. Why do this? Am I some kind of sado-masochist? No, I think not.

There's perhaps several reasons why I'm passionate about protecting the environment, but the bottom line is this: There is more to life than just thinking about me (my career, my relationships, my future). I remember years ago feeling quite depressed about getting a job right out of graduate school. In trying to console me, a good friend of mine said that life is much bigger than this (i.e., the state of affairs I was experiencing at that time) - and she was right. Her words, in some circuitous fashion, have led me on an journey to explore just how large, complex, and magnificient this world really is and how someone as small and insignificant as me could find her place in this world.