ETF Meeting March 27, 2008

Attending: Lyn Loveless, Jennifer McMullen, Margo Warner Curl, Chuck Wagers, Hannah Legris, Katherine Bell, Amber Phillips, Dan Indovina, Evan Heidtmann, Susan Clayton, and Nick Kardulias. The ETF invited heads of a number of student groups on campus to join us for this meeting. Allison Passero, for Greenhouse, and Patricia Riley, for SGA, were also at the meeting.

We had reports from the subcommittees. The local foods subcommittee has not met, but Chuck has been working with localcrop.com, which will start up on a trial basis over the summer.

The recycling subcommittee has organized a Goodwill truck to visit campus on 4/12 in association with EarthFest; the hope is that students who are leaving campus will begin to think about donating some of their belongings now rather than waiting until the end of the semester. They are also exploring the possibility of having some students stay after the end of the semester to help recycle discarded belongings. They have prepared a poster and list of FAQs about recycling, which will be available through the ETF website.

The environmental studies subcommittee has disbanded in favor of the environmental studies program committee.

The energy use subcommittee met to discuss the dorm energy competition. Results are not yet in but should be available in a week or two. They also discussed ways of making energy savings tips available to students in the fall, and will return to that topic at their next meeting.

Lyn Loveless presented a draft sustainability statement on behalf of herself, Peter, and Hannah. They started by looking at the statement prepared last year and also compared statements from a number of other colleges. The draft tries to emphasize core values, operating principles, and practical applications. It will be circulated to SGA, to faculty with environmental interests, and to the campus at large for comment and then Lyn will prepare a final version, with the goal of having that ready for Earth week and/or the president's inauguration.

We invited the visitors to discuss ways to improve communication between the ETF and the rest of the campus. Allie said it was difficult to find out what ETF is doing, and we should alert the campus that minutes are available on-line. Heads of relevant student groups could get regular e-mail updates. Patricia said there is a listserv for student organizations that we could join. We decided it would be a good idea to have an open meeting early in every semester to solicit information about plans and input about goals. It is important that the communication should go in both directions, so student groups are informed about ETF activities and have the opportunity to let ETF know about upcoming events and needs.

The next meeting of the ETF will be an open discussion for the campus. It is scheduled for 4/22 from 7-9 pm in the Lowry Pit.