The Office of Sustainability
Sustainability Week from 4/2-4/5 

 

Transportation Expo
On April 2nd, the College of Charleston's Office of Sustainability will sponsor a Transportation Expo as the kick-off event to the college's sustainability week events. The Transportation Expo will promote the benefits of transportation modes outside of single-occupancy vehicles from 12pm - 3pm on River's Green behind Addlestone Library. Highlighting the event will be a chariot race around River's Green that will pit competing bike companies against one another for the coveted Loose Bolt Prize, followed by a bicycle workshop for students to learn the ends and outs of basic bicycle maintenance. Leading local organizations such as Charleston Moves, CARTA, and the Department of Transportation within the Berkley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments will be on hand to engage students in opportunities on and around campus to decrease their carbon footprint, save money, and shift how they view mobility. Along with CofC students, these organizations will help unveil the new Bike Share and Ride Share programs.  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu

Local Organization Fair
Sustainability Week will feature a Local Organization Fair at the Cistern Yard on Tuesday 4/3 from 12pm-3:00pm.  This Fair features more than twenty local organizations including Charleston Parks Conservatory, Water Missions International, SurfRider, Pet Helpers, Local Lowcountry First, Grow Food Carolina, Keep Charleston Beautiful, Charleston Moves, and many more.  The Fair is hosted by a collaboration of undergraduate student groups including Green CofC, Alliance for Planet Earth, Urban Agriculture, and CofC Clean Eats.  Stop by and learn more about the many organizations in the Charleston community!  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu

Between the Harvest Showing and Panel Discussion
Tuesday 4/3 in the first floor auditorium of the School of Science and Mathematics Building (SSMB129) from 5:00pm-6:30pm features a documentary showing and panel discussion of "Between the Harvest", the story of Ostional, a remote coastal community in Costa Rica that relies on a legal harvest of sea turtle eggs for income.   This short documentary is objectively told through the eyes of the local people and delves into the controversy of natural resource use, conservation, and sustainability.  This screening of “Between the Harvest” will be followed with a panel discussion on current social and environmental themes revealed throughout the film. The panel includes Scott Drucker, Director, “Between the Harvest", Carlos Mario Orrego Vasquez, Lead Biologist, IUCN Representative, Director of Ostional Wildlife Refuge Megan Westmeyer, Sustainable Seafood Initiative Coordinator, South Carolina Aquarium and Annette Watson, Ph.D. Political Science, Assistant Professor, College of Charleston.  A Q&A session will also be held with these distinguished speakers.  This event is hosted by MESSA, MBGSA, and PCMI.  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or https://betweentheharvest.com/.

APE Trash Audit
Wednesday 4/5 features an all-campus trash audit hosted by Alliance for Planet Earth on Cougar Mall from 6:00am-6:00pm.  APE will remove trash from campus dumpsters and with help from Physical Plant, transport all collected trash to the Cougar Mall. From that point, APE will spend the day weighing each bag of trash and sorting its contents into its different categories of materials that could have been recycled (glass, paper, aluminum, plastic, etc). At the end of the day, APE will weigh each category of materials and will be able to compare how much of what was thrown away was actually recyclable.  APE’s goal for this project is to promote the importance of recycling through both the visual impact of seeing our waste first hand and by showing that the things that we throw away do no disappear forever. We also hope to demonstrate to the campus community how much more of our trash is recyclable. 

Local Farms Fair
On Wednesday 4/4 from 12pm-2pm the Office presents the Local Farms Fair on George Street.  This information session will feature information tables from Pickney, Gruber and Ambrose farms.  Additionally, Clammer Dave and Local Lowcountry First will be attending the Local Farms Fair to discuss the importance of sustainable fishing and farming in Charleston.  This is a great opportunity to meet the farmers who grow the food we eat and learn more about food security and sourcing.  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu. 

Speth Discussion
Wednesday 4/4 will feature a discussion from distinguished environmental lawyer, advocate, and writer Dr. James Gustave Speth in the Stern Center Ballroom from 4pm-5:30pm.  "Building the Future One Community at a Time" includes both a presentation and Q&A session with audience members.  We look forward to seeing you there!  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu.

Greenbag Lunch Panel
Thursday 4/4 features the newest edition of Office's Greenbag Lunch Series, Sustainable Communities.  This panel includes sustainability expert and author Dr. James Gustave Speth, Colonel Mark Mykleby, senior advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, environmental philosopher Dr. J. Baird Callicott, and environmental law and sustainability expert Dr. P. Brian Fisher.  Seating begins at 11:30 am, with the discussion and Q&A taking place from 12:00pm-2:00pm.  As usual, light refreshments will be provided, but all audience members are encouraged to bring their own bagged lunch to the panel.  We look forward to sharing a lively discussion with you!  For more information please visit sustainability.cofc.edu or email sustainability@cofc.edu.

Bill McKibben Lecture https://www.abcnews4.com/story/17191305/bill-mckibben-will-speak-at-college-of-charleston-on-april-5
6pm Thursday, Sottile Theater
Environmentalist Bill McKibben to speak at the Conrad D. Festa Community Lecture – April 5, 2012
On April 5, 2012, the School of Sciences and Mathematics will host environmentalist and green journalist Bill McKibben as this year’s Conrad D. Festa Community Lecture speaker. McKibben is a co-founder and organizer of 350.org, a global grassroots movement committed to solving the climate crisis and pushing policies that will put the world on track to a safer level of CO2 in the atmosphere.  He is an American environmentalist and thought leader who frequently writes about global warming, alternative energy, and the risks associated with human genetic engineering. A scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College, McKibben is the author of The End of Nature, the first book for a general audience on climate change and Eaarth, a portrait of life on our heavily-modified world.

Bill McKibben is in the upper echelon of environmental writers, having produced best-selling works that tackle our most daunting environmental issues,” says Michael J. Auerbach, Dean, School of Sciences and Mathematics. “His well-researched and well-referenced works are both easily accessible to all readers and brutally blunt in assessing our environmental future.  His latest book, Eaarth, presents a scientifically-justified case that earth has already experienced such significant climate disruption that we, and future generations, will inevitably inhabit a very different planet. “

What is 350? 350 means safety from the climate crisis.

To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million (ppm) to below 350 ppm. But 350 is more than a number—it's a symbol of where we need to head as a planet. For more information visit 350.org.
Join us on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sottile Theatre, downtown on the corner of George and King streets. This event is free to attend.
Additional support was provided by The Citadel and the College of Charleston Office of Sustainability, Environmental Studies Program, and Master of Science Environmental Studies – MES Program.