Students encourage 'going green'

An article in the Reno Gazette Here

Led by senior Anni Glogovac, students at Spanish Springs High School are joining the Envirolution. A nonprofit organization, Envirolution's main goal is to convince businesses to go green on the idea that they can be sustainable and still make a profit. One of Envirolution's founders, Alex Gamboa, happens to be Glogovac's cousin. Glogovac asked her teacher, Brett Barry, if he would advise a chapter of the club at Spanish Springs. Barry agreed, and they've been meeting now for about a month.

There are more and more students each meeting, Glogovac said, with about 15 at the last one. The club held its first event on Saturday, during which members picked up trash around the school and surrounding areas. Eventually, Glogovac said, the club wants to meet with local businesses to teach them how they can be sustainable and profitable by such practices as using energy-efficient lighting and managing waste properly.

The club is also going to start a weekly organic bake sale and, after the winter break, visit elementary schools to teach students about living sustainably. "(If they) learn these things while they're still young, (they can) make a positive impact," Glogovac said.

One of the club's main priorities is to work with other campus clubs, such as the Honor Society and Key Club, so that members of those clubs can earn community service hours by participating in Envirolution events. "People want to do stuff for the community," Barry said. "If we can focus that in an environmental way, what a great way to bring kids together."

Some things that can be done at home, school or work are switching out traditional light bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs and recycling, Glogovac said. "Another simple thing kids could do is carpool to school, ride bikes or walk," she said. Barry said he thinks it's great that his students are taking on a green cause.

"Environmental issues aren't going away," he said. And he said he's encouraged that business owners are finding ways to earn a living in an environmentally responsible way. "Being green isn't something you do to be different anymore," Glogovac said. "It comes down to the Earth. And I just want to do my part to help."

A holistic approach to Yale environmentalism
With new buildings providing only limited progress, small improvements must bring change.

BY KRISTIN BRIGGS

Cyril “CJ” May is the pony-tailed guru of Yale Recycling. Down below Welch Hall, surrounded by blue bins and save-the-environment ads, May doesn’t hesitate to dole out recycling boxes, pro-conservation magnets, or a sustainability story to any Yalie willing to brave the basement. Yale hired May in 1990 directly after his graduation from the School of Forestry and Environmental Services in an effort to bring the university into compliance with a Connecticut law requiring recycling.

“I took off my T-shirt and put on a tie,” May said.

One of his proudest accomplishments is the ubiquitous dual waste bins—for paper and trash—that now reside under every faculty desk. But for May, the necessity of recycling goes beyond merely avoiding waste—it is a moral and practical imperative. “We really have a tremendous way to go if we are truly to become sustainable,” he said. May referred specifically to Yale’s recycling initiatives, such as pairing all trash cans on campus with recycling cans—giving Yalies in search of a receptacle for their Diet Snapples the chance to recycle. Such problems are not unique to Yale, however; Americans generally throw out twice as many plastic bottles as they recycle, leading to a loss of jobs from factories that need the resources to manufacture carpets or clothing. “We’re not at war, but we are in trouble. There are economic issues as well as environmental issues,” May said.

Yale University, particularly President Richard Levin, GRD ’74, has grabbed the spotlight for spearheading many green projects on campus, from the Yale Sustainability Project in the dining halls to electric cars available for rent. However, David Gibson, a founding member and officer last year in the undergraduate group Envirolution, notes, “The Yale Endowment grew by 28 percent to over $22 Billion over the past year, but at what cost to the environment?”

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AltWheels: Not here to destroy America

from http://www.weeklydig.com/
By CARA BAYLES


This weekend marked the city's fifth annual AltWheels Festival-and yet, the smell of City Hall Plaza wasn't nearly as bad as you'd imagine.

Dressed in a green synthetic colonial hat and jacket, Gilles Labelle of Westboro Toyota (an activist known as the Energy Freedom Fighter, the CO2 Terminator, and Monsieur Hybrid) taught anyone who would listen about torque. He took one woman's hand, and pressed his palm to hers: "Right now, I have my foot on the gas. I'm accelerating. Once I reach the speed I want, I barely touch it, then, the engine's not even on, and I'm getting better mileage." The former chemist also co-hosts a weekend radio show on WCRN called "The Energy Freedom Fighters." "But I'm not here to destroy the American economy," Labelle insisted. "I just think it's time we gain independence from our addiction to oil."


Jesse Rudavsky proudly showed off his 2002 Prius. The car has 322,700 miles on it and still runs strong with its original battery and engine-a hopeful sign, since the hybrid battery hasn't existed long enough to prove its estimated 10-year lifespan.

Nearby, the New England Aquarium showed off its CNG bus while letting passersby touch mussels, starfish and sea urchins.

Bicyclists also carved out a large portion of the booths. Since last year's AltWheels festival, Mayor Menino has become one of them. He bought a Trek, promised to install 250 new bike racks, and gave former Olympic cyclist Nicole Freedman the ominous title of "Bike Czar." Critics have expressed skepticism about Menino's commitment to the plan, but Nadav Carmel of MassBike, the state's only cycling advocacy group, feels optimistic. "We're excited to work with the mayor," he said. "We're hopeful, because this time he's actually on a bike."

The mayor took home a pair of AltWheels "Green Pioneer" Awards, for Boston's heavy consumption of biodiesel and renewable energy. He also announced a new grant program to retrofit local diesel trucks.

With bikes, solar power, hybrid cars, community living plans and free compact fluorescent light bulbs, the festival radiated an unfocused chaos. But Antuan Cannon saw this as an opportunity. As co-founder of Envirolution, an organization seeking to increase collaboration between activists, Cannon believes the scattered nature of the environmental movement means that anyone can contribute. "It can seem overwhelming," he said, "since there are so many components. But it's also very hopeful, because we're all working for the same thing."

Downtown party embraces Earth-friendliness

JACLYN O'MALLEY RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 6/11/2007

Sunday's green festival in Wingfield Park is just the beginning for a new organization, spearheaded by two former local residents and aimed at convincing people that individuals can make a difference in preserving the Earth.

Founders and officials of The Envirolution say that, even though eco-friendly ideas are all over the media, especially with the recent Earth Day, part of the struggle in getting their message across is that environmental supporters are stigmatized.

"We want the green trend to become mainstream," said Abby Reider, head of West Coast operations for The Envirolution. "We're not hippies or tree huggers. We're about solutions and benefits for everyone."

DAVID B. PARKER / RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Hazel Francki, 3, of Fallon dances to the reggae music
of the band Truckee Tribe on Sunday at The Envirolution
Experience at Wingfield Park in Reno.

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In Spring, Green flourishes throughout Reno

Events promoting solutions to environmental issues increase in popularity

June 8, 2007

It’s official: Springtime is here and green has taken over Reno.

The Envirolution Experience June 10 in Wingfield Park is hoping to expand on the success of April’s Earth Day celebration in Idlewild Park and the City’s Green Summit to empower local residents, businesses, organizations and community leaders to address environmental problems, network and brainstorm.

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A day in the park devoted to green issues

CARLA ROCCAPRIORE
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 6/2/2007

Several area residents have helped create a national nonprofit organization that focuses on uniting groups under a centralized umbrella to raise awareness and address issues that impact the environment.

They're planning on spreading the word during the Envirolution Experience June 10 in Reno.

The inaugural Envirolution Experience was held on the East Coast a few months ago.

The Reno event is free and scheduled June 10 from noon to 6 p.m. at Wingfield Park.

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Alumnus starts a new 'Envirolution'

Thomas Kaplan Staff Reporter

While he was a student at Yale, Antuan Cannon’s ’06 choice to major in economics didn’t mean he couldn’t have an interest in the environment. But as Cannon and two of his friends and fellow Elis hit the job market, it seemed to be a different story.

“We wanted to find real estate jobs, but we were really hoping to find something with a green company, and we found that wasn’t very easy,” Cannon said. “There wasn’t that one Web site that you could find all those green resources — learning about all the issues, finding jobs, meeting people.”

With that frustration, the Envirolution was born. The nonprofit — an umbrella organization to help green businesses, other nonprofit organizations and environmentally minded individuals unite and collaborate — will kick off Saturday with its first conference, to be held on Old Campus.

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