ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COMMITTEE
March 16, 2006
Knight Law Center

ATTENDEES:   Ben Farrell, Christine Thompson, Paula Staight, JR Gaddis, Bob Jones, Robyn Hathcock, Mike Filippelli, Cathy Soutar, Kay Coots

Announcements

The HOPES conference will be held on April 13 – 16.  Shigeru Ban will give the keynote speech on April 13th.

New Construction and Renovation Projects

In an effort to promote green buildings and protect public health at a time when many building projects on campus are in the early stages of development, the committee strongly recommends the elimination or substantial reduction of vinyl products.  Ben will draft a letter to Frances Dyke, including documentation from the Oregon Toxics Alliance and other sources.

The committee expressed concern about whether the new basketball arena will be required to follow the University’s Sustainable Development Plan, and Oregon’s Executive Order 06-02 mandating that state buildings meet the LEED silver equivalency.  Bob will draft a letter to be sent to Frances. 

Recycling

Frances had asked the committee to research the role that Bring Recycling plays in recovering material from demolition projects.  Karyn reported that Bring is currently involved in the university’s demolition projects and has been for years.

Karyn shared that there is going to be a big promotion to encourage the use of refillable mugs.  Recycling is planning to print t-shirts and will be placing ads in the Emerald.

Smoke Free Campus

Jim, Paula, and Ben met to talk about smoking distance from building entries, standardization, and the OAR.

Paula noticed a sign posted by Carson Hall directing people to the Housing office for information on smoking areas.  She found that they are advising smokers to go 25 feet from the building.  This has helped to reduce complaints from the residence halls, but another problem is created near the walkways.  Other issues:  The subcommittee is considering having a public awareness table at Earth Day.  The health promotion department is planning to create an exhibit on the cycle of a cigarette.  Clark College in Vancouver has generated a lot of interest since they recently became a smoke free campus.

The next Environmental Issues Committee meeting will be held on Monday, April 17, from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. in the EMU Metolius Room.