ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COMMITTEE
November 20, 2006
Owyhee Room, EMU

Attendees: Jim Blick (chair), Paula Staight, Anne Forrestel, William Cresko, Charles Kainbach, Cathy Soutar, J.R. Gaddis, Steve Mital, Ken Boegli, Colleen McKillip, Tim King

Announcements

• Attendance at the October 25th sustainability webcast was low; however, Kay noted that most of the topics discussed that day are already being addressed on some level at UO.
• Tim and his crew will begin work on a sustainable landscape maintenance plan, and he hopes to have an initial report in January.
• Smoking area signs have been removed from outdoor benches, and Paula thanked Nancy and her staff.

2006-07 Agenda Items

Ben asked the committee to follow up on a letter that Chris Ramey wrote last year concerning vinyl issues. He understands that EIC is waiting for approval from Frances Dyke prior to forwarding the letter to Lisa Arkin at the Oregon Toxics Alliance (OTA). The committee felt that this letter would help facilitate the exchange of information between the OTA and user groups concerning vinyl alternatives. Jim will follow up with Brian Smith.

Biodiesel Project
Steve reported that a site for biodiesel processing at the Romania building looks promising.

Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living (CASL)
Cathy will continue to monitor CASL’s progress.

Wind Energy Steve will resume working on a wind energy option for students living in the dorms. If the committee’s support is needed, Jim requested a more detailed report prior to writing a letter.

Energy Conservation – Laboratory Renovation and New Construction Kay suggested that she and Bill meet with Fred Tepfer about the building and construction standards policy that are under development.
**Subcommittees will be formed to work on the following agenda items. Sign up will be done via e-mail prior to the December meeting.

Smoke Free Campus
Chair: Paula Staight
Paula noted that there is a Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) and the group expressed interest in helping work toward a smoke free campus. Alternative

Transportation
Chair: Ken Boegli (new Parking and Transportation Manager)
Several comments were made about the amount of traffic and unauthorized vehicles on 13th Avenue -- from Oregon Hall to the Heart of Campus, and even continuing west on 13th toward Kincaid Avenue. The committee asked Ken to investigate.

Campus Energy Policy
Chair: Karyn Kaplan
In addition to providing education and energy saving reminders for computers, Anne pointed out that there is a power management software product called Surveyor (company is Verdiem). When installed on a network it manages your computers settings. Energy savings calculations have shown that the payback period is less two years. The committee would like to review the campus environmental plan for energy use prior to the next meeting. Kay will e-mail it to everyone.

Green Dorm Room
Chair: TBA

Additional Item
Jim suggested that another topic to revisit is the need for environmental literacy course requirements. This would tie into addressing one of the goals in the Talloires Declaration. Ben suggested that students may already be self selecting these types of courses, and it would help to research course selection trends.

The next Environmental Issues Committee meeting will be held on Monday, December 11, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in the EMU Owyhee Room;