January Events Show How to ‘Change the World’ During Sustainability Month at Cal Poly

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly is asking students, faculty, staff and the community to make sustainability a top New Year’s Resolution for 2006. The campus will host a series of events throughout January on the theme “Sustainability: Resolve to Change Your World.”

Cal Poly is home to growing support for sustainable development and is one of many universities endorsing the international Talloires Declaration (www.ulsf.org). In addition to highlighting sustainability as a priority for the new year, January also marks the start of the California State University system’s landmark sustainability policy. All CSU campuses are being encouraged to increase energy conservation, renewable power generation, and sustainable building practices.

“With the excitement from the new year, this is a prime opportunity for Cal Poly, ASI, and the San Luis Obispo community to engage in a broad discussion about our future, the challenges we face, and most importantly how we plan to play a role in improving our community, our environment, and the world.” Tylor Middlestadt, president, Associated Students Inc.

Added President Baker, “I am gratified to see the variety of serious and creative work being done all across the university to explore the issue of sustainability, to assess its significance for the 21st century and to identify workable strategies for putting sustainability principles into practice.”

Events scheduled throughout January include:

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Parade - 9:55-10:10 a.m., Dexter Lawn to UU Plaza on campus.
Cultural Club Fair, 10:10 a.m. -1 p.m., UU Plaza (rain moves to Chumash Auditorium). Cultural clubs will host displays and performances in UU Plaza, with a keynote address by Ethnic Studies Department Chair and Professor Charise Cheney.
Film and Keynote Address, 7-9 p.m., UU 221(San Luis Lounge). Free screening of the film “Environmental Ethics: Examining Your Connection to the Environment and Your Community” will be shown following an address by R. Thomas Jones, dean of the Cal Poly College of Architecture and Environmental Design. ASI student government leaders will also release the new “Student Guide to Sustainable Living,” a collaborative, student-written book highlighting ways to easily integrate sustainability into everyday life.

Thursday, Jan. 12

Sustainability Club Fair, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., UU Plaza (rain moves to Chumash Auditorium). Campus. Sustainability clubs will display information about their club and technology in UU Plaza, with a keynote address by architecture Professor Tom DiSanto.
Farmer’s Market Finale, 6-9 p.m., San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market, Garden Street. ASI will unveil the “Cal Poly: NEXT Mosaic,” representing the various cultures and contributions of campus groups. The finale includes cultural dance performances and a concert featuring the band Joose. Pacific Energy Company will have a solar trailer on display, providing power for the concert.

Saturday, Jan. 14

Campus Transportation and Mobility Design Workshop, noon-3 p.m., UU 220. Cal Poly’s Center for Sustainability in Engineering (CSinE) is kicking off an initiative encouraging the campus community to solve challenges currently facing the campus. This year’s suggested senior project challenge theme will be transportation and mobility, with the goal of reducing automobile dependency on the Cal Poly campus. CSinE and the Orfalea College of Business are hosting a three-hour design workshop to develop potential student senior project or class project to improve campus mobility.

Jan. 18-27: The Center for Sustainability in Engineering (CSinE) is sponsoring appearances of high-profile guest speakers on campus. Admission is free to each of the speaking events and the public is invited. Speakers will discuss professional opportunities in engineering that focus on sustainability. Speakers are:

John Peterson “Pete” Myers, founder and CEO of Environmental Health Sciences, will deliver a keynote address, “On the Cusp of a Revolution: Public Health and the Environment.” Speech is Wednesday, Jan. 18, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Science Building (52), Room E27.
Karen Peabody O’Brien, senior business projects advisor, Green Chemistry Institute, American Chemical Society will speak on “Green Business Strategy: Doing Well by Doing Good.” Event is Thursday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. to noon, Graphic Arts Building (26), Room 106.
Paul Anastas, director, Green Chemistry Institute, American Chemical Society will speak on “Green Chemistry: Designing Tomorrow.” Event is Thursday, Jan. 19, 3-4 p.m., in Philips Hall (Room 124) in the Performing Arts Center.
Julie Zimmerman, National Center for Environmental Research, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, will speak Friday, Jan. 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Lab (Building 7), Room 2, as part of the 'New Engineer for our Shrinking Planet' speaker series.
Beth Beloff, founder and president of BRIDGES to Sustainability, will speak on “Corporate Sustainability: Making it Happen,” Friday, Jan. 27, noon to 1 p.m., Advanced Technology Laboratory (Building 7), Room 2. The address is hosted by Cal Poly’s Society of Women Engineers, and part of the club’s annual “Evening with Industry” career fair. Beloff will discuss her experiences advocating integration of sustainable practices into business, education and engineering.

For more information on Beloff, contact Andrea Ramirez, SWE sustainability director, arramire@calpoly.edu. For more details on the other speakers, contact Professor Linda Vanasupa, (805) 756-1537, lvanasup@calpoly.edu.

About sustainability at Cal Poly:

Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker signed the international Talloires Declaration on behalf of the university in April 2004, adding the campus to a growing list of universities across the globe. The Talloires Declaration, and its 10-point plan, calls upon universities to create dialogue, education and initiatives to support environmentally sustainable development.

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