2008 Woodie Awards
Making a world of difference
Serena Collins
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Global warming has recently taken the spotlight in newspapers, magazines and on the evening news. The issue has been addressed in Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth," and has become a trend in clothing, housing and even weddings. All of the hype may have students wondering what Kirkwood is doing to help the environment.
Last year during Earth Week the Kirkwood Ecology Committee and Professor Barb Dobling's social science class set up a transportation- themed display in the main lobby of Linn Hall. They gave away door prizes such as pedometers, odometers, t-shirts and a bicycle in an attempt to encourage students to improve their "fuel" economy. However, this year will be different.
"The major difference between last year and this year is we had the event for two hours for one day and this year we're trying to spread it out throughout the week in various locations," said Dobling. She said she hopes this way more students will be able to get involved.
Facilities Director Tom Kaldenberg explained how the campus is joining in the "green" effort by using a greater amount of environmentally safe materials in the new buildings.
"We use the latest technology and mechanical systems to lower energy cost," he said. One example is the ground source heat pumps that use ground water to heat and cool facilities. "We already have a lot of ground source heat pumps up and running," said Kaldenberg. The equipment is in use at the bookstore, the new Crisis Training and Response Center and the new 30,000 square foot wing at the Iowa City campus. He said Kirkwood has also been installing sensors to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and lights that dim in brightly sun lit rooms so energy is not wasted.
Kirkwood also offers classes that teach students about environmental issues. There are currently seven students enrolled in Dobling's class Social Problems: The Environment. She said the faculty is considering changing the social problems class to an environment in society class. The change will give her an opportunity to focus more on environmental issues and increase enrollment.
First year student and sign language interpreter major Lizzie Mayer also said she wants to see more opportunities for students to get involved in the environmental health of the campus. "I don't know where the leftover food goes from the cafeteria but all of that could be broken down into compost to help our landscaping," Mayer said. She also suggested having a group dedicated to recycling materials around campus as a work-study program and set up community bins where students can drop off recyclables. "Landfills are piling up with plastic because people aren't willing to [recycle] when 75 percent of the trash can be recycled. It's just going to keep piling up and polluting our cities," she said.
Students who are interested in environmental issues classes are invited to join the student-run Environmental Club sponsored by horticulture student Michael Valerius Jr. Students can e-mail Rita Tietd at rita.tiedt@kirkwood.edu for more information about the club.
Last year during Earth Week the Kirkwood Ecology Committee and Professor Barb Dobling's social science class set up a transportation- themed display in the main lobby of Linn Hall. They gave away door prizes such as pedometers, odometers, t-shirts and a bicycle in an attempt to encourage students to improve their "fuel" economy. However, this year will be different.
"The major difference between last year and this year is we had the event for two hours for one day and this year we're trying to spread it out throughout the week in various locations," said Dobling. She said she hopes this way more students will be able to get involved.
Facilities Director Tom Kaldenberg explained how the campus is joining in the "green" effort by using a greater amount of environmentally safe materials in the new buildings.
"We use the latest technology and mechanical systems to lower energy cost," he said. One example is the ground source heat pumps that use ground water to heat and cool facilities. "We already have a lot of ground source heat pumps up and running," said Kaldenberg. The equipment is in use at the bookstore, the new Crisis Training and Response Center and the new 30,000 square foot wing at the Iowa City campus. He said Kirkwood has also been installing sensors to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and lights that dim in brightly sun lit rooms so energy is not wasted.
Kirkwood also offers classes that teach students about environmental issues. There are currently seven students enrolled in Dobling's class Social Problems: The Environment. She said the faculty is considering changing the social problems class to an environment in society class. The change will give her an opportunity to focus more on environmental issues and increase enrollment.
First year student and sign language interpreter major Lizzie Mayer also said she wants to see more opportunities for students to get involved in the environmental health of the campus. "I don't know where the leftover food goes from the cafeteria but all of that could be broken down into compost to help our landscaping," Mayer said. She also suggested having a group dedicated to recycling materials around campus as a work-study program and set up community bins where students can drop off recyclables. "Landfills are piling up with plastic because people aren't willing to [recycle] when 75 percent of the trash can be recycled. It's just going to keep piling up and polluting our cities," she said.
Students who are interested in environmental issues classes are invited to join the student-run Environmental Club sponsored by horticulture student Michael Valerius Jr. Students can e-mail Rita Tietd at rita.tiedt@kirkwood.edu for more information about the club.
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