Sustainability at Western Technical College

As part of Earth Week 2009, Western hosted a dumpster dive on campus. President Lee Rasch and VP of Finance and Operations Mike Pieper jumped into one of Western’s dumpsters and sorted through the trash to find what should have been recycled! The good news was that four bags of recyclables were recovered. The bad news was that the majority of the dumpster should have been recycled! Come on, Western…we can do better! Be aware of recycling bins on campus and learn to use them! Use the new labels as guides for what can be recycled and what cannot. Also, check the website for more recycling information.

News coverage of the events:

WKBT: http://www.wkbt.com/global/story.asp?s=10219831

WXOW: Not posted online, but made the 5pm and 6pm news.

Wisconsin Public Radio: http://wpr.org/news/newsstories.cfm

Happy Earth Day Everyone!!!

I had a question about how stop signs affect fuel economy and tailpipe emissions. It makes you wonder whether many of our stop signs are worth it. Here are my links and answers:

Here is driving smart tips, which mentions how stopping/starting wastes gas http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/actonco2/home/on-the-move/driving-your-car.html

New cars with start/stop technology can save the driver and CO2 emissions up to 4-8% http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/02/volvo-adding-se.html

This article talks about roundabouts, which I know have gotten heat from nay-sayers here in La Crosse…but, it makes a good point for removing stop signs in general: “In one study, replacing a signalized intersection with a roundabout reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 29 percent and nitrous oxide emissions by 21 percent². In an additional study, replacing traffic signals and stop signs with roundabouts reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 32 percent, nitrous oxide emissions by 34 percent, carbon dioxide emissions by 37 percent, and hydrocarbon emissions by 42 percent³. Likewise, constructing roundabouts in place of traffic signals can reduce fuel consumption by about 30 percent^{2, 4}. At 10 intersections studied in Virginia, this amounted to more than 200,000 gallons of fuel per year⁵.”  http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/transtek/roadtalk/rt13-3/

This eco driving one just re-iterates that starting and stopping is bad for the car and the planet http://www.ecodrivingusa.com/#/ecodriving-practices/