Time: 12:00 am
Present Fred Rogers, Anne Ulmer, Mark Kanazawa, Bruce Anderson, Kelly Carlin, Lizzy Shephard, Eliza Berry, Janel Anderson, Whit Jones
Absent Clare Kazanski, Mathias Bell, Eric Udelhofen, Cailey Gibson, Beth Bennett
Secretary: Whit Jones
The meeting began with ENTS students introducing their capstone proposal, which is to create a timeline for Carleton to attain carbon neutrality. They asked the EAC for advice and guidance. Fred explained the undergoing creation of a Utility Master Plan, a 20-year integrated energy plan. It was acknowledged that it would be beneficial for the group to work with the consultants who are drafting this plan. There will possibly be a public forum during Winter Term where community input will be welcomed.
Fred noted that while utility plans such as this one are useful, the recommendations they make can be expensive, so it takes awhile for them to be implemented. For instance, Carleton’s electrical system is currently being transformed from 4,800 volts to 13,000 volts, and this idea was first conceived of by a plan written in the early 90s.
Taskforces
Biodiesel – it is increasingly looking like Kai Curry an entrepreneur from the Cities will site a biodiesel facility in Northfield, and therefore the group is planning on redirecting itself to collaborate with the entrepreneur. The group will begin to research diesel options for the campus fleet. Many ideas were thrown out there including diesel hybrids, and a community car-sharing program. Fred noted that because it seems like new technology is on the horizon it would be smart to phase in a new fleet, rather than purchasing it all at once.
Goal: Make contact with Kai, begin research on diesel vehicles, and get in touch with the Rice County Coop.
Paper – This group has been temporarily stalled because paper statistics are not yet available.
Goal: Help out Dan and Julia by researching possible distributors, and draft a letter to the Educational and Institutional Cooperative Buying Consortium about dropping prices.
Reflections and Publications – This group has been working on drafting a proposal for ‘Eco Reps.’ The idea is that the college would hire student workers to promote sustainability on campus. This is in collaboration with facilities, ENTS, the ACT Office, and dining services.
Goal: Get the Carletonian’s Green Piece going again, continue to plan Sustainability Website, and follow-up with Kirk on the energy scoreboards.
Other items
– Sustainability Day was a huge success. There were over 200 people at Chili Night, and we reached a consensus that we should all work together.
– Dennis will be submitting a budget proposal for a Pulping Unit. This unit would cost $40,000 and pays itself back in 4 years. It substantially reduces the amount of water required to handle dining hall food waste, and it compacts the waste so that less trips to the landfill would be required. The EAC supported this effort, but wanted to learn more about it directly from Dennis.
– Beth Bennett and SOPE are still working on composting, and she is unsure how a pulping unit would affect the composting process. It still seems like Earth Tubs are the best fit for Carleton, and food waste will once again be measured.
– Fred thought that our Solid Waste Stream Management deserves reevaluation.
– The role of the EAC was a major topic of discussion. Is it the responsibility of the EAC to communicate with all other relevant campus committees, and if so, how should we go about doing that? Is the EAC fulfilling its role of being an advisory committee? As a result of this discussion a sub-group was formed. The EAC Function Group is Lizzy, Fred, Beth and Mathias.
– The New Facilities Director will arrive on November 13th. It is possible that we could have an introductory luncheon with him on Nov. 6th.
– Budget Proposals are due on Nov. 3rd
Next meeting is Nov. 10th at 4pm in the Sayles-Hill Lounge