James (Jim) Pizzuto ’75 will present “The Essential Role of Geology in Sustainable Watershed Management” on Friday, Nov. 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Olin Hall 149. Pizzuto, the Bernstein Geologist-In-Residence, is a professor of geology at the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment. His presentation is free and open to the public.

Carleton College will be recognized twice this month as one of 20 colleges and universities nationwide that exemplify the mission of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to re-stabilize the earth’s climate through education, research, and community engagement. The “Celebrating Sustainability” series highlights the sustainability initiatives of finalists for the 2013 Second Nature Climate Leadership Awards. In tandem with the series, Carleton is vying for the top spot in a public video voting competition.

Carleton College will host Helene York, an advocate for sustainable food who directed the purchasing initiatives of the Bon Appétit Management Company (Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges’ food service provider) from 2005 until 2013, on Friday, Jan. 25. York’s presentation, “Beyond Consumer Activism: What Companies Must Do to Fix a Broken Food System,” will discuss how Bon Appétit works to make more sustainable food available to its large network of clients. Carleton’s weekly convocation is held from 10:50-11:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel, and it is free and open to the public. Convocations are also streamed live and can be viewed online at http://apps.carleton.edu/events/convocations/.

This Friday, September 23, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Severance Great Hall, Carleton College will bring together local students, teachers, parents, and food activists to talk with each other and hear from keynote speaker Holly Lasanga of Bates College in a presentation titled “Weaving a Sustainable Food Web.”

Carleton’s newly-constructed Cassat and Memorial Halls are part of a feature on college and university sustainable building practices in the January/February 2011 edition of Architecture Minnesota magazine. The article, not available online, highlights how Carleton achieved LEED Gold building standards on its $25 million project. The residence halls are the first newly-constructed college or university residence halls in the state of Minnesota to achieve the LEED Gold standard.

Carleton, for the fourth consecutive year, has scored an A- on the College Sustainability Report Card 2011. Carleton is one of only 53 schools nationwide to earn a grade of A- or better. Three Minnesota institutions received at least an A- or better, led by the University of Minnesota’s grade of A, one of only eight awarded nationally. Macalester College also received a grade of A-. The College received an A rating in the categories of climate change and energy, food and recycling, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities and shareholder engagement. Carleton graded a B in green building and administration. In the leadership categories, Carleton was an Overall College Sustainability Leader, Campus Sustainability Leader, and Endowment Sustainability Leader.

Stomping around the Siberian Arctic is an unlikely way for Carls to spend their summer. Nevertheless, thanks to Max Holmes, the 2008-2009 Chesley Distinguished Visiting Associate Professor of Biology and founder of the Polaris Project, three Carleton students will be traveling across the globe this July for a first-hand look at how climate change is impacting a unique Arctic ecosystem.

David Chapman, Carleton College Bernstein Geologist-in-Residence, will speak on the topic of global warming on Monday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in Olin Hall, room 149. Chapman’s presentation, which is free and open to the public, is entitled “Global Warming: the Science is Settled. What Do We Do Now?”

Carleton College will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a series of campus and community events, and invites the Northfield community to celebrate this important event.

Students at Carleton College will present the results of a recent term-long study on the effects of abrupt climate change at a special multimedia “poster session” on Wednesday, November 18 from 1:50-3 p.m. in the Severance Great Hall. The student’s research, part of a student civic engagement project led by Carleton College professor of chemistry Trish Ferrett, led to the creation of eight multimedia websites focused on the impact of abrupt climate change on a variety of settings, located right here in Minnesota and around the globe. This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served.