• Akira Yano Speaks to Students About Environmental Racism in Northern Minneapolis

    STA Project Updates: May 2022

    Hello from the Sustainability Office, and happy spring! After an eventful Earth Week and a sad farewell to Alex Miller, our waste, food, outreach, data and energy, and policy and…

  • Real Food Challenge National Summit

    Reflections from a weekend at the Real Food Challenge National Summit

  • Summer carls helping out on the farm

    Carls are really digging this summer

    Last Thursday marked the beginning of “Carleton Farm Volunteer Day”…

  • LDC Bon Appetit

    The Case for Trayless

    (Note: John Kraus has updated his February article about Trayless Dining at Carleton, and the updated version has been reposted here.)

    According to Food for Thought (A Carleton student group), the Carleton dining halls produce about 2,700 pounds of food waste per day.  Colleges, in an attempt to reduce waste and save money, have experimented with various ways to reduce food waste.  Going to tray-less dining has generally shown a reduction in food waste of 25-30%; Hamline College recently implemented this step and expects to save $25,000 a year.  In the following article John Kraus (’10) outlines a well researched case for trayless dining at Carleton.

  • Carleton to expand compost program

    A new and exciting composting projects is currently in the works on campus and will be up and running this spring.  Catering services will begin new composting programs when students return from spring break this year.  Sustainability Assistants met with Joe Winegardner, the General Manager of Dining Services several weeks ago to pitch the plan.  Joe eagerly agreed to train staff and obtain the proper bins in order to make composting happen.  As a result, all food waste generated at catered events will be composted and event organizers will be encouraged to select compostable plastic-ware, napkins, and plates that will also be sent out to the compost piles in Rosemount. 

  • Brisbane Australia

    Shrinking Footprints Headline News (November 19-25th)

    1. Carbon’ import duty proposal fails to impress

    2. All About: Food and the environment

    3. Utah residents organize to oppose Nevada power plant

    4. Carbon price vital but inadequate in climate crisis

    5. China wants to freeze emissions at 2005 levels: Wen

    6. Green group wary of plans for “eco-friendly” palm

    7. EU environment commissioner to reject Syngenta’s, DuPont’s GM corn

    8. Rudd, New Australian Leader, Targets Kyoto Accord

    9. Rockefeller Christmas tree gets green makeover

    10. Carbon pollution from industrialised countries rises again

    11. USDA reverses itself on Tyson antibiotic label: report

  • Apple Orchard

    Rotten to the Core?

    It’s fall in Minnesota. The leaves are turning colors, and it’s time to go apple picking, right?

    Daniel Gross in an article available at Slate.com argues that the Fall apple-picking tradition is more idiotic than idyllic and represents American tendencies to esteem overconsumption and balk at nature that’s a little too natural.

    In my opinion, that may be a little harsh and condemning. It may be true that when we go out to buy a half-bushel for our house or floor, we may not eat it all, but of all battles to choose, why apple-picking? What do you think?