UW-L Dining Services Highlights Local, Healthy Foods

Eat Local Week at UW-L – Sept. 12–16

from UW-L's Campus Connection

Buying quality, fresh, sustainable ingredients is a high priority for UW-L Dining Services, and with September being Eat Local Month, Dining Services is dedicating a week to feature local foods from regional suppliers.

Highlights of the week include:

• Eat Local Special Dinner – 4-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, Whitney Center, All You Can Eat dining room. Everyone welcome. You do not have to be on a meal plan. Cost: $11.08 (includes tax).
• Wellness Day Kick-Off at The Galley – 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Wednesday, Sept. 14. Free samples featuring local products. Every Wednesday following Dining Services will offer Wellness Days at The Galley featuring specials from the Terra Ve (vegan/vegetarian) station.
• Cheese Curd Thursday at The Galley – Thursday, Sept. 15, at Smashers. Enjoy fresh lightly battered cheese curds from Ellsworth Creamery, $1.99 (special one-time introductory price).
• Farmer’s Market at The Galley – 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16
• Breakfast for Lunch Special at The Galley – 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16. Join Executive Chef Randy Hanson as he prepares breakfast for lunch with local ingredients.

The Climate Reality Project Takes Place Sept. 14

Al Gore announced on July 12, 2011, his latest project called Climate Reality Project. This 24 hour global event will take place on September 14 throughout the world to focus on the climate crisis.

On September 14th there will be 24 Presenters in 24 time zones in 13 Languages. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, in every time zone around the globe. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the man made pollution that is changing our climate. The event will offer a round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot of the climate crisis in real time. {from the Climate Reality Project}

Learn more about the Climate Reality Project at: http://climaterealityproject.org/

New Graduates Attracted to Sustainability Jobs

From the NY Times, June 24, 2011

"Suddenly, “sustainability” seems to resonate with the sex appeal of “dot com” or “start-up,” appealing to droves of ambitious young innovators. Amelia Byers, operations director for Idealist.org, a Web site that lists paid and unpaid opportunities for nonprofit groups and social enterprise companies — some 5,000 of which are environmental organizations — said the number of jobs related to environmental work has roughly tripled in the last three years. “A lot of new graduates are coming out of a world where volunteerism and service has been something that has helped define their generation,” she said. “Finding a job with meaning is an important value to them.”

The rapid expansion of green jobs isn’t confined to the nonprofit sector. There is money to be made here as well. Ivan Kerbel, director of career development for the Yale School of Management, a graduate-level business program, noted that environmental issues like reducing waste and carbon footprints were increasingly important to corporations of all kinds, something business students are recognizing. Even ultra-ambitious M.B.A. candidates with C-suite aspirations are integrating issues like sustainability into their education, he said."

Read the entire NY Times article.

UW-L Year of Sustainbility During 2011-2012 Academic Year

UW-La Crosse will have a Year of Sustainability theme during the 2011-2012 academic year. The theme year was approved by Chancellor Joe Gow and all four UW-L governance groups. The Joint Committee on Environmental Sustainability is planning and coordinating sustainability activities and events during the Year of Sustainability. Learn more by reading the Campus Connection article.

UW-L College of Business Administration Considers Sustainability Minor

Faculty members Donna Anderson, Economics; Nicole Gullekson, Management; Tom Hench, Management; Steve Tippins, Finance, and Maggie McDermott, Marketing have formed an ad hoc committee to explore the possibility of offering a business sustainability minor in the College of Business Administration (CBA). CBA will offer a pilot course in Principles of Business Sustainability this fall to evaluate student interest in offering a potential business sustainability minor. Read the Campus Connection article.

Green Fund Proposals Due February 25

Proposals for projects funded or partially funded by UW-L Green Fund dollars are being accepted now. Proposals are due February 25, 2011. You can find out more about the Green Fund and how to submit a proposal at www.uwlax.edu/sustainability/html/green-fund.htm.

Possible Global Warming Effects Cause of Rare Bird Sightings?

A number of rare bird sightings from the Winona area's Dec. 18 Christmas Bird Count left some local experts scratching their heads.

Area ornithology experts believe the misplaced birds are here because of a shift in weather patterns caused by global warming.

"It's over-simplified science," said Richie Swanson, an area bird expert and longtime participant in the count. But global warming has changed plant and insect composition. The alterations have affected the structure of the animals' habitat and food chain, which makes it difficult for the birds to reproduce and survive.

Read the full story in the La Crosse Tribune