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

UW-L Fair Trade Sale

A Socially Responsible Alternative to Holiday Shopping

(Sponsored by: Progressives, Environmental Council, and the Native American Student Association)

UW-L student organizers urge the community to shop responsibly this holiday season by providing a fair trade market.

When: Monday, November 29 and Tuesday, November 30th, 9:30 am-6:30 pm

Where: Port O Call, Cartwright Center at UW-La Crosse

What: The Fair Trade Market is as an alternative for holiday shoppers where the buyer can rest assured that each product is 100% socially responsible. These certified products guarantee fair wages for the worker, quality products, community development, and sustainable environment. There will be an extensive array of fairly traded products available for sale from Concern America, Ten Thousand Villages, Heart of the Sky, Beehive Collective, and more. The student organizers of the fair trade market believe that the event will spread awareness about the fair trade movement and how each purchase counts toward the welfare of others in impoverished countries.

New Bike Lane in La Crosse

La Crosse’s now has a bike lane paid for by Communities Putting Prevention to Work /ARRA Grant. Watch a video of the new facility on 7th St. from State Street to La Crosse Street.

Video courtesy of Jack Zabrowski, Bicycle Pedestrian Coordinator, La Crosse County Health Department.

Ditch the Car Week Logs 6,000 Green Miles

Over 150 individuals on 10 teams participated in UW-L's recent "Ditch the Car Week" and over 6,000 "green" miles were logged! Feedback offered by participants was consistent. They believed this event should be repeated, and it should be better publicized. With only several weeks of planning for the event, the number of miles logged was impressive.

Team and individual results are summarized on this web site:www.uwlax.edu/biology/dtc/results/1.html.

Thanks to everyone who participated and made this green transportation effort a success.

As More People Ride Bicycles, Safety Improves

Although it would seem that as more people are out riding their bikes, there would be more bicycling accidents. But research is showing that as ridership increases, the accident rate is not changing.

"When there are a lot of bicyclists on the road, according to this theory (Safety in Numbers), drivers take notice. They become more attentive, slow down, pass more cautiously, double-check their blind spots, expect the unexpected. They sense that the road has become a more complicated place, and adjust their behavior accordingly. As a result, the road becomes safer, presumably for everyone." says researcher Peter Jacobsen.

Read the entire article at Grist.org.

Rising Concern About Bottled Water Use on Campuses

"Wars in the past have been fought over oil. Wars in the future, experts say, will be fought over water. And it seems that the opening skirmishes are taking place on campuses, over water in little blue bottles."

These opening sentences are from a new article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Students, faculty and staff on campuses are working to ban the sale and use of bottled water on their campuses. Read the entire online article here.