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Over the past decade, environmentally minded students have championed an ambitious effort to green UC Berkeley. From aggressive climate action to organic dining options and a zero-waste goal, campus sustainability today has an army of participants and deep institutional support.
Tag: sustainability
Architecture student wins prestigious new sustainability fellowship
May 21, 2013:
By updating and expanding California’s utility-allowance calculator, Berkeley grad student Antony Kim hopes to make sustainable architecture more available to low-cost housing developers. He and his faculty mentor, Galen Cranz, are winners of the first-ever Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship, which encourages the design of sustainable products and processes.
Berkeley named one of America’s ‘Bicycle Friendly Universities’
April 25, 2013:
The Bicycle Friendly University program recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bicycle-friendly campus for students, staff and visitors.
Haas faculty turn to crowdfunding for solar light research in Uganda
April 19, 2013:
Three Haas professors are bypassing traditional grants and going straight to crowdfunding to raise money for a study on how to get people in rural Uganda to replace dangerous kerosene lanterns with life-changing solar lamps.
Building a better trash can
March 19, 2013:
A spate of workplace injuries, along with too much landfill, prompted Berkeley staff and students to go back to the drawing board. Their unique trash and recycling receptacles are now making their debut on campus, along with a one-of-a-kind electric trash-collection vehicle.
In Richmond, a hands-on approach to energy tech
March 13, 2013:
Just three miles from the site of the future Richmond Bay Campus, the Northern California Workshop for Energy Technologies underscored the need for partnerships, and featured a keynote address from former Michigan governor (and current Berkeley faculty member) Jennifer Granholm.
Committed to cutting kilowatts, and heck on wheels
February 26, 2013: After staffing the campus’s myPower program by day, Erin Fenley dons quad speed skates, protective gear and the signature tie-dye T of Berkeley Resistance, a roller-derby team in a highly ranked all-female league. “You can’t do it timidly,” she says of the intense sport of choice for a “strange sorority of women from all over the world.”
100 pitch in to reforest a bare hillside near Lawrence Hall
January 25, 2013:
A forest-to-be of redwood trees and red-berried toyon shrubs sprouted on a hillside near Lawrence Hall of Science over the weekend, thanks to the hard work of 100 volunteers from the UC Berkeley campus and community. The project improves fire safety and sustainability in the Berkeley hills.
UC sustainability savings add up: $91M and counting
January 16, 2013:
The University of California has saved $91 million in energy costs since 2004, and it expects even greater dividends ahead as it ramps up its sustainability practices.
New biomed center wins ‘go beyond’ sustainability award
January 14, 2013:
The Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences has garnered a “Going Beyond Award” from the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories. The award recognizes the architect, engineer, builder, and project teams that best exemplify a whole-building approach to sustainable design.
Berkeley 2012 – the year in pictures
December 19, 2012:
New faces, new vitality, reflection and celebration — 2012 brought all that, and more, to UC Berkeley. Here’s a glance back at the year, in pictures.
On America Recycles Day, EPA recognizes campus food waste reduction
November 15, 2012:
On America Recycles Day, EPA regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld came to campus to laud Cal Dining’s food waste reduction program. UC Berkeley was among the first universities in the nation to sign onto EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge, which encourages everyone to reduce both pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste.
Food Day report: Minimum-wage hike would raise food prices pennies, help millions
October 24, 2012:
A new report released today, national Food Day 2012, says that a proposal pending in Congress to raise the minimum wage would increase retail food prices for American consumers by about 10 cents a day, while helping nearly 8 million food workers and 21 million other workers. Campus celebrates Food Day.
Sustainability award for senior thesis on campus emissions
October 22, 2012:
A recent UC Berkeley graduate in environmental sciences has won a sustainability research award from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for her senior thesis calculating the campus’s greenhouse gas emissions based on its entire supply chain of goods and services.
USAID chief lauds Blum Center as model in search for global solutions
October 11, 2012:
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah visited campus and encouraged students to join the search for open source solutions to pressing global problems.
WORKbright green: Free sustainability training for staff
October 10, 2012:
Campus staff are invited to apply for WORKbright green, a free sustainability training on simple and feasible ways to reduce the environmental impacts of campus work. The 8-hour training, provided by the Office of Sustainability, consists of two 4-hour sessions Nov. 2 and 16; up to 20 will be accepted.
Cal Energy Corps interns field-test smart solutions
September 24, 2012:
More than 30 Berkeley undergrads shared experiences, adventures and insights from their summer internships during the second annual Cal Energy Corps symposium at the David Brower Center Thursday.
Students’ yurt-style design embraced by Pinoleville Pomo Nation
September 21, 2012:
A yurt-style house design conceived in last spring’s E10, Engineering Design and Analysis, was used as the base concept for several successful housing grant applications by members of the Pinoleville Pomo Nation, who will use the funds to build up to 26 new homes in the Mendocino County community of Ukiah.
Clif Bar in Emeryville snags 2012 Livable Building Award
September 19, 2012:
The Center for the Built Environment announces its Livable Building Award for 2012.
New ‘energy incentive’ links kilowatt usage with the bottom line
September 11, 2012:
There’s little incentive to conserve when someone else pays the bill. So the new Energy Incentive Program aims to motivate building occupants and managers to bring down electricity usage. It’s one part of Operational Excellence’s energy program, and it’s projected to save the campus a sizable chunk of change each year, as well as shrink its carbon footprint.
Deborah Berke awarded new Berkeley-Rupp Prize for advancing women in architecture, contributing to sustainability
September 10, 2012:
Deborah Berke, a New York City-based architect known for her design excellence and commitment to architectural innovation, is the first recipient of the College of Environmental Design’s inaugural Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize.
‘Greener and greener’ Li Ka Shing Center wins LEED Gold
August 2, 2012:
A recently opened five-story building on the campus’s western edge has been officially certified LEED Gold. The Li Ka Shing Biomedical and Health Sciences Center is the 10th UC Berkeley building to earn high marks from the U.S. Green Building Council, and brings the campus’s LEED-certified space to more than 1 million square feet.
Future of California high-speed rail looks green
July 26, 2012:
A comprehensive life-cycle assessment by transportation researchers gives the green seal of approval for California’s high-speed rail project. The analysis comes on the heels of a state Legislature vote authorizing $8 billion for initial construction, set to begin in 2013, of the high-speed system.
State education chief unveils report to guide new generation of California schools
July 25, 2012:
California should refocus on updating and replacing aging school buildings with schools designed to be more environmentally friendly and better suited to the needs of the next generation of students, according to a new UC Berkeley report released today by the top state schools chief.
Berkeley a triple-winner at sustainability awards
June 29, 2012:
UC Berkeley won triple honors for its efforts to go green at the 2012 California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.
Environmental ed project teams Berkeley with global practitioners
June 6, 2012:
BERKELEY —
UC boosts emphasis on composting organic waste
May 23, 2012:
Recycling has allowed UC to divert more than 50 percent of its waste from landfills. But to reach its goal of “zero waste” by 2020, it needs to start composting. Hence the green bins, for organic waste, becoming commonplace at Berkeley and other UC campuses. Dining facilities, residence halls and sports stadiums are some of the first composting sites.
TGIF funds 22 green projects, 56 student internships
May 10, 2012:
In a milestone year for the Green Initiative Fund, the student-funded TGIF has awarded grants to 22 student sustainability projects and funded 56 student internships. Composting, zero waste and eco-movie showings are among projects that won approval.
Versatile University Medalist reflects interests from Chinese literature to forestry
May 8, 2012:
Double major Eric Olliff’s inquisitive view of the world has helped earn him the 2012 University Medal, UC Berkeley’s top prize for graduating seniors.
New green-themed artworks enliven Berkeley streets
April 25, 2012:
Seven beautified utility boxes — all by campus-affiliated artists and all on the theme of “sustainability” — now grace Berkeley streets near the edge of campus. Created by a town-gown partnership, the new works were unveiled during a walking tour on Tuesday.
