Earth Day Challenge–a success!

The winners of the 2012 MIT Earth Day Challenge celebrate with their newly awarded green prizes. Pictured from left to right, back row: Michelle Miller, Weiija Zhang, and Gracie Dorneus; front row: Irene Hu, Jennifer Apell, and Niamh Kelly. Photo: Melody Craven

Thanks to all of the participants, sponsors, and organizers who contributed to the first MIT Earth Day Challenge! With 97 participants and 32 Action Projects, the Challenge was a great success. Many turned out at the Earth Day Bash on April 26^th to celebrate our collective achievements as well as six winners who received green prizes for earning the most green points during the Challenge. Congratulations to the following winners:

• 6^th Place- Niamh Kelly, Staff, 55 green points
• 5^th Place- Gracie Dorneus, Staff, 70 green points
• 4^th Place- Michelle Miller, Staff, 112 green points
• 3^rd Place- Irene Hu, Student, 126 green points
• 2^nd Place- Weijia Zhang, Staff, 155 green points
• 1^st Place $500 GRAND PRIZE- Jennifer Apell, Student, 188 green points (!)

We appreciate all who provided constructive feedback about this pilot Challenge. We’ll be working during the off-season to make improvements for an even better program next year. Stay tuned for information on the 2013 Earth Day Challenge, and keep up your great working at greening the campus and community in the meantime.

Thanks again for taking action, earning points, and winning prizes!

Celebrate at the Earth Day Bash 4:30p.m. TODAY!

Thanks to everyone who participated in an incredibly successful first MIT Earth Day Challenge! Your efforts have contributed to making a more sustainable campus and community. Join us today, April 26, 2012 at 4:30p.m. in the Stata Center TSMC Lobby to celebrate at the Earth Day Bash with cake, snacks, and of course, prizes! Find out who will win the grand prize of $500 for most green points earned.

The opportunity to earn green points may have ended, but there’s always the opportunity to impact campus and community sustainability. Continue your green action in the next week:

• Immediately following the Earth Day Bash at 5:30, head over to 56-154 to participate in the panel discussion, Sustainability and the Student Experience: Exploring opportunities for engagement in an environment and sustainability initiative at MIT.
• Tomorrow, April 27th, attend the MIT Sustainability Summit.  
• Watch the free preview screening of Switch on Tuesday, May 1st at 6:15p.m. in the Stata Center Kirsch Auditorium, 32-123–and enjoy refreshments.
  

Congratulations on a job well done, and thanks again for taking action, earning points, and winning prizes with the MIT Earth Day Challenge!     

Earth Day Challenge ends today–earn points now!

Can you believe it?! And what a Challenge it’s been with 97 participants and 32 Action Projects–so many people contributing to a sustainable campus. It’s not quite over yet, either; the grand prize of $500 is still up for grabs, as are many other great gift cards and items contributed by local businesses and organizations. You can still be a winner by participating in any of the ongoing projects, or stop by the FREE Bike Repair Clinic from 10am-2pm today on the Student Center (W20) front steps to earn more points. A special offer: participate in the Zero Waste Lunch project at the Sloan 100 Main Marketplace today, and earn 10 points instead of 1 (those who have already participated will earn 10 points, too). Let’s “Take Action! Earn Points! Win Prizes!” to go out on a bang today.

Be sure to participate in any remaining projects by 5pm today (or midnight for projects that allow it). We’ll be tallying all the points this evening and then celebrating the winners tomorrow, Thursday, April 26th from 4:30-5:30p.m. in the Stata Center TSMC Lobby at the Earth Day Bash! You won’t want to miss it: cake, snacks, prizes, and celebration with like-minded Challenge participants and organizers.If you’ve earned at least 10 green points in the Challenge, you’ll receive a green goodie bag. Haven’t RSVP’d yet? What are you waiting for?!

Now, take a look at how one of our front-runners, Jennifer Apell, is earning extra points by blogging about green action and experiences:

Trash Picker

At my undergrad university, we had something called “Green Team”. On football game days, when the university would fill with thousands of people for the entire day and our campus was no longer considered ‘dry’, a group of students would walk around with garbage bags to collect recyclables. And yes, we would even rescue recyclables from the trash cans. As you might imagine, there was some heckling – especially from the visiting team’s fans. But still we collected thousands of pounds of recyclables.

So yeah, whenever I see a recyclable in the trash, I discreetly move it to the correct bin. I haven’t been heckled yet, but that probably wouldn’t stop me anyway.

~Contributed by Jennifer Apell

Solar Lights

Stata Solar Light Shed, Photo: Jennifer Apell

Have you seen the solar light shed outside Stata? If you walk by it, you should definitely wander in. It is incredibly beautiful, and not just because the plastic bottles cast cool light ripples on the walls.

It’s such a simplistic, sustainable technology, but it has the ability to affect millions of lives. I hope that someday I will come up with a concept as amazing.

~Contributed by Jennifer Apell

Single Stream Recycling Sign, Photo: Jennifer Apell

Understanding Single Stream Recycling

Last week, an orange peel appeared in the recycling bin, and since then I have really noticed how many of us don’t know what can be recycled and what cannot. Every city’s recycling program is probably unique, and even in 3 years of living in Cambridge, I still don’t know all of the rules. In this case, the person didn’t even know there was a difference between the blue and grey bins. So I went to the City of Cambridge website and made up a sign for a quick reference.

Today, however, I saw that Facilities will come put informative signs on the bins as part of the Earth Day Challenge. Success!

~Contributed by Jennifer Apell

Last days to earn points and win the Earth Day Challenge!

Just two days left…will you be the Earth Day Challenge winner? The competition is tight, with green point updates pouring in over the last few days. Check out the Green Points Dashboard to get a feel for just how much participation we’re seeing.

If you want to take the lead, participate in any of the ongoing Action Projects from Sustainability and the Student Experience to Sleuths Wanted! to the Action for Our Earth Photo Contest by April 25th. You can also participate in the last remaining scheduled projects today and tomorrow:

• Grocery Shopping with Reusable Bags- April 24th, 12-1pm, Stata Center TSMC Lobby
• Improving Energy Efficiency in Your Facilities- April 24th, 5:30-8pm, E62-250
• FREE Bike Repair Clinic- April 25th, 10am-2pm, Student Center (W20) front steps

Earn extra points like participant Michelle Miller did by contributing a recycling photo and blogging about experiences in the Challenge. Photo: Michelle Miller

You can even earn extra points without leaving your computer, just like Challenge participants Michelle Miller and Jennifer Apell have done below with the Individual Green Action Blogging project. See what they’re taking away from the Challenge and how they’re making the campus a more sustainable place.

Building the #Knowosphere

I just attended today’s Colloquium. I particularly liked his push for “bottom-up” communication. I also appreciated the shout-out to libraries, which give communities world-wide free access to the web, as well as reading programs, etc. Libraries give the entire public a voice!

On a different note, also from the colloquium:

Feeling important? Check out http://populationaction.org/Articles/Whats_Your_Number/Summary.php to find your number out of the 7 billion people on this planet. I’m in the 4th billion. No biggie.

~Contributed by Michelle Miller

Update From the Koch Cafe

I received a response from Robert this morning informing me that the Koch Cafe does in fact have reusable containers for sale that they can subtract the tare weight from. I headed over to find them during lunch but didn’t spot them. With another quick email, Robert told me that they were by the soup station, and they would try to move some to the entree bar for easier spotting.

So for all of you dining at the Koch Cafe, you can buy a 9″ x 9″ clam shell container for $3.75 and a 16 oz. soup container for $2.75 (although soup is not weighed). I’ll be picking one up for myself tomorrow.

~Contributed by Jennifer Apell

April 23rd Green Points Opportunities + Starting Off Strong Guest Post!

It’s the last week of the Earth Day Challenge–almost there! Remember to visit the Action Project Page to find many long-running projects still available, but participate by April 25th to earn your points. Earn points today at 3:00 in 32-123 with the MITEI Andy Revkin (New York Times, Dot Earth Blog) Colloquium on the #Knowosphere, or try out a Meatless Monday.

You can also earn points by blogging about your own individual green actions, just like Challenge participant Jennifer Apell has below:

Starting Off Strong

I just found out about the Earth Day Challenge a couple of days ago, but I am really getting into it. It has actually motivated me to do something that crossed my mind. At Harvest Co-op, you can bring your own container, get it weighed in the deli, and then fill it with bulk items. The cashier will subtract the tare weight, and you have saved them a container. Win-win. They save money and you save the earth.

Well, since I get food from Koch Cafe most days of the week, I would definitely use a system like this if it were put in place. The compostable plates are great, but reusable tupperware is even better. So I went to the website and sent this suggestion to their email listed.

Or at least I tried to. The email bounced back from thekochcafe@mit.edu. But I wanted my suggestion to be heard, so I tried kochcafe@mit.edu next. There was no bounce back, so hopefully it makes it to them.

~Contributed by Jennifer Apell

Wind down the Challenge with the last opportunities to earn points–and $500!

Can you believe it? We’re almost at the end of the first Earth Day Challenge. Get out there and participate in the last remaining Action Projects (out of a whopping total of 31!) to earn green points and a chance at the $500 grand prize. Keep in mind that you’re up against 90 other participants, so don’t stop now. We couldn’t be more pleased with how many of you are helping to make a more sustainable campus and community!

• Volunteer with the Cambridge Science Festival- April 20th-25th (sign up in advance for your points)
• Charles River Cleanup- April 21st, 9a.m.-12p.m., Meet at MIT Sailing Pavilion, Building 51
• Climate Change Awareness Campaign – Rivers of Ice: What’s Your Question?- April 21st (submit your question in advance to earn partial points), 4-5:30p.m., Kirsch Auditorium, Stata Center
• HEET Energy Upgrade Workday- April 22nd, 1:00p.m.-5:00p.m., Friends Meeting House, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge, MA
• Meatless Monday- April 23–last chance!
• MITEI Earth Day Colloquium- Andy Revkin, of NYT DoT Earth Blog: Building the #Knowosphere: How new ways to share and shape ideas can help build durable progress on a finite planet – April 23rd, 3-4:30p.m., 32-123 

Remember, even the month-long opportunities to earn points end on Wednesday, April 25. So hurry up to participate in the Sleauths Wanted!, MIT Sustainability Summit, Political Science Distinguished Speaker Marina Silva, Sustainability and the Student Experience, Pitch Competition, Home Energy Assessment Sign Up, Easy on the Planet Product Purchases,Streamline Lab Recycling Signage,Spread the Word!, Action for Our Earth: Photo Challenge, Zero Waste Lunch, Recycle with Greenbean! Greenbean Video/Photo Contest, and Individual Green Action Blogging projects.  That’s 13 projects still open with up to 131 points available! Some projects are as simple as just signing up; check the Action Project page for details.

Be sure to celebrate all of our hard work next Thursday, April 26 from 4:30p.m.-5:30p.m. in the Stata Center TSMC Lobby with food and prizes! Anyone who earns at least 10 points will earn a green goodie bag. RSVP here to help us plan.

Earn Points April 17th – April 20th

We’re past the halfway point of the Earth Day Challenge, but there’s still many opportunities to earn points with the 28 Action Projects now listed. Keep in mind that we also now have 80 Challenge participants registered; will you be the participant who wins the $500 grand prize? Be sure to participate in this week’s projects to take the lead in green points:

• Grocery Shopping with Reusable Bags- April 17 (& 24), 12-4pm, Stata Center TSMC Lobby
• Choose to Reuse- April 19, 8am-1pm, Stata Center TSMC Lobby
• Quantifying Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Production- 6-7:30pm, E51-325
• Green Vendor Fair- April 20, 11am-2pm, Koch Institute/Building 76 Lobby
• Volunteer with the Cambridge Science Festival, April 20-25

Don’t forget to earn points with the many ongoing projects we’re offering: Easy on the Planet Product Purchases, Streamline Lab Recycling Signage, Meatless Monday, Spread the Word,  Commuter Connections T-Pass Challenge, Action for Our Earth: Photo Challenge, Greenbean Recycling, Greenbean Video/Photo contest, Individual Green Action Blogging, Marina Silva RSVP, Sustainability and the Student Experience RSVP, Easy Sign up For a Home Energy Assessment, and Zero Waste Lunch projects.

Check back soon to learn about the last remaining opportunities to earn points this weekend and early next week!