Colorado State University Celebrates Earth Day’s 40th Birthday with Earth Week, April 19 – 23

Colorado State University will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a week full of green activities. Earth Week will run from Monday, April 19 to Friday, April 23 on the CSU campus.

"As we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, this year’s celebration and the Student Sustainability Fair provides a great opportunity to see the actions and ideas our students will take forward in the next 40 years," said Tonie Miyamoto, director of communication for CSU Housing and Dining Services.

The celebration will begin with the second annual Cenergy Expo, from 8:30-4 p.m. on Monday, April 19, in the North Ballroom of the Lory Student Center. The Expo will feature keynote speaker, Hunter Lovins, renowned author and the founder and president of Natural Capitalism Solutions. Lovins’ lecture will focus on “The Business Case for Unleashing the New Energy Economy.” Lectures from Clean Energy Supercluster faculty members also will be featured along with the presentations of the 2009 Seed Grant posters. Registration is free, but required. Breakfast and lunch are provided for all attendees. To register online, visit http://energy.colostate.edu/pre-expo.html.

Additional Earth Week events at CSU include:

Monday, April 19

Show your green spirit at the annual CSU bike parade. Participants are encouraged to arrive at 3 p.m. at the north end of the CSU Oval to ride through campus, ending at the sculpture on Pitkin and Center. Costumes are encouraged and there will be a helmet-decorating competition. The bike parade is free, open to the public and sponsored by Campus Coalition for Sustainability and Live Green Team.

Tuesday, April 20

Participate in the Green University Walking Tour to learn how CSU maintains its environmentally friendly status from 10:50 a.m. –2:15 p.m. April 20. The tour will begin at the Indoor Practice Facility, visit the Student Recreation Center and the Academic Village. Lunch will be served at Ram’s Horn followed by a trip to the Transit Center and the solar plant on the Foothills Campus. Since space is limited, registration is required by contacting Stacy Grant at stacy.grant@colostate.edu. The Green University Walking Tour is sponsored by Ram Tracks and the School of Global Environmental Sustainability’s Student Sustainability Center.

In addition to the RamTracks Green University Tour on April 20, campus community members and visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour of the Green University by downloading a map of the walking guide at www.green.colostate.edu.

Spend the evening at the Adventure Film Festival, featuring various adventure, humanitarian and sustainability themed films. Doors of the Lory Student Center Theater will open at 6:45 p.m. and the show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and available for purchase at the Lory Student Center Box Office or online at http://csutix.universitytickets.com/. Proceeds from the festival benefit Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, an educational non-profit organization dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors worldwide. The event is sponsored by the Warner College of Natural Resources College Council and SoGES Student Sustainability Center and Outdoor Adventure Program.

Wednesday, April 21

Voice your opinion on CSU’s strategies to reach climate neutrality within the next 10 to 30 years at the Climate Action Plan Feedback and Poster Session from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. April 21, in the Lory Student Center Sunken Lounge. Participants will learn more about the sustainable efforts being made around campus. The session is sponsored by the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Advisory Committee and Climate Action Plan Task Force.

Thursday, April 22

The annual Earth Day Celebration and Student Sustainability Fair will take place from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. April 22, on the Lory Student Center Plaza. The event features more than 100 student organizations, local green non-profits and businesses and green career booths along with live music. The fair is free to attend. The Live Green Team and the Coalition for Campus Sustainability are sponsoring the event.

International authority on natural resource management, climate change, and global food security, Rattan Lal, will be the featured speaker during the Gary A. Peterson and Dwayne G. Westfall Annual Lecture from 2-3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in the Lory Student Center North Ballroom. Lal, a professor of soil physics and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University, will present a lecture titled, “Soils, Climate Change, and Global Food Security.” Lal has made numerous contributions to the understanding of soils in global environmental management including the strong relationship between soil degradation and its impact on past civilizations. Lal believes that political stability and global peace are threatened because of soil degradation, food insecurity, and desperation. The lecture, sponsored by the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, is free and open to the public.

Friday, April 23

The Sustainable Apparel Show will wrap-up CSU’s Earth Week celebration with students strutting down a green catwalk. The event encourages students to think twice before purchasing new clothing and will highlight sustainable apparel from local thrift stores. The Sustainable Apparel Show is sponsored by ASCSU Environmental Affairs.

For more information on CSU’s Earth Day celebrations, visit http://www.green.colostate.edu/earth-week.aspx.

For more information on the Clean Energy Expo, visit http://energy.colostate.edu/pre-expo.html.
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