Colorado State University Celebrates Earth Day with Week of Events April 18-22

Colorado State University will celebrate Earth Day with a week of green events starting Monday, April 18, and running through Friday, April 22.

A highlight of this year’s festivities is the Student Sustainability Fair, which will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, on the Lory Student Center Plaza. The fair will feature student organizations, non-profits and local businesses that are committed to environmental stewardship. Topics to be covered include renewable energy, clean water, green goods and services, undergraduate and graduate research, green careers and composting.

The Student Sustainability Fair is free and open to the public. Vendors need to register by April 18 by visiting https://regstg.com/Registration/Registration.aspx?rid=9b4885be-baa8-4768-820f-d200e9aab3ce. The Student Sustainability Fair is sponsored by the Warner College of Natural Resources and the Live Green Team.

“Through the Student Sustainability Fair, the Earth Day celebration showcases the ideas and actions various organizations and student groups take every day to make our campus and community more sustainable,” said Tonie Miyamoto, advisor to the Live Green Team. “It’s also a great opportunity for attendees to learn more about available resources in the area of sustainability on our campus and in the local community.”

A variety of other events happening during Earth Week include the following.

Monday, April 18

-The annual Earth Week bike parade will kick off at the CSU Oval at 2 p.m. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes and show their support for alternative modes of transportation. The event is sponsored by the Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee.

-The film “What’s Organic about Organic?” will be shown at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theater. The film illustrates how the personal choice to eat organically can have a positive impact on the environment. The event is sponsored by the Student Sustainability Center and ASAP.

Wednesday, April 20

-The 2011 Cenergy Clean Tech Expo will be held from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Lory Student Center East and Main Ballrooms. The Expo will feature research from Colorado State University and presentations from distinguished speakers, including Sam Baldwin, chief science officer of the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; and Bill Ritter, Jr., former governor of Colorado, now director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State. Registration is free but required. For more information and to register for the Expo, visit www.energy.colostate.edu/CenergyExpo.html. The event is sponsored by CSU’s Clean Energy Supercluster and Cenergy.

-Join an interdisciplinary panel of CSU experts for a discussion of “Conflict and Sustainability” at 5 p.m. at Avogadro’s Number, 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins. Issues addressed will include environmental security, how conflict threatens natural resources, and local and national capacities for coping with disasters. The panel will include Stephen Davies, Agricultural and Resource Economics; Raj Khosla, Soil and Crop Sciences; Dave Swift, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory; Bill Timpson, School of Education; and Ellen Wohl, Geosciences. The event is part of the Managing the Planet Panel Series presented by the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.

Thursday, April 21

-A delegation of CSU students and faculty members who visited India for two weeks in February will host an Earth Day forum on “Indian Culture and Agriculture” from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Grey Rock Room. The group participated in the first Indo-U.S. Bilateral Workshop on Precision Agriculture at Punjab Agricultural University. They will share their learning and experiences from their visit to India. Lunch will be provided; RSVP by contacting Kierra.Jewel@colostate.edu. The event is sponsored by the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

-Join the Green CSU Tour for a look at CSU’s commitment to sustainability and the environment. The tour departs at noon from Ram’s Horn Dining Center at the Academic Village and includes lunch and a tour of the university’s solar plant, biomass boiler and Earth Flow composter at the Foothills Campus. There is no cost to register for this tour, and space is still available. A brief ribbon-cutting ceremony will precede the tour. To reserve a spot, email Stacy Grant at stacy.grant@colostate.edu. The event is sponsored by Ram Tracks.

-Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project, will present a lecture, “Water for Life: Adapting to a Warming, Water-Stressed World,” from 2-3:30 p.m. in the North Ballroom of the Lory Student Center. Postel is the author of several books, including “Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity,” and is co-author of “Rivers of Life: Managing Water for People and Nature.” She is a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment and, in 2002, was named one of the “Scientific American 50” for her contributions to water policy. This Gary A. Peterson and Dwayne G. Westfall lecture is sponsored annually by CSU’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

– Diana Liverman, co-director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona, will present “Climate Challenge: Engaging the Arts” at 4 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Senate Chambers. Liverman will focus on strategies and opportunities for involving the art, music and cultural sectors in the response to climate change. The event is sponsored by the School of Global Environmental Sustainability.

-David Wann, an environmental author, filmmaker and speaker, will present a lecture, “Creating a Sustainable Normal,” at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Room 214-216. Participants will receive tips on creating a more sustainable lifestyle. The event is sponsored by the Student Sustainability Center.

Friday, April 22

-The Environmental Governance Working Group seminar series presents Dana Liverman, professor of geography and development and co-director of the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona, at 11 a.m. in Room 118 Rockwell Hall. Liverman will speak on “Climate and Development: The Governance of Carbon Offsets and Adaptation.” The event is free and open to the public.

-The Warner College of Natural Resources will show the film, “Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time,” at 6 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theater. Considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. The film highlights Leopold’s career and ways in which he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. The event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, April 23

-Fort Collins’ annual Earth Day celebration will be held from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Civic Center Park in downtown Fort Collins. Admission to the event is free with a non-perishable food item donated to the Larimer County Food Bank. There will be informational booths as well as live music, speakers, and local food vendors. The event is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Association. More information can be found at www.sustainablelivingassociation.org.

For more information about the CSU Earth Day Celebration and Student Sustainability Fair, contact Tonie Miyamoto at (970) 491-4314 or tonie.miyamoto@colostate.edu. More information about all Earth Week events and all of the university’s green initiatives can be found at www.green.colostate.edu.
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