In this issue: 29 Apr 2009

• Find out the environmental impacts of taking the elevator

• Move off campus for the summer without boxing out the planet

• Learn lean, green tips on organics, DIY cleaning, and eating veggies

• Get involved with kids and eco-benchmakers

No more teachers' dirty looks
With classes ending soon, the Sustainable Sun Devil email will be taking a summer vacation. But you can still keep up with the latest environmental news and advice at Grist.org, the Sustainable Sun Devil on Facebook, and the School of Sustainability on Twitter. See you next fall!

Your caption here?

Send a caption for the above photo to asucontest@grist.org by Tuesday, May 5 at high noon. If yours is deemed the wittiest and greeniest, you could win $50 in health and wellness products from your neighborhood Whole Foods Market. Contest details and rules here.

Congratulations to Ian Crain, winner of our most recent caption contest. See his winning entry at left, and check out the runners-up in the "Caption Contest" photo album on the Grist-ASU Facebook page.

If you've captured a moment you'd like captioned, send a photo to pix@grist.org.

THINK OUTSIDE THE (NEW) BOX

How to recycle moving containers and treasures when you skip town for summer

Moving soon? Did you know that the life and death of one ton of cardboard boxes requires 7,000 gallons of water, 462 gallons of oil, 17 trees, and more than 3 cubic yards of landfill space? Pack your stuff in a used box, and you can save money and reduce waste. Here's one option: UsedCardboardBoxes.com rescues quality boxes destined for the trash bin and sells them at a steep discount with free delivery. "We use the back of a piece of paper before we throw it away," says Marty Metro, founder and CEO. "Why not re-use that box before chucking it in the trash?" Metro's firm even provides Earth-friendly moving kits. But if totally free is more your style, check out additional options at FreeCardboardBoxes.com or the Take a box, Leave a box program at area U-Haul stores. And what about those treasures you won't take with you? ASU residents can recycle or donate their re-useable stuff at campus move out locations on May 7 and May 11.

BULKING UP

ASU student designs new container to end food packaging waste

You probably know that buying in bulk is a great way to reduce packaging and get a rock bottom price. Another perk is that it keeps spoiled food and dollars from going down the drain -- that's because bulk bins allow you to select only the amount you need. But here's the rub. The store-supplied baggies you fill with bulk foods seem convenient at first, only to turn out treacherous. They rip, they spill, they look awful on your kitchen shelves, and they end up as another petroleum-based product in the landfill. What's an Earth-minded shopper to do? Brendan Beardsley, a master's student in ASU's College of Design, has worked up a sustainable solution. He has designed a convenient bulk foods container made from low environmental impact materials that you can take to the store with you and place on your shelf at home -- over and over again. Get the scoop by reading about Brendan's bulk foods container and checking out the podcast.

BENCHMARKS FOR LIVING

ASU alum leads kids in Earth-friendly building projects

Question: What do you end up with when you get a bunch of teenagers to stack old tires, pound dirt into them, and then spread plaster over the top? Answer: An environmentally friendly bench and some culturally conscious kids. That's all thanks to Jaime Collins, an ASU architecture graduate now working toward a master's degree in non-profit studies. As founder of the company, Everlasting Marks, she helps underprivileged youth construct sustainable Earthship-style structures using durable but abandoned byproducts of modern society -- especially worn-out tires. Her goal is to break down cultural barriers among students and give them greater understanding and confidence. Among E-Marks' current works are a bench building project in the Desert Open Space Garden at Superstition Farm in Mesa, which will be followed by constructing an education building for visitors and, eventually, offering an international exchange program. "Using sustainable materials models compassion for the planet and empowers kids to make their own positive marks on the world," says Collins. Learn how you can get involved and make your mark.

MORE THOUGHT, LESS CARBON

School of Sustainability graduate opens pathway toward climate-friendly parking and transit

Graduating senior Andrew Krause has been studying how to reduce ASU greenhouse gas emissions in an area that is often overlooked -- the conference room. His capstone project for a degree from ASU's School of Sustainability (SOS) investigates how Parking and Transportation decisions affect ASU's carbon footprint. Krause settled at the School of Sustainability after changing majors only twice, but it turned out to be a good fit for him because it satisfied his wide scope of interest. How so? Krause was able to tap the expertise of half a dozen faculty members from three different schools for this project. "SOS helped open up a broad understanding of the world," says Krause. "A trans-disciplinary degree allows you to really understand the depth of a problem and more efficiently propose a solution." His study of how decision-making affects emissions is now under consideration as an ongoing student project at ASU. Learn more about Krause's project.

» The above content is provided by ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability

CLEAR AND PRESENT ENDANGERMENT

EPA says greenhouse-gas emissions a threat to public health

The Environmental Protection Agency recently said it has determined that planet-warming greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. The long-expected finding, set in motion two years ago by a Supreme Court ruling, moves the Obama administration one step closer to regulating carbon dioxide emissions from a number of sources across the country. Read more about how this will "trigger the beginnings of regulation of CO2 for this country."

PUSH MY BUTTONS

Advice on the eco-impact of taking the elevator

Q. Dear Umbra,

Every time I bring a load of groceries back to the condo, I contemplate the energy and number of trips required to get everything upstairs three stories. If I think I can do it in two trips, I do, but on occasion I succumb and catch a ride. How much energy does an elevator trip use?

Mike B.
Calgary, Alberta

A. Dearest Mike,

Not much. Elevators themselves consume somewhere between 3-10 percent of a building's total energy, but our individual rides are not the shocking waste one might assume.

Read the rest of Umbra's answer.

A NOBEL EFFORT

Film about Nobel recipient Wangari Maathai shows Kenyan tree planting as political subversion

Planting trees in deforested areas brings a host of benefits, as any good environmentalist knows. Trees provide cleaner air, richer soil, wildlife habitat, and shade. They conserve water and protect lands against floods. They absorb carbon dioxide. Under the rule of an oppressive regime, tree planting can also be a profoundly subversive act. Find out how Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Matthai pulled this off.

TRAINING WHEELS

Obama lays down plans for high-speed rail

The Obama administration has big plans to create a "world-class passenger rail system" across the country, the president recently announced. The plan calls for development of a new "efficient, high-speed passenger rail network in 100-600 mile corridors." Find out the rest of the president's plans for expanding rail in the U.S.

SUNNY CITY UP

America's first solar city, from a former NFL player

Florida developer and former NFL lineman Syd Kitson is sending out a Hail Mary throw that could score big in the Southeast. The housing collapse be damned, Kitson & Partners announces it will build a planned city near Fort Meyers with 19,500 homes, offices, retail shops, and light industry. Its electricity will come from the world's largest solar voltaic power plant, a $300 million, 75-megawatt plant to be built on-site by Florida Power & Light. Read more about the sunny side of this solar city .

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"The Sustainable Sun Devil" is created for ASU by Grist.org, the nation's leading online source of environmental news. Together with ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability, we will be bringing you sustainability updates from around your campus, your country, and your world. ASU is responsible only for ASU-created content and has no editorial control or responsibility for information that it has not contributed to this publication. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Arizona State University, the Arizona Board of Regents, the State of Arizona, or any of their respective regents, officers, employees, or agents.

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