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Your caption here?
 Send a caption for the above photo to asucontest@grist.org by Wednesday, Feb. 18 at high noon. If yours is deemed the wittiest and greeniest, you could win a recycled messenger bag from Alchemy Goods. Contest details and rules here.
Congratulations to John Mendenhall, winner of our first caption-contest round. See his winning entry at left, and check out the runners-up on the Grist-ASU Facebook page.
If you've captured a moment you'd like captioned, send a photo to pix@grist.org.
NOT TOO SHAB-BY
New residence hall opens door to sustainable living at ASU
Five years ago, a small group of sustainability-minded students at ASU's Honors College dreamed wistfully about greener living on campus -- and then made that dream a reality. The result is a new green dorm in the Barrett Honors College complex, now under construction near the corner of Rural and Apache in Tempe. Dubbed Sustainability House At Barrett (SHAB), the new residence hall will open in the fall of 2009 and will be pimped out with solar panels, gray-water reuse system, organic garden, experimental green roof, and state-of-the-art energy-use modeling. Students who want in can now apply [PDF] to live at SHAB, but even those who don't can join in SHAB group activities and projects. "SHAB allows people to organically network with others who share a passion for creating a more sustainable future," says sophomore biology major Joe Canarie, a SHAB member. For more information, email SHAB, check out the SHAB website, or find the group on Facebook.
 STIMULATE US
Graduate and professional students offer project grants to reduce ASU's environmental impacts
Do you have a great idea for shrinking the environmental footprint of ASU students, but you lack the green "stimulus" to pay for it? ASU's Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA) may be able to help you with up to $2,000 in reimbursement funding from its new Green Projects Initiative (GPI). GPSA is accepting applications now through March 10. Undergraduates can participate in several ways, but a grad student must be the primary sponsor on any application. "We hope this program will solve some environmental problems on campus by bringing together small groups of grads and undergrads who each can contribute something unique, such as logistical expertise, sweat equity, or even a microloan," said Michael Rutkowski, chair of the GPI and a grad student in extragalactic astronomy. For applications and more information, go to GPI, get the FAQs [PDF], or contact Rutkowski.
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
Students mix business with sustainability for a competitive edge in the job market
If you're looking to knock the socks off of potential employers -- and someday move out of your parents' basement -- consider following the lead of one group of students at the W.P. Carey School of Business. They've embarked on a new degree path -- the B.A. in Business with a Sustainability Concentration -- that combines a business curriculum with a selection of sustainability courses taught at ASU's School of Sustainability. In its first year, more than 170 business majors chose this degree program to spice up their resumes while positioning themselves to turn the business world greener. "This program is a good addition for business students who care about the environment," says Erin Wells, a senior pursuing the B.A. degree as well as a B.S. in computer information systems. "Business and sustainability have to work together in order to generate change and progress, and this interdisciplinary approach is the key." Learn more about sustainability efforts at the W.P. Carey School.
ENGINEERING OUR FUTURES
ASU prof leads international strategy to promote sustainable engineering
Does it seem that most of the world is dragging its feet on the road to sustainability? That's the feeling of the planet's largest organization of hard-headed realists -- the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Impatient with lack of progress in addressing sustainability challenges, the IEEE and its 375,000 members in 160 countries have launched an international effort to help kick-start practical action based on better understanding of new technologies and sustainable systems. Chosen to lead the effort is ASU's Brad Allenby, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering, an expert in the emerging field of Earth Systems Engineering, and author of Reconstructing Earth: Technology and Environment in the Age of Humans. Allenby will chair the IEEE's Sustainability Initiative committee, which is likely to draw on other ASU scientists and engineers as well. "ASU is increasingly being recognized as an important national and international resource" for sustainability expertise, Allenby says. This will be a welcome resource as sustainable practices -- or the lack of them -- dramatically shape social, cultural, and environmental landscapes for the future. Read more.
» The above content is provided by ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability
LOVE FACTUALLY
Ask Umbra's video advice on how to be a greener Valentine
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 14 GREEN COUPLES
From actors to activists, see who's pairing up for the planet
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It seems everyone's going green these days -- but some couples are doubly committed to the cause. In honor of Valentine's Day, Grist takes a look at 14 prominent pairs -- from Brangelina to bromances -- who share a certain planetary passion.
new in Grist: 14 Green Couples
 BLEEDING HEARTS
An eco-friendly Valentine's Day guide for the bitter and alone
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Calling all single people: If the only thing you're more tired of than Valentine's Day is all those tips for how to green your Valentine's Day, take heart. You can hate on Hallmark and smug couples while still showing your mad hot love for the Earth. Holly Richmond explains how.
new in Grist: An eco-friendly Valentine's Day guide for the bitter and alone
 LEAN, GREEN EATING MACHINE
How to maintain an eco-friendly, healthy diet on a budget
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The Dow is in the dumps. Companies are shedding jobs faster than Oprah drops pounds on the latest diet. All the bad news has people looking closely at their spending habits, watching for ways to save. One worried reader wants to know: How can I maintain a healthy, eco-minded diet and still cut my food budget? Answers food sleuth Lou Bendrick: let me count the ways. Read Lou's tips.
new in Grist: Lean, Green Eating Machine
 UNNATURALISM
Images of an evolving world by artist Don Simon
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Throughout history, humans have been less than kind to our planetary cohabitants. New Jersey-based artist Don Simon examines the impact of industrialization on ecosystems through stark, otherworldly images: a giraffe in a parking lot, a cow on a heap of garbage. "We are numb to the damage," says Simon, "so the unnatural becomes natural to us." Hear him explain his work in an audio slideshow.
new in Grist: Unnaturalism
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