University of Texas At Austin

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University of Texas At Austin
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Basic Info

• The University of Texas was founded in 1839, but
  wasnt formally opened until 1883
• Now, the university is the largest in the US, and
  is home to more than 48,000 students, 2,700
  faculty and 19,000 staff members
• Location Austin, Texas in the central Texas Hill
  Country. Within Austin, the campus is located 2
  miles from downtown and the State Capitol

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Administrative Policy on Sustainability

• The Administration has not created an office of
  sustainability
• UT does sponsor
• composting landscaping waste, grackle control
• The office of Environmental Health and Safety is
  responsible for recycling industrial products and
  other hazardous chemicals used in the various
  labs on campus
• Canem! A project initiated by the UT Police
  Department and partners to collect aluminum cans
  from home game tailgating parties.
• Athletics Department sponsors plastic cup
  recycling at home football games
• Public Transportation UT Students get free
  unlimited bus passes. The E-Bus was created
  specifically for UT students going downtown.
• The official Recycling policy that runs
  throughout campus were originally created because
  of pressure from the state
• It was only in 1992, when the Texas Legislature
  passed a law requiring all state entities divert
  40 of their waste stream, UT administration set
  up a blue bin recycling program for WHITE PAPER
  RECYCLING ONLY. Now, the program has been
  expanded to include anything that tears.
  Because paper waste makes up almost exactly 40
  of the Universitys waste stream, the university
  feels it has little incentive to continue
  creating other recycling programs

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Sustainability EffortsPart I - Faculty
-The Environmental Science Institute brings
faculty and students from the Earth, life,
physical, and social sciences for
interdisciplinary research. -Invested in both
global-scale processes as well as issues that are
pertinent to the local environment. -Of
particular interest are the numerous
environmental problems facing the State of Texas
and the Texas-Mexico borderlands the
contamination and depletion of water supplies,
contamination of the atmosphere and the
encroachment of non-native species, all in the
face of one of the most rapidly growing
populations in the country.
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Faculty cont.

• Plant Resource Center
• The Herbarium was first started in 1902
• Now houses over 1,000,000 specimens, making it
  the largest herbarium in the southwestern US
• ¼ of the plants are from Texas, the rest are
  primarily coming from Latin America

• Center for Sustainable Development
• Housed in the School of Architecture, it was
  founded in 2002 as the result of student and
  faculty initiatives, and co-directed by two Arch.
  Professors
• Sustainable development is studied and directed
  by Center fellows and students through several
  modes of inquiry including case studies, design,
  participatory planning, and historical or
  cultural studies.

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Part II Student Initiative
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• Campus Environmental Center Initially created by
  the Student Government in 2003, the CEC is the
  central organization for students at UT
  interested in environmental activism. They have
  numerous subcommittees and projects
• Biodiesel working with another student group,
  Engineers for a Sustainable World (who themselves
  are also invested in advocating a computer
  recycling program), in developing a biodiesel
  processing facility
• Can and Bottle Recycling RECYCLING TASK FORCE
  subgroup created from CEC that has initiated a
  program of placing recycling outdoor recycling
  barrels for aluminum, plastic, and glass. The
  students themselves sort and deliver it every
  week
• Dorm EcoReps group of dorm residents that
  educate their neighbors about recycling, litter,
  consumption, energy, waste, and transportation
• Event Committee plans yearly Earth Summit,
  America Recycles Day, and Earth Day
• Campus Gardens Created a student-run garden near
  the Harry Ransom Center
• Green Building Association holds educational
  events and advocates green design standards for
  new building projects
• Ink Cartridge Recycling initiated a campus-wide
  system of recyclnig ink and toner cartridges, and
  thereby raises money for other projects
• Adopt an-acre Program volunteer students clean
  up campus and coordinates the annual Beautiful U
  Day campus clean up day.
• Student Energy Task Force studying energy saving
  devices on campus (ex vending misers),
  advocating IT departments ensure UTs computer
  monitors are turned off at night, general energy
  conservation education
• Students for a Sustainable Campus currently
  advocating the administration adopt a
  sustainability policy
• Sustainable Food Advocating the Division of
  Housing and Food Service to purchase more local
  food, also researching composting options for UT
  waste.
• Trash to Treasure students collect donations
  from other students moving out, stores them over
  the summer, then holds an enormous campus-wide
  garage sale in August. The Sale raised 5800 for
  projects in 2005

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Has Bevo Found his Green Pasture?