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PLAYgreen Blog \| Report
Green your TV 16 Nov 2009, 11:18 am
We know you love watching Cal Football and Basketball games on that 50 inch screen in your tiny apartment or dorm room. But did you know that even when these sort of electronics are off, they're not really all the way off. They're usually in standby mode so that when you flip on the TV it comes on quickly. That's a nice perk, but even in standby mode your set still sucks quite a bit of energy. According to the Sierra Club, in the U.S. alone more than $750 million in electricity costs per year are used just from TVs that are in standby mode! There's a simple fix: use a power strip. Plug your gear into the strip and hit the shut off button when you're not watching or recording. Sure, it's a small inconvenience, but we think the energy saved will be worth it. And you'll feel good about it too. Another easy way to go green and reduce your carbon footprint is e-cycling old TVs when they're game over. By finding a local recycler, you can reuse the materials and avoid spreading toxic substances like lead from your old TV. If your TV still works, you can sell, trade, or donate it. Source: Sierra Club Read more >>
5 UC Berkeley Students Win Clinton Global Initiative Award 20 Oct 2009, 2:24 pm
Clinton Global Initiative University Announces Doug DeRoy, Kevin Hur, Jonathan Lee, Richard Novak, and Anurag Sridharan of the University of California-Berkeley as 2009 Winners of CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards. “CGI U offers college students a space to create positive change in local communities or on a global scale,” said Robert Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). “Funding provided by the Pat Tillman Foundation and the Wal-Mart Foundation for the Outstanding Commitment Awards will ensure that these exceptional commitments are able to achieve the impact these extraordinary students have envisioned.” Through grants from the Pat Tillman Foundation and the Wal-Mart Foundation, winners will receive funding to advance their CGI U Commitments to Action: new, specific, and measurable plans launched through CGI U to address a global challenge of the winning commitment maker’s choosing. The CGI U Outstanding Commitment Awards are designed to support unique, meaningful work that creates lasting and positive social change, most notably within CGI U’s focus areas – energy and climate change, global health, human rights and peace, and poverty alleviation. The awards recognize students and student organizations from a wide variety of graduate schools, historically black colleges, Ivy League institutions, religious and tribal universities, and state schools. Here's what they plan to do: Doug DeRoy plans to design and implement low-cost, practical, and self-sustaining student vegetable garden programs in a pilot test of 10 selected California public schools, with an emphasis on underserved areas. DeRoy will create programs that foster a fun, experiential learning environment to engage students in the entire process of growing their own food. He will design three general program models: one for elementary (K-5), one for middle (6-8), and another for high school (9-12) applications. Then, he will solicit his program models to public schools throughout California, with an emphasis on those in underserved areas. Out of those solicited, he will select a pilot group of ten schools – based on faculty interest, need, logistical feasibility, and other factors – to participate in his project. Unlike most student garden programs, DeRoy’s focuses on under-served areas, instead of wealthier communities. His goal is to demonstrate that with small funds, a team can implement a practical, hands-on, and self-sustainable student garden. Kevin Hur commits to combating Hepatitis B, a major health issue, within San Francisco’s Asian Pacific Islander community. Hepatitis B significantly affects Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) more than any other population and yet little progress has been made to screen and vaccinate APIs in counties that have a high percentage of APIs, such as Alameda County, California. Hur will employ a three-part strategy that includes targeted outreach education about Hepatitis B to the API population; screenings and vaccinations provided by health professionals and free clinics; and establishment of stronger ties between the API community and existing health services within the county. Jonathan Lee accepts the award on behalf of Global Medical Brigades-Berkeley. Led by University of California Berkeley undergraduates, Global Medical Brigades-Berkeley commits to developing a comprehensive community health worker training program in the region of Honduras. In settings deprived of healthcare infrastructure, community health workers extend access to basic health services by diagnosing, treating and referring patients, as well as delivering medical interventions. Jonathan Lee and team aim to create a sustainable model for healthcare through the empowerment of individuals as community health workers (CHWs). By serving as CHWs, community members directly contribute to the establishment of a primary healthcare foundation and become active participants in managing their health. Partnerships will be developed between CHWs and distant health centers, and a community-wide health promotion program will be offered to educate individuals on hygiene, sanitation and household water treatment. In order to implement the recommended strategies, hygiene resources and materials will be distributed to community members. Over the period of one year, health programs will be conducted in 50 rural communities, resulting in over 35,000 individuals gaining the capacity to better manage their health. By investment in the human capital of CHWs, this commitment ensures continual access to medical services and transfers responsibility from NGOs to the communities themselves. Richard Novak accepts the award on behalf of Future Scientist. Future Scientist, a student group from the University of California-Berkeley, plans to develop a solar energy electrical system for an orphanage in Puerto Alegria, Peru. Their goal is to provide the initial resources to an impoverished community that will enable them to become a focus of technical expertise that nearby communities can utilize. This project will provide the area with clean, off-grid power, unlike the gas generator currently in use. Students will learn to maintain and develop solar panel systems at a level that will permit self-reliance. This team also plans to train the community so that they could start a solar business, if they so desire. Anurag Sridharan accepts the behalf of Berkeley Green Home. Berkeley Green Home is a University of California-Berkeley student-initiated and student-run project that is developed to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on existing housing lots for the UC Berkeley community. Accessory dwelling units, also known as backyard homes, have long been built and used by homeowners throughout the United States and are well-represented in the Berkeley community. This team proposes to take this existing platform and make it highly energy efficient and a healthy living environment through a sustainable construction process that involves off-site pre-construction of building panels and subassemblies with rapid onsite final assembly. Once construction is complete, ongoing testing and monitoring will be conducted to record the impacts of the incorporated technologies. They will coordinate with on-campus courses to present findings to interested students and community members, record potential improvements and offer a real life setting for future generations of students to advance this environmental initiative even further. About Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) CGI U, a project of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), challenges college students and universities to address global problems with practical, innovative solutions. At CGI U, young people and universities do more than simply discuss the world’s challenges – they take real, concrete steps towards solving them. To date, 1,700 commitments have been made by students, universities, and youth organizations. Read more >>
Take the RSF Energy Survey 22 Sep 2009, 10:30 am
Rec Sports has partnered with the Mechanical Engineering department to research energy use at the RSF. We've done quite a bit already to reduce energy use at the RSF; most notable is the switch to more efficient – but brighter! – lights throughout the facility. See our blog posting for more on this. One goal of our partnership with Mechanical Engineering is to discover further energy saving technologies that could be applied to the RSF. To this end, researchers would like to better understand how you perceive the amount of energy used by our cardio machines, and how your use of these machines might change if some of the energy generated could be captured and applied back to the energy grid. Please help us out and take the survey! Read more >>
High-Speed Rail Symposium at UC Berkeley 9 Sep 2009, 1:12 pm
With the passage of Proposition 1A in November 2008, Californians approved the biggest transportation infrastructure project in the U.S. since the completion of the interstate highway system. At this evening symposium, six distinguished UC Berkeley faculty go beyond the polarized pre-election debate to shed light on the complex issues that will impact the success of this mega-project. When: Tuesday, October 6, 5-8pm Where: Alumni House, UC Berkeley The Faculty: Robert Cervero (Professor of City and Regional Planning) Carlos Daganzo (Robert Horonjeff Professor of Civil Engineering) Elizabeth Deakin (Professor of City and Regional Planning) Mark Hansen (Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering) Arpad Horvath (Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering) Moderated by Samer Madanat, Xenel Professor of Engineering and Director of the UC Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies The symposium is free but RSVP by sending an email to hsr@its.berkeley.edu is required to reserve your spot. Read more >>
Go Organic on the Go 8 Sep 2009, 9:54 am
From Berkeley Student Food Cooperative to the fining dining of Chez Panisse, Berkeley has been the heat of the organic and sustainable food movement. And, the city and the University have done a lot to make sustainable and organic food available to student community. If you can't hit up the dining hall or Farmers Market, make sure that your on-the-go eating habits are healthy. Here are a few suggestions: Nature's Path Oatmeal are ideal for hurried weekday mornings, this sweet, organic oatmeal fits the bill. We like the Flax flavor with a spoonful of peanut butter and a splash of half-and-half. Annie Chun's Soup Bowls has lots of different Asian-inspired flavors (including the yummy Teriyaki), in a biodegradable bowl. Koyo Ramen will make you say goodbye to your old Ramen habit. Made from tasty organic, heirloom wheat noodles. Annie's Homegrown Mac 'n Cheese is an organic update on an dorm classic: pasta with real cheddar makes for better feasting.. Moosewood Restaurant Frozen Entrees are great frozen entrees from the folks (Berkeley resident Mollie Katzen) behind the Moosewood Cookbook series. Clif Bar has endless options so you can never go wrong with Clif Bar. Their fruit leather snacks will give you a daily dose of vitamins. The Pro-Shop Cafe sells a variety. Newman's Own Popcorn is a great late-night snack and an awesome alternative to the old stuff. Source: "Cooking Up a Dorm: College Week," www.idealbite.com, viewed on August 19, 2009 Read more >>

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Rival10
San Francisco, CA
Sunday, November 15 at 10:00am
Spenger's 9th Annual Crabby Ch...
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Sunday, October 11 at 11:00am
Wilderness First Aid
Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area
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Wilderness First Responder Re-...
Strawberry Canyon Recreation Area
Friday, April 17 at 8:00am
Cal Day at the RSF
RSF
Saturday, April 18 at 10:00am
March Madness viewing party at...
UC Berkeley Recreational Sports Fac...
Thursday, March 19 at 11:30am
The Banff Mountain Film Festival
Wheeler Auditorium
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Haas Pavilion
Thursday, March 5 at 7:00pm
Cal Adventures Open House
UC Berkeley Aquatic Center
Sunday, March 1 at 1:00pm
PLAYgreen Festival
UC Berkeley Martin Luther King, Jr....
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