RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities.

Over a ten-week period, schools report recycling and trash data; the schools are then ranked according to who collects the largest amount of recyclables per capita, the largest amount of total recyclables, the least amount of trash per capita, or the highest recycling rate. Participating schools can watch how their results fluctuate against other schools and use this to rally their campus communities to reduce and recycle more after each week.

Boston College has participated in RecycleMania since 2005, placing in first in the ACC and third in Massachusetts last year! Our goal for this year is to real a 50% recycling rate. To find out more, or to see how you can help, click here.

January 30: Nights on the Heights Presents Barefoot Truth

Nights on the Heights brought a great band to Boston College on Saturday, January 30. Barefoot Truth, from Mystic, CT, is gaining momentum nationwide and is set to release a new CD in February. What's great about this band is that their songs take a strong environmental stand and offer warnings along with celebrations. Their previous CD, Walk Softly, carries the theme that we are all responsible for the earth and need to be careful of how we treat it.

The new CD, Threads, dives deeper into this theme to show that we all need to pick up a piece of the thread and do our part to help the environment. Barefoot Truth continues this theme by making sure all of their promotional activities are environmentally friendly. The free show was held at the O'Connell House and featured BC's own "The Novel Ideas" as opening act. For more information on the band, visit their web site or their MySpace page.

February 1-March 15: NRG Games — Ever to Conserve

The campus-wide NRG Games encourage each residence hall to compete to conserve the most energy. Significant energy reductions have been witnessed during this time period, illustrating that students can do their part to help the environment simply by turning off lights, taking shorter showers, or lowering the heat.

For more energy-saving tips, including things you can do in your dorm, see the Conserving Energy page in our What You Can Do section. You can monitor the current electrical use of your dorm, or any other dorm, by clicking here.

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2010 Boston College NRG Games!

Duchesne took the Upper/Newton Campus division with an 7.69% reduction in energy use. Edmonds finished victorious on Lower Campus with a 12.98% reduction. Ignacio beat out Rubenstein with a reduction of 17.26%.

Weekly Result

*Positive numbers represent the percent reduction in energy consumption. Ignacio and Rubenstein use electricity only.
**The final results graph for the Newton and Upper Dorms shows that Keyes won; however, the energy competition officials decided that there were other factors that needed to be considered and that Duchesne actually won.

February 17: Movie Event: The 11th Hour

Sponsered by EcoPledge, this special movie viewing brought a fascinating documentary to BC students. The 11th Hour is an environmental documentary that resides at the polar opposite of an escapist summer fare, its mission to firmly confront viewers about the indelible human footprint that humans have left on this planet and the catastrophic effects of environmental neglect and abuse. If the "eleventh hour" for our planet is drawing near, this admirable film points confidently towards a new dawn. This documentary from Leonardo DiCaprio gives a dramatic view of the state of humanity and the world. Join the action by clicking here, and be sure to watch the movie trailer also!

March 11-18: BCisGreen Week

The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) presented the second annual "BCisGreen Week" to celebrate the commitment to sustainability. BCisGreen Week is a collaborative effort to support sustainability at Boston College by the various stakeholders on the campus. It aims to promote "green" initiatives the University has already accomplished, while attempting to expand the backing for sustainability in the short and long-term future.

For a list of events or for more information from the UGBC website, click here.

Thursday, March 11: Movie Event – No Impact Man

Synopsis: A guilty New York liberal decides to practice what he preaches for one year. He turns off the electricity, stops making garbage, gives up TV, taxis, and takeout, and becomes a walking, bicycling, composting, tree-hugging, polar bear–saving, local food–eating citizen, all while taking his baby daughter and caffeine-loving, retail-obsessed, television-addicted wife along with him. This film is incredibly entertaining and will make you laugh and think.

Students are invited to witness the challenges and joys of living with No Impact as we watch Colin Beavan live with no net impact on the environment for an entire year in New York City. The film is shown in preparation for No Impact Man to come to BC himself and share his story with us March 17th. Students are also encouraged to participate in the week long No Impact Experiment, during which they will try to lower BC’s environmental impact.

Click here to see the trailer. The movie will be shown in Cushing 001 at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, March 12: Genzyme Center Tour

The Genzyme Center in Kendall Square, Cambridge, is one of the most prominent green buildings in the United States, holding a LEED Platinum certification for its innovative and sustainable design. Students will sign up for a tour of the center to learn more about green building practices and see the unique architectural features of Genzyme. Click here for more information.

Sunday, March 14: Colleges Against CANcer Can Drive

This event, co-sponsored by Colleges Against Cancer, will collect 5-cent redeemable cans and bottles each Sunday behind Mod 33B. This includes soda cans, beer cans, glass beer bottles, and plastic soda bottles of all sizes. All proceeds are donated to the American Cancer Society through BC's Relay For Life event. Please make an extra effort to save your cans and bottles this week, and we encourage you to continue saving them and bringing them to 33B in the future!

Monday, March 15: Your Carbon Foodprint: Eating Green

In the spirit of the documentary No Impact Man, Real Food BC will be having a conversational dinner about the choices students can make towards leading a sustainable life. The food for the evening will be made of in-season ingredients and original recipes from scratch and prepared by members of Real Food. Students attending are asked to bring their own reusable plates, silverware, and water bottles to the event. All decorations are reused materials, purchased from consignment shops or the Salvation Army. This event will be held in the 6th-floor lounge of 90 St. Thomas More at 5:30 p.m. RSVP is required.

Monday, March 15: Movie Event – Food, Inc.

This movie event is co-sponsored by Office of Sustainability and Energy Management. Students are invited to watch Food, Inc., a documentary exploring our nation’s food industry. The first 50 students in attendance will receive a free BConserves t-shirt. The movie will be shown in Higgins 310 at 7:00 p.m.

Synopsis: This controversial film lifts the veil on the U.S. food industry. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers, and our own environment. We have bigger, better, longer-lasting food, but we also have new strains of E. coli, widespread obesity, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults. To see the trailer, click here.

Tuesday, March 16: Population Justice

Co-Sponsored by BC Students for Sexual Health and Americans for Informed Democracy, the author of the book A Pivotal Moment: Population, Justice, and the Environmental Challenge, Laurie Mazur, is speaking alongside the Sierra Club about population justice. The talk will focus on how population pressures affect climate change and the environment. This event will be held in Higgins 300 at 5:00 p.m.

For more Information on Population Justice, click here. For more information on the Sierra Club, click here.

Tuesday, March 16: Theological Reactions

Sister Hinsdale will give a lecture on the church’s efforts to become more green and how it is dealing with modern ecological problems. This event will be held in Gasson 304 at 6:00 p.m.

Professor Rosanna DeMarco of BC's Connell School of Nursing will introduce the topic of the global water crisis and present the public health perspective on the lack of safe drinking water and sanitation in rural areas of the world. Topics include the water-borne diseases and illness that arise from lack of access to drinking water and sanitation.

Mr. Bill McQueeney, BC alum and founder of Rural Water Ventures, Inc., focuses his efforts to eradicate the water crisis in rural villages in Nicaragua. Mr. McQueeney will speak about the mission of Rural Water Ventures, his personal experiences in helping the people of Nicaragua, and the social and cultural impacts in the villages that gain clean water through the construction of water systems. This event will be held in Cushing 001 at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 17: Green Pub Series

The “Green” pub series puts emphasis on reducing waste and reusing drinking cups. Food for the event will be environmentally friendly snacks. UGBC will sell resusable BC steins at bookstore cost. The event will be held in the Rat from 8:30 p.m to midnight.

Wednesday, March 17: Movie Event – No Impact Man

Colin Beavan is No Impact Man. In 2006, he launched a year-long experiment in which he, his wife, his two-year-old daughter, and their dog went off the grid and attempted to live in New York City with as little environmental impact as possible. But why did he do it and what came of it? This “liberal schlub who got tired of listening to himself complain about the world without ever actually doing anything about it” will share his experiences with us and challenge us for this very special event. To learn more, click here.

Thursday, March 18: Environmental Justice Talk

Mike Cermak will share his short film about environmental food justice and its importance in society. A discussion will be lead by FACES to uncover students reactions and feelings about environmental justice issues and what can be done to move forward. This event is co-sponsored by EcoPledge and FACES.

Thursday, March 18: Legitimizing Trash and Gentrifying Icky

Dan Phillips is the founder and owner of the Phoenix Commotion, a small business providing homes built out of recycled materials. In his words:

“The Phoenix Commotion is a local building initiative created to prove that constructing homes with recycled and salvaged materials has viable place in the building industry. This process uses only apprentice labor and teaches marketable skills to anyone with a work ethic who is willing to swing a hammer. By keeping labor costs low and using donated or found materials, the homes created are truly affordable. No two are alike due to the myriad of materials used, so there is an artistic element that makes Phoenix Commotion homes truly unique. We target single parents, artists, and families with low incomes. We require the homeowner to be involved with the planning and construction of their own home. The result is a person who is empowered, not only by the use of knowledge and building skills, but by the opportunity to become part of a community as a vested participant.”

To learn more about Phoenix Commotion, click here. This event is co-sponsored by the Entrepreneur Society and will be held in Merkert 127 at 7:30 p.m.

Did you know that the cleaning products used to clean the dorms are "green"? Or that every day, 800 pounds of food is composted in Corcoran Commons? BC is Green! Executive Vice President Pat Keating and key representatives of the many green initiatives across campus were present to discuss ongoing efforts — and sustainable snacks were provided.

Presentations were made by Rea lFood BC, EcoPledge, and UGBC. Some topics included green cleaning, recycling, energy management, dining, purchasing, transportation, information technology, and Master Plan construction. Click here to see the flyer.

April 13: Growing Green: Recognizing the Human Factor

This event highlights the importance of organic gardening and environmental justice. Sustainable snacks will be provided! A few students will share about the Arrupe service/immersion trip to Puebla, Mexico and our experience of resource allocation, environmental issues, and human rights. Following their sharing, we will screen BC Professor Mike Cermak's 30-minute documentary, Planting 4 Peace: Bury Seeds Not Bodies, about the positive effects of organic community gardens in Boston. Real Food BC will then share about environmental and food justice here at BC and opportunities to get involved!