Eliminating Waste of All Kinds Is Theme of Yale Sustainability Summit
It’s going to be a green April on campus — and not just thanks to the springtime weather. Students, staff and faculty will have the chance to embrace all things green during the Yale Sustainability Summit, which takes place Monday-Friday, April 5-9.
Now in its third year, the summit, which is organized by Yale’s Office of Sustainability, highlights the multitude of sustainability efforts taking place across campus and offers students, staff and faculty an opportunity to get involved.
“It’s all about celebrating our success at Yale and looking ahead to new solutions and how we can come together as a community to implement some of those solutions,” says Melissa Goodall, assistant director of the Office of Sustainability.
This year’s summit will focus on the theme of efficiency, streamlining and reducing waste — a principle that extends beyond just physical waste, says Julie Newman, director of the Office of Sustainability.
“We want to inspire people to think about how to reduce all the things they waste — not just discarded items, but also time, energy, money and more.”
The week’s highlights include:
• A showing of “The Story of Stuff,” an animated film about consumerist society, 12:30 p.m. on April 6, in the auditorium of the Yale Peabody Museum, 170 Whitney Ave. Open to the Yale community only.
• A master’s tea with Fred Krupp ‘75, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, 4 p.m. on April 6 at Pierson College, 231 Park St.
• Environmental (Dis)Locations, a three-day conference hosted by the Yale Divinity School exploring environmental justice and climate change, April 8-10, 268 Park St. and 409 Prospect St. Register at www.yale.edu/divinity/dislocations. (See related story.)
• The Connecticut premiere of “End of the Line,” a film about scientists who predict that, if we continue fishing at the current rate, the planet will run out of seafood by 2048, with catastrophic consequences, at 7 p.m. on April 8, Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St. Part of the Environmental Film Festival at Yale. (See related story.).
• A bike ride on the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, 4:30 p.m. on April 9. The ride will begin at 24 Hillhouse Ave. near Trumbull Street and end with oven-fresh pizza at the Yale Farm. Participants must bring their own bikes and safety gear.
The summit also includes talks and workshops on everything from sustainable fashion and Southern cooking to composting and financing the response to climate change. Tours of Kroon Hall, the new home of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, which was recently awarded LEED Platinum certification, will also be presented throughout the week.
Many of the events are open to the public. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.yale.edu/sustainability/summit.
In addition to the summit, the Yale Student Environmental Coalition is planning “22 Days of Green Action” leading up to Earth Day on April 22. For more information, visit www.yale.edu/ysec.
Media Contact
Office of Public Affairs & Communications: opac@yale.edu, 203-432-1345