Phil McGuire (found online)
Network engineer - Spectrum Networks
(425)443-9127
Jason Falls (found online)
Blogger - SocialMediaExplorer.com
jason@socialmediaexplorer.com
Jared Johnson
CUB student employee
(509)520-5864
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
math practice
1. $78,850
2. 87%
3. 20%
4a. 25%
4b. 33%
5. 10.7%
6.
7. $280,000
8a. 20%
8b. 1%
9. 70 of 10,000 in Pullman v. and 20 in 10,000 in Spokane
10a. $790,600
10b. $207,000
11. margin of error
Response to the letter
Wickramatung's last letter offers words I think many preceding him in death in similar circumstances would have written had they thought of it. He showed that journalism, when done as he did, is a duty, and not necessarily just a job. I'm stunned at thinking about how ideals and ethics, if held to in earnest, will go down with you to the grave. I've already learned that if I was in it for the money, I wouldn't do it, but this also puts into perspective how far someone will go to live for what they say they believe in, and that challenges me to focus on being more intentional with my career goals.
Sustainability measures increase despite budget
Where a B- once crowned WSU’s sustainability report card only a year ago, a C has now replaced it. Dwight Hagihara, the manager of environmental services at WSU, said the results come partly from a report not being filed on student involvement by a student coordinator and also legal constraints dealing with shareholders.
Though flawed from having one section absent and another incomplete without an adequate shareholder base, the report still has some importance, Hagihara said. Found on the non-profit and nationally utilized college GreenReportCard.org website, WSU’s grade is explained based on survey results submitted primarily by Hagihara and concerning the University’s current sustainability measures during a year marked by concerns with budget issues.
Despite budget cuts in other WSU facets, however, the school’s Environmental Health and Safety department is looking ahead into 2010 to decreased energy costs and increased sustainability efforts.
As director of the EH&S, Hagihara knows the ins and outs of sustainability on campus.
In a conference room in the EH&S Department building on the edge of campus, Hagihara discussed with John Reed, the manager of environmental services, and Gene Patterson, the manager of public health/air and water quality, how even with cuts in the department’s budget, sustainable measures are still in place to save energy, water and money.
Hagihara said alternative building materials, energy and water saving measures and the implementation of recycled paper and paper reduction policies are contributing to a more sustainable campus culture, despite the possible misgivings of the online report card.
“A lot of these projects are preventing and eliminating waste,” he said. “We don’t like to waste energy, we don’t like to waster water. There is a tremendous push from the legislature and also from President Floyd to reduce paper use,” Hagihara added.
Reed said up-front costs for green alternatives are relatively small compared to the savings in money and energy generated through the current sustainable measures in place.
“Like energy conservation projects—they have a certain payback period, then after that, you’re essentially making money; saving money,” Reed said.
Water costs at WSU were cut by over 1,000,000 gallons in 2009 after equipment upgrades to two chiller plants and operational changes were made, according to the EHS annual report released at the end of last month.
Patterson noted that water usage was at its “second lowest since ’61,” a figure also ranking second lowest in nearly 50 states, according to a Feb. 2 WSU Today online article.
Money isn’t necessarily saved by the amount of water that is, though. In talking about saved water, Patterson noted that “cost wise, it’s cheap.”
“If you have to invest a whole lot of money to save this much water, it could be hard to justify,” Reed said. “Now what we did with this chiller plant, we’re saving all kind of energy money, and it’s just efficient in a lot of ways. So it’s cost effective, definitely,” he said.
Other sustainable measures on campus include the closure of Troy Hall, of which Reed said is going will likely remain “moth-balled” to save on energy until a solution for it’s use can be determined.
Hagihara said sustainability has three components the University focuses on.
“The one everybody thinks of is environmental,” Hagihara said. “There’s also economic and social. True sustainability should address those three issues,” he said. “It should be sustainable for the environment, for financially – economics, and for the social issues, so that no one group gets discriminated against. That’s the goal. There should be a balance,” he added.
Hagihara cited the WSU Dining Services purchasing of organic tortillas from a small Spokane company using wheat developed by WSU researchers as fitting the three-part sustainable model.
“The financial has got to be financially sustainable,” he said. “You don’t want to waste money. And nor do you want to have to benefit one group completely over another,” Hagihara added.
The Green Report Card did point out some shortcomings in the sustainability efforts.
“We’re bound by law on how our foundation and endowments are invested, Hagihara said. “That’s why we’re getting an F there,” he said of the shareholders section of the report. Hagihara said the University does not have the same freedoms universities have when it comes to shareholders and investments and legal issues need to be addressed in order to see change.
Even with the current sustainable measures on campus, the report card poses some problems to the University.
"It takes time and time is money," Hagihara said about filling out the reports and forms necessary to compile survey information for the report card.
Reed said another group asked for $700 as a donation for EH&S to prepare and submit reports, in a similar fashion to the Green Report Card.
“That’s how you get an A rating,” Patterson joked.
Reed said for other sustainability surveys, there isn’t an actual cost. “You don’t write out a check, but it’s time,” Reed said.
“If students are going out and reading the darned things, they’re going to make a decision about which university they’re going to go to--there is a marketing advantage,” Hagihara said.
“So like the Princeton Review has one, and we fill that one out for that reason,” Hagihara said. “But otherwise, as a manager of time and money, you have to ask yourself ‘what’s the cost benefit here?’ We’re responsible for state funds. You don’t want us to waste money, either. We’ll spend time with students,” Hagihara concluded.
Though flawed from having one section absent and another incomplete without an adequate shareholder base, the report still has some importance, Hagihara said. Found on the non-profit and nationally utilized college GreenReportCard.org website, WSU’s grade is explained based on survey results submitted primarily by Hagihara and concerning the University’s current sustainability measures during a year marked by concerns with budget issues.
Despite budget cuts in other WSU facets, however, the school’s Environmental Health and Safety department is looking ahead into 2010 to decreased energy costs and increased sustainability efforts.
As director of the EH&S, Hagihara knows the ins and outs of sustainability on campus.
In a conference room in the EH&S Department building on the edge of campus, Hagihara discussed with John Reed, the manager of environmental services, and Gene Patterson, the manager of public health/air and water quality, how even with cuts in the department’s budget, sustainable measures are still in place to save energy, water and money.
Hagihara said alternative building materials, energy and water saving measures and the implementation of recycled paper and paper reduction policies are contributing to a more sustainable campus culture, despite the possible misgivings of the online report card.
“A lot of these projects are preventing and eliminating waste,” he said. “We don’t like to waste energy, we don’t like to waster water. There is a tremendous push from the legislature and also from President Floyd to reduce paper use,” Hagihara added.
Reed said up-front costs for green alternatives are relatively small compared to the savings in money and energy generated through the current sustainable measures in place.
“Like energy conservation projects—they have a certain payback period, then after that, you’re essentially making money; saving money,” Reed said.
Water costs at WSU were cut by over 1,000,000 gallons in 2009 after equipment upgrades to two chiller plants and operational changes were made, according to the EHS annual report released at the end of last month.
Patterson noted that water usage was at its “second lowest since ’61,” a figure also ranking second lowest in nearly 50 states, according to a Feb. 2 WSU Today online article.
Money isn’t necessarily saved by the amount of water that is, though. In talking about saved water, Patterson noted that “cost wise, it’s cheap.”
“If you have to invest a whole lot of money to save this much water, it could be hard to justify,” Reed said. “Now what we did with this chiller plant, we’re saving all kind of energy money, and it’s just efficient in a lot of ways. So it’s cost effective, definitely,” he said.
Other sustainable measures on campus include the closure of Troy Hall, of which Reed said is going will likely remain “moth-balled” to save on energy until a solution for it’s use can be determined.
Hagihara said sustainability has three components the University focuses on.
“The one everybody thinks of is environmental,” Hagihara said. “There’s also economic and social. True sustainability should address those three issues,” he said. “It should be sustainable for the environment, for financially – economics, and for the social issues, so that no one group gets discriminated against. That’s the goal. There should be a balance,” he added.
Hagihara cited the WSU Dining Services purchasing of organic tortillas from a small Spokane company using wheat developed by WSU researchers as fitting the three-part sustainable model.
“The financial has got to be financially sustainable,” he said. “You don’t want to waste money. And nor do you want to have to benefit one group completely over another,” Hagihara added.
The Green Report Card did point out some shortcomings in the sustainability efforts.
“We’re bound by law on how our foundation and endowments are invested, Hagihara said. “That’s why we’re getting an F there,” he said of the shareholders section of the report. Hagihara said the University does not have the same freedoms universities have when it comes to shareholders and investments and legal issues need to be addressed in order to see change.
Even with the current sustainable measures on campus, the report card poses some problems to the University.
"It takes time and time is money," Hagihara said about filling out the reports and forms necessary to compile survey information for the report card.
Reed said another group asked for $700 as a donation for EH&S to prepare and submit reports, in a similar fashion to the Green Report Card.
“That’s how you get an A rating,” Patterson joked.
Reed said for other sustainability surveys, there isn’t an actual cost. “You don’t write out a check, but it’s time,” Reed said.
“If students are going out and reading the darned things, they’re going to make a decision about which university they’re going to go to--there is a marketing advantage,” Hagihara said.
“So like the Princeton Review has one, and we fill that one out for that reason,” Hagihara said. “But otherwise, as a manager of time and money, you have to ask yourself ‘what’s the cost benefit here?’ We’re responsible for state funds. You don’t want us to waste money, either. We’ll spend time with students,” Hagihara concluded.
# # #
Outline
1. Lede
2. Nutgraf - current budget v. sustainability
3. Sustainability measures
4. What is sustainability?
5. Back to the report card
2. Nutgraf - current budget v. sustainability
3. Sustainability measures
4. What is sustainability?
5. Back to the report card
Sources
John Reed
Manager of Environmental Services
johnreed@wsu.edu
Dwight Hagihara
Director of Environmental Health & Safety
hagihara@wsu.edu
Gene Patterson
Manager of Public Health/Air & Water Quality
gpatters@wsu.edu
Manager of Environmental Services
johnreed@wsu.edu
Dwight Hagihara
Director of Environmental Health & Safety
hagihara@wsu.edu
Gene Patterson
Manager of Public Health/Air & Water Quality
gpatters@wsu.edu
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Story pitch
The story I'd like to work on focuses on WSU's sustainability efforts during the current economic climate. This year WSU's sustainability grade on the sustainability college report card dropped. What I'll talking about is how WSU is working through keeping sustainability efforts up despite working with their current budget... this includes meeting silver LEED certifications for building and renovation projects, dining hall food purchase standards, etc. The question will be whether the university is able to continue choosing green and more costly options over cheap and more non-recyclable ones.
Some possible sources to look at:
Survey results for the sustainability report card
WSU Environmental Management System Report
American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
Silver-LEED minimum building requriements
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