Green Power, UNITE! UWENet News

Wednesday, March 29, 2006


Heard all the buzz around Premier McGuinty and David Suzuki announcing a new renewable energy program? Find out what it all means and how you can get involved.

Community Windfarms--in development!

Kitchener Public Library Main Branch

85 Queen Street N., Kitchener

Wednesday, March 29 at 7:00 pm

Come hear Doug Fyfe, General Manager of Ontario's first community windfarm, Countryside Energy Co-op, and Sandra Mooibroek, President of Community Renewable Energy Waterloo, explain the benefits of wind energy and opportunities for Waterloo Region landowners and wind energy advocates. Representatives of Local Initiatives for Future Energy Co-op Inc. will also be on hand to give a brief presentation of an exciting new project now getting underway in Baden.

Free admission and no need to reserve a seat--we'll be in the auditorium. Directions and a map to KPL can be found at http://www.kpl.org/ayl_main_lib.shtml

Win a free draw! Several copies of the 2005 OSEA publication "Ontario Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy" will be given as door prizes.

Can't make it next Wednesday? Fill in our survey and let us know what areas of interest you'd like to see presented next year. Better yet, join CREW (for just $10!) at our annual general meeting on May 11, 7pm at the Regional Social Services building, 99 Regina St., and participate in steering the future of renewable energy advocacy in Waterloo Region. All welcome. E-mail John Green, jgreen@alumni.uwaterloo.ca for a PDF of the survey and membership form.

The ENERGY $ENSE series is a joint initiative of the Kitchener Public Library and Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW).

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Upcoming events:

Trash Theatre: Sat March 23 2:30 and 6:30 @ 122 Frederick St. Kitchener

UWSP Career Night: Mon. March 27, 5-7:30 @
Tatham Centre Room 2218a

WPIRG Board nominations due Mon March 27, 11-4:30 @ WPIRG Office, SLC

UWSP Hiring Coordinators and Board for Spring semester, Details @ UWSP Office, SLC or email uwspmail@yahoo.com

Visit
http://uwenet.blogspot.com/ for more information and updates

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Exciting Environmental Entertainment

Proceeds go towards the protection of the Borneo Rainforest~

Doors open at

2:30 and 6:30

Sat. March 25th, 2006

122 Frederick St. Kitchener

*Behind the Kitchener Public Library

@ The Registry Theatre

www.panda.org

Comments or questions please contact Crystal Bradford at:

crystal_bradford@hotmail.com

(519) 744-5531

reduce, reuse, repair, recycle

Parental Guidance

Trash Theatre

Entrance by Donation

Saturday, March 18, 2006

UWSP Sustainable Career Nights


Sustainable Career Nights

Date: Monday March 20th 2006
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: ES Courtyard
&
Date: Tuesday March 21st 2006
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: ES Courtyard
&
Date: Monday March 27th 2006
Time: 5-7:30pm
Location: Tatham Centre Room 2218a

A sustainable career can be a career in organizations that directly work towards achieving sustainability in society, or businesses that practice sustainable policies. Examples can be work in environmental organizations or businesses with environmental policies or businesses working directly with sustaining natural resources for future generation.

Come on out to listen to great speakers talk about their experiences and careers and how you can embark on similar paths. The goal of these evenings is to present career option ideas to people who wish to pursue a career where sustainability is considered. Food and refreshments will be served.

For more info please check out: www.uwsp.uwaterloo.ca

----------------------------------

UWSP is organizing an info session on the Master of Forest Conservation program offered by University of Toronto. The details are as follows:

Dr. Andy Kenney
Program Coordinator in the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto will be hosting
an information session about the Master of Forest Conservation

on Monday, March 20, 2006
at 4:30 p.m.
in ES courtyard, University of Waterloo

We invite all students interested in pursuing a graduate education in the area of forest conservation to attend.

"Andy Kenney is full of knowledge on urban forestry and tree health and has a background with many great organizations. I worked with him in my community on the Neighbourwoods program he developed for volunteers to study and act on the urban forest." - Darcy Higgins

Please RSVP your attendance to tomasz.bednarczyk@utoronto.ca

The course-oriented Master of Forest Conservation (MFC) degree program is an intensive 16-month program with a strong focus on field and laboratory practical training, Canadian and foreign residential field courses, a practical internship and individual and group research.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Food Awareness this Friday

This Friday, March 17th, St. Patricks Day, Food Not Bombs is hosting a
FOOD AWARENESS DAY, to educate people about food production, and healthier
eating options on campus. All events are in the Great Hall and
Multipurpose room, and all events are FREE!

Events include:

12-2pm: A FREE organic lunch in the MPR

12-3pm: A food fair including CHEAP local organic produce, snacks,
and dry goods for sale, and booths on food issues

3pm-4pm: A Speaker Forum discussing food issues and how they relate to campus,
with several local farmers and food activists, please
come contribute your thoughts on healthy food options on campus!

12pm-6pm: A mini-film festival, including three films entitled "Full
Circle","Deconstructing Supper" and "Food War" (with free organic
popcorn!) with free popcorn at the 6pm showing!

Come celebrate St. Paddy's day in style! Do your grocery shopping right on
campus, learn about food issues, eat a free lunch, watch the films, and
participate in a speaker forum! Help celebrate Food Awareness Day with
Food Not Bombs on March 17th!

For more information please contact:

Laird: lherbert@riseup.net
Heather: dabrowski_heather@hotmail.com
Meagan: ml2wilso@ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca

ES Students - Greening our buildings

Dear FES faculty, staff and students,

We are writing to invite you to a building renovation and design
workshop on *Monday, March 20th at noon* to be held in the ES courtyard.
The image that our buildings present to potential students, faculty
and funding sources is an important component of our success as a
faculty, as well as vital to maintaining a stimulating and collegial
atmosphere among current members of the ES faculty. We have a unique
opportunity to make some long needed improvements to ES1 and ES2, but
would like to solicit your input on the kind of enhancements that we
should make. Therefore, please consider attending this event. Your
contribution to the ES building renovation project is important.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop.

FES Renovations Committee:
John Lewis (Planning) Chair, Stephen Murphy (ERS), Peter Hall
(Geography),Marko Dumancic (MAD), Jackie Dawson (Grad), Mike Kahn (UG),
Deep Saini and Joanne Holzinger

Bomber

Thanks to everyone who came out last night, and to those who helped, spoke and had displays.
Was a great success.

New UWSP website, has temporary URL here:
http://client.summerhilldesign.com/UWSP

Stay involved and make a difference!

Cheers,
Seamus, Les, and the UWSP Board and UWEN organizers

Run for the WPIRG Board

WPIRG Board nominations open today, Wednesday March 15 at 11am and close at
4:30pm on Monday March 27, 2006.

Board members are vital for the functioning of WPIRG! Duties include setting
the budget, planning events and projects, maintaining the office and
library, monitoring expenditures and overseeing volunteer training. Board
members work closely with WPIRG staff to provide students with resources and
educational opportunities. Participating on the Board will give you
invaluable experience working for a non-profit organization and in consensus
decision making.

WPIRG is governed by a Board of Directors of 9 members. Seven of these
positions will be filled by election at the next WPIRG Annual General
Meeting on Monday, April 3, 2006.

If you'd like to run: Nomination packages are available at the WPIRG office
(UW SLC 2139). To be a Board member you must be a WPIRG member in good
standing. For more information please visit our office, http://wpirg.org or
call 888-4882.

Friday, March 10, 2006

UWENet meeting

When: Monday March 13, 2006
Time: 5 PM
Where: UWSP office, 3rd floor of SLC

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Are you up for it? UWENet's first big bash!



Green Bomber Night is happening Tuesday, March 14th!
- 8pm till Midnight -


A free event to get to know what everybody's up to on campus and enjoy
some great entertainment - All Ages Welcome!

Les Loh from Math says, "When this party starts rockin, you just won't be able to stop it!"

Tiff Smith from ES says, "It's going to rock so hard you'll forget you're being sustainable!"

Featuring: local bands, Balance Pact, Sexy Tiger Party, Red Balloon + a DJ through the night
- Your MC Leprechaun Seamus O'Higgin!!
- free food (sponsored by campus environmental organizations)
- short speeches and displays by environmental groups
- a fundraiser for the Centre de Buruley in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, an
orphanage that treats children with leprosy.
- groups may have giveaways + you can order your UWSP "tree hugger" shirt!

Collecting non-perishable food items for the UW Food Bank!

Organized by the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project and
members of the UW Environment Network.


Email: uwenet@gmail.com for more details or to get your group more
involved in the night.

Trash Theatre

Come check out 'Trash Theatre' an entertaining environmental experience.

This performance is the focus of an ERS undergraduate thesis on interactive education. Costumes have been constructed from "garbage" and on March 25th at 3pm and 7pm at the Registry Theatre they will come to life with the help of around 20 cast members.

Entrance is by donation with the proceeds going towards the protection of the Borneo rainforest through the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) www.panda.org.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

End of Suburbia, Monday

End of Suburbia
End of Oil

Ever ask yourself about how long the lights will stay on, or how many
years will it that I can still drive my car. Will reading an e-mail
off a computer become too expensive? The fact of the matter is that
our modern world runs on oil. So what happens when it runs out? The
world as we know it will definately change. When is it going to run
out? The truth is that we'll never run out, the real question is when
will oil supplies start to plummet? Peak Oil is coming some say its
already happened. Learn about this and other energy related topics at
the next STEP event.

Format
--------------
1) End of Suburbia
This is a movie that presents the facts of Peak Oil. The first
half will be screened.
2) The audience will break into groups and ask questions and enter discussion
with professors doing research in this area. Some of this experts are:
- Dr Michael Fowler Chemical Engineering
- Dr Paul Parker Environmental Studies
- Dr John Straube Civil Engineering / Architecture
- Dr Roydon Fraser Mechanical Engineering (Tentative)

Where? When? How Much?

Monday March 6
3:30-5:30pm
ES Courtyard - ES1 250
Cost: FREE!!!

Pass this on to your friends!


Contact: Mike McWilliam, STEP, step@feds.ca

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Straw Bale & Sustainable Building session


Scroll down for other great events!

Straw Bale & Sustainable Building
with author & teacher Chris Magwood
Wednesday March 1
Multi Purpose Room - Student Life Centre, UW
12pm

New homes and commercial buildings can achieve remarkable energy efficiency, use environmentally friendly materials and renewable energies and still be built for the same cost as conventional construction. Come learn how!
Straw bale building author and teacher Chris Magwood will be giving a talk and slide show to discuss how sustainable building strategies can and have been implemented across Ontario.
Magwood is the author of three books on straw bale building, and is part of a group of builders whose explorations of sustainable building techniques have helped make Ontario a world leader in the design and construction of buildings that are highly energy efficient, healthy for occupants and tread lightly on the planet. It doesn't hurt that many of these buildings are also uniquely beautiful, as his slide show will demonstrate.
After 10 years as a professional builder, Magwood is now dedicated to teaching the art and science of sustainable building to others. As the professor of Fleming College's new Sustainable Building program, he helps groups of students design and construct full-size buildings that are on the leading edge of energy and environmental performance. The first project completed by the students was the 4Cs Food Bank and Thrift Store in downtown Haliburton, and this will be among the buildings featured in the presentation.
Photo by Chris\nJohnston.\n\nMagwood\'s latest book, More Straw Bale\nBuilding (New Society Publishers) is a completely revised and updated\nedition of the book Straw Bale Building, which has sold over 20,000\ncopies and has become a standard resource for builders across North\nAmerica. Copies of the book will be available at the\npresentation.\n\nIf you would like to learn more about straw\nbale and sustainable building, this is a perfect opportunity to see\npictures, learn about costs and construction and have your questions\nanswered by an expert.

The Food Bank and Thrift Store in downtown Haliburton is an example of good sustainable building practice. It was constructed by students at Fleming College, and uses straw bale walls, earth plasters, earth floors and passive and active solar components. Photo by Chris Johnston.
Magwood's latest book, More Straw Bale Building (New Society Publishers) is a completely revised and updated edition of the book Straw Bale Building, which has sold over 20,000 copies and has become a standard resource for builders across North America. Copies of the book will be available at the presentation.
If you would like to learn more about straw bale and sustainable building, this is a perfect opportunity to see pictures, learn about costs and construction and have your questions answered by an expert.