News
Holiday Greening Tips
Dec. 8, 2017—Want to reduce your impact this holiday season? Here are a few tips from SustainVU’s Holiday Greening Guide to make your holiday a little greener this year. Office/Residence Hall/Home Energy Use Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff who are going to be away from their residence halls, offices, classrooms or homes over the holidays should remember...
Gaps in required curricula may explain differences in climate change views among college graduates
Dec. 8, 2017—Read the Research News @Vanderbilt story. by Liz Entman | Dec. 7, 2017, 11:24 AM The average American college student has just a 17 percent chance of learning about climate change before graduation through required core courses. The finding may help explain why having a bachelor’s degree doesn’t always lead to increased acceptance of human-caused global warming, according...
Beyond Politics: Private industry needs to step up on climate change
Dec. 7, 2017—Read the Research News @Vanderbilt story and watch the video here. “More than 100 of the largest businesses in the world came out and said, ‘We’re still in,’” said Michael P. Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law at Vanderbilt University and director of its Climate Change Research Network. Those corporations – including prominent firms like Hewlett...
Don’t Forget to Power Down Before Leaving for Holiday Break!
Dec. 7, 2017—Please remember to power down before you leave the office or your home for an extended period over Holiday Break. Your reductions in energy use can have a large impact when aggregated across the entire university. Here are some things you can do to help conserve energy while you are away: Turn off lights in...
Greening the Season – Holiday Waste Reduction Tips
Nov. 30, 2017—Since the holiday season is just around the corner, the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office (SEMO) has provided some tips for reducing waste and making your holiday season more sustainable. Americans throw away 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day than other parts of the year, which is about 1 million extra tons...
Battery-switching device promises more road time for Tesla, Leaf drivers
Nov. 28, 2017—Read the Vanderbilt Engineering story here. Nissan Leafs, which go about 107 miles on a charge, often don’t graduate beyond commuter car status due to battery-life worries. The mass-market, standard Tesla Model 3 can travel double that distance, which is still limiting on long road trips. Both batteries could work about 50 percent longer with...
‘Green Roof Day’ to highlight FutureVU sustainability efforts Nov. 29
Nov. 27, 2017—The five green roofs on campus will be featured this week during the latest pop-up event sponsored by FutureVU, Vanderbilt’s land-use planning initiative.FutureVU and the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office on Wednesday will host Green Roof Day, an event designed to showcase a campus-wide sustainability effort that often goes unnoticed. Some green roofs on campus are hidden, while...
West End neighborhood beautification efforts previewed by pop-up park
Nov. 21, 2017—Vandy Fanatics hosted a football tailgate last Saturday at the Kensington Place pop-up park. The park, planned by the FutureVU team, was open from Nov. 8 to 12. (Steve Green/Vanderbilt) The FutureVU team turned a portion of Kensington Place into a park for Vanderbilt community members to enjoy last week in advance of beautification efforts slated...
Vanderbilt promotes campus sustainability with Rand Green Roof
Nov. 17, 2017—Originally posted by the Vanderbilt Hustler. This past summer, the Vanderbilt Green Fund organized the installation of a green roof on the third floor of Rand. The rooftop addition provides campus sustainability benefits such as heat insulation during the winter, building protection from UV rays and improved stormwater management. Vanderbilt News reported a full list...
Participate in survey gathering feedback on pedestrian and cyclist safety
Nov. 17, 2017—Vanderbilt University Public Safety is requesting feedback from faculty, students and staff on efforts to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety on and near the campus. VUPS asks that Vanderbilt community members complete a short survey through which they can provide feedback about recent safety enhancements as well as ideas for further improvements.Consistent with the principles of FutureVU and in...
WilSkills wins 2017 Football ‘Greenest Group on Campus’ award
Nov. 13, 2017—The Wilderness Skills student-led course at Vandy called WilSkills has been named winner of the 2017 Vanderbilt Football Sustainability Competition. They celebrated their title of “Greenest Group on Campus” at the Vanderbilt vs. Western Kentucky November 4 game with a catered VIP tailgate event, an autographed item from Vanderbilt athletics, a 100% recycled engraved glass plate,...
FutureVU pop-up park to transform West End neighborhood Nov. 6–12
Nov. 6, 2017—Vanderbilt’s West End neighborhood will be transformed Nov. 6–12 with the creation of a pop-up park on Kensington Place. The park, an initiative of FutureVU, will open in advance of the start of a utility project and beautification efforts in the area that are set to begin in mid-December. The transformed space will provide an opportunity...
Vanderbilt Accepted into Menus of Change University Research Collaborative
Nov. 1, 2017—Vanderbilt was recently awarded membership in the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC). Co-founded and jointly led by Stanford University and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative is a working group of leading scholars, foodservice business leaders, and executive chefs from invited colleges and universities who are...
Slay Energy Vampires this Halloween
Oct. 30, 2017—As little ghosts and ghouls prepare to come out in search of Halloween treats, be sure you don’t have any silent menaces lurking around your office or home tricking you into using extra energy! Energy vampires are electronic devices that slowly suck energy when they are turned off but still plugged in. They provide no...
Zeppos engages campus community about FutureVU core values, next steps
Oct. 19, 2017—Read the MyVU story here. Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos and Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain led a discussion featuring key updates about FutureVU, Vanderbilt’s land use planning initiative, Oct. 17 at the Student Life Center Board of Trust Room. Approximately 125 members of the Vanderbilt community came together for the town hall meeting, which began with remarks from...