Moscow Food Co-op Deli

Come take this delicious audio journey into the Moscow Food Co-op Deli, where sustainable and locally-grown organic food reins supreme.

WSU Tests New Recycling Program

(Photo courtsey of cwww.ucityphila.org)

Facility operations at WSU will hold a “Single Stream” recycling program at the public station on Dairy Road, Pullman, Wash., beginning Feb. 25. The test pilot differs in that the majority of recyclables can be placed into one mixed container. The purpose of the program is to decrease costs and increase WSU’s economic sustainability. For more information visit http://www.wsutoday.wsu.edu/, and search single stream recycling.

Snows on Kilimanjaro? Global Warming takes ten

As if 28+ inches of Palouse powder wasn't evidence enough, a plethora of severe tantrums by Old Man Winter lashed the far reaches of the world this winter, leading me to think that perhaps Al Gore really isn't the Messiah. Grown Jordanian men were transformed into giddy school boys after snow shutdown commerce and schools for the day throughout Jordan(MSNBC photo). China's transportation infrastructure was nearly shutdown because of the worst winter storms the country has seen in 50 years (CNN clip). Even the deserts of Iraq received snowfall for "the first time in memory"(MSNBC story).

It could be that the exceptionally strong weather is simply a matter of coincidence. Or, perhaps this string of wicked meteorological events is a sort of metaphorical slap to the face from the powers that be for humanity's collective arrogance in taking sole responsibility for shifts in global climate. A scientific Tower of Babel if you will.

A friend of mine (pictured) recently set out with a small group of Pacific Lutheran University students and faculty to scale the slopes of the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Their purpose? To document the toll of global warming and to see first hand how, much like mankind's hope for environmental redemption, snows on the summit of Kilimanjaro have melted into the past. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Photo courtesy C. Staudinger

Dumpster Diving Galore

This must seem trivial at best; however I find it terribly important, so please tune in your ears. I live with two female roommates, and with much persuasion and some coercion, I’ve gotten them both to recycle. Nevertheless!

Both of my roommates continually throw away the toilet paper roll once it’s finished. Pardon me ladies, and rests of the world, toilet paper rolls are primarily made of cardboard, a recyclable material! To the world, please recycle. To my roommates, don’t make me fish through the trash…

Photo courtesy of jupiterimages.com

College Hill and Pullman Expansion

Story by Keith Chaplin
Pullman is Expanding: How is College Hill holding up?
In August of 2007, Danielle Everett and her roommates decided to move closer to campus. They were aware that they were trading the quality of their CCN apartment for the closeness of a house on College Hill. However they were in for a surprise when they moved into their Maple Street house.
“The carpets were moldy, the walls were stained, and there was junk all over the house,” explained Everett.
“We had to put almost $1000 into cleaning, painting, and re-carpeting before we even moved into our house,” said Everett, a junior teaching major.
Trading quality for proximity is not uncommon for many student tenants moving to the College Hill neighborhood.
Of the hundreds of houses on the Hill, most are in some state of disrepair or neglect, some have even been described as slums by City officials.
Recently, Pullman City Council has been plagued with problems relating to the College Hill neighborhood, which sits adjacent to campus, and contains apartments, and houses as well as several fraternities and sororities.
Historically, College Hill has been a very desirable place for students to take up residence due to its close proximity to the center of campus. However, problems such as poor management, expensive units, parking, and lack of renovations, as well as the consequences of frequent partying on the hill (such as littering, and fighting) have driven students to find housing elsewhere.
Vacancy rates reflect this statement, according to Glenn Crellin, director of the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at WSU.
“Conditions of some College Hill apartments and houses have driven students away from renting the older, more dilapidated buildings and into the newer apartment complexes,” Crellin said.
In response to these problems, City Council has looked into permitting of rental companies, as well as making ordinances relating to the drinking, fighting, and parking on College Hill.
Newly instated Councilman Nathan Weller has different ideas. “My motto is educate, don’t legislate, I believe that instead of passing all these ordinances, we should educate WSU students.”
Weller, a 2005 graduate of WSU lived on College Hill. “I lived in the worst apartments imaginable on College Hill,” explains Weller, “and I know that a lot of students are not informed of their rights as tenants, and that needs to change.”
Weller explained that there has been discussion about instating a program that deals with educating student renters of their rights as tenants, so that they know what to do, who to contact, and when to take action against “slumlord” activity.
“Educating students while they are in Pullman for 4 years gives them the ability to know about their rights as a renter when they move away and start renting in another city in Washington,” Weller said.

Developers find a market
As a result of housing problems on College Hill, several developers have taken the initiative, and apartment complexes now dot the landscape surrounding Pullman.
The biggest developer in the past 10 years is Corporate Pointe Developers, led by President Duane Brelsford. Some of his projects include the Village Centre Cinemas, and the Fireside Grille, as well as several large apartment complexes including Aspen Village, Pine Ridge, Maple Valley, Providence Court, and more recently Churchill Downs and Emerald Downs.
In the past 3 years vacancy rates have risen from 1.1 percent n September 2004, to 5.2 percent in September 2007, a considerable increase in only 3 years, according to Crellin. “Much of the increase in these rates is due to the multi-family housing being built off campus,” Crellin said.
“The development of these apartments completely changed the face of housing in Pullman,” said Brelsford. “The newer, cleaner, cheaper housing gives students choices in housing, which was not the case 10 years ago.”
The expansion of housing in Pullman has some very different meanings to different people.
“Admission rates have not kept up with the market for rentals,” Crellin said.
Since 1997 enrollment at WSU Pullman campus has increased by only 232 students according to the Office of Institutional Research at WSU. This explains why the rental market has seen the larger vacancy rates.
“In most towns, a 5.2 percent vacancy rate is very healthy however in a college town with population fluctuation every summer, most property managers like to see around a 3 percent vacancy rate, because if apartments aren’t rented in September, they are probably going to sit vacant until the next school year,” said Crellin.
Brelsford explained that he likes to see the overall vacancy rate at about 5 percent, and though he has several projects in the works, he put them off until he sees the vacancy rate decline again.
“Students need choices, and I think that a 5 percent vacancy rate gives them choices in where they want to live,” said Brelsford. “I’m not just building apartments to build apartments. I saw a need and filled that need. I’m not trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.”

Council Flexes muscles
“I have heard so many stories about professors and other residents who used to live on College Hill who were forced to move because of the bad atmosphere on College Hill,” said Mayor Glenn Johnson.
In order to control excessive drinking the council recently passed an ordinance that makes it unlawful for people to carry open containers of alcoholic beverages.
“Although the ordinance was not particularly geared towards College Hill students, it has helped to prevent wandering parties and littering, which really tarnish and destroy the neighborhoods occupied by students,” said Johnson.
Another ordinance that was passed recently was the anti-fighting ordinance.
“This is another ordinance that is needed to control students who have over consumed alcohol, and gives us one more tool in the belt to fight problems on campus,” said Pullman Police Chief Ted Weatherly.
Weatherly said that he has heard from field officers that they had sensed a decline in parties and fighting since the ordinances were passed. He said he would wait until his report in March to give any specific data.
Recently the council has heard discussion about regulating parking and rental permits for College Hill residents and rental companies, although no specific decisions have been reached to date.

RecycleMania

RecycleMania 2008 is in full swing as students from 10 schools compete in the enviro-friendly competition to see who recycle most.

A February 4th release from the WSU Center for Civic Engagement described the event and some of the changes that have been made from last years comprtition.

"The annual RecycleMania competition has begun, and will run for 9 more weeks. This year in addition to recycling; WSU has elected to participate in the Waste Minimization portion of the competition. In this competition Total Recycling and Waste are added together to establish a percapita number. The idea is to reduce the amount of combined weight per person. WSU Recycling invites student groups and ASWSU to work with us on waste reduction strategies over the next 9 weeks and in the future. We encourage the entire campus community to reduce the amount of waste we create, in addition to recycling. Thank you for your support."

For more information contact on RecycleMania contact Rick Finch (finchr@wsu.edu) at the Center for Civic Engagement or look for an article in The Daily Evergreen Friday February 22nd.

Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute

PCEI began as a reaction to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on the other side of the globe. The group, like others showed concern about Washington State's own nuclear power plant at Hanford. When Hanford shut down the group shifted its focus.

“PCEI shifted its focus to the transportation of nuclear and other toxic waste, and then to local concern about pesticide use, which ultimately led to a change in the way the organization approached environmental issues…

…Although the organization's focus has continued to evolve, the underlying purpose has been consistent. "We've had the same mission statement for quite a while, which is to increase citizen involvement in decisions that affect the region's environment." The Institute has grown into one of the most successful organizations in the region. In addition to Community Agriculture, they have programs in Watershed Restoration, Environmental Education, and Transportation,” (information taken from PCEI's Website)

PCEI is a great resource for those interested in environmental issues around the Palouse and their website is a good place to start if you're interested in the organization.

A Consumasaurus lurks around every corner

Photo by John Robertson, courtesy of art.com

I haven’t quite gotten over my 4th grade obsession of dinosaurs, because of this complex; I name everything with the suffix of “asaurus.”

Consumasaurus – those who consume too many resources and are therefore paving the path toward their own self-extinction

I personally want to trample every greedy Consumasaurus that crosses my path. So, if you find yourself feeling threatened, completely baffled or intimidated, wondering if you’re going to get trampled, here’s a checklist of Consumasaurus traits. (Jeff Foxworthy if you’re out there, please don’t sue me, this is original content)

You might be a Consumasaurus if:
1. You leave the water running while brushing your teeth
2. You throw away scraps of food and all other compost materials
3. You use an unhealthy amount of toilet paper
4. You drive your vehicle instead of walking distances less than 1 mile
5. You eat sausage for breakfast, a hamburger for lunch, and stake for dinner (humans are omnivores…did you forget?)
6. You don’t recycle. Plain and simple
7. You water your lawn more than 5 months out of the year
8. You clean with paper towels or other disposable items (wash clothes, rags and sponges can be cleaned and reused)
9. You throw material items instead of fixing them for further use
10. You stomp around like an angry dinosaur criticizing “hippies” “tree huggers” “liberals” and “environmentalists” who fight to save the environment (that means your environment too Consumasaurus)

Floyd: Approaching subjects with a new outlook

Another link I found in the opinion section of the Daily Evergreen. The writer discusses talking to WSU president Floyd about stopping the golf course construction until a source of renewable water is found.
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/24635

Personally I see Floyd as a man who has the power to do something about this situation. He showed everyone at WSU that he was able to look at a problem differently than past presidents when he closed the school for two days due to excess snow. Most presidents would have upheld that academics were the priority which is the reason school hasn't been closed for over 20 years. Floyd was able to see the fact that the safest thing for students and professors was to cancel school, so he did. Hopefully he can approach all issues with this attitude.