CU Environmental Center

What's going on with the Skibus?

Starting last year, we began to sell stand-by tickets, which enabled us to fill our buses making the service even more efficient. Several students have taken advantage of this option, being interested in riding the next day, but seeing the online sales sold-out.

Last year we hired a superior talent who has helped us with redeveloping the program: Jesse Morse. He was hired as our on-board manager, and from that point on was constantly thinking of ways to improve the customer service and t... Read More...

Get Free Energy Stuff for your Place! Sign up for a free energy visit to start cutting your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint immediately. You'll also get $50 worth of free energy materials, a Cosmo's pizza for you and your roommates and a chance to win one whole month of energy bills paid for (up to $200). With an environmental grant from Wells Fargo bank, the E Center has created $CORE - Student and Community Outreach on Renter Energy. The $CORE program will send teams of student "energy educators" to your home to show you simple ways to cut your monthly bills so you'll have more money to spend on things you want to spend it on. The team will give you f... Read More... CU Files Climate Action Plan The University of Colorado at Boulder today filed its Conceptual Plan for Carbon Neutrality with the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, making public how the campus plans to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Work on the 145-page document was launched when CU-Boulder became an early signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2007. To carry out the requirements of the commitment, a working group was formed within the Chancellor's Committee for Energy, Environment and Sustainability chaired by CU-Boulder Vice Chancellor for Administration Frank Bruno. Faculty, staff, students and comm... Read More... Sustainable CU In the spring of 2005, students voted on the Sustainable CU Referendum which dedicates $2.80/student/semester to implement on-campus projects incorporating renewable energy, energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, and other innovative projects to reduce the campus¹ impact on climate and environment. When reviewing proposals, particular attention shall be paid to initiatives created and led by students thereby enhancing student opportunities. Sustainable CU funds will be used for: capital investment, the purchase of infrastructure necessary for the initiatives, installation of capital projects, educational displays related to the capital projects, and any other non-staff ope... Read More... Zimride Comes to CU Zimride launched a new rideshare community at CU. The Zimride platform connects CU Boulder community members looking to share their ride through an easy to use private network that will reduce campus traffic, parking difficulties and provide substantial cost-savings for our community. Through its website and Carpool application on Facebook, Zimride combines social networks and a proprietary route-matching algorithm to make it easy for users to share seats or find a ride. "We are excited about the opportunity to significantly decrease our impact on the environment," said Peter Roper of the CU Environmental Center. "Zimride's solution is appealing to our stud... Read More... We're number 1! Sierra Magazine just ranked the most "eco enlightened" universities and guess who came out on top? That's right, us. CU-Boulder, which was the only Colorado school to crack the top 10 scored 100 out of 100 possible points. Results were compiled from a 39-question survey measuring sustainable practices and initiatives in the categories of academics, administration, efficiency, energy, food, purchasing, transportation and waste management. Bonus points, of which CU-Boulder received five, were possible for "green" activities not covered by the questionnaire. CU-Bo... Read More... Solar panels illuminate climate change researcher's work at the CU Mountain Research Station Soon some of the lights illuminating CU researchers' work on climate change will be powered by the sun. CU-Boulder is currently installing multiple PV solar panels to create 10 kilowatts of energy -or about 15 percent of total electricity load--at its Mountain Research Station (MRS), near Nederland. The first phase includes installing panels on the roof of the Marr Alpine Laboratory on Niwot Ridge. "We are taking a 'poor man's approach' to installing these panels," said Moe Tabrizi, Energy Conservation Officer, "We are taking advantage of the incentives already put in place by Colorado, which will allow us to do this project at little cost to the University, with an... Read More... Zero waste moves forward After a super successful zero waste football season last year, thanks to Ralphie's Green Stampede, CU is working to reduce waste even more, at athletic events and across campus. "We're changing the universe a little bit," says Dave Newport, Director of the Environmental Center. Last year's season was impresssive, with the collection of more than 40 tons of recyclables and compostables, a 199 percent increase in materials diverted from landfills and a 30 percent reduction in overall waste generation both within Folsom Field and at tailgate lots. 80 percent of waste was diverted from the football stadium. Of the 20 percent that was not, much of that was materials... Read More...