To encourage zero pollution commuting, Rec Sports is offering Locker Room Only memberships for $15 per month. Commuters arriving to campus by bike or foot can now use the RSF locker room to tidy up before going to work. Includes use of day lockers, showers and towels. Secure bicycle parking available at the RSF. Sign up in person at the RSF membership desk.
To save electricity at the RSF, Rec Sports recently shifted our 5 all-night custodians to day shifts. This improves the quality of life for our employees -- who now get home earlier to their families -- and also saves a ton of electricity. Now, all lights are out by 1AM when the custodians leave, instead of burning all night long. This simple change saves nearly one month’s worth of electricity each year (about 10% of our total electricity use).
Week of Love, the first in a series of green events, will be held February 11-14! Held at the RSF, the four day celebration is all about building, sharing and experiencing Green Love! Our goal is to recognize our partners who are taking the step to "green" their business, services or products offered to the campus. More details to come!
Join. Plant. Grow.
We'll replant one tree in California forests damaged by fire for every new member of the Cal Rec Sports-RSF Facebook Group.
Cal Rec Sports, Bank of America and the Arbor Day Foundation are committed to restoring fire damaged California National Forests. With your help, we will be able to reach our goal of replanting 2,000 trees by the new year. We will replant one tree for every new member up to 2,000.
Each tree we help plant will grow to provide habitat and food for wildlife, restore beauty to the landscape, clean rivers and streams, and provide enjoyment for recreational activities like camping, hiking, and fishing. Details on what types of trees will be replanted, location of the selected California National Forest and when the replanting will occur will be available in late Spring.
Your support will directly benefit California National Forests for generations to come!
Join the Cal Rec Sports - RSF Facebook Group
Cal Dining is dedicated to providing an environmentally friendly dining program that supports the Cal community. They have been recognized as leaders for the initiatves, including:
-First four green certified buildings on Cal’s campus, including all residential dining locations
-First university organic certification & 100% organic salad bars in all residential dining locations
-Recycle within our food service operations
See what else they're doing. Cal Dining
Clif Bar and Company started on a bike ride. Clif's founder, Gary, took a bite of another energy bar and thought to himself, "I could make a better bar than this."
Today, the company still wants to make things better. Including their food, company and even our planet. Clif aspires to sustain our planet, community, people, business and brands.
Check out what they're doing. Clif Bar
For more information on what UC Berkeley is doing, check out the Sustainability at UC Berkeley Home Page:
http://sustainability.berkeley.edu/
These days, getting fit means working out and eating healthy. The following are five tips based on the Food Pyramid Guidelines to help you get there.
#1: Eat Lots More Produce
#2: Eat Whole, Not Processed, Foods
#3: Eat More Non- or Low-fat Dairy Products
#4: Out with the Bad Fats, in with the Good
#5: Count Calories and Steps
Source: The Green Guide, viewed January 25, 2008
Buy Local Berkeley is a project of the Berkeley Business District Network and the City of Berkeley. A study by the Downtown Berkeley Association found that buying locally produces the following benefits for the community: more jobs, less envirnmental impact on the planet, a stronger local economy and tax base, lower public expenditures, and a stronger local identity.
For resources on how you can Buy Local, check out these Berkeley online business directories:
Downtown Berkeley Guide to Shopping
Telegraph Live
Berkeley Convention and Vistor's Bureau
North Shattuck Association
Solano Ave
Elmwood Shopping District
Berkeley Chamber of Commerce
Source: Downtown Berkeley Association - 1/25/08 
As athletes, we know you work hard and workout even harder, putting plenty of wear and tear on your shoes. Here's a chance to do something good with your athletic shoes when their time is done.
NikeGO Places recycles all brands of athletic shoes to create premium sport surfaces such as soccer pitches, football fields, tracks, basketball courts and tennis courts. To find out how you can recycle your shoes at a collection location near you, visit here. If there is not a location nearby, you may also recycle shoes by mailing them, at your own expense, directly to Nike. Please note that we cannot accept non-athletic shoes or athletic shoes containing any metal parts.
Nike Recycling Center
c/o NikeGO Places
26755 SW 95th
Wilsonville, OR 97070
Once at the Nike Recycling Center, shoes are ground up into a material called Nike Grind, which is used in sports surfaces donated to communities across the world.
Source: NikeGO, viewed on January 24, 2008
Hydrating your body is very important for your fitness routine. Right now, it's time for some water bottle therapy.
It used to be practically a requirement for the eco-conscious urbanite to lug water in reusable hard-plastic bottles, but it turns out those bottles can leach toxins. Choose lined aluminum, stainless steel, or glass instead.
So... be health-consciousness and produce less waste. Experts say we need to drink six to seven glasses of H2O per day, so keep a bottle handy.
Source: Ideal Bite, viewed on January 24, 2008
Here in Berkeley, it's pretty easy to get around without a car. And that's really the greenest form of transport. But maybe you're planning to test your RSF-honed fitness at a triathlon or road race unreachable by public transport. For that, you'll need a car. Try one of the many car-share businesses, such as CarShare or Zip.
You'll also be doing a good thing for the environment. Car-sharing helps reduce the total number of cars on the roads. And that means less traffic, less pollution, and less dependence on oil for all of us. It also means fewer parking lots and more potential green space for the Bay Area to enjoy.
http://www.citycarshare.org
http://www.zipcar.com
Weeks of running on the RSF treadmill during rainy weather may cause you to dream about your next vacation spot. Why not make your next destination eco friendly? Here are a few things to think about and a little info on ecotourism.
Do they support the local economy in sustainable ways, providing jobs and livelihoods for the community and protection for the environment? A movement began in the late 80's to foster ecological tourism, or ecotourism, to educate travelers about the environmental impact they have and the green choices they can make.
Ecotourism embraces six principles: to minimize impact; to build environmental and cultural awareness and respect; to provide a positive experience for visitors and hosts alike; to provide direct financial benefits for conservation; to provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people, and to raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental and social climate.
Plan your own eco-friendly trip here.
Source: The Daily Green, viewed on January 24, 2008
Public Transportation, while maybe not as enjoyable as commuting in your own personal vehicle, does ease congestion, reduce emissions, and give you plenty of quality time to people watch, as well as get to know your “neighbors.”
FACTS:
-40: percentage of US reliance on foreign oil would decrease if one in ten Americans used public transportation daily.
-79: the number of times safer that riding a bus is over riding in your own automobile.
-855: the millions of gallons saved (equal to 45 million barrels of oil) from people taking public transportation each year. (This is roughly the energy needed to power ¼ of all American homes annually.)
Source: Treehugger, viewed on January 24, 2008
The next time you decide to venture outside of Berkeley to take a break from school or work, think about how you'll get there.
How you get there is probably the biggest environmental decision you have to make. For most of us, no other choice will have as much impact on the planet as our mode of travel. If at all possible, avoid the plane. Think global, play local. Look for exotic, exciting places nearby. Be creative. Of course if the breaks are local, there are many racks available for toting your board by bicycle. But if you desperately have go by car, there remain plenty of options. Carpool with friends (have fun, save both fuel and CO2 emissions), rent a hybrid, or fill the tank with a biofuel blend.
Use public transportation for your next trip by planning it at 511org.
Source: Treehugger, viewed January 22, 2008
You may have seen the term "fair trade" advertised on some products or by merchants and businesses. What does the certification mean, what's the relation to the environment and how is it related to you?
Many workers around the world are treated and paid very poorly. Approximately 20% of the world's population exists on under a dollar a day; and around double that have incomes of under $2 a day. You might often wonder how some products you buy can be so cheap - underpaid workers toiling in sweatshops contributes to our "bargains", as do the environmentally destructive processes used to create some of the products we consume. That bargain may come at a very high price to our fellow man and the environment.
Feeling motivated to support Fair Trade? Take action with these 12 Steps.
Source: Green Living Tips, April 19, 2007
"The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) was created in 1991 by Governor's Executive Order. The six Boards, Departments and Office were placed within the Cal/EPA "umbrella" to create a cabinet level voice for the protection of human health and the environment and to assure the coordinated deployment of State resources. Our mission is to restore, protect and enhance the environment, to ensure public health, environmental quality and economic vitality."
Programs managed by the Cal EPA include: Air Quality, Water Quality, Waste Management, Enforcement and more. Check out their website for more details.
Source: California Environmental Protection Agency - 1/25/08
As Berkeley community members, there are so many ways to improve the city you live in. Check out what the Downtown Berkeley Association has found.
Did you know that by shifting just 10 percent of your purchases to locally owned businesses and cultural organizations, you can start a cycle that creates more jobs in Berkeley, lightens the city's environmental impact, expands your own shopping and entertainment options, builds a stronger community, and helps keep our city a national innovator?
By supporting their successors -- today's locally owned businesses and cultural organizations that offer us something just a bit different -- we can help nurture Berkeley's trendsetting businesses of tomorrow. We can keep the revolution turning for ourselves, and for friends and family in places less likely to incubate the offbeat.
To support today's locally owned business, check out the Buy Local Shopping Guide and start buying locally today!
Source: Downtown Berkeley Association, December 6, 2007
We know that when your running errands or buying groceries you'll end up accumulating a few plastic bags. That's okay because we've found a few ways for you to reuse and reduce your plastic bags.
1. Reuse a plastic bag by using it to store your gym shoes on the way to a work out or afterwards for your dirty gym clothes!
2. Reuse the produce bag you got last night at the store for this weeks lunch! It's the perfect size to carry a sandwich for lunch at work or school!
3. BYO grocery bags. Make a habit of remembering your bags by hanging them on the doorknob as soon as they're emptied, then store them in your purse or car.
4. Take a tote. Reusable bags aren't just good for groceries. You can use canvas or other totes for clothes and holiday shopping, too.
Source: Boston Globe, November 18, 2007
"The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people." Visit the EPA website for more information on a variety of topics affecting your world.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - 1/25/08
We know our Rec Sports members have to balance between fitness and academics. Sometimes a visit to the nearby coffee shop is in order. Interested in staying eco-friendly while getting your next caffiene boost, check out these opportunities!
Tully’s Coffee
Tully's Coffee is now serving Fair Trade Certified, Organic Espresso as a standard in all of their barista beverages.
They also realized that cups are the #1 source of waste in their stores and saw this as a real opportunity to make a difference. In the pursuit of greenness, they have introduced a fully compostable cup. Tully’s new Green Cup uses a bio-plastic, corn-based lining making our cup completely renewable and BPI certified compostable.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has had great success with its organic brands.
Starbucks
Starbucks, which teamed up with Conservation International in 1998 to help bring eco-friendly coffee to market, has also found that its eco-friendly varieties have sold well and hopes to offer more for sale this summer.
Source: Grist, viewed January 29, 2008
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