Students came back from spring break to some good news concerning sustainability on the Hill. Hamilton was the winner of the three-week NY Negawatt/CCN Competition Challenge among New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium peer schools.  The student body, led by Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG) reduced electricity consumption across all Hamilton residence halls by 5.8%, which equates to 27,909 kilowatt hours or approximately $2,500.

Richard Donovan, vice president of forestry for Rainforest Alliance, will give a talk, “Rainforest Alliance, Conservation and Sustainable Forestry in Latin America,” on Monday, April 1, at noon, in the Kennedy Science Auditorium, Taylor Science Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Food policy specialist and author Mark Winne P'00 will give a lecture, "Food Rebels and Guerrilla Gardeners: Finding Our Way to Food Democracy," on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 5:30 p.m., in the Science Center’s Kennedy Auditorium.  Winne’s appearance marks the second annual National Food Day, a nationwide celebration of local and sustainable foods. 

Twenty eight percent – that’s the amount of  landfill waste Hamilton College’s annual Cram & Scram program reduces each May. Entering its fifth year, Cram & Scram is a non-profit, student-run recycling program aimed at reducing the inevitable landfill contribution that comes every summer as students move out of their residence halls.

The Hamilton Environmental Action Group (HEAG) is holding its annual Green Week celebration from April 22-27. Green Week is designed to promote sustainability and campus engagement in conservation efforts, and will feature daily events open to the entire Hamilton community.

Author Michael Egan preceded his April 18 lecture, “The History of Now: Decoding Environmental Sustainability,” by taking a refreshing bike ride with Professor of English Onno Oerlemanns.  Later in his talk Egan mentioned that all five of his family members bike to work or school nearly every day.

Author Michael Egan, associate professor of history at McMaster University, will give a lecture titled “The History of Now: Decoding Environmental Sustainability” on Wednesday, April 18, at 4 p.m. in the Kirner-Johnson Bradford Auditorium. The lecture is a part of the Levitt Center Speaker Series on Sustainability and is free and open to the public.

An international team of scientists - including Associate Professor of Biology Mike McCormick, alumna Elizabeth Bucceri ’11 and students Natalie Elking ’12, Manique Talaia-Murray ’12 and Andrew Seraichick ’13 - have embarked on the third cruise of the LARISSA program aboard the U.S. Antarctic Program ship Nathaniel B. Palmer.

Hamilton’s annual “Do it in the Dark” Dorm Energy Battle is in its final stretch. The campus-wide competition between residence halls began Feb. 13 and will end March 5. The residence hall that reduces its energy consumption the most will win a weekend breakfast catered by Bon Appétit.

Starting next week, Hamilton will compete regionally in the Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) 2012, a competition in electricity and water use reduction among colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The competition was created by the Students Program at the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and in partnership with Lucid, Alliance to Save Energy, and the National Wildlife Federation.