Campus Sustainability
Contact Information:
UCCS Office of Sustainability
1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy CSB 207
Colorado Springs CO 80918
sustain@uccs.edu
Telephone: 719-255-3089
Linda Kogan
Director, Office of Sustainability
1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy CSB 207
Colorado Springs CO 80918
lkogan@uccs.edu
Telephone: 719-255-3757
Sign up for our newsletter here!
Sustainability Tours:
Members of the UCCS Sustainability Office are available to lead campus tours that highlight sustainability initiatives. Highlights include a focus on LEED certification and high performance buildings, including the Recreation Center and Science Engineering, introduction to our single-stream recycling program, and a visit to our organic garden. Please call us at 255-3089 so that we can design a tour that meets the needs of your group.
Home > Sustainability Beyond UCCS
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is larger than UCCS and larger than Colorado Springs -- it is a global issue. Since sustainability encompassess virtually every aspect of our lives, it is a challenge to define it, much as it is with concepts such as 'freedom' or 'liberty'. Sustainability is often divided into three areas or pillars--environment, society, economy--that are represented hierarchically. Below are a few definitions of sustainability; nevertheless, ultimately sustainability is a choice. The choices we make--how we travel, the food and water we consume, the products we buy, the energy we use, how we make a living, and how we treat others just to name a few--are all part of sustainability.
Sustainability is...
...meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Brundtland, 1987),
...improving the quality and equity of human life while living within the carrying capacity of support eco-systems,
...acting with respect for nature, universal human rights, and economic justice.
...a Choice
Since the choices that we make in our lives about virtually everything touches on some aspect of sustainability, the one choice we do not have is whether or not we want to be involved in making the world more sustainable, or not. You're involved, we're all involved. We created a series of posters for display on campus to illustrate some of the choices that we make in life and the impact of those choices on the environment, society, and the economy.
Shopping
When we shop, we can choose whether to utilize a reusable shopping bag for our purchases or to acquire another plastic bag that will end up in the landfill. Plastic bags are made from petroleum --anytime that we choose one, we are depleting our fossil fuel resources, contributing to environmental degradation, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Worldwide, an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year -- tied end-to-end that's enough to circle the earth 63 times! According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. uses 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually and an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are required to make them. Each high quality reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.
Of course, the best choice to make is to shop less and reduce, reuse, recycle when possible.
Water Bottles
Coming soon...
Food
Coming soon...
Lighting
Coming soon...
Recycling
Coming soon...
Transportation
Coming soon...
Contact Information:
UCCS Office of Sustainability
1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy CSB 207
Colorado Springs CO 80918
sustain@uccs.edu
Telephone: 719-255-3089
Linda Kogan
Director, Office of Sustainability
1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy CSB 207
Colorado Springs CO 80918
lkogan@uccs.edu
Telephone: 719-255-3757
Sign up for our newsletter here!
Sustainability Tours:
Members of the UCCS Sustainability Office are available to lead campus tours that highlight sustainability initiatives. Highlights include a focus on LEED certification and high performance buildings, including the Recreation Center and Science Engineering, introduction to our single-stream recycling program, and a visit to our organic garden. Please call us at 255-3089 so that we can design a tour that meets the needs of your group.
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is larger than UCCS and larger than Colorado Springs -- it is a global issue. Since sustainability encompassess virtually every aspect of our lives, it is a challenge to define it, much as it is with concepts such as 'freedom' or 'liberty'. Sustainability is often divided into three areas or pillars--environment, society, economy--that are represented hierarchically. Below are a few definitions of sustainability; nevertheless, ultimately sustainability is a choice. The choices we make--how we travel, the food and water we consume, the products we buy, the energy we use, how we make a living, and how we treat others just to name a few--are all part of sustainability.
Sustainability is...
...meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Brundtland, 1987),
...improving the quality and equity of human life while living within the carrying capacity of support eco-systems,
...acting with respect for nature, universal human rights, and economic justice.
...a Choice
Since the choices that we make in our lives about virtually everything touches on some aspect of sustainability, the one choice we do not have is whether or not we want to be involved in making the world more sustainable, or not. You're involved, we're all involved. We created a series of posters for display on campus to illustrate some of the choices that we make in life and the impact of those choices on the environment, society, and the economy.
Shopping
When we shop, we can choose whether to utilize a reusable shopping bag for our purchases or to acquire another plastic bag that will end up in the landfill. Plastic bags are made from petroleum --anytime that we choose one, we are depleting our fossil fuel resources, contributing to environmental degradation, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Worldwide, an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year -- tied end-to-end that's enough to circle the earth 63 times! According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. uses 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually and an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are required to make them. Each high quality reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.
Of course, the best choice to make is to shop less and reduce, reuse, recycle when possible.
Water Bottles
Coming soon...
Food
Coming soon...
Lighting
Coming soon...
Recycling
Coming soon...
Transportation
Coming soon...