Year End Progress Report

So this is it. The 2011-12 school year is over. Looking back we have had an incredible year. Seeing how much momentum we've gained, especially relative to last year, is really impressive. Last year's meetings had only a handful of attendees; this year we had over 25 people consistently. We also threw tons of awesome events and really got stuff done. Here's an outline of what we accomplished this year:

• Threw our first annual Moving Planet 2nd Line for Sustainability along with thousands of other cities worldwide that organized events with 350.org to show that we care about this planet. We are featured in their international video TWICE! Check it out here http://youtu.be/7lteZulzEM4 we're at :06 and 1:14
• Volunteered over 170 woman- and man-hours with local environmental groups Verdi Gras, Bike Easy, Sierra Club, Hollygrove Market, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and Green Light New Orleans, (we 
  saved 43,340 kilowatt hours and 49,170 lbs. of CO₂  by installing CFLs with Green Light)
• Collaborated with Tulane Veggie Club to give out free vegan and vegetarian food at Crawfest to hundreds of people and got signatures for a Sierra Club petition on toxic oil dispersants and a Bike Easy petition to improve a bike path in NOLA
• Expanded on-campus composting and pressured Sodexo to compost at our cafeteria (they're starting it next semester with NOLA Greenroots!)
• Took trips out to nature preserves to remind people what we're fighting for and that nature is worth saving
• Organized our first annual No Impact Week, a week of pledging to do small sacrifices in your daily life to minimize your environmental impact (ideally, to have zero). Idea crafted after watching the film No Impact Man
• Worked with Veggie Club to help with Go Vegetarian Week to encourage people to try out a vegetarian diet for a week
• Started the Green Club Lecture Series, inviting in Tulane faculty in a space to teach about something that they love but may not have time to explore in their courses
• Screened Mardi Gras Made in China and helped Verdi Gras, Phoenix Recycling, and Arc of Greater New Orleans with launching Mardi Gras' first on-site bead, plastic and metal recycling program (it's crazy that we've never recycled during Mardi Gras before this year)
• Created a ninja task force to place stickers that say Remember: These Come From Trees on every paper towel dispenser on campus. Each sticker can save up to 100 lbs of paper in a year. That's an entire tree!
• Learned how to make a bunch of stuff ourselves with B.O.S.S. (Back to Old School Sustainability) like nutella, hand salve, grape jelly, kombucha, and more

That's about everything I can think of right now. That's a pretty awesome list! Thanks to everybody who helped out this year! I can't wait to see what we get done next year. 

Get a bike!

Nick Stracco

President, Tulane Green Club