So What

I realized recently that with my graduation the illustrious Amherst College Pep Band may be without its music and other resources.  They’re on campus, but not easy to find.  If you are looking to lead/participate in the future, please contact me and I’ll let you know where all the stands and music are.  jeff (dot) gang REMOVEFORSPAM gmail (dot) com

Today, I submitted a letter to the Offices of the President and of the Dean of Students and Dean of Faculty.  This letter puts forth a sustainability proposal for the College.  An abridged version of the letter was sent to the Amherst Student this week, but I encourage you to read the letter in full [pdf].

This is an initiative that will require student support.  The Green Amherst Project has already begun gathering student signatures in favor of this idea, and we plan to continue.  Alumni, faculty and staff support is also needed - so please contact me via email (jgang09 at amherst dot edu) if you are interested in endorsing this effort.

Thanks!

Hi Folks,

It’s been a while since I have posted (and I’m not alone, it seems…) but there’s something important I want to bring up.  As part of the Arkes-sponsored Colloquium on the American Founding, Princeton physicist William Happer is coming to campus on Friday.  4PM, in the Red Room.  The subject is “Climate Change: Science or New World Religion.” It’s really important to raise awareness of the falsehoods behind his talk.

I respect the essence of the point he’s likely to make - that it’s unfair to harp on people for questioning climate change.  But he has tended to use this somewhat reasonable basis to overextend, arguing that CO2 is good and needed, and that no action should be taken.

Here are some links to background info:

a Daily Princetonian article on Happer.  Informative.
a Grist story about his group, the Marshall Institute, and their silly new release on costs of combating climate change.
text of a statement he made to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, last month
the video where he claims we have a “CO2 famine”
the Marshall Institute’s central climate change page.
Sourcewatch page on the Marshall Institute, detailing the ExxonMobil contributions to this institution.

I’m working with the Green Amherst Project to organize a response.  Please fill out this form if you’re interested in getting involved, or see the list of who’s interested.

Check back here or email me to learn more or engage in the debate.  Thanks!

UPDATE Apr 28

Definitely a success.  We were, surprisingly, able to engage Dr. Happer in question-and-answer.  We handed out some info on Happer to almost everyone in attendance, and some may have even thought, in our business attire, that we were part of the Young Republicans, or something.  It remained very civil and informative, which I think was appreciated on all parts.

Check out the informational handout I wrote [pdf], or the Amherst Student opinion piece about what consensus might mean, from a rather skeptical-of-the-world point of view.

A coed conglomeration of Men’s Ultimate (Army of Darkness) and Women’s Ultimate (Sparkle Motion) took first place at McGill’s 12th annual U&U tournament this weekend, going 8-0.  The team, called Sparkle Cock, beat Williams in quarters, McGill in semis (in the final point!), and Dalhousie in finals.  Wow.

Also, the previous weekend we won Middlebury’s Otter Creek Throwdown, going 7-0.  Sparkle Cock is as yet undefeated.

Action continues this weekend in Devens, MA, where the teams resume their gender segregation at North East Regionals.

… Sorry, I don’t often get the chance to brag about this stuff.  So there you go.

Anyone who’s walked to the Zü in the past few days (so … Zü residents, mostly) has noticed the next two “Capital Projects” underway.  I was saddened (yes, I’m an environmental studies major) to see all the trees around what I guess is called Scott house taken down a few days ago, leaving just a big ol’ pile of woodchips.

I just happened upon the school website that explains it.  They’re consolidating the Advancement Offices, with what will be more than 25,000 square feet of office space.  Which seems like a lot - right?

Here are the details:

The fences are definitely up at both sites.  There was, last I saw, no work begun yet at Ponty-Poole (where does that name come from, anyway?) other than a porta-potty on site.  See the Amherst explanation for more details.

For what it’s worth: U.S. News & World Report Rankings 2009 puts us (alphabetically?) ahead of, and tied with, Williams.  Is it just me, or are they grading on a smaller scale than previously, perhaps enabling ties?

What happens to the makeup of consumer spending when real estate values plummet and commodity prices skyrocket? Well, here’s one answer:

This NYTimes graphic is one of the most informative I’ve ever seen. Or, more accurately, used. Be sure to zoom in.

To begin what I hope will be a long-standing, elegant tradition of ripping off either Gristmill’s or Worldchanging’s links, and showing you excellent content created by others:

Chris Jordan’s Running the Numbers → it’s worth scrolling down to see all of his stuff. [Read more →]

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