As the world prepares to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in keeping with its commitment to sustainability, is planning more than three weeks of environmentally themed activities called Earthfest 2010. Here are the details:
Thursday, April 1:
WPI alumnus and entrepreneur Mark Macaulay ‘89, director of product engineering at Climate Energy LLC, will demonstrate his free-watt energy system from 1 to 4 p.m. in front of Harrington Auditorium.
Monday, April 5:
Sustainable design presentation ("Using Life Cycle Assessment in the Product Design Process") by Marie Planchard, DS Solidworks Corp., Salisbury Labs, Room 305; noon to 2 p.m.
April 5-9:
3R (Recycle, Reuse, Reduce) Student Flea Market is open to the WPI community; campus quadrangle, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday, April 12:
"Innovative Earth Week One-minute '3Rs' video competition," sponsored by the WPI Collaborative for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. WPI students, faculty, and staff are invited to produce an original one-minute video that promotes reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. Deadline for submissions is April 12. Prize categories: educational and/or informational video, $250; humorous video, $250; and most views, $50.
Wednesday, April 14:
WPI Sustainability Panel: WPI experts will talk about energy, waste reduction, recycling, hazardous waste, LEED building design, and the university's environmental studies major. Pizza will be served; Atwater Kent, Room 219, noon to 1 p.m.
Thursday, April 15:
"The Green Market: A National, Regional, and Local Perspective of the Modern Energy Economy," a presentation by Vincent DeVito, acting director of the Worcester-based Institute for Energy and Sustainability; Fuller Labs, Upper Perreault Hall, 4-5 p.m.
Earth Day, Wednesday, April 21:
Sustainability Poster Competition, sponsored by the WPI President’s Task Force on Sustainability and the Department of Environmental Studies, Gordon Library, 2-4 p.m. WPI President Dennis Berkey will launch the competition, in which the best student-designed poster will win a $500 prize. Posters will describe projects involving technological responses to a problem associated with greening or sustainability or interdisciplinary projects that focus on socio-technical dimensions of social or environmental sustainability.
Saturday, April 24:
Worcester parks clean up, across the city, starting at 10:30 a.m. For locations and details, contact community-service@wpi.edu.
Contact: Lorraine U. Martinelle, public relations specialist,
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 508-831-6425, lurbans@wpi.edu
