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The University of Washington Garbology Project (UWGP) is an ongoing student effort dedicated to the use of archaeological methods for the study and improvement of UW systems of waste management.  They are working with UW Recycling and a host of other campus groups to help reduce the UW’s $1.3 million annual landfill bill, and their spring 2013 efforts will focus on the waste produced in Denny Hall.  In doing so, They’ll be directly testing the effectiveness of UW Recycling’s newest waste initiatives, and our results will be used to help inform future UW Recycling policy and to advance sustainable advocacy efforts on campus.

To carry out this work, they need students to come and help us examine the trash produced by Denny Hall.  They’ll provide all necessary training and safety equipment, and student participants will get the chance to:

1) participate in ongoing archaeological research right here on campus,

2) help UW strategically reduce the amount of landfill waste we produce annually (currently over 10 million annual pounds), and

3) earn 1 hour of course credit (listed under Archy 299, so this credit can count towards an Anthropology major).

What does participation entail?

Participants will be expected to attend one trash sorting session per week.  Sorting sessions will be held at Raitt Hall from 4 PM to 6:30 PM on Monday and Wednesday evenings from April 8th through June 5th (although we won’t meet on May 6th or May 8th).  For scheduling purposes UWGP asks participants to consistently attend either Monday or Wednesday sessions rather than a mix of the two days. Once you have indicated your preference, write to Jack Johnson at anamgorm@uw.edu to express your interest, and (more importantly) to make sure he has your email address so that you can receive project-related correspondence.

For more information about UWGP check out our website and feel free to contact Jack via email.

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INNER PIPELINE SEMINARS SPRING QUARTER

Have some space in your spring quarter schedule? Want to spend some time outside of the classroom and in your community working with K-12 students? 

With registration underway, enrolling in an Inner Pipeline seminar for spring quarter may be a great fit! Both listed on our website and in the time schedule under the College of Education and EDUC 401, be sure to browse all the education-related topic offerings:  http://expd.washington.edu/pipeline/inner/spring-2013/spring-2013-inner-pipeline-seminars.html

Next quarter’s offerings range from Math & Science in K-12 Education to Education for Sustainability, among many other choices. Seminars meet once a week and are variable credit, based on the amount of hours you tutor K-12 students over the course of the quarter. 

Not looking for credit? You can become a volunteer at any time. Just register for an orientation on our website or browse available positions on EXPO if you have already attended: https://expo.uw.edu/expo/pipeline/WIN2013/volunteer

Questions? Contact the Pipeline Project: pipeline@uw.edu.

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Need a new course to make your Spring Quarter outstanding?  Check out these great opportunities we have here in PoE!  Don’t miss it! Sign up for one today!  

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Spring 2013 ENVIR 479 PoE Honors Seminar- 2 credits
(Un)Making a Green Argument: Climate Policy and Environmental Advocacy

Last June, Rolling Stone published an essay by climate activist Bill McKibben titled “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math.”  As a piece of popular advocacy, the essay is extraordinary in its clarity of argument and power of persuasion.  It has received over 123,000 likes on Facebook and launched a nationwide movement encouraging “divestment” of fossil-fuel corporate stock by public pension systems and university endowments.

 In this seminar we will critically examine this popular essay as an extended case study of modern environmental advocacy.  Over the course of 11 weeks, we will work through the essay’s factual claims, its reasoning, its rhetorical frames, and its policy conclusions.  We will critique how the essay was assembled and disassemble it into constituent pieces.  At the end of the class, students will reassemble the same pieces to reach their own policy conclusions.  Along the way, we will take tours of major proposed fossil-fuel developments and the current debates surrounding them—namely development of the Albertan tar sands, oil drilling in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas, and construction of proposed west coast coal terminals.

The purpose of this seminar is to encourage students to think about policy arguments from multiple perspectives and to consider how a given argument works.  What relative roles do logic, science, and rhetoric play in a given argument?  What facts do advocates highlight, how related are those facts to the advocates’ conclusions, and what policy alternatives are left behind?  This is not a seminar endorsing any particular environmental policy.  It is a quarter-long study in claims, counterclaims, strategies, and tactics used in current climate policy debates.  Diverse viewpoints will be welcomed and encouraged.

Class Day/time: Tuesdays 3:30-5:20
Taught by Todd A. Wildermuth, Scholar in Residence, UW School of Law
Open to Honors Undergraduates.