All are words used by Jessica Meyer’s friends and family to describe her personality.  Meyer, an environmental engineering major at Syracuse University, is one of two students on the Campus Sustainability Committee and is co-chairing a new sustainability group for students.  And she’s taking all of this on as a sophomore.

Meyer’s environmental awareness extends beyond her coursework and even beyond the committees she is involved in.

“I probably think about it 97% percent of my day,” said Meyer with a grin.

Meghan Reilly, a friend of Meyer’s, said that last year Meyer’s door was covered in environment bumper stickers.  So much so, that her resident adviser had to ask her to remove them because it was a fire hazard.  Meyer was not trying to be problematic, she simply wanted to decorate her door with things that interested her.

“She used to take walks with her dad and they’d pick up garbage together,” said Kathy Meyer, Jessica’s mom.  She attributes these walks and Mr. Meyer’s encouragement of avid recycling as fuel for Jessica’s passion for the environment.  A passion that Meyer wholeheartedly admits to.  Put in her own words, ”I heart the environment.”

Check out what Jessica and her family and friends had to say about her environmental involvement.

And if you’re not curious about that, I’d still recommend checking out the website because it has lots of other interesting information about sustainability at Syracuse University.

I will say though, that year after year, I’ve found some pretty awesome stuff on  fair trade websites.  Fair trade products are usually manufactured in other countries, but under conditions that allow workers to earn a fair wage and work in healthy conditions.  I thought I’d share the websites with all of you, just in case you haven’t quite found all your gifts yet.

worldofgood.com This site has thousands of products and is designed like ebays website, so it’s pretty easy to navigate.

ecoist.com I’ve always been slightly obsessed with the bags on this website, including the ones made out of candy wrappers.  My sister must have figured this out, because I got one last year for Christmas.

uncommongoods.com This is one of my favorite websites in general.  They have lots of very original stuff that ranges from jewelry to chairs for your house.  However, the fair trade items can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to find.

The dance floor of the club is built on top of springs and power generating blocks.  The blocks are made from crystals, that when squished under the dancer’s weight, produce a small electrical current.  The continuing current then runs into batteries that are used to power parts of the nightclub.

I think that this is a genius idea!  Probably because I love to dance and I think conserving electricity is important, but what better way to put dancing feet to good use.

Now the only question is, when will we be getting one in Syracuse?

The Campus Sustainability Committee, or the CSC as its members call it, is comprised of mostly SU faculty and two SU students.  The students are nominated and interviewed to be on the committee, while it’s a pretty informal interview, there are only two spots for students.

So what does the committee do?  As Jessica Meyer, one of the student representatives described to me, the group is about making things happen at SU in terms of sustainability.  They look at issues raised by different members of the committee by splitting the research amongst all the members and then presenting important points and ideas to the rest of the committee.  Since the committee is run by influential people on campus, they have the ability to get things done and get them done in a reasonable amount of time.

The committee meets twice a semester, and while it tends to be a pretty relaxed environment, it’s a group of people who know their stuff and take sustainability seriously.

While this may not seem like a topic that is related to the environment or sustainability or any of the other things I’ve written about in this blog, it actually is.  Instead of throwing away perfectly good, but slightly used items, students and faculty can donate them.  Thus, putting less waste into our landfills and into the hands of people who can genuinely use it.

I know I’ve seen students clean out their entire closets at the end of a semester and if a program like Ten Tons of Love didn’t exist on campus, their clothes probably would have gone into the trash.

So before you leave for winter vacation, take a look in your closet and see if you have anything you haven’t worn in a while.  By giving it to Tens Tons of Love, you will be giving it to a better home and you won’t have to feel guilty next semester when you haven’t worn it in a while and you just want to throw it out.

First, lower your thermostat.  If you’re not in the house, it doesn’t need to feel like you are, so turn down your thermostat to about 55 degrees.  It will save you money and will save electricity.

Second, unplug all unnecessary appliances.  Again, if you’re not there to use them, they don’t need to be ready for you to use them.  And unknown to many people, appliances like televisions and computers still use electricity while they are turned off so the only way to make sure they are not using any is to unplug them.

And lastly, make sure all of your windows are sealed up tight.  Last year when my roommates and I left for break we closed all the windows, but there was a lot of intense wind while we were gone that blew open some of our windows.  For that month that we were away, we ended up paying more money for heat than while we were actually there.  So make sure your windows are sealed up so you are heating the frigid Syracuse winter.

However,  the most recent attempts at forming such groups have failed.  Most recently the University Sustainability Action Coalition ended as leading members went abroad.

I’m excited to say that there may be a new group coming to campus.  Only in it’s fledgling stages and not even named, Melissa Cadwell and Jessica Meyer are heading a group that’s going to try to make a difference.  Jessica, a sophomore, has the passion and time to lead the students and Melissa, an energy marketing manager, has the resources to make it happen.

This semester, interested faculty and staff have been meeting to decide what to do with the group and what the school really needs.  Next semester, be on the look-out for a new group on campus.  One that’s focused on sustainability.