Sustainable Residences

In my previous time lapse video, I showed my view looking out of Alice Cook House.  But as it turns out, there's a lot more to where I live then just the view I have out the window next to my bed.

  

Alice Cook House is a dorm building on West Campus, all the way down the slope.  Unlike Jameson, where I lived last year, it's a really new building, and it isn't riot-proof.  And instead of living in a cramped triple on a lofted bed, this year I live in a double with one of my roommates from last year, and I have a whole half of the room to myself. 

My room is a mess, I know

What's great about living in Alice Cook House is that I get to live with my best friend, and a few more of my best friends from Jameson live right down the hall.  Alice Cook House is where I study, do my homework, hang out with my friends, eat (it has its own dining hall), sleep (way too much, and often times way too late), stay up all night, and do all of the other things I enjoy doing in my home.  

But what's even better, Alice Cook House is, according to Sustainable Campus at Cornell, "the first residence hall in New York State to receive LEED certification by the US.  Green Building Council, and the first achieved by a univeristy.  All future residential construction to take place on Cornell Campus will utilize the same green standards and principles that went into the construction of Alice. H. Cook House."

LEED stands for "Leaderhship in Energy and Environmental Design."  It is a rating system designed by the US Green Building Council to encourage the development of more sustainable buildings.  The ratings include five categories:  Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality.  Alice Cook House was tested in these categories and scored high-enough overall to qualify for LEED certificaiton.

In building Alice Cook House, a lot of sustainable practices were used.  These included:

• using recycled steel
• using locally manufactured carpet, tile, and doors
• using Green Housekeeping practices
• using natural light rather than artificial to save on energy where possible
• using native plants in landscaping
• planting green roofs to provide insulation and reduce water run-off
• and in demolishing the old dormitory, diverting 50% of the waste from the landfill.

Although I have lived here for almost two semesters, it wasn't brought to my attention until I started researching that Alice Cook House is a the most "green" residence hall on campus.  It's great that Cornell is concerned with the environmental and ecological impacts we have on the world around us, and takes the appropriate measures for combating these impacts.  Alice Cook House for the win!

Activism of the 1960s

This building is Jameson Hall on North Campus.  

Jameson is a really interesting building because it is "riot-proof". It was built during the '70s, after a very tumultuous decade, and it has little alcoves that lead to nowhere to mislead people and discourage gathering, and stairs that can only be taken down, not up.  Moreover, each floor is split on one side into two floors, making it even more confusing.  This semester I'm taking a class called "History of the United States in the 1960s and '70s," and as it turns out, Cornell had its share of riots and uprisings during the '60s, leading to the construction of buildings like Jameson.  

The '60s was a period of much radicalism and activism.  The rise of the EPA and the environmental movement caught on during the mid-sixties, and began to influence people everywhere, including at Cornell.  In 1969, Earth Art was an exhibit put on by Cornell with pieces scattered about campus.  According to the Johnson Museum, Earth Art was comprised of "separate installations and exhibitions that addressed issues related to the representation of landscape, water supply, food justice, recycling, fair distribution of natural resources, and the nature/culture divide."

Earth Art exhibition at the Johnson

So even in the 1960s, when environmentalism was just starting to catch on, Cornell University and its students were aware of the need to care for the nature that surrounds us, along with the many other aspects of "green living."  Undoubtedly, today most students and teachers continue to care about these issues, and as a University we are working together to lower our carbon-footprint and bring about positive change in the realm of environmentalism. 

The strange building that Jameson is, is partly a product of environmentalism that began with a few radicals in the 1960s.  If it weren't for the people who first realized that our relationship with the Earth was flawed, and that we had to do something about it, the environmental movement as it stands today would be a lot different.  

And although Jameson is a testament to a time of new ideas and radical activism, it was also my home for my first year at Cornell.  I will always look back fondly on Jameson and all of the memories it gave me, but on a deeper level, I will also understand its significance in a historical context, and how it serves as a product of all of the social movements of the 1960s, including environmentalism, as sociological imagination allows me to do. 

Chair Lift

                                           

Over break I got the chance to go home and do one of my favorite things:  snowboard.  The chair lift is a great opportunity to see the beauty of Vermont (as seen above).  Normally I'm afraid of heights, but when there's so much else to focus on--the ice-covered trees, the blue sky, the view for miles and miles when you turn around--the fear kind of subsides.  I love Ithaca, but Vermont will always be my favorite place.

Greek Peak

So this one isn't very long because my camera died mid-time lapse, but I still like what I got out of it.  I went to Greek Peak this weekend, and although it's no Killington, it was still really fun.  It's nice to know that there is a place not too far from Cornell that I can go snowboarding.  Too bad my pass from home doesn't work here, too...

Drive to Cornell

I visited Syracuse over the weekend, and on the ride home I set up my tripod and created a time lapse of the drive back to Cornell.  I think a lot of people miss out because they never get the opportunity to explore Tompkins County and beyond.  Although I love my campus, there is more to Ithaca and Upstate New York than just Collegetown.  Having my car and getting the chance to explore a little bit helps me feel even more at home at Cornell.  Plus, there's some nice scenery around here.