Environmental Responsibility Online Values Survey, November, 2001

Shoreline Community College – Environmental Responsibility Online Responses

November 2001 – Compilation by Dr. Kae Hutchison

The following lists are an edited version of the raw data provided in responses to three questions about the core value of Environmental Responsibility. The editing included grouping responses into broad categories, separating parts of a single person’s response into the various subjects mentioned, and in a few instances, correcting an obvious typing error. Most responses were left as entered.

Since several people responded to a question with more than one idea, the total number of items listed below exceeds the number of people who responded to this survey (96). Separating the ideas in this way makes it easier to see the subjects that garnered the greatest response. Categories are listed in the order of number of responses, beginning with the categories that received the greatest number.

3. Please describe one or two examples where you think SCC has done a good job of expressing Environmental Responsibility and should celebrate its achievement.

Grounds & Natural Environment (40 responses)

  1. Leaving the south east corner of campus as is (wooded area)
  2. Maintenance of green space on campus, including large stands of trees.
  3. We are maintain our campus as a natural setting in line with good environmental practice.
  4. A physically beautiful and biologically diverse campus - but frankly, that's the one positive I can find, and even that is dulled by the lack of funds to maintain it.
  5. Preserving the natural environment that surrounds the college.
  6. Maintain the greenery around campus
  7. Preserve the Southeast corner for natural trees.
  8. the saving of the southeast corner of campus in its natural habitat.
  9. The layout and design of the college preserves much of the natural landscape, the north end of the college being a watershed that has been preserved, and lots of green spaces on campus, make this a pleasant place to be and demonstrate our responsibility.
  10. the landscape of the college appears to value natural environements
  11. Protecting the Greenbelts around the campus.
  12. keeping grounds in their natural state as much as possible,
  13. Maintaining the undeveloped areas of our site.
  14. Leaving the woods on 160th & Greenwood instead of putting the automotive building there.
  15. The campus is designed to preserve the natural landscape. Keeping the trees and bushes adds to the beauty of the campus.
  16. The campus is a beautiful example of living within the environment and the appreciation of nature. This keeps us all in touch with environmental issues.
  17. reluctance to remove trees
  18. The way the campus has considered the environment when new buildings and additions to old ones are designed.
  19. Tree planting and variety of trees
  20. Clean up day where teams would garden or weed a certain area.
  21. involving staff and administrators for Campus Beautification Day
    Having the clean up day where everyone participates in helping to clean up and beautify the campus.
  22. By having a campus-cleanup day I think the College publicized the need for environmental responsibility and allowed campus staff to participate in that responsibility.
  23. Campus Clean up
  24. faculty clean-up day prior to Fall Quarter
  25. I think the clean-up days are a good idea, but they should involve students and be better publicized
  26. Campus Clean-up Day
  27. The campus clean-up day is an example of a moral-building, conscious-lifting, team effort that improves the environment for all.
  28. All campus "clean-up day" held during the summer.
  29. Taking good care of our grounds
  30. The bird walks, the cleanup campaigns, the planting that has occurred.
  31. Wonderful plantings all over campus. A lot of which are native plants which provide food and cover for wildlife.
  32. Continued upkeep of the landscape
  33. By maintaining a beautiful campus
  34. SCC seems to be concerned with the plants around the renovated Library. They are saving some, removing others and replanting some of them.
  35. It's GOOD to see the leaves left on the ground this fall. In years past the grounds crew has used a leaf blower, which is very negative on the environment.
  36. labeling plants and landscaping nicely
  37. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. Even after pruning and trimming, the grounds are left very natural looking.
  38. The campus respects its environment -- minimizes too much paving, nurtures native plantings.
  39. The college has maintained the campus in an environmentally friendly way.
  40. Recently removing dead and dying scrubs/trees to restore the campus to its former beauty.

Recycling (29 responses)

  1. SCC started a recycling program for paper, aluminum cans, etc.
    Providing recycle bins and recycle services.
  2. Recycling of paper, though this practice should be encouraged and enforced more strongly
  3. Committment to an effective recyling program
    Maybe recycling???
  4. Recyling program
  5. recycling,
  6. Recycling
  7. Recycling paper, using old envelopes for interoffice mail.
  8. Through its recycling program
  9. I believe departments make a great attempt at shredding all paper so that it can be recycled.
  10. recycling program
  11. Recycling.
  12. Just last week I saw--for the first time ever--two recycling bins for bottles, cans, and paper in the 1500 walkway.
  13. I can only think of the recycled paper collection bins around the campus.
  14. We recycle paper and there are paper bins everywhere.
  15. Recycling paper
  16. Good recycling program for papers and boxes
  17. RECYCLING
  18. Recycling of pape
  19. bins for recycling aluminum cans and paper
  20. I see very few examples where I think SCC has done a good job. Perhaps Shoreline has done a good job in recycling paper.
  21. sorting of white and colored paper
  22. more recycling
  23. There is a recycling program
  24. With the paper recyceling bins within easy access and emptied on a regular basis it makes it easy to recycle!
  25. Placing paper recycling barrels in the hallways of Building 1500.
  26. Recycling
  27. Recycling boxes and cans are readily available on campus.
  28. We also do a lot of recycling on campus.
  29. Recycling paper

Use of Resources (17 responses)

  1. Providing information on hazardous waste disposal
  2. In the MLT Program, we dispose of all Biological Hazard waste in a responsible way. Waste is bagged, boxed and disposed of properly following OSHA guidelines.
  3. limiting paper in computer labs
  4. Decreased use of pesticides
  5. e-mail correspondance using less paper
    turning off light when not in use
  6. Giving free parking passes to students who carpool.
  7. SCC tries to implement trip reduction/carpooling to reduce pollution and traffic congestion.
  8. land and water management,
  9. Partnership with local utilities to implement energy conservation measures.
  10. the use of environbmentally friendly materials in construction projects.
  11. We use electronic media almost to a fault since some associate faculty do not have access.
  12. We have unbleached paper available for making photocopies.
  13. SCC must be safing money on its heating bill (and saving energy) since our offices have minimum, if any, heat most of the time. Opps, I meant to give an example of a good job--well, most employees seem to bring reusable lunch bags!
  14. We have made some attempts at energy conservation.
    use of email and listservs for communication
  15. More rooms with motion-sensing lights
  16. making decisions that conserve resources, including recycling, water & energy use reduction (still more to do here, too!)
  17. I have heard several different staff people comment when considering to NOT make a copy of something, "think I'll save a tree and not. . .."

Smoking (15 responses)

  1. Attempting to address the smoking problem
    Progressive movement toward no smoking on campus.
  2. Creating a smoking spot
  3. smoking issues
  4. smoking policy
  5. Attempting to discourage smokers from smoking just outside the doors of buildings
  6. Providing smoking areas.
  7. The new containers for cigarettes are great, and so are the smoking areas.
  8. Efforts have been made to keep the smoking in limited areas. This helps keep the air clean for those of us who do not smoke.
  9. I think it is great that they have made an effort to put cigarrette garbage containers around campus
  10. KEEPING SMOKERS AWAY FROM BUILDING ENTRANCES
  11. smoking areas designated
    I like the new cigarette "genies."
  12. We've tried to deal with the smoking issue, which improves the air quality in or near buildings.
  13. removing ashtrays from in front of bldgs. and designatinag smoking areas....it is a little easier to breathe as I go in and out. Less butts by entries, too.
  14. Finally some effort on the smoking/cigarette butt issue.
  15. SCC definetly should NOT selebrate its achivements on dealing with smoking on campus. This area is always abused by some staff and faculty but majorly by the students who smok everywhere, just outside the buildings. Especially, it makes me mad when students smok while they are walking on the walkways. Doing so, they spread this smelly and ugly thing on all people walking behind or in front of them. Also, often the students violate law by smoking in restricted areas, right next to the "No smoking withing 30 feet" sign. Things like that just make me angry and mad. It seems to me like just a handfull of people consern about this including the President of SCC. Basically, SCC done nothing to prevent smoking abuse, except just putting a signs "No smoking withing 20 feet" and a smoking trash can next to it in some cases.

Education (4 responses)

  1. There are a few courses that either focus on studying the environment or in which environmental topics are infused in the curriculum.
  2. Bringing good speakers on campus
  3. There is an environmental club that is reasonably visible on campus.
  4. developing curriculum which supports this value statement and imparts an understanding of it to our students (still room for improvement here!);

Other

  1. Cannot think of a good example of this at this time, especially with all the pollution being created because of construction projects on campus.
  2. designing an environmental asthetic in it's archetecture

4. Is there one area where you think SCC needs to significantly improve its expression of Environmental Responsibility?

Recycling (28 responses)

  1. Also could increase breadth and depth of recycling program.
  2. Yes - recycling, EVERYWHERE! For every public waste container, there should be one for glass and one for plastic. These, and all of those for paper and aluminum, should be emptied in a timely and regular manner. Our campus is embarassing in this sense.
  3. Improve the recycling of materials on campus with more and more attractive recepticles for all the varied materials used on campus - paper, cardboard, plastic, and glass.
  4. more recycling bins
  5. Recycling on campus
  6. Recycle paper. Some people just trash paper, they do not recycle it because either they do not care about it or too lazy to put the paper in the recycle bin.
  7. We have lots of recycling barrels but not everyone seem to read what should go into each of them.
  8. I don't know of any place to put glass bottles on campus.
  9. i rarely see recycling bins available in the hallways and classrooms for students and staff to use. the only one i have seen is by the xerox machine. i have never seen one for cans or bottles outside of the cafeteria.
  10. Recycling is still an issue. We don't recycle all of the materials that can be recycled. I end up bring things home to put into my recycle so that I don't have to throw them away.
  11. A simple thing would be more opportunities for recycling. We have no glass recycling and paper only in office areas - students should recycle paper & newspaper as well. Plastic recycling would be good. The cafeteria uses styrofoam, which is pretty much obsolete in most areas of the west coast.
  12. We still waste a lot of paper, especially with the MCO and tenure and PPA processes.
  13. electricity and water waste, recycling cans/bottles
  14. Make cardboard recycling available on campus.
  15. Put paper recycling bins in each classroom.
  16. The choice of the recycler is of a concern. The pickup of recycleable items is never done consistently and often the barrels are over-flowing.
  17. Recycling continues to be a hassle. We do it but sure don't make it easy.
  18. Recycle: more can recycle bins, pick up recycle more often,
  19. establish recycling of GLASS for the campus (at least there is no recepticle in the FOSS)
  20. Recycle of glass and cans..... We have white paper and colored paper
  21. Recycling
  22. some place to toss cans and bottles
  23. More recycling bins! One is not enough. In the SUB, I see students throwing away glass bottles and cans because they have nowhere else to put them.
  24. Regarding the above statement, the recycling barrels are not labeled or stenciled as such, and as a consequence, the barrels get used for all kinds of trash. The trash tends to stay in the barrels for weeks, until the recycle gods decide it's time to empty them.
  25. Provide recycle bins and recycle services to classrooms and/or classroom buildings.
  26. recycling efforts.
  27. Recyling: paper and cardboard recycling, specifically.
  28. There is not enough space for aluminum cans, and no space for recycling glass products. The paper cans are rarely emptied.

Use of Resources (25 responses)

  1. move away from gas driven maintence equipment
  2. hazmat awareness and procedures
  3. Yes, the safe disposal of chemicals on campus should be known by all.
  4. I suspect that pesticides and anti-growth chemicals are being sprayed on the natural vegetation on campus. for instance, the common product Weed n'Feed, though seemingly innocuous, is definitely known to cause lung and brain cancer in dogs (and probably all other organisms). Are we using similar chemicals on campus?
  5. Waste reduction, and closer attention to disposal costs of computer hardware.
  6. We need to conserve energy and generate less waste.
  7. Encourage use of mass transit. Work with Metro & Community Transit to develope better routs and hours of service and a less expensive pass for employees and students.
  8. I haven't been here long enough to know- but keeping commuter share ride and any transport incentives to get people out of thier single occupancy vehicles would be good.
  9. institutional committment to take building air quality seriously-slow responses in past to complaints re: air pollution (ex.1) recent tarring and the slow response to move people adversely affected, 2)diesel exhaust from equipment venting directly into FOSS from the elevator work.
  10. I would also like to see people reconsider ordering new office furniture when someone gets a promotion or a new person comes on campus unless it's absolutely necessary
  11. We need to increase the use of environmentally-friendly products, technologies and systems througout our facilities (energy and materials conservation, recycling, reusing, reducing waste, alternative energy technologies, use of non-toxic and recycled materials in construction, etc.)
  12. no styrofoam

13.Use less paper: If a mass email is sent, it is unnecessary to print the same information for distribution.

14.Avoid making single-sided handouts

  1. Encourage the use of unbleached paper.

16.I wish more members of the faculty would turn off room lights after class. Maybe they could remind students as well. Also, close room doors after class during hot weather so media equipment is less likely to be stolen.

  1. We could do a much better job of using energy resources more efficiently, but it would require fiscal resources. There are toilets that run for hours, automatic doors that open and close whenever anyone passes nearby, windows and doors left open and lights left on, etc.
  2. use of paper by committees
  3. Remember to turn lights and power off when not using offices, computers, et.

20.Encourage energy conservation by students and employees, use of alternate energy sources

  1. More emphasis on ridesharing and making transportation pools available to students.
    Focusing on paper reduction and/or using recycled paper.
  2. More discussion about the consequences of conserving energy. Even the discussion of whether to close buildings on campus during the holiday was centered around cost reduction, not the positive effect of reducing energy use.
  3. Paper waste: Eg. Student Schedules and Student Guides (last year's) have been left in boxes/stacks not distributed or accessible.

24.Maintain temperature controls through out buildings (we get heat in the summer sometimes), give better incentives for transportation programs such as flex time

  1. Commit to incorporating sound environmental practices in all decisions from construction using recycled materials to instituting alternative energies to recycling more. This should be considered over the long run in terms of finances; short term savings are not long term values.

Grounds & Natural Environment (18 responses)