Thanks to everyone who attended the More for the Mission Reception yesterday. It was great sharing our project with you and talking to people who are excited to get involved. 

Today will mark the start of the More for the Mission campaign, where we extend our project from building and infrastructure changes into engagement of staff, visitors, and members.  Our campaign will promote the idea that our sustainability efforts saves money that can go towards achieving our institutional mission.  Today's event for MHS staff will start at the 2pm Staff Forum, where a short presentation will introduce the project.  At 3pm, a reception outside the 3M Auditorium will provide more information, as well as some treats and a surprise!  MHS Green Team members will be at the reception to continue the conversations on sustainability and the More for the Mission campaign. 

Hope to see all MHS staff there today!

The first Earth Day in the U.S. was April 22, 1970. Founded by the U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, the day was inspired by the student anti-war movement. With a national coordinator and 85 staff members, Nelson was able to create a moment where 20 million Americans “took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies” (Earth Day Network). As the day took hold in the U.S., in 1990, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people around the world in 141 countries and “lifting environmental issues onto [the] world stage” (Earth Day Network).

The importance of recycling is one of the many concepts being promoted as a strategy to green your life. With recycling programs and recycled materials being promoted so frequently, recycling should be easy, right? Not only is recycling more complicated than you may think, it requires time to do it right. This blog post will help illustrate that recycling is not as straightforward as it could be here in Minnesota, and give a look into a more ideal system in Philadelphia.

Turn off the lights for an hour during Earth Hour on Saturday, March 31st 2012 from 8:30pm - 9:30pm. Earth Hour is an event started by the World Wildlife Foundation. Earth Hour has become a way for cities to show their commitment to addressing climate change, symbolizing not only local change, but global change as well. (Earth Hour, 2012).