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Deconstruction of buildings includes
the intact removal of equipment, such as heating and air-conditioning control and feed hardware,
that can be used elsewhere on campus.
Smith College continues to shape its sustainability efforts, developing
data and cost analyses for numerous projects that will promote conservation -- and further
the 30 percent reduction in energy use already achieved.
From replacing hundreds of
red exit lights in Smith’s public buildings with LED (light
emitting diode) signs to deconstruction -- not demolition -- in renovation projects, Smith
now recycles more than 90 percent of used and excess materials in current facilities
projects, relieving strain on area landfills and allowing non-profit organizations,
such as ReStore, to provide good quality used building materials at low cost.
Smith’s contract with Zipcar, the nation’s largest car-sharing service, puts Smith
community members in Toyota Matrix or Honda Civic cars. The company estimates that each
Zipcar eliminates the need for more than 20 privately owned vehicles.
Beyond specific
initiatives, classes at Smith in disciplines ranging from engineering to architecture
to landscape studies integrate sustainable design principles throughout and develop
projects that address environmental challenges while meeting human needs.
Smith College was an
early signatory to Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America, an effort
of more than 1,000 schools, colleges, and universities to stimulate a national discussion about
global warming on January 28, 2008.
Emerging perspectives
on sustainability have also been surveyed in a recent Smith College Museum of Art
traveling exhibit -- “Beyond
Green: Toward a Sustainable Art,” in
which artists challenge the ways we make, use and consume a variety of objects, such
as food, cars, clothes and shelter. (More information on this exhibition, which ended
its run at Smith on April 15, can be found here.)
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