THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009
NEWS
3A
ENVIRONMENT
Relocation doesn't detract from reduce, reuse message
BY KEVIN HARDY khardy@kansan.com
Several hundred students and community members gathered Sunday in the Kansas Union for free food, live music and lessons in sustainable living.
The event "Potter Lake Unplugged", originally planned to take place next to Potter Lake, was held in the ballroom of the Kansas Union because of forecasted rain. The Student Union Activities-sponsored event promoted awareness of environmental issues.
The event was part of "From Blue to Green: Conserve KU", an umbrella organization for the University's environmental groups. Tyler Enders,
Leawood sophomore, led the effort of collaborating with several campus environmental groups. Enders said the organization was able to orchestrate 26 different events in the 12 days leading up to Earth Day on April 22.
"We sat down and started throwing out every idea possible, and didn't say no to anything," Enders said.
Enders said many KU students wanted to be more environmentally conscious, but either didn't know how to or were sometimes deterred by inconvenience.
"A lot of people want to recycle their can of Coke, but they don't see a recycling bin around. So their intentions are the infrastructure, but you're still confined by the infrastructure."
Enders said. "So we want to address that at the policy level and fix the infrastructure."
Doug Brady, Tecumseh sophomore and SUA member, said members of SUA planned the event several months ago to showcase ways that individuals could make less of an environmental impact. Brady said SUA was working with the Unions and KU Dining Services to operate more efficiently.
"The whole event is really pushing buying locally and sustainability," Brady said.
In addition to free live music, about a dozen student groups and companies were present to tell students how to make less of an environmental impact. SUA gave away potted plants, canvas grocery bags
"It's a great opportunity to learn what's going on and see how to get involved." Brady said.
and energy-efficient light bulbs.
"I appreciate the diversity or groups that are out teaching different ways to live efficiently and with a smaller impact," Oxley said.
Brylie Oxley, Overland Park freshman, said he heard about the event through his roommates and came to learn how to live a greener life.
Local artists Truckstop Honeymoon, Rusty Scott and Hidden Pictures performed at the event. SUA used a biodiesel generator to power the bands' amplifiers. Brady said the bands were supportive of the cause.
"I think they were willing to
accept less money than normal because it's something they care about," Brady said.
"I was surprised that so many people showed up. It was really cool." Dreesman said.
Melinda Dreesman, Kansas City, Mo., freshman, attended the event for all the free giveaways. She said it was worthwhile because she learned ways to reduce her environmental impact.
Neil Steiner, Tulsa, Okla., senior, showcased the work of the Student Rain Garden, currently under construction at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. The group built a collection system to capture and move rain water from the roof to the garden surrounding the recreation center. The group
will plant 22 species of native plants, 2500 plants total.
Steiner said the group hoped to build more collection systems at local restaurants and community buildings. The garden will officially open April 22, with volunteers planting from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"It's kind of an unprecedented thing with student involvement and sustainability on campus." Steiner said.
Enders said that environmental issues would still be important after Earth Day and that environmental groups would continue to promote awareness and education.
"I think this is best described as a movement." Enders said.
BUSINESS
Edited by Sonya English
Exxon Mobil Corp. tops the 2009 Fortune 500 list
Wal-Mart falls to No. 2 this year,38 companies drop off list and overall earnings plunge from $645B to $98.9B
A customer pumps gas at an Exxon station in Middleton, Mass. Exxon Mobil has unseated Wal-Mart Stores to top the 2009 Fortune 500 list after a year the magazine called the worst ever for the country's 500 largest publicly traded companies. Fortune released the list on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY DAN STRUMPF Associated Press
NEW YORK - Exxon Mobil Corp, unseated Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in the 2009 Fortune 500 list, shrugging off the oil price bubble and weathering what the magazine called the worst year ever for the country's largest publicly traded companies.
Fortune's closely watched list, released Sunday, ranked companies by their revenues in 2008. Irving, Texas-based Exxon took in $442.85 billion in revenue last year, up almost 19 percent from 2007. The company also raked in the biggest annual profit, earning $45.2 billion.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart had held the top spot for six of the last seven years but fell to No. 2 this year. Still, the retail giant's 2008 revenue climbed 7 percent to $405.6 billion, as the battered economy sent more consumers searching for bargains. The world's largest retailer took in $13.4 billion in annual profit, an
increase of about 5 percent
Although it may have been a good year for Exxon and Wal-Mart, 2008 was far from rosy for most of remaining companies on the list. Overall earnings plunged 85 percent to $98.9 billion from $645 billion in 2007, the biggest one-year decline in the 55-year history of the Fortune 500 list.
"America is getting used to the sound of bubbles bursting," Fortune said.
Energy companies continued to dominate many of the top positions, as last summer's skyrocketing oil and gas prices more than compensated for their plunge later that fall. Chevron Corp. held on to third place with $263.16 billion in revenue, up 25 percent. ConocoPhillips climbed one place to fourth, with $230.76 billion in revenue.
sixth, as revenue fell 18 percent and losses totaled $30.86 billion amid the imploding car market. Crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. followed, with $146.28 billion in revenue.
General Electric Co., the diverse conglomerate whose troubled financial arm has been weighing on recent results, rose one notch to fifth. Battered automaker General Motors Corp. fell two spots to
Telecom giant AT&T Inc. moved up two notches to take eighth place, with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Valero Energy Corp. rounding out the top 10.
Among the hardest hit in 2008 were financial services companies, Fortune said. Banks, securities firms and insurers took cumulative losses of $213.4 billion, accounting for almost 70 percent of the total dollar decline from the peak year of 2006, the magazine said. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp., which were No. 8 and No. 9 respectively last year, each slipped a couple notches from the Top 10.
Thirty-eight companies fell off this year's list, including financial firms Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Washington Mutual Inc.
to No. 264. But the title of "biggest loser" went to AIG Corp. The insurer, which has received more than $180 billion in government bailout aid since last fall, fell 232 spots to 245 in this year's ranking.
and Wachovia Corp., all of which have either gone under or been acquired by rival banks.
Engineering and construction company URS Corp. moved the most up the list, leaping 185 spots
SPEAKER KU alumnus to discuss global warming issues
Shane Haas, a KU alumnus who earned four degrees in six years, will give a talk titled, "Carbon and Calculus: Is It Getting Hot in Here?" at 4:30 in 120 Snow Hall. The talk will be free and open to the public.
The discussion is part of Mathematics Awareness Month's colloquium for under-graduate students. Topics that Haas will discuss include: how the greenhouse effect works, how cold the Earth would be without an atmosphere and who or what is to blame for the warming of the Earth.
Bozena Pasik-Duncan, who was Haas's academic advisor and is chairperson of Mathematics Awareness Month, said he was a remarkable speaker with a keen understanding on a broad range of topics.
"He will show students how important math is;" Pasik-Duncan said. "He will motivate them to study science and math."
Haas grew up in Wellsville and is currently a proprietary trader for Goldman Sachs.
-Micole Aronowitz
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THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ETHICS IN BUSINESS AND KU NET IMPACT. IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS STUDENT SENATE AND SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS, DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN PRESENT
Sustainable Business: Innovation and Design Inspired by Nature
MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2009 - 7:00 P.M. SPAHR ENGINEERING AUDITORIUM, EATON HALL THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Daniel Arneman
PH.D. CARBON MANAGER.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Asheen Phansey PRESIDENT, QUAKING ASPEN, LLC
Kevin Stack PRESIDENT AND OWNER NORTHEAST GREEN BUILDING CONSULTING
INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ETHICS IN BUSINESS
The University of Kansas