3/29/07, 1:51 pm EST

The Final Judgement: Dan Macsai and Andrew Halberstadt Are Our Last Winners!

Shed a tear: The weekly writing competition is officially over and we have not one, but TWO winners this week. (You’ll remember that the final assignment involved crafting an investigative report on a local business that has been making efforts to go green.) Since we’re naming two winners this week, two editors made the picks:

National Affairs editor Eric Bates picked Dan Macsai, who wrote about Saint Xavier University. Says Eric: “Well written, and it covers all the bases: It has reporting from all the right people, and details about what’s actually been done.”

Executive editor Joe Levy selected Andrew Halberstatdt, who wrote about Flying F Biofuels. Says Joe: “Probably the best written of the whole batch. Solid reporting, a sense of place, and interesting details — having read about bio-diesel several times in the past, I’d never heard that the inventor of the diesel engine wanted to go bio-diesel back in 1892.”

Congratulations boys, you each win a brand new First Act guitar, a Rhapsody Sansa and a spot in our winner’s circle. Stay tuned, because we’ll be selecting a grand prize champion from amongst our weekly winners for a gig writing at RS.com. Isn’t the suspense killing you??

3/23/07, 6:22 pm EST

And It Don’t Stop: “I’m From Rolling Stone” Finalists for Assignment #10

The show is over, but the fat lady has yet to sing. We have ten kick-ass finalists from the very last installement of our “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing contest (in which we asked you guys to write about an environmentally friendly local business). We’ll be announcing the TWO winners on Wednesday, so check back to see who rocked it. In the meantime, read these ten write-ups and get schooled on corporate environmentalism (such as it is).

• Andrew Halberstadt on Flying F Biofuels
• Auburn Scallon on Per Scholas
• Kavitha Vignarajah on General Electric
• Michael Adams on Siren
• Brian Rogers on York School
• Christina Poole on Round Hill West
• Pratik Ray on 3M
• Matthew Tuthill on Manchester’s “Bright Idea”
• Dan Mascai on Saint Xavier University
• Heidi Perez on the Langerado music festival
  -- Rolling Stone
  
  

3/23/07, 5:30 pm EST

Assignment Ten Finalist: Heidi Perez on the Langerado music festival

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

The Langerado Music Festival

by Heidi Perez
Age: 35

Euphoric crowds immersed themselves in three days of music earlier this month, with Trey Anastasio and Widespread Panic among the forty-seven acts. The 5th annual Langerado music festival drew sold-out masses to South Florida’s 666 acre Markham Park.

In a state where “going green” has not quite caught on yet, the producers of Langerado claim they plan to create “one of the most environmentally friendly events in the nation.” The question is whether Langerado, Inc. is merely giving lip service to the term “going green,” or if it is truly a vision in motion.

“The people at Langerado have been extremely cooperative in striving to produce a more environmentally friendly event,” stated Markham Park’s manager and strategic planner, Brian McLaughlin. “This year they worked with County Services to implement an in-depth recycling program, filling up at least one 40-cubic yard container of recyclables and another cardboard container just as big. In April we plan to discuss next year’s event including the setup of a shuttle service to provide alternative transportation.”

According to Langerado (Inc.), they have also teamed up with the non-profit organization, Change of Atmosphere, to come up with a “five year plan.” This year’s changes included “Green-a-rado” (an onsite environmental learning village) as well as media encouraging attendees to ride their bikes to the park. “There were bike racks this year,” said resident Heather Orlo, “so on Sunday we rode our bikes and didn’t have to deal with the traffic.”

Langerado is clearly taking steps to induce a positive change within Florida’s collective environmental consciousness. A three-day jam session provides just the opportunity to plant seeds of awareness and activism. Let’s hope that the producers of the event are true to their vision, and that other festivals and Floridians will follow.

3/23/07, 5:29 pm EST

Assignment Ten Finalist: Dan Macsai on Saint Xavier University

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

Saint Xavier University

by Dan Macsai
Age: 20

For most undergraduates, the only thing “green” about dorm life is the mold growing in unkempt shower stalls.

But administrators at Saint Xavier University – a small liberal arts school on Chicago’s Southwest Side – are proving the color can effect change.

Opened in January, the school’s $9 million, 37,000-square-foot Arthur Rubloff Hall is the first and only Chicago-area dorm to be certified under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) “green building” system. LEED recognizes facilities that promote human and environmental health, incorporating energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor air quality.

“Green business is good business,” says Paul Matthews, Saint Xavier’s assistant vice president for facilities management. “When it comes to these larger buildings, we have to make sure we’re correctly managing the environment.”

Named after Arthur Rubloff, a groundbreaking Chicago real estate developer, Saint Xavier’s newest residence hall aims to set an eco-friendly example. All dorm carpeting is recycled. Toilets have different flush levels to conserve water. A green garden covers 13 percent of Rubloff’s solar reflective roof. And to monitor its climate – and reduce energy bills – the dorm boasts state-of-the art ventilation that brings in outside air for free cooling and an energy recovery system that recycles heat.

“When we first moved in here, we were giving tours to all our friends,” says Rubloff resident Alyson Kelley, 20. “It’s much cooler than I expected.”

Matthews estimates Rubloff will reduce annual energy expenses by 30 percent – or roughly $30,000 – but he stresses Saint Xavier’s goal is long-term success. Ideally, all buildings on the school’s campus will “go green,” encouraging students to live a similar lifestyle after graduation.

“I never used to recycle or [care about] wasting water,” says Kelley. “Living in Rubloff has definitely changed the way I think about the environment.”

3/23/07, 5:29 pm EST

Assignment Ten Finalist: Matthew Tuthill on Manchester’s “Bright Idea”

Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

Manchester’s “Bright Idea”

by Matthew Tuthill
Age: 26

The state history books may come to remember it as the turn of the tide.

March 3, 2007 was the day a group of citizens in Manchester, Vermont got together and voted that the town invest in carbon offsets, the first town in the state to do so. It represented the culmination of years of work by Jim Hand, a local businessman who converted his offices to run on biodiesel in the early 1980’s.

“It was during the oil crunch,” Hand says, pointing out to a pair of giant heaters through his office window. “It was just a practical decision at the time.”

More recently, Hand has felt the imperative to make an impact on a larger scale. In 2005, he spearheaded Manchester’s “Bright Idea,” by convincing then town manager Pete Webster to offer compact fluorescent light bulbs to residents at a reduced rate.

The initiative was a resounding success as more than 40,000 incandescent light bulbs were replaced by CFLs. The savings to the earth’s atmosphere will be an estimated 7,700 tons of carbon over the bulbs’ collective lifetime.

All of this might seem par for the course in a state as liberal as Vermont except for one major caveat: The key players are not hippies.

Hand is a Chevy dealer and Webster is a conservative Republican.

“I thought the jury was still out on climate change,” says Webster of his first meeting with Hand. “But he changed my views on a lot of things.”

Hand, meanwhile, has purchased carbon offsets for his fleet of 30 rental cars and introduced biodiesel fuel alternatives to other dealerships.

It is a radical change brought about by men who are decidedly un-radical. If they can pull off something of this magnitude, there may be hope for the rest of the country.