Bwog has hopped, poked, and swiftly skimmed but now we’re inviting other writers into the Bwog Bubble. We think there’s lots of fantastic campus journalism out there that sometimes slips under the radar. In the spirit of Enlightenment salons from centuries past, we present our newest feature, BwogSalon. Bwog asked the editors of each publication on campus to send us a teaser article from their most recent issue—something distinctly representative of their point of view, but still accessible. Below, Joel Gombiner of Consilience, Columbia’s Journal of Sustainable Development, tells you just how many greenhouse gases you’ve generated by procrastinating on the internetz. You’ll make your fave French intellectual and your environmentally conscious cousin proud.

Carbon Footprinting the Internet

1. Sizing up the problem of the Internet’s carbon footprint

1.1 The magnitude of the Internet’s GHG emissions

According to Saul Griffith, a leading innovator in green technology, “the Internet’s energy and carbon footprints now probably exceed those of air travel…perhaps by as much as a factor of two” (Owen). This statement is surprising in at least two ways: firstly, that the Internet’s carbon footprint has exceeded that of such a notorious greenhouse gas emitter like air travel and, secondly, that the estimated magnitude of the Internet’s carbon footprint is so uncertain. Though online activities may seem benign, they are, in fact, a major contributor to global warming. So what is the extent of the problem, and what can we do to fix it? Read more…

Bwog’s weekly round-up of neighborhood news sees many odd occurrences. Please continue to help keep us as well-informed as possible by tipping your boringest to tips@bwog.com.

• Hewitt has new, larger, and more sophisticated-ly round mugs, (more mug drama here).
• At Panino Sportivo, the 38th person to order a sandwich gets it for free. These correspond to order number cards they give you. What does 38 have to do with anything?
• Speaking of the unexpected, there were two alien sightings this week, one in Butler, and one in the sky. This may or may not be considered boring.

  

  

  
  
  

• Things that are most definitely not boring: The Butler Entrance Saga continues. Is it a patio? Does the wood come from a sustainable forest? Why is it gray?

• Campo celebrates its second anniversary
• La Floridita has revealed its new location to 700 West 125th street (at 12th ave, next to Dinosaur BBQ)
• Schapiro skylounge now has Wifi. This is indeed a revelation.

The Department of Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures (MEALAC) is now the only-slightly-less pronounceable Department of Middle East, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS). The name changes comes with the addition of African Studies to the larger, interdisciplinary department.

The Earth Institute announced a new undergraduate major in Sustainable Development. Previously students studying Sustainable Development were limited to a “special concentration.” The major is very similar to the concentration, which will still be an option for students, only it has more classes.

Finally, the History department has also made several slight changes to their undergraduate major, most significantly the removal of the four categories in the breadth requirement. The full set of new requirement can be seen in all their esoteric glory after the jump. Read more…