Raritan Valley CC Sings Env'l Stewardship Agreement with EPA
Raritan Valley Community College (NJ) has signed an environmental stewardship agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agreement, which was signed June 16, pledges the College’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and to continuous improvement using EPA programs to develop policies, practices, and specifications for environmental efficiency standards. It also commits RVCC to increasing stewardship awareness; remaining current with EPA regulations and guidelines; increasing involvement and recognition of its stakeholders in environmental sustainability programs; partnering with local government on environmental initiatives; and addressing environmental concerns swiftly.
Richland College Opens Green Campus Building
Richland College (TX) has opened its Garland Campus, which was designed to meet LEED Gold criteria. The building features easy access to public transportation, a single-slope roof that harvests rainwater in underground storage tanks to be used for irrigation, motion-sensor faucets and dual-flush toilets, and low VOC construction materials.
Simon Frasier U Students Compare Green Initiatives
A group of nine Simon Frasier University (BC) business sustainability honors students have completed a review and comparison of sustainability initiatives at SFU, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria (BC). The project compared performance, leadership, operations, teaching, research, finance, and community engagement. The group found that that SFU leads in active student sustainability groups, leading sustainability researchers, and energy management, but trails in the number of staff hired to institutionalize sustainability and the number of sustainability-related courses available to students. SFU also falls behind UBC and UVic in composting, paper reduction, LEED certification, and the use of green cleaning products. The group made recommendations to the administration on how SFU can improve its standing.
St. Olaf College Awarded for Energy Efficiency
St. Olaf College (MN) has been named Xcel Energy's Number 2 "Efficiency Partner" - one of 56 businesses the company honored recently for participating in Xcel's 2008 efficiency programs. St. Olaf was noted in the "Top 10" list for having saved 6.91 million kWh. St. Olaf also ranked No. 1 in natural gas efficiency, with 417,840 therms saved.
U Alaska Fairbanks Reuses Unwanted Items
The University of Alaska, Fairbanks hosted a community-wide freecycling event in which students and members of the larger community were encouraged to donate unwanted items. Event attendees were encouraged to take all needed items, free of charge. No selling, bartering, or swapping was permitted. The effort aimed to reduce the amount of items sent to the landfill.
U Colorado at Colorado Springs Installs Solar Panels
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has installed a solar system on the roof of its Science and Engineering building. The $107,000 system was funded with a grant from the Governor’s Energy Office, proceeds from a 2008 fee passed by UCCS students, and funds from Colorado Springs Utilities rebate program. The energy produced by the solar system will be displayed on a kiosk in the lobby of the building.
U Colorado Boulder Partners to Establish Renewable Energy Ctr
The University of Colorado at Boulder has announced plans to partner with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to launch a joint institute on campus. The institute will blend disciplines — including business, engineering, and law — to explore renewable energy production and policies. The program will facilitate collaboration among researchers and offer graduate and undergraduate courses.
U Houston Commits to Socially Responsible Collegiate Apparel
The University of Houston (TX) has announced that its bookstore will sell a brand of clothing that has committed to higher standards of social responsibility. Knights Apparel manufactures collegiate apparel in overseas factories committed to providing all employees with benefits and a living wage sufficient to cover the monthly costs for a family of four.
U Utah, U Florida Hire Sustainability Officers
The University of Utah and the University of Florida have hired sustainability officers. Utah has named architect Myron Willson to head its Office of Sustainability, replacing the late Craig Forster, the planning professor who initiated the program and died last year in a hiking accident. Willson has a Master's degree from the University of Utah and has served as adjunct faculty in the College of Architecture and Planning. He assumes his new post July 8. The University of Florida has named Anna Prizzia, the former outreach coordinator of the University of Florida’s Office of Sustainability, as the new director of its office of Sustainability. Prizzia has a Bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and a Master’s of science degree in wildlife ecology and conservation with a concentration in tropical conservation and development from UF.
Warren Wilson College Receives Green Curriculum Grant
The EcoTeam program of Warren Wilson College’s (NC) Environmental Leadership Center has been awarded a $2,000 grant from Progress Energy Carolinas to help expand its curriculum to include new lessons on energy and climate. EcoTeam is a science-based environmental curriculum for third-grade students that correlates with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The EcoTeam curriculum, taught by trained Warren Wilson students and focusing on the French Broad River Basin, has delivered lessons to thousands of third graders in the area since its inception in 1998.
Wilfrid Laurier U to Open Office of Sustainability
Wilfrid Laurier University (ON) has announced plans to open an Office of Sustainability on campus. After increasing the student green fee from $0.50 to $5.00 a semester, WLU is now able to fund a sustainability office, as well as hire a sustainability officer. The office will provide resources for students working to improve the University's sustainability performance.
Alfred U to Open Bicycle Library
Alfred University (NY) has announced plans to open a bicycle lending program this fall. The program will make 20 hybrid bicycles, which were purchased with $10,000 in funding from the AU Student Senate, available to AU students, faculty, and staff for a nominal fee. The AU Bicycle Lending Program will also offer a bike shop that will be staffed with a work study position. In addition, a University trustee made an anonymous donation of $2,000 per year to help cover ongoing costs of the program.
Alliant Intl U Partners for Green Development
Alliant International University (CA) has partnered with EcoDynamics, LLC to advance renewable energy production, environmental conservation, and sustainable business development. As part of each of its projects, EcoDynamics will create an Alliant Sustainability Center that will house research, educational, and outreach activities related to energy production, resource management, sustainable development, and conservation. These Centers will provide further opportunities for Alliant’s faculty and students to participate in research, planning, and educating the public about these topics.
Chatham U Establishes School of Sustainability, Master's of Food Studies
Chatham University (PA) has announced the creation of the School of Sustainability and the Environment (SSE). The new School will provide interdisciplinary education and research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to better prepare them to identify and solve challenges related to the environment and sustainability. The first program offered through SSE will be the University’s newest graduate program, the Master of Arts in Food Studies. The program, which will begin in the spring of 2010, is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the issues surrounding food such as the environmental costs of food production and distribution, cultural issues, sustainability of communities, and safety of the food supply.
Chatham U Offers Env'l Track in Biology Program
Chatham University (PA) has announced plans to add a track in Environmental Biology to its Master of Science in Biology program this fall. The new track includes classroom, laboratory, and field work experiences designed for students who want to pursue careers in environmental services, research, education, or advocacy. Course topics will include Plant Development, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Soil Science, Field Ecology, Wetlands Ecology, and Biostatistics. Students will also participate in internships and field seminars.
Colorado State U Installs Biomass Boiler
Colorado State University has partnered with the Colorado State Forest Service to install a biomass boiler heating plant on the Foothills Campus to reduce the university's greenhouse gas emissions and cut energy costs. The heating plant will burn wood chips rather than rely solely on natural gas to provide hot water for the Judson M. Harper Research Complex. The wood chips will be obtained from forest restoration and management efforts such as forest fire mitigation projects, which typically supply about 10 tons of wood chips per acre. CSU officials estimate that it will save approximately $60,000 in utility costs annual as a result of the new biomass boiler.
Colorado State U Installs Solar Panels
Colorado State University has installed photovoltaic cells on the roof of its Engineering Building. The 18.9-kilowatt solar array is expected to produce more than 25,000 kilowatt hours per year and will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the Engineering Building by 18.3 metric tons per year. The Governor's Energy Office provided $35,000 in matching funds for a PV project grant as part of the state's 2009 Solar Rebate Program.
Cornell U Opens New Biofuels Research Laboratory
Cornell University (NY) has opened a new Biofuels Research Laboratory. The new $6 million facility will study and research ways to convert sugars from nonfood crops, such as grasses and wood, into fuel. The lab will provide educational opportunities for students.
McGill U Receives Funding for Green Chemistry Project
McGill University has received a total of $63 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Quebec government. The funds will support five research projects, one of which will help discover new chemical reactions which allow chemists to switch from harmful petrochemicals and solvents to environmentally sound alternatives. $16 million has been allotted for green chemistry research.
Meredith College Approves Sustainability Plan
Meredith College (NC) has approved a plan for integrating sustainability into the College's practices in education and daily operations. Known as the College's "Greenprint," the new plan includes three main goals: to educate the campus community about sustainability; to model environmental responsibility in daily operations; and to integrate sustainability into campus administrative structure. Each of the goals include several desired outcomes, including weaving sustainability into the curriculum where applicable; minimizing the amount of waste generated by the campus; and using sustainability to inform financial decisions on campus. Students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumnae participated in the development of the plan, led by Meredith Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman.
Northeastern Junior College Announces Wind Training Program
Northeastern Junior College (CO) has announced plans to launch a Wind Technician Training Program this fall. The College is creating the new program to provide trained technicians for the local wind turbine farms. Between private industry contributions and a grant from the Department of Local Affairs, nearly $900,000 has been raised to help pay for the opening of this new program. The two-year associate of applied science degree will require completion of 60 credits and will offer technical electronics courses as well as training in programmable logic controllers, basic fluid power, airfoils and composites, power distribution and control systems, and maintenance welding and power mechanics.
Northern Michigan U Cancels Plans to Burn Coal
Northern Michigan University’s request to void the State of Michigan permit for its proposed cogeneration heating and steam plant has been granted by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The permit, which was issued May 12, 2008, would have enabled NMU to burn coal as a backup fuel source in the proposed multi-fuel steam and heating plant. The primary fuel source was to be wood and wood byproducts. Construction on the cogeneration plant had not started, in part, due to a stay on the DEQ permit by the Sierra Club, which opposes the burning of coal. NMU is currently working on a permit application that would allow wood to be the sole fuel source.
NY Times Covers Colleges Cutting Costs w/ Sustainability Initiatives
The New York Times has published an article on the growing number of colleges and universities that are cutting costs by implementing sustainability initiatives on campus. The article mentions the University of Washington; Dickinson College (PA); Bryn Mawr College (PA); the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Oberlin College (OH); Pitzer College (CA); Carleton College (MN); Whittier College (CA); Whitman College (WA); Davidson College (NC); Susquehanna University (PA); Cornell College (IA); Rhodes College (TN); College of Wooster (OH); and Washington & Jefferson College (PA).
Ohio State U Students Win 1st Phase of EcoCAR Competition
A team of Ohio State University Engineering students have won the first phase of EcoCAR: The Next Challenge, a competition run by the U.S. Department of Energy that is challenging student teams to re-engineer a 2009 Saturn Vue to achieve improved fuel economy and reduced emissions while retaining the vehicle’s performance and consumer appeal. 17 teams competed in the competition. In this first year of the EcoCAR competition, each team received $10,000 to begin developing their vehicle designs. During years two and three, students will build the vehicle and continue to refine, test and improve vehicle operation. At the end of years two and three, the re-engineered student vehicle prototypes will compete in a week-long competition of engineering tests.
Philadelphia U Chooses 'Cradle to Cradle' for Reading Program
Philadelphia University (PA) has selected William McDonough’s book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things , as the 2009 First Year Experience Summer Reading Program book. Cradle to Cradle is a manifesto that calls for a radical change in the relationship of human industry to the environment using a model of “lifecycle development.” The model advocates for a regenerative stance and uses manufactured products that have exhausted their primary function as the material to create subsequent products. New students at PU will receive a copy of the book when they attend orientation. Students will discuss the book in orientation with faculty, staff, and upper division students; the University will offer forums to engage additional discussions; and the book will be used in many courses taken by first year students.
Pomona College Students Outfit Trailer w/ Solar Panels
Students in a Farm and Gardens class at Pomona College (CA) have installed three 200-watt photovoltaic panels that charge six 12-volt batteries on a trailer. The outfitted trailer, known as the "rover," also features a charge controller that helps avoid battery overcharging and an inverter that converts the battery's DC current into AC. Students in the course planned and raised funds for the solar project, which will primarily be used at the campus farm. The trailer will also be available for campus events.
Pomona College Updates Env'l Policy, Establishes Sustainability Office
The Pomona College (CA) Board of Trustees has approved an update to the College's Statement of Environmental Policy. The new policy explicitly states the College's commitment to sustainability and sets new standards and requirements for decision-making in four key areas: capital projects, budgetary and financial planning, education and research, and assessment and review. It also formally creates the Sustainability Integration Office, headed by Pomona's Director of Sustainability, Bowen Patterson.
Red Rocks CC Receives $850K for Green Curriculum
Red Rocks Community College (CO) has received a grant from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program in response to a proposal submitted by the college, “Sustaining a Green Collar Workforce: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” The award has been approved as a continuing grant for a period of three years, totaling $850,000. The grant project has two primary objectives: to expand the preparation of the workforce for careers in renewable energy, and to develop sustainability curriculum that will be integrated throughout career and general education courses. RRCC will work closely with multiple industry and education partners that include the Colorado School of Mines, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Jefferson County Schools, Jefferson County Workforce Center, and others to expand industry-aligned curriculum that prepares students for career opportunities in energy and environmental technology.
San Diego State Establishes Center for Regional Sustainability
San Diego State University (CA) has established the SDSU Center for Regional Sustainability. The Center will be a forum through which a range of stakeholders can come together to work collaboratively to implement comprehensive sustainable solutions to pressing problems in San Diego and Imperial counties, and in Northern Baja, Mexico. Identifying and tackling particular issues, such as water resource management, climate change, transportation, energy, air quality, health, social equity, and sustainable workforce development, the center will build on its capacity to conduct basic and applied research while sponsoring regional and community forums to further define and identify pressing issues.
St. John's U Partners to Educate the Homeless
St. John's University has partnered with the New York State Department of Homeless Services establish the Advantage Academy, a program that will provide more than 40 homeless and formerly homeless individuals the chance to obtain an associate degree in the fields of Information Technology and Business. While enrolled in the two-year program, students will receive free housing and support services from DHS and academic curriculum and life skills training from St. John’s. The Advantage Academy strives to prepare participants for independent lives and career paths and ultimately, to break the cycles of poverty and homelessness through higher education.
U Connecticut Partners for Green Chemistry Solutions
The University of Connecticut and VeruTEK Technologies, Inc has entered into an agreement to jointly develop, formulate, and distribute green chemistry solutions and implementation technologies that remedy and eliminate the toxic effects of chemical waste in the environment. The partnership seeks to develop Environmental Catalysis and Photocatalysis of Pollutants.
U Denver Raises A/C Temperature to Save Energy
The University of Denver (CO) has announced plans to cut back on air conditioning in an effort to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Facilities management expects to boost the temperatures in centrally controlled buildings by about four degrees to an average room temperature of 76 degrees.
U Idaho Partners to Restore Campus Creek
The University of Idaho and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, have signed a project partnership agreement to move forward with a Paradise Creek Ecosystem Restoration project. Design work will include new channel construction and development of access pathways for a portion of the creek that runs through the campus. Restoration aims to improve in-stream habitat, rebuild a continuous habitat corridor, and improve wildlife habitat along the identified sections of Paradise Creek. This work will provide future research opportunities and student learning experiences in bioremediation strategies for storm water run-off, planning, bioregional planning, landscape architecture, and long-term study of impacts and riparian habitats.
U Illinois Chicago Opens Urban Farm
The University of Illinois at Chicago has opened an organic farm near its Jane Adams Hull-House Museum. The half-acre Hull-House Urban Farm will provide ingredients for the museum's gourmet soup kitchen and food education programming such as workshops on gardening techniques, sustainable practices, cooking, and preserving.
U Illinois Urbana Champaign Reduces Energy by Almost 10%
The University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign has reduced its energy by 9.6 percent and saved approximately $5 million over the last 10 months as a result of several energy upgrades. Renovations include a Lighting Retrofit Project, which entailed replacing more than 80,000 outdated fixtures and ballasts in the 44 buildings that use the most energy, and the installation of 250 occupancy sensors in classrooms. The University is currently undergoing a Retrocommissioning Project that aims to replace and repair HVAC and other building systems to improve energy efficiency. Programmable controls have already been installed in several older structures as part of the project.
U Missouri Kansas City, U Denver Launch Sustainability Minors
The University of Missouri, Kansas City and University of Denver (CO) have launched Sustainability Minors. At UMKC, the 18-hour program of study integrates geosciences, engineering, ethics, urban planning and design, economics, history, philosophy, political science, and public administration. To complete the minor, a student must complete an applied project or internship and take one three-hour course in each of the following areas: Earth Systems and Resources, Sustainable Thinking, Sustainable Planning and Policy, Sustainable Design, and Analytical Tools. At DU, undergraduates from most fields of study will be able to complement their major with a minor in sustainability tailored to work with their selected major. Students entering the program, which starts in fall 2009, will take a common “gateway” course then branch off to customize the degree with four courses selected from the three themes of sustainability. Students complete the program by taking a final capstone seminar that will bring them together to work as a team on a service-learning or research project focused on a problem related to sustainability.
U New Hampshire Receives New England Env'l Business Council Award
The University of New Hampshire has received the Environmental Merit Award from the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) in recognition of its sustainability leadership and programs. Among other reasons, UNH received the award for its landfill gas-to-energy project that was launched in May 2009 that uses purified methane gas from a nearby landfill as the campus's main energy source. Each year in June, the EBC recognizes companies, organizations, and individuals for outstanding accomplishments in the promotion of a sustainable, clean environment. Its annual awards were created to encourage environmental companies, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and environmental professionals to serve as models for others to emulate.
Unity College Announces New Sustainability Website
Unity College (ME) has updated its sustainability website. The new content, developed by former interim sustainability coordinator, Aaron Witham, highlights Unity’s sustainability education initiatives, current and past sustainability achievements, and personal sustainability stories from campus community members.
U Vermont Announces Waste Reduction Policy
The University of Vermont has announced a new policy that aims to reduce costs and waste on campus. The University has purchased a six inch high plastic trash can, known as the "mini-bin," for each employee. Under new procedures, custodial staff will no longer empty wastebaskets in individual offices — a task which they do daily now. Instead, faculty and staff will store trash in their mini-bins and dispose of it themselves in a receptacle centrally located near their offices. Employees will also be responsible for carrying their recyclable material such as paper, bottles, and cans to a central bin.
U Wisconsin Madison Begins Composting Initiative
The University of Wisconsin, Madison has launched a project to collect and compost food waste from campus eateries. Organized by We Conserve, a university-wide program that promotes environmental stewardship practices, the project aims to compost more than 400 tons of food waste annually when fully implemented. Food collection reservoirs are set up at two locations on campus, and waste from both sites is taken to a nearby research station run by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for composting.
Washington U St. Louis Installs Rooftop Wind Turbines
Washington University in St. Louis (MO) has begun a project to install seven wind turbines on top of a historic building on campus. The new turbines will provide energy for the 16 apartments that are contained within the structure.
Arizona State U Wins Green Design Awards Competition
Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability has been announced the winner of the Educational Category in Environmental Design + Construction magazine's Excellence in Design Awards competition. Finalists included the Lewis Walpole Library at Yale University (CT), a student housing complex at Reed College (OR), the Danforth University Center at Washington University (MO), and a student housing complex at Vanderbilt University (TN). Honorable Mentions include Stuart and James halls, part of Dickinson College's (PA) new Rector Science Complex, and Dartmouth College's (NH) Floren Varsity House and Memorial Stadium Renovation. The awards recognize commercial, government, institutional and educational projects as well as single-family residences that demonstrate a clear commitment to green building and sustainable design.
Brandeis U Completes Phase 1 of Green Science Center
Brandeis University (RI) has completed Phase One of its 175,000-square-foot Carl J. Shapiro Science Center. The structure is built to LEED Silver certification standards and features recycled content materials, low VOC paints, urea-formaldehyde free wood products, a green roof, and a light harvesting system.
Eastern Mennonite U Announces 2 Sustainability Majors
Eastern Mennonite University (VA) has announced two new majors: Peacebuilding and Development and Environmental Sustainability. The Peacebuilding and Development major is a study of intentional social change around issues of conflict, poverty, inequality, sustainability, and social justice. The Environmental Sustainability major focuses on forward-thinking sustainability practices. Students in this program will choose between two tracks of study: Environmental Science and Environmental and Social Sustainability.
Farmingdale State U Partners to Establish Smart Energy Campus
Farmingdale State College (NY) has teamed with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to create Long Island's first "Smart Energy Campus." Under the partnership, LIPA will work with the College to expand FSU's solar center to become a Renewable and Sustainable Resource Center for demonstration of customer-owned renewable resources such as wind and solar. The College will also utilize the renewable energy center to expand certificate training programs for renewable resources for green technology entrepreneurs and industry workforce.
Riverland CC to Launch Wind Turbine Program
Riverland Community College has received final approval from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to launch its new Wind Turbine Program in the fall. The Wind Turbine Technician program will explore design, operation, and maintenance theory and application of multi-industry turbine technology usage with an emphasis on wind turbine/renewable energy applications.
Saint Xavier U Wins U.S. Green Building Award
Saint Xavier University (IL) has received the 2009 "SMALL feet/large FEAT – Excellence in Organizational Change" award from the U.S. Green Building Council. The annual award recognizes organizations that have made changes to reduce their environmental footprint.
Virginia Tech Selects Sustainability-Themed Book for Reading Prgm
Virginia Tech has chosen Daniel Goleman's Ecological Intelligence for its Common Book Project for the 2009-2010 academic year. The program gives nearly all new and transfer undergraduate students a common academic experience during their first year at the University. VT encourages faculty teaching first year students to integrate the common book into their curriculum in order to foster broader community discussions on important themes or issues. In Ecological Intelligence , Goleman tells of the critical role of the psychological dimension in our decision making, illustrates the inconsistencies in our response to the ecological crisis, and explains why we as shoppers have found it impossible to know the true range of harmful environmental and health consequences of our purchases.
2 Campuses Select Sustainability Books for Summer Reading
Smith College (MA) has chosen Van Jones' The Green Collar Economy as summer reading for all entering students. The book will be discussed in during summer orientation. In related news, Northwestern University (IL) has selected Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How it Can Renew America as its reading book for all new, incoming undergraduate students. The One Book One Northwestern program will provide students with public lectures, the opportunity to engage in online discussions throughout the academic year, and other events related to the topics of energy and sustainability.
