San Diego Mesa College Opens Renovated Design Center
San Diego Mesa College (CA) has unveiled a new Design Center, renovated with funding by the district's $1.555 Propositions S and N construction bond program. Sustainable features include extensive use of natural lighting; design materials made with recycled content; and a landscape plan that utilizes water-efficient irrigation and low water-use plants and shrubs.
Santa Barbara City College Shaves $650K off Energy Costs
Since rolling out its energy conservation and environmental impact plan in 2001, Santa Barbara City College (CA) has announced a total savings of $650,000 in energy costs. The college installed a 235-kilowatt solar array of photovoltaic carports in 2009, funded with a low-interest loan from the California Energy Commission and district construction funds. The college reports a savings of $90,000 per year in utility costs as a result of the system, which will pay for itself within 10 years. The college has also improved its stadium lighting system by installing automatic security lights that turn on and off at scheduled times, with game lights only turned on when necessary, and plans to implement an Internet-based energy management system that will allow the institution to monitor and control its lighting and mechanical equipment online.
SUNY ESF Receives Grant to Produce Biofuel from Wood
Scientists at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry have begun researching ways to turn locally produced wood into sustainable biobutanol. Researchers are experimenting with different strains of bacteria that can ferment sugars extracted from wood into biobutanol that can be pumped into automobile gas tanks. Biobutanol is one of a handful of fuels that can be produced from wood sugars and is considered to be more efficient than ethanol in producing energy, and easier to add to the existing gasoline distribution infrastructure. The research is supported by a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and $75,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
U Iowa Students' Move-Out Donation Diverts 2 Tons from Landfill
A recent student sustainability class project at the University of Iowa resulted in the diversion of more than two tons of household items and clothing from landfills. The waste reduction initiative brought together representatives from Goodwill of the Heartland, Habitat Restore, the Crisis Center, and the university's Office of Sustainability and Housing and Facilities Management departments. Student volunteers collected unwanted items acquired over nine months of living on campus for distribution by the nonprofit agencies.
U Maine Fort Kent Receives $500K Grant for Biomass Boiler System
The University of Maine at Fort Kent has received a $500,000 grant from the Maine Department of Conservation to convert the oil heating system for the two largest campus buildings into a biomass system. The system will provide heat for 1.75 acres of floor space and is expected to save the campus nearly $1 million in heating costs in the next decade. The entire project will cost $858,000.
U Missouri-Kansas City Building Receives LEED Gold
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Student Union, opened in August 2010, has achieved LEED Gold certification. The building’s sustainable features include public transportation access, stormwater control and natural lighting.
Unity College Names New President with Sustainability Focus
Unity College (ME) has announced Dr. Stephen Mulkey as its new president. The director of the environmental science program at the University of Idaho will assume duties in July. Dr. Mulkey's scientific research spans more than three decades including the functional ecology of forests in Eastern Amazonia, tropical forest canopies in wet and dry forests of Central Panama and tropical alpine rosette species in East Africa. "This is an opportunity to lead Unity College to continue developing its strategic contacts within the higher education, philanthropic and sustainability communities both regionally and nationally," said Dr. Mulkey in a Unity press release.
U Oregon Launches Grad Sustainability Certificate Program
The University of Oregon has announced a new one-year graduate certificate program, "Oregon Leadership in Sustainability." Housed in the Department of Public Policy, Planning and Management, the sustainability "boot camp" will provide 30 students a year with the hands-on skills and experiences needed to contribute to a professional work environment engaged in sustainability issues including public agencies, nonprofits and private firms. The program's three components include leadership skills; core courses in energy and climate change issues and solutions for cities, green cities and ecological design; and a practicum working on projects for a real client.
U Oregon Students Prep Local City for Green Makeover
Springfield, Ore. will be the focus of the University of Oregon's Sustainable City Year, an initiative that joins student projects with city needs. Promoting environmentally sustainable design and development, the two-year old program invites cities who are interested in having students involved in creating green buildings, developing parks, improving traffic planning and refurbishing neighborhoods to apply. The work in Springfield, who will pay the university $230,000 to participate, is still being decided but could include the redevelopment of a former 40,000-square-foot grocery store and 17-acre lumber mill site. Last year, the initiative's focus on Salem, Ore. received attention in The New York Times. Salem paid $330,000 and in return received an estimated 80,000 hours of work from more than 500 students working on 16 projects that were part of 28 different academic courses in 10 different departments.
USA Today Covers Rise in Recycled Graduation Gown Orders
More than 250 institutions have ordered graduation attire this year made from recycled plastic bottles from Virginia-based Oak Hall Cap & Gown, up from 60 last year, reports USA Today in a recent article. George Mason University (VA), which recently graduated 7,392 students in the recycled gowns, is mentioned. With an average of 23 bottles to make each cap and gown, Oak Hall Cap & Gown estimates that it is keeping more than seven million plastic bottles out of landfills. Students also have the option of dropping them off at a recycling bin where they can be turned into yet another product. Other institutions are using graduation gowns made from biodegradable wood pulp. In related news, Hartwick College's (NY) Commencement Committee also chose Oak Hall's graduation outfits for its 2011 graduation ceremony. The college’s Grassroots Environmental Club also asked the graduating class to sign the Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibilities upon graduating. The pledge states: "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organization for which I work." The mission is to build a global community of responsible graduates improving society and the environment through the workplace.
Western Carolina U Students Donate Items to Goodwill
Western Carolina University’s (NC) Department of Residential Living recently partnered with Goodwill Industries to collect donations from students as they moved out of the residence halls in order to reduce the volume of reusable items entering the waste system. Goodwill provided bins in the residence halls for students to drop off items. Students have donated 7,812 pounds of items including clothing, fans, coffee makers, microwaves, televisions, shelving and cookware.
Western Washington U Announces Green Fee Recipients
From a new solar array to water bottle refilling stations, Western Washington University has announced the campus sustainability projects slated to receive funding from its Green Energy Fee grant program. Students pay $21 each academic year for the Green Energy Fee and the majority is used to pay for renewable energy credit. The money left over is used to fund the Green Energy Fee grant program.
Wharton School Hosts Sustainability Innovation Tournament
The winners have been announced of the global Innovation Tournament hosted by Knowledge@Wharton, an online journal of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and IT solutions provider Wipro Technologies. This year's tournament themes included new ideas in the area of sustainability and implemented solutions related to sustainability. The tournament received more than 160 submissions with winners from India, the Grenadines, Tanzania and the U.S. Egg Energy, a low-cost solution for electricity distribution in Africa, received the grand prize of $20,000.
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Posted May 31, 2011
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Other News
Adelphi U Offsets 100% of Electricity with Wind Power
Adelphi University (NY) has announced plans to offset 100 percent of the electricity consumed on its Garden City campus with the purchase of 20,206,800 kilowatts hours of renewable energy credits generated by wind farms across the country. The university will purchase the credits through Colorado-based Renewable Choice Energy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that this purchase helps avoid a similar amount of CO2 emissions as that produced by nearly 2,775 passenger vehicles annually, or the electricity use of 1,761 average American homes. Renewable Choice Energy credits are third-party certified by Green-e Energy.
College of the Desert Announces Plan for Net-Zero Campus
The College of the Desert (CA) has announced a new partnership with Southern California Edison to unveil a net-zero West Valley Campus in 2014. The college will work with the utility company on a 10-megawatt solar installation. Other sustainable features of the new campus will include earth-shelter buildings, cross ventilation, drought-resistant landscaping and a cistern.
Colorado State U Installs Fully Automated Composting System
Colorado State University's Housing & Dining Services has invested in a fully-automated composting system called the Earth Flow. Pre- and post-consumer food waste from campus dining centers is composted in the enclosed, 30-yard capacity compost bin. The Earth Flow accepts 2,000 pounds of material per day and composting is completed in 15 days inside the bin. The compost is piled on-site to cure for at least three to four weeks before being used in landscaping projects on campus.
Georgia Tech Partners with Ford for Green Eco School Bus
Georgia Institute of Technology has partnered with the Ford Motor Company Fund to convert a school bus to a hydraulic hybrid vehicle that runs on recycled biofuel. The project was financed by a $50,000 Ford College Community Challenge. Students, with the help of a mechanical engineering professor, designed and developed the hydraulic hybrid system for the 16-passenger school bus. The university held an event in which elementary students painted the bus and organized a drive to collect used cooking oil for processing into biodiesel.
Green Mountain College Creates Sustainable Food Studies Program
Green Mountain College (VT) has announced a new master’s degree in sustainable food systems. The program builds on the interest in food and agriculture issues in the U.S. and on the success of the college’s undergraduate major in sustainable agriculture. The primary objective of the new program is to educate leaders in food and agricultural systems with a graduate-level interdisciplinary program focused on sustainable production and knowledge of the economic, ecological and social forces driving food systems.
Huffington Post Highlights SUNY's Sustainability Commitment
The State University of New York (SUNY) public higher education system has seized upon a valuable opportunity to make sustainability a central theme of its strategic planning, reports The Huffington Post. With 64 campuses, SUNY is one of New York State’s largest energy consumers. The university system understands its energy consumption is not sustainable and has taken measurable steps in its strategic plan to reduce energy consumption and make sustainability a priority. Most recently, the New York State governor and SUNY have unveiled the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program “to make SUNY a leading catalyst for job growth throughout the state, strengthen the academic programs and demonstrate that New York is open for business.”
Indiana U-Purdue U Indianapolis to Fund Sustainability Projects
Nine sustainability projects on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus ranging from water bottle fill stations to sculptural bike parking have received grant support from Greening IUPUI. The 2011 grant proposals marked the third round of Greening IUPUI grant awards. The grants fund student, faculty and staff-led initiatives that plan to “green” the university by advancing its sustainability principles.
Metropolitan CC Debuts Green Bike Program
Metropolitan Community College (NE) recently debuted the Green Bike Program at its Fort Omaha campus. The Green Bike Program encourages biking as a healthy, safe and environmentally friendly way to get around. Students and staff on the campus will have free access to seven bikes. Twenty-four new bike racks were installed on campus, and eight sharrows were painted on campus roads. The green bikes will be available free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis to get around the Fort Omaha campus only. The Green Bike program is made possible through a partnership among the college, Live Well Omaha, the Community Bike Shop and Green Street Cycles. The bikes were painted by students in the college's Auto Collision Technology Program.
MIT Signs International Sustainability Charter
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has signed the Sustainable Campus Charter, an agreement signed by leaders of 25 other national and international universities. The charter will deepen the institute’s commitment to improve sustainability, foster energy efficiency and reduce waste in all campus activities. The charter also encourages members to continue sustainability efforts locally and share information and experiences globally. The charter was initiated by Global University Leaders Forum, who partnered with the International Sustainable Campus Network to develop, implement and manage the new charter. Other charter signatories include Carnegie Mellon University (PA), Yale University (CT), Oxford University (UK), Cambridge University (UK), Harvard University (MA) and others in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
North Carolina State Res. Halls Receive Energy Star Certification
Three North Carolina State University residence halls - Carroll, Sullivan and Tucker - have received ENERGY STAR certification. They join fewer than 80 residence halls nationwide in receiving the certification. ENERGY STAR-certified buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. "The fact that each certified building is a residence hall demonstrates University Housing's ongoing commitment to address our nation's energy challenge while providing safe and affordable housing for our student body," said Dr. Tim Luckadoo, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, in a news release.
Ohio State U Has Zero Waste Plans for Football Stadium
The Ohio State University has announced plans to make its entire football stadium a Zero Waste Zone. The goal of the Zero Waste project is to achieve a 90 percent diversion rate of waste material such as food, paper products and plastics away from landfills. To help achieve this goal by the end of the 2012 season, the university will not place trash cans on the premises. The initiative is supported by the Department of Athletics and by a $50,000 grant from the President’s and Provost’s Council on Sustainability.
Old Dominion U, Hampton U Students Build Solar Decathlon Home
Students from Vermont-based Old Dominion University and Hampton University have designed and assisted in the construction of a solar home. The house will compete in the Solar Decathlon, an international green technology contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Sustainable features of the home include solar panels on a slanted roof and retractable windows to let natural heat and breezes in. The total cost of the model is expected to run between $280,000 and $330,000. Once the contest is over, the solar home is expected to become a permanent studio on campus.
U California Davis Plans for Campus Food Cooperative
The University of California, Davis’ Flatland Food Collective, a student group, has launched a campaign to bring locally grown, organic food to campus. The collective will run a pedal-powered smoothie cart in fall 2011. Local farmers will donate fruit for the smoothies. After generating enough revenue, the student group hopes to start a café directly on campus. The Flatland Food Collective is sponsored by Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive, a national nonprofit organization that provides resources for groups on college campuses to start food co-ops.
U California Los Angeles Students Use App to Monitor Trees
The University of California, Los Angeles' student-led Sustainable Living Program’s Action Research Team has begun using an Android application to catalogue trees on campus. The phone application inputs data on the species and condition of trees. The information is uploaded to a website that records their geographic position. The five students are working with the Geography department to help the university better manage the resources it needs to take care of its trees. Once all of the trees have been catalogued, the Facilities Management department will use the application to manage the care of trees and ensure energy is not being wasted on watering trees that do not need it.
U California San Diego Receives $1.4 Mil for Energy Research
The University of California, San Diego has received a $1.4 million grant from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research. The funding will accelerate the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies for Californians. The university plans to boost solar forecasting research, support the development of solar powered electric vehicle charging stations and solar integrated energy storage systems on campus, and improve information technology architecture with grid operators.
U California Santa Barbara Library Boosts Recycling Efforts
The University of California, Santa Barbara’s Davidson Library has provided 100 additional recycling bins to increase its trash diversion efforts and help students limit garbage waste. The campus plans to implement several recommendations from a waste audit of the facility by Green Project Consultants including posting recycling material guidelines near garbage receptacles and limiting organic and biodegradable materials that are sent directly to landfills. The university is also looking into developing a compost system for food-related materials, which make up 20 percent of the total waste.
U California Santa Cruz Carbon Fund Selects Green Projects
The student-run Carbon Fund at the University of California, Santa Cruz has selected nine staff and student projects for funding. Each project is community-based, requiring cooperation between students, staff and community members. Projects will include a “Take Back The Tap” pilot program, a water conservation system, the installation of a solar panel and wind turbine at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, energy-efficient lighting in parking lots, a certification program to make campus staff offices more ecologically friendly, and educational programs to help reduce water use throughout the region. The Carbon Fund receives money from a student-approved ballot initiative that raises money through a $3 per quarter student fee.
U Hawaii at Manoa Biofuels Project Wins $1 Mil Competition
The University of Hawaii at Manoa's project to advance the use of biofuels on the Hawaiian islands has won a $1 million sustainability research competition. The two-year project will conduct research and plant test sites of Jatropha curcas, a fast-growing, drought resistant tropical oil-bearing plant rich in fatty oils that can be converted to biodiesel. It will also explore the conservation of waste biomass into carbonized material that can be used for soil enrichment. The project will include educational outreach through a capstone engineering course, as well support for undergraduate students in senior thesis projects. The development of a business plan for the commercialization of some of the technologies has the potential to sustain the project after its initial two-year duration.
U Hawaii Maui College Debuts Sustainable Science Mgmt Degree
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents has granted provisional status for a new undergraduate degree in sustainable science management to debut at the University of Hawaii Maui College in fall 2011. With a focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation, the degree program provides green industry workforce training and integrates topics in energy, ecology, business and management, water and wastewater, agriculture, wastewater management, economics, policy and social science.
U Northern British Columbia Installs Showers for Cyclists
The University of Northern British Columbia has installed two showers for bike commuters. The shower facilities are part of a plan to encourage more people to bike or walk to campus. The cycling community at the university had expressed that the new facilities would be a great help and remove a lot of barriers to biking to campus.
U Oregon Finalizes Guidelines for Sustainable Building
The University of Oregon has formalized its Oregon Model for Sustainability, which includes new campus building guidelines. The new guidelines focus on three primary sustainability concerns: energy, water and people. All new development should have zero net increase in overall energy use and offset stormwater runoff. Along with creating a more sustainable building and site, new development projects will have to contribute a minimum of $35,000 toward educating students and staff. The increased costs of the proposed measures will be shared between the individual building project’s funding and the university’s central funding sources obtained through student fees and tuition.
U Tennessee Expands Composting Ground
The University of Tennessee has expanded its Make Orange Green campaign with the addition of a new composting program. The university had been composting only leaves and coffee grounds and as a result of recent construction, the composting site was relocated to a secluded spot. The new site will collect pre-consumer food waste including coffee grounds, vegetable scraps and fruit rinds. Meat and dairy products will be accepted once the program has collected enough wood chips and leaves.
U Washington Students Break Ground on New Farm
Students at the University of Washington recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for an expanded campus Farm. The UW Farm, a registered student organization that grows produce, has expanded to include a new location. The group received a $78,306 from the Campus Sustainability Fund for the new site, which will allow the farm to produce more food to sell to campus Housing and Food Services.
U Wisconsin Oshkosh Unveils Dry Fermentation Anaerobic Digester
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh has debuted its dry fermentation anaerobic digester. The renewable energy facility includes heat and power generators that will produce up to 5 percent of the campus’ electricity and heat. The dry bio-digester will resemble an indoor composting site with air filters and will require up to 8,000 tons of organic bio-waste per year. The project is a collaborative effort with funding received from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Foundation, Wisconsin Focus on Energy and the federal government.
Western Michigan U Surveys Students for Sustainability Priorities
Western Michigan University has received over 500 responses to its first Student Sustainability Survey. Students identified reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills; expanding healthy and sustainable food options; and encouraging public transit, carpooling and non-motorized transportation as among the most important sustainability actions for the university to initiate. The details will be presented during a public forum. The survey results, along with comments from the forum and input from the university-wide Sustainability Committee, will set the priorities for the Office of Sustainability in the 2011-2012 academic year.
West Virginia U Celebrates Bike to Work Week
West Virginia University recently celebrated Bike to Work Week, part of National Bike Month, by encouraging employees and students to ride their bikes and showcasing the services available to cyclists. The university’s Mountaineer Station offers indoor lockers, bike racks and showers for cyclists who can then ride the Personal Rapid Transit system to their destination. A Confident City Cycling program was created for those who are uncomfortable with cycling on the streets and the university will pay for the cost for employees to attend the program.
AP Covers Student Emphasis on Sustainable Food
Higher education students' leanings toward sustainable, locally produced foods is highlighted in a recent article by the Associated Press that was picked up by media outlets nationwide including The Washington Post, MSNBC Today, Boston Globe and the San Francisco Examiner. “I think our generation or just people in general are becoming more conscious about the quality of what they eat, where it comes from and if it’s sustainable,” says a Wesleyan University (CT) sophomore in the article. Bon Appetit Management Co., Wesleyan’s food service provider, lets students use university-issued dining points toward its student-run cheese co-op, as it also does for students on other campuses for farmers’ markets, says the article. The piece also features student demand for seasonable produce at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley's Student Food Collective, "the flagship example in a national effort to train collegians to start their own food co-ops emphasizing healthy, local food in student-run storefronts, campus cafes and other spots."
Austin College Earns Community Environmental Project Grant
Austin College (TX) has received a grant from the Constellation Energy Foundation’s EcoStar competition. The grant will be used to finance the college’s Center for Environmental Studies Sneed Prairie Field Trip Program. This program allows college students to teach elementary and middle school students about ecology and environmental issues on the college's 100-acre prairie.
California State U Fullerton to Install 5,000 Solar Panels
California State University, Fullerton has announced the installation of 5,000 solar panels. The system will have a combined rating greater than one megawatt of power and will be installed at four sites around campus. The university expects to reduce its electricity costs by $8 million.
City College of San Francisco Building Earns LEED Gold
The City College of San Francisco’s (CA) newest building has earned LEED-NC Gold certification. The 110,000-square-foot academic facility showcases many green features including a passive cooling system. A louvered central atrium and skylight system, driven by wind power, takes advantage of natural ventilation by allowing airflow from the perimeter classrooms to be exhausted through glazed skylights at the roof level. The building’s Central Utility Plant is supported by a 400-well ground loop geothermal exchange system.
Colorado Mountain College Creates Sustainability Studies Degree
Colorado Mountain College has announced the creation of a bachelor's degree in sustainability studies. The program will focus on the economy, environment and social equity. Faculty studied programs offered at 30 colleges before designing coursework that will incorporate business, science and literature studies.
Dalhousie U Announces Green Building Policy
Dalhousie University (NS) has announced a new green building policy that recommends all new buildings be built to LEED Gold standards or higher. The policy also calls for Facilities Management and Office Sustainability staff to incorporate annual green building training for the campus community including green building tours, videos, fact sheets and other communications products.
Ithaca College Sodexo Employees to Earn Living Wage
Food service provider Sodexo has announced that it will increase wages for all dining hall employees at Ithaca College (NY) who earn less than the living wage. Employees will now earn at least $11.11, the living wage in Tompkins County, N.Y. While the students and Ithaca residents who make up the Labor Initiative in Promoting Solidarity are pleased that their demonstrations over the past year helped create the change, they are disappointed that the initiative's entire all-campus living wage proposal was not adopted, which also included changes to employee health care packages and grievance policies.
Luther College Constructs Hoop House
Luther College (IA) has constructed a hoop house on the grounds of its college gardens to extend the growing season and serve as a teaching tool about seasonal extension of garden operations. Funded by a donation from the college's director of facilities services, the hoop house was completed almost entirely using recycled or reclaimed materials.
MIT Grad Students Win MIT Clean Energy Prize
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced that Cool Chip Technologies, made up of three graduate students from MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Sloan School of Management, has been named the top winner of the $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize. The group developed an improved cooling system for the processor chips used in data centers that it says could lead to savings of $6 billion a year for industry and the military. MIT student teams also swept the rest of the competition, winning in the clean non-renewables, transportation and renewables (MIT/Harvard University student team) categories. Now in its fourth year, the competition is open to teams from any U.S.-based institution. Each of the finalists received $15,000.
New San Diego State U Bookstore Promotes 'Sweat-Free' Products
The new San Diego State University (CA) bookstore will sell clothes made by Alta Gracia, a company that guarantees its clothes are not made in sweatshop conditions. The university student movement, “Bring ‘Sweat-Free’ Clothes to SDSU Bookstore,” encouraged the bookstore to offer sweatshop-free products. Alta Gracia pays its workers in the Dominican Republic more than three times the nation's minimum wage.
North Carolina State U Presents Sustainability Awards
The Campus Environmental Sustainability Team at North Carolina State University recently presented its Earthwise awards for faculty, staff and students in recognition of championing environmentally sound practices on campus. This year's honorees made strides in the areas of sustainable construction, alternative energy and waste reduction.
