Georgia Tech Hires Institute for Sustainable Systems Director
Georgia Institute of Technology has hired John C. Crittenden, Ph.D., as a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Sustainable Systems and Director of the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems. In addition, he is also slated to fill the Hightower Chair in Sustainable Systems pending Board of Regents approval. Dr. Crittenden has received multiple awards for his research in the treatment and removal of hazardous materials from drinking and groundwater. He also has designed and received copyrights on computer software programs that analyze various pollution and absorption methods.
Humboldt State U Expands Solar Radiation Data Collection Site
Humboldt State University (CA) has purchased a third Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer to add to its Solar Radiation Monitoring Station project, making the site one of the primary data-collecting locations for solar radiation. HSU partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to become a data-collecting site for solar radiation in 2006.
Illinois State U Releases Sustainability Report
Illinois State University has released its first ever Sustainability Progress Report. The report covers fiscal year 2008 and highlights various campus efforts in the areas of energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, recycling, and grounds and facilities operations. Academic initiatives are also covered, including sustainability-themed courses in various academic departments, faculty research, and campus-wide efforts to promote civic engagement by students.
Indiana U Libraries Names Sustainability Officer
The Indiana University Library System has named Kathy McCarnes to the newly formed position of sustainability officer. The System also plans to form a permanent task force that would promote the use of recycled paper and aid the transformation to more efficient technologies to eliminate wasted energy. McCarnes is tasked with heading the committee and encouraging sustainable practices within the IU Libraries System.
Mars Hill College Receives Grant for Green Building
Mars Hill College (NC) has a received a $60,000 Green Building Initiative grant from the Kresge Foundation to be used toward design and planning costs for Day Hall. The College plans to seek LEED Platinum certification for the 36,000-square-foot multi-purpose building, which is currently in the planning stages.
Montana State U Long Range Plan Features Sustainability
Montana State University has released its Long Range Campus Development Plan, and sustainable practices, principles, and strategies are woven throughout the document. Specifically, sustainability is included as a Guiding Principle and is also incorporated into architecture, open space, land use, landscape, and signage principles. The Plan also describes MSU’s current sustainability initiatives, activities, and memberships, and includes a section on how sustainable practices will be included with implementation of the Plan.
NMSU Launches Green Challenge, Online Sustainability Guide
Northwest Missouri State University has begun the "Reduce Your Paw Print Challenge," an initiative that challenges students to reduce their environmental footprint on campus. As part of the initiative, students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to recycle and to reduce their energy usage on campus. NMSU has also launched an online Sustainability Guide that provides advice on how to save energy, reduce waste, reuse items, and recycle on and off campus.
North Carolina State U Names Sustainability Spring Semester Theme
North Carolina State University has announced that its spring semester theme will focus on sustainability. Called "S.E.E. NC State," the semester will feature events that focus on the three dimensions of sustainability: society, economy, and environment. Events will include e-waste recycling, an environmental movie series, an Energy Fair, a Lake Raleigh clean up, and a concert featuring local and regional bands.
Oregon State U Students Exercise to Generate Power
Oregon State University has begun converting the energy generated by exercise machines into electricity. The University has retrofitted 22 elliptical machines to generate electricity that is fed back into the power grid. The effort will produce an estimated 3,500 kilowatt hours of electricity in a year. The initiative was funded by an $8.50 per semester student green fee.
Portland State U Announces EcoWiki
Portland State University (OR) has launched "EcoWiki," a website that aims to help students, faculty, and staff form connections and share news related to sustainability on the PSU campus. Participants can ask questions, network, and brainstorm on the new site.
Saginaw Valley State U Students Build Wind & Solar Charging Station
A group of four Saginaw Valley State University (MI) students have built a wind and solar charging station for an electric golf cart on campus. The mobile station consists of a small wooden shed that features solar panels, a wind turbine, and 6-volt batteries to store the energy when it's not in use. To charge the cart, users plug it into an outlet in the shed overnight, which gives the cart sufficient energy needed to make its normal runs of two to three hours per day.
South Dakota State U Installs Wind Turbines for K-12 Schools
South Dakota State University faculty members and students have begun providing technical assistance to the Wind for Schools program which places wind turbines at K-12 schools throughout the state. The program provides K-12 schools with residential-sized wind turbines to use as working laboratories and college-level students with the opportunity to obtain hands-on engineering experience.
UBC, UCSD Partner to Reduce Emissions with Green IT
The University of British Columbia, the University of California, San Diego, and Prompt, Inc, a non-profit corporation that fosters research and development, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses while developing information technology that improves energy efficiency and reduces the impact of emissions on climate change. The MOU stipulates that signatories will explore a system whereby “carbon offsets earned through a variety of GHG reduction mechanisms” would be traded between participating institutions in exchange for access to cyber-infrastructure resources, including, for example, grid computational cycles, wide area network bandwidth, other virtual services and even research funding. The initial collaboration focuses on university emissions, but signatories believe it will set the stage for longer-term initiatives that will have an impact well beyond their campuses.
U Calgary Starts Waste Reduction Campaign & Composting Prgm
The University of Calgary (AB) has begun the Erase the Waste challenge. As part of the program, students and staff are being encouraged to reduce their waste by 200 grams per week. The University estimates that if each person on campus reduces his/her garbage by that much, six tons of waste will be prevented from going to the landfill each week. To achieve the reduction, the University has launched its first campus-wide composting program. 17 new multi-purpose collection bins have been placed throughout campus. In addition, 200 new recycling bins for beverage containers and paper have been added to the campus. Throughout the campaign, the Office of Sustainability is also offering free workshops for staff and faculty on sustainable procurement, recycling, and ways to reduce waste in the office.
U Central Florida Adds Solar-Powered Electric Vehicle to Campus Fleet
The University of Central Florida has purchased its second eco-friendly vehicle. The new electric car, which can travel up to 15 miles per day, has been retrofitted to run on solar power alone. Three solar panels were installed on the roof of the vehicle and produce the needed 72V to run it.
U Maryland Helps Fund Portable Wind Turbine Development
The University of Maryland's Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program is providing $1.4 million, with participating companies donating a total of $3.4 million, to support research in the laboratories of participating University System of Maryland faculty who work with company researches. As part of the Program, $51,000 has been allocated to help ProParts LLC of Baltimore to develop low-wind, low-cost wind turbines that can be mounted in residential or urban markets and portable turbines for military applications.
Unity U House Achieves LEED Platinum
Unity House, the home for the President of Unity College (ME), has received LEED Platinum certification. The 1,930 square foot home features a passive solar design, solar panel heating, high-efficiency appliances, and low-flow water fixtures.
U North Carolina Approves Green Fee Renewal
Students at the University of North Carolina have approved the renewal and expansion of the existing $4 per semester renewable energy student fee. 83 percent of students voting approved the fee and fee expansion, which allows funds to be used for energy efficiency projects on campus.
U Rhode Island Opens Science Building
The Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island has officially opened. The 140,000-square-foot facility, which is registered for LEED Silver certification, features a green roof, a rain garden, a stormwater treatment system, daylight harvesting technologies, and an energy efficient heating and cooling system.
U South Florida to Offer Ph.D.s Focused on Sustainable Communities
The University of South Florida Board of Governors has approved new doctoral programs in history, government, and sociology. The three programs are linked and will focus on sustainable healthy communities in a global context. The programs will discuss global security, population growth, land-use development, and the international financial crisis.
U Western Ontario Switches to FSC-Certified Paper
The University of Western Ontario has switched to Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper. The Purchasing Department tested the new paper last May within the Graphic Services Department and expanded the initiative to the entire campus this spring.
U Wisconsin Drops Apparel Contract Due to Poor Labor Practices
The University of Wisconsin has announced that it will not renew an apparel contract with Russell Athletic due to questions concerning labor practices at the company's Honduras factory. UW requires that its suppliers agree to a code of conduct that includes provisions for freedom of association, which is meant to protect worker rights.
UW Whitewater Goes Trayless
The University of Wisconsin, Whitewater has stopped offering trays at Esker Dining Hall, Drumlin Market, and the eateries in the James R. Conner University Center. The dining halls implemented the initiative after the successful pilot program, Trayless Tuesdays. The University estimates that it will save approximately 192,000 gallons of water.
Yale Announces First Grants for Sustainability Research
The Yale University (CT) School of Architecture has selected five projects to receive the inaugural grants from the Hines Research Fund for Advanced Sustainability in Architecture. The winning proposals fall into three thematic areas: constructional methods and materials, particularly in terms of reducing both embodied energy and the energy consumed by building systems; development of climate responsive building types; and analysis/optimization of energy behaviors in buildings. All proposals are committed to expanding academic research and educational opportunities for students.
Yale U Med School Earns LEED Gold
The Yale University (CT) Amistad Street Building has been awarded LEED Gold certification. The structure, which houses the School of Medicine, features bike racks and showers, locally produced and recycled content construction materials, a storm water collection system, ultra low-flow lavatories, dual flush water toilets, and occupancy sensors.
Yale U School Purchases Carbon Offsets
The Yale University (CT) School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has purchased carbon offsets to compensate for the air miles traveled by FES students on school-related trips in 2008. The offsets purchased will fund two carbon offset projects: a Pennsylvania family farm that captures methane gas released by manure, and uses it to generate electricity and heat and a New York landfill that traps and destroys methane gas. The two projects will compensate for 1.25 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
Ball State U to Replace Coal-Fired Boilers with Geothermal
Ball State University (IN) has announced plans to eliminate its coal-fired boilers and install 3,750 geothermal wells. The system, which will take 5-12 years to complete depending on funding availability, will include bore holes or well fields in soccer fields, band practice fields, and residence hall yards. The $66 million project has been approved by the University's board of trustees. The state Legislature appropriated more than $40 million several years ago for the University to replace the boilers with a circulating fluidized bed boiler to burn coal cleaner and more efficiently. Since then, however, no bids were received, and BSU plans to ask the legislature to re-appropriate the $40 million to the geothermal project. The University plans to start drilling the wells in early May.
Calvin College Campus Sustainability Guide
Calvin College (MI) has posted its new Campus Sustainability Guide online. The Guide contains information on how to get involved with campus sustainability issues at Calvin, what the institution has accomplished, and how members of the Calvin community can help the campus reduce its waste, energy usage, and water consumption.
CSU Chico College of Ag Receives $40K Organic Valley Award
The Research Foundation at California State University, Chico has received a $40,000 grant from Organic Valley. The money will be used by CSU, Chico's College of Agriculture to help fund a two-year study focused on improving net profit by improving pasture management. In addition to assessing and promoting more sustainable feeding systems, the project will host "grazing schools" for beginning and advanced dairy farmers to encourage and support efficient pasture use. The research will also assess organically approved soil amendments to establish profitability resulting from changes in forage quality and quantity.
Elon U Launches New Sustainability Website
Elon University (NC) has launched a new sustainability website that provides information on what the University is doing to become more sustainable. The site features a list of course offerings related to sustainability and green design and of student-run organizations focused on the environment.
Green Mountain College Hires Sustainability Coordinator
Green Mountain College (VT) has hired Amber Garrard as its new sustainability coordinator. Garrard holds an M.A. in sustainable development from SIT Graduate Institute, has started and managed a community garden, and was a research fellow for the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
McGill U Opens Office of Sustainability
McGill University (QC) has opened a new Office of Sustainability. The mission of the Office of Sustainability is to develop sustainability as a cultural norm at the University. The Office will encourage the efforts of students, faculty, staff, and administrators to incorporate principles of sustainability in the University’s operations, campus living and learning, and in its relations with the broader community. The Office will explore ways in which McGill can integrate social, environmental, and economic considerations in University decisions and develop partnerships that encourage and facilitate the cooperation of all members of the McGill University community to become more sustainable.
Middlebury College Opens Biomass Gasification Plant
Middlebury College (VT) has officially opened its biomass gasification plant. The $12 million plant is expected to cut the College’s use of heating oil in half – from 2 million gallons to one million gallons annually – and to reduce the College’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent, or 12,500 metric tons. The gasification system converts regionally grown wood chips into gas that burns to provide steam for heating, cooling, hot water, and cooking throughout the campus. The plant is also expected to supply about 20 percent of the campus’ electricity consumption.
Montclair State U Approves Env'l Management PhD
The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education has approved Montclair State University's proposal to convert the current doctoral program in Environmental Management to a Ph.D. degree in the College of Sciences and Mathematics. The new program emphasizes the study of interconnections between environmental systems and human systems. The aim of the program is to prepare environmental scholars who will recognize and analyze relationships among scientific, technological, societal and economic issues, and who will understand the uses of research in a data-driven decision and policy making process, firmly rooted in current scientific knowledge and methodology.
Northern Arizona U Begins Composting Program
Northern Arizona University's Students for Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening, the Center for Sustainable Environments, and Sodexho's Environmental Action Program have partnered to introduce composting in NAU dining halls. The compost is collected and transferred to the garden located on campus.
Ohio U Implements Composting Program
Ohio University has implemented a new composting initiative on campus. OU purchased a 2 ton in-vessel composting system that can handle up to 28 tons of material to compost food from its Central Foods Facility. The University plans to expand its collection to all campus eateries soon. The resulting nutrient-rich soil will be used for grounds keeping once it is available.
South Dakota Universities Use Wind Power
The University of South Dakota and South Dakota State University have begun receiving a portion of their electrical energy use from a nearby wind farm. This is the result of an agreement between the Heartland Consumers Power District, which is purchasing the power from the wind project, and the State of South Dakota stating that wind power would be used for additional power needs at the state’s two largest universities.
Towson U Holds Res Hall Energy Conservation Competition
Towson University (MD) is holding a residence hall energy conservation competition. The University Residence Government is sponsoring the competition, which aims to educate students on what they can do to conserve energy. Through the competition, students are encouraged to turn off computers and printers when not in use, use natural light whenever possible, and unplug outlets when they are not being used. The amount of energy saved by each building will be recorded. The winning building will receive 50 free Chipotle dinners, which will be raffled off to student residents.
U Albany Saves 280K with Energy Initiative, Receives $5K Grant
The State University of New York at Albany has announced that it reduced energy costs by $280,000 as a result of its winter Intersession and Fall Energy Savings initiatives. In addition, the University has received $5,000 from the National Grid for its Change-A-Light campaign, which has distributed more than 1,300 compact fluorescent light bulbs in residence halls.
U Arkansas Pine Bluff Receives Energy Grant
The University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff has received a $92,966 grant from Arkansas Entergy Inc. to convert all lighting on campus to energy-saving bulbs. The campus currently uses room and ceiling motion sensors to reduce energy use.
U Hawai'i Manoa Installs Solar Panels
The University of Hawai'i at Manoa Shidler College of Business has installed a 4.5-kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel system on one of its towers. The solar panel system is expected to generate approximately 24 kilowatt hours of power each day. The new system includes a web-based monitoring system that will allow students, faculty, staff, and the general public to monitor solar power, reduced emissions, and environmental statistics on a daily basis.
U Illinois Chicago to Start Community Garden
The University of Illinois, Chicago has announced plans to dig a community garden on campus. The new garden, which will offer 5' by 6' and 5' by 12' plots, will be run communally and gardeners will be required to practice sustainable and organic techniques and refrain from using genetically-modified seeds. The UIC Office of Sustainability plans to offer educational workshops at the new site on topics such as gardening techniques, sustainable practices, and cooking and preserving.
U Nevada Las Vegas Unveils Energy Efficient Homes
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in partnership with Pulte Homes and NV Energy, has unveiled four energy efficient model homes in northwest Las Vegas. The homes were developed as part of a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a community of homes that combine energy efficient features and smart grid technology to cut residential energy usage by more than half.
U New Mexico Saves $75K by Reducing Building Temperatures
The University of New Mexico has saved close to $75,000 in energy costs through the Winter Setback Program. The initiative aimed to save money by reducing temperatures in unoccupied buildings over the University's four-week winter break.
U Washington Students Produce Video on Campus Composting
A group of University of Washington students have created a video that aims to educate students about the process of composting. The video, which is in the form of a musical, discusses the importance and availability of composting on campus.
Washington U in St. Louis University Center Receives LEED Gold
The William H. and Elizabeth Gray Danforth University Center at Washington University in St. Louis (MO) has received LEED Gold certification. The structure features low-flow faucets and low flow toilets, a 50,000-gallon rainwater tank below the building that collects excess rainwater and groundwater, light sensors near every outdoor window, and showers for alternative transportation commuters.
Whitman College Implements Pay-Per-Page Printing System
Whitman College (WA) has implemented a new printing system that automatically deducts a set amount per printed page from a printing account. As part of the program, $60 in printing credits is granted to each student each semester. Single-sided black-and-white printing costs five cents per page, and printing double-sided costs nine cents front and back. The College experienced a 30 percent drop in printing during the first 10 days of the program.
Wilkes U Caps Student Paper Usage with Printing Policy
Wilkes University (PA) has capped the amount of paper students use each semester through its new GreenPrint Policy. Each semester, students are allotted a print quota of 550 pages. Overages result in a $0.10 per page charge which is placed on the student’s account. Since the initiatives beginning, the University reports that students have reduced their paper usage by half.
