La Trobe U Introduces Online Carpool Match System
(Australia): The new initiative coordinates carpooling among staff, students and the wider La Trobe community. The online system allows users to register their travel details and organize carpooling options based on multiple matches along multiple routes.
Madurai Kamaraj U Plans Solar Panels for 10 Buildings
(India): Following the installation of an eight-panel solar plant on campus last month during a three-day international workshop conference on renewable energy, the university has announced plans to install rooftop solar panels on at least 10 campus building as part of a "Go Green" initiative.
Merced College Starts First Recycling Program on Campus
(U.S.): Several students from a variety of campus organizations have banned together to manage recyclables on campus. The money made from recycling cans will be equally distributed among the organizations. As part of the initiative, the Merced Community College District purchased 10 stainless steel collection containers that will be distributed around campus.
New U Buffalo Engineering Building to Seek LEED Gold
(U.S.): The new 130,000-square-foot building features "locally sourced and recycled materials; day lighting and smart controls to reduce consumption; bio-retention swales; and a green roof to reduce run-off," the university's Chief Sustainability Officer Ryan A. McPherson tells AASHE Bulletin. The new facility has been nominated as a finalist for Business First’s Green Brick By Brick award and received the Best New Educational Facility from the trade publication.
NSF Provides $3.3 M for Solar Energy Research, Curriculum
(U.S.): The National Science Foundation has given $3.3 million to the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Texas at El Paso to establish a materials science and engineering program that will focus on solar energy research. The partnership will give students the opportunity to pursue photovoltaic materials research at either campus.
Quebec Students Mark 100 Days of Tuition Protests
(Canada): Tens of thousands of students marched through the streets of Montreal last week to mark 100 days since the movement against higher tuition fees began, reports a story by the Associated Press. The protest came after Quebec’s provincial government passed emergency legislation that requires a detailed agenda for protests of more than 50 people, a move intended to end Canada’s most sustained student demonstrations ever. Recently, Canada's Education Minister Line Beauchamp resigned, saying that the student leaders have no will to reach a settlement.
Stanford U Announces Online Renewable Energy Certificate Program
(U.S.): The university's new online professional certificate program in renewable energy will explore technologies that can transform how energy is obtained, distributed and stored. Program participants will also learn about opportunities to develop and market new technologies.
U Hull Launches Renewable Energy Master’s Degree
(U.K.): The university's new environmental technology renewable energy graduate degree will prepare students for the wind, wave and tidal power sectors. Starting in September, students will have the opportunity to examine key scientific and technical principles underlying a range of renewable energy technologies; learn about product design and life cycles; develop research and analytical skills relevant to renewable energy resource analysis; and gain practical experience through industry placements with integrated dissertation projects.
U Illinois Chicago Students Help Water District Save Energy
(U.S.): Chemical engineering professor Sohail Murad and his students are testing both open and closed loop heat pump systems for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Over the next year, the group will study which system does best in lowering heating and cooling costs, with an expected savings of 20 to 50 percent. The water reclamation district may use the findings to retrofit its other treatment plants.
U Illinois Chicago to Study Racial, Ethnic Inequalities
(U.S.): Researchers will use grants and fellowships from the university's Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy to conduct year-long studies of racial and ethnic inequalities in health, justice, economics and education. The 17 studies will conclude with reports at the end of the 2012-2013 academic year.
U Iowa Net Impact Chapter Wins 'Greening Campus Challenge' Award
(U.S.): The university's Tippie College of Business MBA Net Impact Chapter recently won a Special Recognition Award for Marketing from the 2012 xpedx Greening Campus Challenge. The team developed a creative social media campaign to promote the first green roof on campus during its construction and opening phases as a way to involve the university community. The Net Impact Chapter at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (California) earned first place in the competition for its idea to reduce carbon emissions and create institutional policies that will favor energy efficiency upgrades and reduce water consumption on campus. Texas State University was the runner-up for its plan to conduct energy audits for small to medium businesses within the community and 41 small to medium buildings on campus.
U New Hampshire Students Develop Bicycle-Powered Washer
(U.S.): Inspired by a TED Talks speaker who addressed the life-changing impact of washing machines in rural areas, three mechanical engineering majors have fabricated a bicycled-powered washing machine that can clean a load of clothes in 30 minutes using six gallons of water. The washer, which requires a drill and basic welding to assemble out of scrap materials and a few basic items from a hardware store, is designed for easy assembly in developing countries.
WV Wesleyan College Student Initiates Solar Panel Installation
(U.S.): With the help of a senior engineering student, West Virginia Wesleyan College has installed a solar panel above the doorway of its science building. The panel will generate enough electricity to power the fluorescent lighting in the building. The student plans to analyze the efficiency of the solar power system over the course of its operation with the goal of many more solar installations at the college.
Broome CC Unveils Wind Turbine
The community college will use the 4-kilowatt turbine as an educational tool for students from multiple departments. The turbine is wired to a laboratory to collect data and will eventually be linked to solar panels on campus to measure energy use. A three-year grant from the state Energy Research Development Authority covered the cost of the turbine.
College of William & Mary Awards Diversity Grants
The three projects to receive the Office of Diversity and Community Initiatives' first Innovative Diversity Efforts Awards (IDEA) grants include the Safe Zone Program (a visible support network for the LGBT community), the Virtual Conversation Partner Program (an initiative that pairs American students with incoming international students) and multicultural science education.
Delaware Technical CC to Install $7 M in Energy-Saving Measures
In partnership with Pepco Energy Services, Inc. the college will retrofit more than 1 million square feet of building space with energy-efficient measures including variable air volume units and new chillers. The majority of the project is financed by an energy efficiency tax-exempt bond issued by the Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility. Over the 15-year contract term, the college expects to save more than $9 million in energy costs.
High Point U Hosts 'Clean Sweep' Event
The university collected food, clothing and furniture for local nonprofit organizations during student move-out day. The event collected more than 500 pounds of food, which will benefit 14 local food pantries.
Ivy League Partners with NRDC to Green Championship Events
The Ivy League will work with the Natural Resources Defense Council to reduce the environmental impacts of its championship events and provide greening resources to all Ivy athletics departments, with the goal of minimizing the environmental footprint of their operations and supply chains. A recent Ivy League Women’s Rowing Championship event kicked off the partnership, featuring recycling bins throughout the racecourse venue and event programs printed on 50 percent postconsumer recycled paper.
Lincoln Land CC to Build 2 Wind Turbines
A 10-kilowatt turbine will provide energy to a campus building and a second 1-kilowatt turbine will be used for instructional purposes. The project is funded by part of a renewable energy grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Maharishi U Management Creates Sustainability Consortium
Business professor Scott Herriott at Maharishi University of Management (Iowa) has formed a consortium of universities that will offer MBA courses on sustainability during this year's summer session. The Summer MBA Sustainability Consortium now includes the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (Washington), Brandeis University (Massachusetts), Marylhurst University (Oregon), Seattle Pacific University (Washington), University of Denver (Colorado), University of Maine and University of Vermont. Students at any member school will be able to take courses in environmental law, sustainable technologies and green investing.
Northwestern U Establishes Composting Program
After two years of planning, compostable materials will now be collected from campus dining halls and sent to a compost facility. Compost bins and educational signs have been posted to inform students of the new initiative.
NY Times Studies Rising College Costs in 'Degrees of Debt' Series
This series examines the implications of soaring college costs and the indebtedness of students and their families. Part one takes a look at a generation "hobbled by the soaring costs of college" with more than $1 trillion in student loans outstanding in the U.S. Crippling debt is "no longer confined to dropouts from for-profit colleges or graduate students who owe on many years of education," says the article. Part two of the series examines how colleges are beginning to confront costs.
Princeton U Energy Service Corps Weatherizes Local Homes
(U.S.): Student volunteers with the university's Energy Service Corps (ESC), a joint project of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund and AmeriCorps, recently weatherized 10 homes owned by senior citizens with low to moderate incomes. The Housewarming Project is a partnership with ESC and the town of Princeton's Sustainable Princeton initiative.
Samford U Students Pass Multicultural Support Resolutions
The Student Government Association Senate has passed two resolutions intended to promote the presence of multicultural organizations on campus. The first establishes a Multicultural Affairs Committee that will be devoted to supporting the growth of diversity-based organizations and will have access to $4,000 for use in assisting these groups. The second resolution is a corollary, which requests that the university match the $4,000 contribution.
St. Lawrence U to Launch Sustainability Semester
In spring 2013, student participants will be able to live and take courses together that address themes of human sustainability from a variety of disciplines. Located on a farm, the students will work on-site to grow food and build energy-efficient structures. The semester will also include an urban component where students spend two weeks in either Boston or New York to explore issues such as transportation, housing, food access, pollution and environmental justice.
Stonehill College Signs Climate Pledge, Creates Campus Farm
Stonehill College has become the twelfth Catholic college to sign the St. Francis Pledge of the Catholic Climate Covenant, committing the college to support campus sustainability efforts. The college has also created an organic farm that grows and distributes produce to local organizations and families who lack access to affordable fresh fruits or vegetables.
Syracuse U Launches Student E-Waste Program
Through a new Sustainability Division and Bird Library joint venture, students now have a convenient location to recycle small, non-working electronic items including cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, e-books, cameras and tablets with collection bins located in the library’s first floor recycling room. The items collected are picked up by a local recycling company.
Syracuse U Students Initiate Food Waste Audits
Two Sustainability Division interns recently gave their fellow students a firsthand look at the food being wasted in the campus dining center each day. Two dinnertime tray waste audits yielded a total of 278 pounds of tray waste, which was displayed for student viewing on a tarp-covered table in three separate piles: untouched food, food scraps and non-edible waste. The visual impact was designed to encourage students to waste less food.
U California Berkeley Announces 2012 TGIF Awards
Twenty-two projects will receive a total of $308,630 from The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) this year, the most funding awarded in one grant year. TGIF provides funding for projects that reduce the university's negative impact on the environment and make the campus more sustainable. This year’s amount puts TGIF over the million dollar mark in total grant funding awarded over five years.
U California Berkeley Debuts New Building Energy Dashboard
The university's new myPower site is connected to 57 campus buildings, allowing the campus community to view how much electricity a building is using in real time on their own computers. In addition to targeting individual behavior and behavioral change by showing how energy saving habits can make a difference, the new dashboard allows the university to spot and fix any energy-related issues. The university plans to get another 45 buildings online this year.
U California San Diego Student Housing Achieves LEED Platinum
Providing housing for 516 students, the apartment building's shape and arrangement works to capture prevailing winds near the Pacific Ocean to lessen the need for mechanical air conditioning. An on-site wastewater-recycling project provides landscape irrigation water.
UC Berkeley Issues Statement About Gill Tract
"After weeks of patient dialogue, engagement and rejected offers of compromise, we deeply regret that the occupiers’ actions and continued insistence on free and unfettered access to what is an open-air laboratory left us no choice but to take this step," says a statement issued by the University of California, Berkeley administration after police broke up an Occupy the Farm encampment on agricultural research land owned by the university. The purpose of police interference at Gill Tract, says the university, was to "ensure our faculty and students can conduct the research projects to which they have devoted much of their academic and professional lives." The university says that prior to any police action, efforts to talk with occupiers about how the unused portion of the land could be repurposed were "rejected or ignored."
U Massachusetts Amherst Music Building Earns LEED Gold
The university has received its first LEED certification with the new 15,000-square-foot George N. Parks Minutemen Marching Band Building, which features efficient mechanical systems, plumbing fixtures and lighting. More than 75 percent of construction waste was recycled.
U Pennsylvania Launches Employee Home Greening Program
The university's new "Greening Penn at Home" initiative is designed to educate faculty and staff about best practices for energy efficiency at home. Penn Home Ownership Services has enlisted a regional provider of home energy efficiency analysis and improvement to present on-campus educational sessions, free home energy assessments and energy efficiency home improvements at preferred rates.
Utah State U to Launch Idle-Free Initiative
The initiative is designed to encourage drivers to turn of their engines while not moving in an effort to cut down on carbon emissions. The university's Sustainability Council will train students, faculty and staff to inform drivers of the initiative and provide information on the benefits of having an idle-free campus.
Washington U St. Louis Increases Composting Efforts
The university’s Office of Sustainability and Dining Services have partnered to increase composting efforts to include items like paper napkins, cardboard pizza boxes, tea bags, sugar packets, compostable plastic items and chopsticks. The Office of Sustainability is also working to create a pilot composting program for paper towels in bathrooms.
3 Institutions Receive Tree Campus USA Designation
Arbor Day Foundation has designated Tree Campus USA status to Utah State University, Wake Forest University (North Carolina) and the University of Redlands (California). The universities achieved five core standards for sustainable campus forestry: the establishment of a tree advisory committee; development of a Tree Endowment Fund to replenish any forest impacted by construction or natural disaster; an Arbor Day observance; sponsorship of student service-learning projects; and a tree-care plan.
Antioch U New England Students Organize for Tribal Justice
Students in the university's "Diversity, Justice, and Inclusion" class recently helped the Ramapough-Lanape Nation in New Jersey organize and publicize a local May 5 rally titled "A Prayer for the Earth." The rally spotlighted issues of environmental justice that affect the tribe including hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” of underground rock formations to extract oil and gas.
Binghamton U Opens New Solar Panel Research Labs
With the help of $8.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense, the university has launched the Center for Autonomous Solar Power and the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center. The laboratories will be home to research designed to make more efficient, durable, flexible and smaller solar panels.
'Can an MBA Change the World?' Video Contest Winners Announced
A group of five students at Dartmouth College's (New Hampshire) Tuck School of Business have won the Global Business School Network's 2012 MBA Challenge Video Contest, which asked the question “Can an MBA Change the World?” The winning video describes the application of the students' business school skills to address the need for low-cost housing in Haiti. A team from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earned second place in the competition with a video about their work in Eastern Africa on sustainability-focused projects.
Clarkson U Students Initiate Energy-Efficient Campus Solutions
Student research, funded by the university's sustainability fund, has concluded that the university could save up to $600,000 annually on energy bills by installing motion sensor-controlled lighting in its residence halls. The student group installed motion sensor lighting on one of the school’s older residence halls and recorded the difference in the amount of energy used. Their research was recently singled out by the New York State Pollution Prevention Initiative in a contest among teams from partner universities throughout New York.
Ecotech Institute Announces Partnership with Veterans Green Jobs
The institute, which focuses entirely on renewable energy and sustainability, has partnered with Veterans Green Jobs to enhance opportunities for military veterans in the green job sector. Sixty-seven students at the institute are military veterans or currently serving in the military.
Emory U Hires New Sustainability Program Coordinators
To help fulfill the university's sustainability vision, Emily Cumbie-Drake will work with university committees and various campus groups and Kelly O’Day Weisinger will collaborate with university and Emory Healthcare leadership. The positions were funded via reductions in other administrative costs and direct funding from Emory Healthcare.
EPA Awards $1 M to Institutions for Off-Grid Research
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded more than $1 million in grants to 15 university and college teams for innovative off-grid solutions. Projects include a new process that uses spinach to capture and convert the sun’s energy to electricity, and a partnership with a local landfill to design a process that uses waste heat and drainage to grow algae for biodiesel production. The projects were selected from more than 300 university and college sustainability projects.
Germanna CC Debuts Green Science & Engineering Commons
The community college’s new $25 million Science & Engineering and Information Commons building will be used to teach students, faculty and visitors about environmental technology, energy efficiency and sustainability. Using the mechanical systems and renewable energy features of the building, students will gain hands-on experience monitoring and calibrating a working green building. Sustainable features include a vegetated roof, passive solar heating, automatic shades, skylights for ambient lighting, native plant landscaping and a rainfall harvesting system to provide water for the restrooms.
