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.
NWF Blog: Youth Speak Out Against Climate Change Inaction
Advocating that today's generation of leaders act as trustees for future generations, youth climate activists recently held a series of iMatter marches and demonstrations around the globe. The iMatter organization - targeted at elementary- to college-aged youth - has also announced plans to sue the U.S. government, calling for a drastic reduction in emissions immediately. "We do have a legal right to insist that the planet is protected for our future and for generations to come," says the iMatter website. "We need our government to protect the atmosphere by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and put an end to our unhealthy reliance on fossil fuels."
Oregon State U Offers Campus Compost Options
Oregon State University has started offering several options for university departments to compost organic waste. Worm bins are now available for those who would like to manage their own composting and keep the finished compost. Buckets will be provided to those who would like to collect organic waste and then dump it at one of three compost drop points around campus. A trial collection route has also been created for larger departments. Limited to 15 participants, the initiative will investigate whether the new service could become permanent.
SEI Green Report Card on Hiatus; Collaborative Effort Underway
AASHE, the Princeton Review, Sierra Magazine and the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) have launched a collaborative effort to improve the process of collecting sustainability data from higher education institutions, it was announced in a joint statement released recently. In an effort to reduce the college and university staff time required for data collection and survey completion, the organizations will work together to develop common sustainability survey language. It was also announced that SEI will take a sabbatical this fall from publishing the College Sustainability Report Card in order to have adequate time to plan and revise the survey process.
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Posted May 17, 2011
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Other News
Southern Oregon U Students Approve Ban on Bottled Water Sales
Southern Oregon University’s student government has passed legislation banning the sale of bottled water on campus. Under the provisions of the bill, bottled water would be removed from vending machines and Sodexo operations on campus. Reusable water bottles will be given to incoming freshmen at orientation and several spigots and water purifiers will be installed across campus. The goal of the bill is to have the campus completely water bottle-free by June 2012. The administration has shown support for the ban.
Temple U Offers Graduation Gown Recycling
Temple University (PA) has announced that graduates this year will be able to recycle their gowns after the graduation day. The university has offered graduation gowns made from 100 percent recycled plastic since January 2010, but this year sustainability ambassadors will also be on hand to collect the gowns to be made into new fabrics and other products. Since adopting the Greenweaver gown, made from roughly 23 recycled plastic bottles, the university has saved more than 276,000 plastic bottles from entering the waste stream.
Trevecca Nazarene U Raises Chickens to Supply Eggs to Campus
Trevecca Nazarene University (TN) has begun raising free-range chickens. The eggs produced will be sold to campus dining services. The university hopes to have a flock of 120 chickens by August 2011, capable of producing up to 500 eggs a week. The university will also partner with Vanderbilt University (TN), which operates a mobile pantry that delivers fresh, healthy, organic produce at reasonable prices to nearby neighborhoods. Remaining eggs will be offered for sale to local restaurants.
U Alaska Fairbanks Approves Student Sustainability Projects
The University of Alaska, Fairbanks has approved nine student-led sustainability projects totaling $128,140. Grant proposals were reviewed by the Office of Sustainability and Student RISE (Review of Infrastructure, Sustainability and Energy) Board and preference given to projects that invest in energy efficiency programs and renewable energy projects. Projects selected for funding include a glass pulverizer; local shopping/restaurant guide; student CSA share plan; interactive dashboard; and a carbon emissions inventory.
U British Columbia Becomes a Fair Trade Campus
As a result of the collaboration between its Engineers Without Borders chapter and Fair Trade Canada, the University of British Columbia has been named a fair trade campus. The university has committed to purchasing fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate and tropical fruit from producers who guarantee higher social, environmental and pay standards for farmers and workers. The university also worked with students to develop sustainable purchasing principles, a code of conduct for suppliers and has added fair trade products to the menus of more than 20 campus food outlets.
U California Berkeley Debuts Native Plant Nursery
Financed by students through the Green Initiative Fund, the University of California, Berkeley has launched a new native plant nursery. With the goal of restoring California ecology to more historical ecological functions, the starts in the nursery will be used to repopulate three designated natural areas alongside Strawberry Creek on campus. With the nursery, an adjoining demonstration garden-in-progress and student-taught classes on Strawberry Creek restoration, the university plans to educate students about restoration and recruit converts for labor-intensive projects.
U California Santa Barbara Releases Development Plan
The University of California, Santa Barbara and representatives of Sustainable University Now (SUN) have announced the adoption of the campus' Long Range Development Plan. Highlights of the plan include more effective mitigation of potential environmental impacts; striving to reduce car trips to campus by reducing the number of future parking spaces by 650 from the original campus plan and increasing the number of bicycle paths and bicycle parking spaces; replacing its car and truck fleet with ultra fuel-efficient vehicles; monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions; and implementing energy reduction strategies.
U Central Florida Students Propose Campus Solar Farm
Engineering students at the University of Central Florida have presented an idea for an on-campus solar farm that would help make the campus climate neutral by 2050. Presented at the Progress Energy Senior Design Symposium, the three-acre farm would eventually produce 15 percent of the campus' power requirements. Upcoming seniors will have the chance to work on the solar farm project this fall semester, but whether the project is realized depends on potential funding sources.
U Florida Announces New Sustainability Studies Program
The University of Florida has announced a new sustainability studies major that will start in fall 2011. The interdisciplinary program will investigate the means to maintain environmental health, create economic welfare and pursue social justice. Students will gain an understanding of how these goals are interdependent and explore how they best can be pursued over the long term on local, national and global scales. Students will also be required to take part in internships or service learning projects.
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign Scraps Wind Turbine Plans
Due to an estimated cost that rose to $5.2 million and opposition to its proposed location, the University of Illinois has decided to put an end to a plan to build a wind turbine on its Urbana-Champaign campus. The school had planned to erect the 400-foot-tall electricity-generating turbine just south of the Urbana, Ill. city limits.
U Kansas Awarded USDA Grant for Green Cleaning Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a research team at the University of Kansas a $5.6 million grant to find ways to green many household products. The research will look to replace petroleum-based chemicals used in products like plastics and laundry detergents with biomass products like nonfood crops and agriculture leftovers.
U New Mexico Sustainability Studies Program Receives $1.6 Mil
The Sustainability Studies program at the University of New Mexico has received two grants totaling more than $1.6 million from the W.K. Kellogg foundation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also gave the program $290,000 to pay faculty salaries, hire a graduate assistant for a year and a half and provide travel grants and stipends for minority students to take part in the summer field program. The Kellogg grants were invested in the stock market to pay dividends and help keep the program running.
U Oregon Creates Reusable Office Supply Exchange
The University of Oregon’s Campus Recycling office has created a Reusable Office Supply Exchange, available to all departments, faculty, administrators and student groups. The self-service program brings together surplus supplies from around campus including pens, notebooks, staplers and calculators. The university hopes to reduce the purchase of new office supplies and prevent old supplies from being sent to landfills.
U Richmond to Implement Solar Energy Pilot
The University of Richmond (VA) has announced new pilot solar projects that will hopefully lead to the expansion of solar energy on campus. Two campus apartment buildings have been chosen for new photovoltaic and water-heating solar panels to be installed this summer. The panels will be used to collect data from electricity and hot water usage. Two other apartments without panels will also be monitored for comparison.
U Victoria Building Awarded LEED Gold
The University of Victoria's (BC) Administrative Services Building has earned LEED Gold certification from the Canada Green Building Council. The $16.3 million project incorporated a number of sustainable design features including a glass atrium, natural ventilation, an aggressive waste management plan and plumbing fixtures that use recycled water from the university’s aquatic research facility. The building is the fourth campus facility to achieve LEED Gold certification.
Washington State U Vancouver to Offer Renewable Energy Option
Washington State University, Vancouver has received a $250,500 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to develop curriculum in renewable energy. The program will develop and combine eight courses from mechanical engineering, computer science and electrical engineering. Students majoring in any of the programs will have the opportunity to complete the renewable energy option. Solar energy and wind power will be the primary focus of the course work. The grant will also be used to equip an energy systems laboratory and radio frequency communications laboratory. Courses will begin in spring 2012.
York U Adopts Sustainability Policy
Building on the recent release of its 2010 Sustainability Report, York University (ON) has announced a new sustainability policy. Approved by the Board of Governors in April, the policy provides the framework for sustainable and responsible practices, activities and operations on campus.
Youngstown State U Students Participate in Green Energy Challenge
A team of Youngstown State University (OH) students have completed an energy audit of a campus dormitory as part of the National Electrical Contractors Association Green Energy Challenge. The students will begin drafting potential solutions and will present their proposals with cost estimates and possible funding sources to a panel of contractors. The national competition challenges teams to identify residence halls on their campuses that need energy-efficiency improvements.
Central College Creates Global Sustainability Minor
Central College (IA) has created a global sustainability minor to be offered in fall 2011. The program is designed to offer all students a means of acquiring some of the tools and practical experience needed to enter the workforce and deal with complex issues focusing on the social, economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. The minor requires 20-22 hours of class study and students must complete two courses including "Introduction to Environmental Science" and "Global Sustainability."
Cornell U Students Use Art to Promote Waste Reduction
Cornell University's (NY) Sustainability Hub has installed two new pairs of trash receptacles brightly decorated with local art near campus to help reduce litter and promote proper waste disposal practices. The student-run waste reduction project, Collegetown ART (Art, Recycling, and Trash cans), has raised about $6,485 through funds, grants and sponsorships, and plans to raise an additional $2,200 to decorate two more locations with trash receptacles. Local stores can help the urban art project through the sponsorship of a trash can.
George Washington U Announces Water Sustainability Plan
George Washington University (DC) has announced a new campus water footprint and sustainability strategy that addresses potable water, rainfall capture, waste water and bottled water. The university plans to reduce its bottled water direct expenditures by 50 percent over the next five years, increase its permeable space by 10 percent in 10 years and decrease campus water consumption by 25 percent in 10 years.
Georgia Tech Alumni Gifts $20K to Recycling Efforts
Georgia Institute of Technology's Student Alumni Association recently presented the campus' Office of Solid Waste Management and Recycling with more than $20,000 through its Gift to Tech program. The department will work with the student association to expand recycling efforts on campus. The initiative was voted to receive funding by students, who chose from five campus projects including campus safety efforts, the Alumni Association's Living History program and a commemorative bench at the undergraduate learning commons.
Harvard U Ed Students Call for More Focus on Social Justice
After a sociologist who considered issues of grassroots organization was denied tenure, more than 50 doctoral students at Harvard University's (MA) Graduate School of Education are protesting the school's direction toward results-driven management and policy concerns. The students say the school has veered away from social justice and equality issues in education over the last decade.
Indiana U Coal Free Club Installs Campus Solar Panels
The Sierra Club Coal Free organization at Indiana University has installed eight solar panels on the roof of a campus building. The Indiana University Student Foundation awarded the club’s project with a $12,000 grant to fund the installation of the solar panels. There will also be a live monitor in the building to allow people to see how much energy is being used and how much energy is being generated by the solar installation.
Johnson County CC Earns Edison Green Award
Johnson County Community College (KS) recently earned a silver Edison Green Award for its sustainability efforts. Part of the annual Edison Awards series, the Green Award recognizes an organization's commitment to developing sustainable solutions and green business models. It is designed as a platform to recognize efforts to create green collar jobs through new innovation methods and improve community health and self-sufficiency. Judging criteria included societal impact, marketplace innovation, marketplace success, technological innovation and market structure innovation. The only institution to be honored in the category, the community college was recognized for its green workplace practices, sustainable resource management projects, green workforce training programs and initiatives to teach sustainability across the curriculum.
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Posted May 10, 2011
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Other News
Kansas State U Performs Waste Audit to Increase Recycling
Kansas State University's "Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences" capstone class has partnered with the K-State Recycling Committee to perform a campus waste audit. The group will sort through trash and determine what recyclable products students and faculty are throwing away. The audit will give the university a better understanding of how to target solutions to increase the campus recycling rate, which is currently about 20 percent.
McGill U Launches Campus Sustainability Awards
McGill University's (QC) Office of Sustainability has announced the creation of the Catalyst Awards, an initiative to inspire sustainability action and thinking by celebrating individuals who have gone above and beyond to foster a culture of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) on campus. Six recipients were chosen during the recent inaugural ceremony for advancing and institutionalizing sustainability within the campus community. The Emerald Key category was implemented for students who make an exceptionally outstanding and enduring contribution to sustainability overall.
Michigan State U Receives $2.9 Million for Biofuel Research
Michigan State University has received $2.9 million in federal grants for biofuel research. University professors will lead three research projects on campus that will focus on topics including greenhouse gas emissions associated with biomass production, ways to use byproducts from the production of biofuel, and pests that affect switchgrass, a plant used to produce biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded five-year grants to 27 universities, one college and two USDA research arms for sustainable bioenergy research.
Ohio State U Announces New Waste Reduction Efforts
The Ohio State University's Energy Services and Sustainability office recently announced several new programs aimed at meeting the university's goal to divert 40 percent of its waste from the landfill. Initiatives in the works include the creation of the new Zero Waste Event Service that provides waste containers for trash, recycling and compost for special events on campus; the testing of a pre-consumer composting program at specific areas on campus; and waste infrastructure and waste stream audits by staff, students and community volunteers for the Ohio State Spring Game. The information gathered will be used for its Zero Waste Stadium initiative, with at least 90 percent of game day waste recycled or composted starting with the 2011 football season.
Paul Quinn College Turns Football Stadium into Farm
Paul Quinn College (TX) recently planted the first seeds in a former football field that will now serve the college as a student-run, two-acre urban farm. After grocers told the college's president that they didn't want to invest in the underserved Dallas neighborhood where the college is located, he contacted the Sustainable Food Project at Yale University (CT) for a crash course on organic agriculture and educational programs that emphasize the importance of local, healthy food. Part of the harvest will be sold to the company that runs concessions at Cowboys Stadium and the other will be donated nonprofit groups that feed the hungry. By fall the college plans to create a farmers market on its outdoor recreational basketball courts and eventually open its own grocery store.
Santa Clara U Student Initiates Sustainable Office Award Program
A Santa Clara University (CA) student intern has initiated the Sustainable Office Award Program (SOAP) to celebrate environmental achievements in different departments across campus. Departments are rated Going Green, Beyond Green or Certified Sustainable through a self-audit. Recent SOAP projects include reducing waste by dedicating a copier drawer to store once-used paper for internal print jobs, and reducing energy consumption by turning off electronics at night and on the weekends.
Southern Oregon U Receives $23K in Renewable Energy Credits
Southern Oregon University has received a $23,000 refund from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The refund is a result of the university’s investment in renewable energy credits, known as “Green Tags,” purchased with student fee money to offset the institution’s energy usage. The foundation uses the money from student fees to research and develop sustainable energy projects and 20 percent of the total amount received is refunded back to the school for its own projects. The Student Fee Committee is weighing requests from students for ideas on how to use the money.
SUNY Oswego Launches Campus Donation Initiative
State University of New York at Oswego has created the Leave Green initiative to encourage students residing off campus to donate household and personal items as they prepare to leave town for the summer. Items to be collected include clothing, linens, rugs, kitchenware and appliances, electronics, furniture, office and school supplies, unopened cleaning products and nonperishable foods. The collected goods will be donated to local organizations.
U Calgary Researchers to Convert Sewage into Power
The University of Calgary's (AB) Schulich School of Engineering has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations Grant to pursue a global health and development research project. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the grant funds scientists and researchers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mold in how to solve persistent global health and development challenges. The engineering school will look at developing technology that will turn human excrement into a range of useful products such as methane gas, fertilizer, water, heat and electricity. Their idea is to design small residential units much like portable toilets but with built-in reaction chambers. Chemical and bacterial reactions would convert fecal matter and urine into solids for use as agricultural fertilizer and gases – mostly methane – that could be burned to make electricity. Pure water would be a byproduct.
