Bucknell U Releases Environmental Assessment
Bucknell University (PA) has released "A Comprehensive Environmental Assessment of Bucknell University." The goal of the document is to establish a baseline of existing conditions, provide a basis for improved sustainability, promote environmental awareness through the assessment process, and create an educational resource. The 226-page document covers administration and policy, education, energy, water, waste, purchasing, dining, built environment, and landscape.
Cal Poly Students Install Energy & Water Efficient Dishwasher
Student interns with the Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Campus Program and California Polytechnic State University’s Campus Dining have identified and installed an energy efficient dishwashing machine in the campus dining facilities. The replacement machine will save the campus 736,920 gallons of water, 9,321 therms of natural gas, and $16,647 annually.
DOE to Establish Energy Research Centers at 31 Universities
The White House has announced the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science will invest $777 million in Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) over the next five years. Out of 46 new Centers, 31 will be located at Universities. Supported in part by funds made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , the EFRCs will bring together groups of leading scientists to address fundamental issues in fields ranging from solar energy and electricity storage to materials sciences, biofuels, advanced nuclear systems, and carbon capture and sequestration. Over 110 institutions from 36 states plus the District of Columbia will be participating in the EFRC research. In all, the EFRCs will involve nearly 700 senior investigators and employ, on a full- or part-time basis, over 1,100 postdoctoral associates, graduate students, undergraduate students, and technical staff.
Emory U Building Awarded LEED Gold
Emory University (GA) has received LEED Gold certification for East Village, a student residential complex completed in 2008. The structure features a system that collects rainwater from the roof and the surrounding streets to use as irrigation water during dry periods. Other green elements include the use of natural daylight, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and a highly efficient heating and cooling system.
Hartwick College Gives Energy Theme to 2009-10 Academic Year
Hartwick College (NY) has named "Energy" as the theme for its 2009-10 academic year. Over the year, the college community will engage in discussions, events, and lectures that center on the increasing relevance of energy policies, carbon footprints, greenhouse gas inventories, and how the decisions made today about energy production, consumption, and conservation will affect the future. In addition, the campus will explore patterns of energy use and apply lessons learned to enhance energy conservation on campus and in the regional community.
Jesuit Colleges Newsletter & Magazine Feature Campus Sustainability
The Association of Jesuit Colleges and University featured sustainability as the major theme of its April 2009 newsletter, "Connections." In addition, Company Magazine , a magazine for Jesuits, featured campus sustainability in its Winter edition. The section, "Green Times," includes articles on sustainability projects at Saint Joseph's University (PA); Seattle University (WA); Santa Clara University (CA); Loyola University, Chicago (IL); Fordham University (NY); Xavier University (OH); Fairfield University (CT); Rockhurst University (MO); and John Carroll University (OH).
Northland College Students Vote to Double Green Fee
The student body at Northland College (WI) has voted to double its Renewable Energy Fund fee to $40 each semester. The funds are collected by the Northland College Student Association (NCSA) for sustainability projects of the students' choice.
St. Clair County CC Purchases Electric Car
St. Clair County Community College (MI) has purchased an electric car for its campus patrol. The car can travel up to 26 miles per hour and operates on six 12-volt batteries that can be charged with a standard electrical outlet.
SUNY Oswego Launches Car Share Program
The State University of New York at Oswego has signed a contract with Zipcar to provide two self-service cars to the campus community. The two vehicles, one of which is a hybrid, can be reserved online and are available to all faculty, staff, and students ages 18 and older. Faculty, staff, and students can join Zipcar for $35 and can drive for $8 per hour or $66 per day.
U California Berkeley Profs Receive Carbon Capture Research Grant
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded grants to two professors at the University of California, Berkeley for carbon capture and sequestration research. Professors Berend Smit and Donald DePaolo will get $2 million and $4 million a year, respectively, to seek better ways to remove carbon from the emissions of power plants and natural gas wells. Smit will work on more efficient scrubbing of carbon dioxide from power plant plumes and DePaolo will focus on how to better store carbon dioxide underground where it won’t leak out of porous rocks and into the air again.
U Denver Plants Campus Garden
Students and community members have planted a community garden on the University of Denver (CO) campus. The garden will include vegetables, herbs, and flowers. All editable food will either be donated to a local homeless shelter or used in a local foods meal at DU.
U Georgia Uses Recycled Water in Fountains
The University of Georgia has begun using recycled water in two campus fountains. UGA officials turned off the fountains during the 2007 drought and in the spring of 2008, a group of engineers redesigned the fountains to use rainwater collected on campus. The system also captures air-conditioning condensation to use in the fountains.
U Wyoming Receives $3M for Clean Coal Technology
The University of Wyoming's School of Energy Resources Clean Coal Technology Center has received a $1.5 million gift from the Arch Coal Foundation and a matching grant from the State of Wyoming. The $3 million will be used to support students and faculty who are dedicated to the development of improved technologies for the extraction of energy from coal.
Wheaton College Plants Apple Orchard
Wheaton College (MA) has planted an apple orchard on its campus. The Murphy Apple Orchard features 60 trees and will be maintained by two student interns throughout the summer and three student employees during the academic year. The orchard's steering committee hopes to expand the orchard and create a produce exchange with local colleges in the future.
Yale U Releases Sustainability Video
Yale University (CT) has released a video entitled, "Sustainability at Yale." The video features an introduction by President Richard C. Levin and an overview of the sustainability initiatives taking place on campus.
Angelo State U Signs $13.2M Energy Performance Contract
Angelo State University (TX) has signed a $13.2 million performance contract with TAC, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric. TAC has agreed to provide facility upgrades to improve operations, comfort, and efficiency at 26 campus buildings totaling 1.4 million square feet and guarantees that ASU will reduce utility costs by nearly $800,000 annually.
Brown U, Rhode Island School of Design Begin Bike Share Prgms
Brown University (RI) and the Rhode Island School of Design have begun new bike-share programs. RISD's program, which grew out of a class project, launched with 30 pink bicycles that are available to students for six-hour blocks. At Brown, students who pay a $5 yearly membership fee can be sign out bikes for a day.
Campuses Participate in Bon Appétit's Low Carbon Diet Day
Several campuses recently participated in Low Carbon Diet Day, an event when all Bon Appétit Company cafés offer a low carbon meal cooked by Bon Appétit chefs. Meals included turkey burgers (made with local turkey) topped with local avocados, cheese-less pizza, and burritos with quinoa, black beans, and local, sustainability farm-raised tilapia.
Campus Food Provider Establishes Fair Labor Requirements
Bon Appétit Management Company, a food service company operating 400 university and corporate cafés in 29 states, has established fair labor requirements that integrate minimum fair wage, worker empowerment stipulations, worker safety, third party-monitoring, and incentives to growers who exceed minimum requirements of the agreement. In an effort to address unfair treatment of Florida's farm-workers, Bon Appétit partnered with The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a farm-workers organization that fights for more humane farm labor standards in Florida, to forgo a new agreement that frames acceptable working conditions and enforces those conditions with a strict code of conduct.
Group Campaigns to Include Green Building in Architecture Accreditation
The Boston Society of Architects Architectural Education Committee has launched a campaign to encourage the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) to include carbon neutral building in the accreditation requirements for professional degree programs in architecture. The NAAB Board of Directors has approved the first reading of the 2009 Conditions for Accreditation , and the document is now available for review and comment by the general public. The deadline for comments is June 1, 2009.
Indiana U Dorms, Greek Houses Competes to Reduce Energy
Indiana University has completed its second annual Energy Challenge. The four-week-long challenge encouraged students to compete to reduce their energy and water consumption against a baseline of the average per capita electricity and water consumption over three years. Eighteen Greek houses participated for the first time this year, saving a total of 30, 975 kilowatts of electricity, 509,475 gallons of water, and $5,000. The 10 participating residence halls saved a total of 709,211 kilowatts of electricity, a 59 percent increase over last year, 1,120,813 gallons of water, an 83 percent increase over last year, and $42,000 in utility costs. The winning Greek house received a $900 cash prize, and the winning residence hall was awarded funds for the installation of a high-visibility energy conservation project in the amount of $4,500.
Inside Higher Ed Publishes Article on Sustainable Ag Education
Inside Higher Ed has published an article titled, "Green Revolution," that discusses the growth in sustainable agriculture programs on campuses across the nation. The article mentions the University of California, Davis and North Carolina State University and profiles programs at the University of Maine, the University of Missouri at Columbia, Montana State University, Washington State University, the University of Florida, and Iowa State University.
Kansas State U Completes Commuter Study
The Kansas State University Physical Activity and Public Health Lab has completed a study to help the University understand the attitudes about active commuting as well as the major obstacles that keep people from either walking or biking to their destinations. Participants were asked about their physical activity levels, driving, health, work habits, and reasons for or against active commuting. About 800 K-State students, faculty, and staff and 428 Manhattan residents answered the surveys. Researchers found that about 5 percent of students routinely biked while 15 percent routinely walked to campus. The group also found that the distance to campus is the major factor for most people in deciding whether to actively commute or not. According to the study, individuals living within a 20-minute walk or bike ride to campus were twice as likely to walk and 17 times more likely to bike to campus than individuals living farther away.
Luther College Increases Local Food Purchases
Luther College (IA) has increased the amount of local food purchases from 2 to 10 percent from the 2007-2008 to the 2008-2009 academic year. Luther uses locally grown ingredients in the salad bar items, main entrees, and desserts. The College defines local foods as items begin produced within a 100-mile radius of the College.
Moravian College to Expand Trayless Dining
Due to the success of its "Trayless Tuesdays" pilot program, Moravian College (PA) has announced plans to expand the initiative to every day of the week. The College realized a 20-25 percent reduction in food waste a result of the pilot project. Moravian's Trayless Tuesdays initiative has also been successful in raising student awareness. The administration estimates that 25 percent of students now voluntarily eat without the use of a tray on other days of the week.
Northland College Launches Collaborative for Sustainability Ed
Northland College (WI) has launched the Midwest Regional Collaborative for Sustainability Education (MRSCE). The goal of the MRSCE is to use education as the catalyst for community-based sustainability initiatives that engage four aspects of sustainability: environmental integrity, economic prosperity, social equity, and educational innovation. The MRSCE plans to host a five-day sustainability workshop this June and has launched an online social network for sustainability education. Each member on the website will be able to post a personal profile and add content to the website.
NY Times Covers Colleges Going Trayless
The New York Times has published an article on the growing number of colleges and universities that are eliminating the use of trays in the dining halls in an effort to reduce food, water, and energy waste. The article mentions Skidmore College (NY), Williams College (MA), the Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), Cornell University (NY), and the Culinary Institute of America (NY).
Penn State Dedicates Green School of Law
The Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law has dedicated its new 114,000-square-foot Lewis Katz Building. The structure was designed to meet LEED certification requirements and features a green roof, pervious surfaces, natural daylighting, and local and recycled content building materials. Construction of the building was completed in December 2008.
Roberts Wesleyan College Library Awarded LEED Silver
Roberts Wesleyan College’s (NY) B. Thomas Golisano Library has achieved LEED Silver certification. The $11 million, 43,000-square-foot library features a two-story atrium that supplies natural light with a north-south orientation, cork flooring and sunflower board cabinetry made with materials from local sources, and carpeting that was manufactured with recycled content. In addition, the Library is heated and cooled with a geothermal pump system.
Rutgers U Completes Campus-Wide Energy Challenge
Rutgers U (NJ) has completed its first-ever, campus-wide RU Energy Challenge. The month-long competition saved the University 250,000 kW of power. As part of the competition, members of the campus community received flyers and emails reminding them to turn off lights, wash their clothes in cold water, and turn the heat off whenever possible. The winning college received a 45-pound glass trophy.
Santa Clara U Sustainability Activist Wins Fulbright Award
Santa Clara University (CA) senior Elizabeth Tellman has won a Fulbright U.S. Student Award. Tellman, a double major in Environmental Studies and Individual Studies with an emphasis on Sustainable Globalization, plans to use the fellowship to continue work she began using a Hackworth grant at SCU. With fellow student Alexandra Dunne, she explored whether Salvadoran organic coffee farmers are better off with established or alternative trade networks to sell their coffee. She plans to continue that analysis as a Fulbright scholar for 10 months starting in August, measuring the various trade options by their impact on the farmers’ food insecurity, or whether they can grow or buy enough food for themselves and their families. While on campus, Tellman hosted multiple events each quarter to increase awareness in the areas of sustainability, labor rights, and cultural values surrounding food. Tellman also received honorable mention in the 2008 AASHE Student Sustainability Leadership Award program.
SUNY Plattsburg Energy Competition Nets 5% Savings
The State University of New York at Plattsburgh has completed "Power Down Plattsburgh," a challenge that asked all faculty, staff, and students to find ways of conserving energy on Earth Day. The University realized five percent in energy savings as a result of the initiative, which was sponsored by the newly formed Campus Sustainability Task Force.
Sustainability, Env'l Justice Major Topics of SCU Inauguration Speech
Santa Clara University (CA) has inaugurated its twenty-eighth president, Michael E. Engh. In his inauguration speech, Engh issued a proposal for Santa Clara to become a leading center for "just sustainability," to ensure that socially and economically marginalized people are no longer harmed in the effort to conserve resources. He also spoke of protecting the environment and listening to and protecting the poor, and educating students to do both.
U California Irvine Student Center Awarded LEED Gold
The University of California, Irvine Student Center has been awarded LEED Gold certification. The expansion earned the certification by exceeding energy performance requirements by 35 percent, diverting from landfills 83 percent of construction-generated waste, and incorporating plumbing fixtures that use 42 percent less water than conventional systems. The structure features reflective roofing, waterless urinals, access to public transit and UCI's shuttle system, and low VOC paint and carpet.
U Central Missouri Approves Energy Performance Contract
The University of Central Missouri has signed a 24 month, $36.1 million energy performance contract with Trane. Trane will guide the renovation and upgrade of campus buildings while focusing on energy savings and improving the learning and working environment across the campus. Key elements of the upgrades will include the installation of renewable energy-efficient HVAC systems, new hot water distribution systems, installation of more energy-efficient lighting, installation of campus-wide building automation, life safety measures, laboratory air systems and controls, green technologies for curriculum utilization and campus green awareness, replacement of roofs and windows on various buildings, and improved air handling systems and acoustical improvements for the classroom and office spaces.
U Delaware Releases Climate Action Plan
The University of Delaware has released a climate action plan that includes a commitment to reducing its carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020. UD has already completed an initial greenhouse gas inventory and has announced that its first step will be to make its 350 campus buildings more energy efficient. In addition, the University has set interim goals to reach a 5 percent reduction by 2012 and a 10 percent reduction by 2015. UD officials estimate that while the plan will cost $20 million over 10 years to implement, the energy savings will exceed $50 million.
U Idaho Collects Compost with Bike Trailer
The University of Idaho has begun the Moscow Coffee Compost Project (MoCoPro) in which 15 volunteers collect coffee grounds by bike and trailer from 11 coffee shops located on campus and in the community. In the first nine weeks of the program, volunteers transported more than three tons of coffee grounds to various composting sites around town. The program is free of charge and it completed supported by volunteers.
U Idaho Installs Bicycle Air Station for Commuters
The University of Idaho has installed an air station at its Steam Plant to encourage campus members to leave their cars at home and bike to campus. The station is free to anyone who needs it and provides tire valves for both types of bicycle tires.
U Idaho Receives Grant for Water Resources Education
The University of Idaho has received a $2.94 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a water resources project that connects the research community with middle and high school classrooms in rural northern Idaho and eastern Washington. The five-year project pairs graduate-level research scientists with middle and high school science teachers to enhance education on water resources through new classroom activities, workshops, and field projects. As part of the program, science topics will be linked to local and regional water resource topics, such as aquifer depletion or the politics of salmon, dams, and Indian Tribes.
U Kansas Installs Rain Garden
More than 200 student and community volunteers at the University of Kansas have installed a rain garden at the campus' Recreation Fitness Center. The 5,500 square foot rain garden, which allows for the absorption of rainwater runoff from urban areas such as roofs, sidewalks, driveways, and lawns, features more than 2,500 native plants. Once established, the garden will be self-sustaining, and the native plants will be able to survive with no fertilizer or pesticides and little maintenance.
U Maine Farmington Wins Power Down Competition
The University of Maine at Farmington has won the first-ever, national "Power Down for the Planet" challenge, a national competition to fight global warming by pledging to reduce the amount of energy used by computers on campus. Over 24 percent of the UMF campus community committed to sustainable computing practices. The contest results are based on which campus can recruit the highest percentage of their campus members to pledge to set their computer to sleep mode when not in use and to purchase Energy Star qualified computers when available. This energy saving commitment by UMF will save the University an estimated $17,000 annually. Nineteen campuses participated in the competition, and Jackson State University (MS) and the University of Iowa received second and third place respectively.
U Massachusetts Dedicates More Efficient Heating Plant
The University of Massachusetts has dedicated its new $133 million central heating plant, which was completed in 2008. The new plant recovers 80 percent of the energy, while plants of similar size generally recover about 40 percent, and it provides most of the electricity for the campus with a 10 MW combustion gas turbine. As a result, utility costs will be reduced by about 25 percent and carbon dioxide emission will be reduced by about 30 percent.
U Minnesota Crookston Students Support Red Lake Nation
Members of the University of Minnesota, Crookston Students in Free Enterprise team have announced two new projects: an effort to launch a recycling program at the Red Lake Nation's high school and middle school and an exploratory look at acquiring funding for one or more wind turbines. After speaking with members of the tribe, the student group decided to help them with two of their main needs – recycling and reducing energy costs through alternative sources. Members of SIFE and of the Red Lake Nation have begun collaborating on the projects.
U Pittsburgh Opens Green Children's Hospital
The University of Pittsburg Main Campus (UPMC) (PA) has opened the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Children’s Hospital’s new $625 million campus includes a 296-bed main hospital and four other buildings on 10-acres. The 1.5 million square feet of usable space features natural daylighting, easy access to public transportation, availability of bike racks and showers, preferred parking for van pools, water efficient landscaping, recycled content building materials, local/regional construction materials, and low VOC sealants, adhesives, paints, and carpets. Two buildings on the campus are registered for LEED certification. The new Hospital also plans to foster its green philosophy by working with clinicians, academicians, and the community to conduct research on the subject of sustainability and its health effects on children.
U Rochester Unveils Biodiesel Bus
The University of Rochester (NY) has unveiled its first biodiesel bus. The campus produces the biodiesel for the vehicle on campus by collecting waste vegetable oil from dining halls on campus. The new bus is a result of a business plan created by four UR students for an entrepreneurial competition in the spring of 2007.
Vanderbilt U Completes Env'l Commitment Statement, GHG Inventory
Vanderbilt University (TN) has adopted an Environmental Commitment Statement. The Statement affirms Vanderbilt's commitment to promoting lifelong learning about sustainability best practices for the benefit of the Vanderbilt community. The Statement includes Vanderbilt’s assurance that it will consistently implement, monitor, evaluate, and improve processes. The University has also completed and released its first Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
Virginia Commonwealth U Opens Green Research Building
Virginia Commonwealth University has officially dedicated the $71.5 million Molecular Medicine Research Building. The eight-story, 125,000-square-foot research facility is registered for LEED certification and features water efficient fixtures, an energy recovery wheel in the air handling system, a chilled beam air conditioning system, a green roof, and low hydrocarbon construction materials.
Wayne State U Engineering Dev Ctr to Study Green Technologies
Wayne State University (MI) has opened the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center. The $28 million, 82,500-square-foot facility contains labs that will be used to advance research in biofuels and diesel fuels, fuel cells, emissions and vehicle wear automotive systems; allow for 25 student faculty and student researchers to investigate ways to reduce traffic congestion and improve traffic and pedestrian safety; research and develop biotechnology applications that include micro-systems for artificial vision, real-time cancer detection, and other biological and neurological implants and smart sensors; and conduct advanced research in surface science, tissue engineering, drug delivery, and biomaterials.
Wayne State U Installs Wind Turbine
Wayne State University (MI) has installed a Franklin Vertical Axis Wind Turbine atop its Engineering Technology Building in Midtown Detroit. The University believes that it is the first small wind energy turbine of its kind in North America. The new 30 feet tall turbine will produce 5 kW of electrical energy and will initially power the computer lab of the building.
