UI Chicago Establishes Community Garden, Replaces Light Bulbs
The University of Illinois, Chicago has established a new community garden on campus. The 40 foot by 30 foot plot is currently managed by one farmer, but the University hopes to open it up to more community helpers in the spring. In addition, the University's Office of Sustainability recently started an initiative to replace all incandescent light bulbs on campus with more efficient compact florescent bulbs. The Office estimates that by changing all of the bulbs in the main administrative building on campus, the University will save $170,000 annually.
UNC Wilmington Opens Student-Run Green Products Store
The University of North Carolina, Wilmington has opened ECOteal, a new student store devoted to environmentally friendly products and practices. The store offers transportation-related items, green products, and repair services; all merchandise is recyclable, biodegradable, or otherwise environmentally preferable; clothing is made from organic cotton or bamboo; and a local bike mechanic is available at the store by appointment every week.
U Wyoming Partners with GE for Cleaner Coal
The University of Wyoming and GE Energy have reached an agreement on a proposed development plan for the High Plains Gasification Advanced Technology Center. The Center is intended to enable researchers from both GE and UW to develop gasification and cleaner coal technologies for Powder River Basin and other coals. The center will include a small-scale gasification system.
WVU Announces the Sustainable & Renewable Energy Grants Prgm
West Virginia University has announced the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Grants Program. The Program will offer $500 to $1,000 grants to teams of WVU students to further their energy research projects. WVU will announce the grant winners in December. Funding will be available January 7th, 2009.
Indiana U, Purdue U Partner for Energy Research
Indiana University and Purdue University have partnered to form the Indiana Consortium for Research in Energy Systems and Policy to spur development and research in energy solutions. The Consortium aims to advance interdisciplinary research related to energy systems as well as environmental and energy policy issues. The Consortium joins the efforts of IU's new Center for Research in Energy and the Environment, Purdue's Center for Research in Energy Systems and Policy, and IUPUI's Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy. Its primary goals include facilitating the formation of interdisciplinary and multi-institution research teams; securing funding for research team projects; and conducting objective research focused on meaningful solutions to challenges resulting from increased demand for energy resources.
O.A.R. Launches Campus Sustainability Tour
Reverb, an environmentally focused non-profit, has announced O.A.R. as the featured band of its third annual Campus Consciousness Tour. The Tour aims to promote environmental sustainability among students and administrators at each college campus they visit. Each stop on the tour has an "interactive Eco-Village" featuring campus environmental groups. In addition, O.A.R. has begun using buses than run on biodiesel.
Indiana U Offers Sustainability Research Grants
The Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs has announced a new grant program that will provide opportunities for faculty members and students to develop externally funded research related to environmental sustainability. The Sustainability Research Development Grant program will allow for up to five $10,000 grants during the 2008-09 school year. Award recipients will be expected to develop new, collaborative lines of research that have the potential to develop into externally funded research projects; engage with other members of the university sustainability community; submit a report on their work to the dean of SPEA at the end of the fall semester following the award; and produce a grant proposal for continuation of the research for submission to one or more federal or state research organizations, foundations, or corporate sponsors.
Arizona State U Partners to Establish Solar Testing Facility
Arizona State University has partnered with TUV Rheinland Group to create TUV Rheinland Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory. The collaboration, which will be based in Tempe, will allow the two entities to test and certify PV panels and electrical components for Europe, Asia, and North America. Additionally, Arizona Public Service, one of Arizona's electricity providers, will provide five acres of outdoor testing space at its Solar Test and Research (STAR) Center for use by the venture to conduct outdoor endurance testing. TUV Rheinland will be the principal investor in the new company and will develop a new facility near ASU’s Tempe campus.
Campuses Celebrate Campus Sustainability Day
Several hundred campuses participated in this year's Campus Sustainability Day, October 22, 2008. The Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), in conjunction with the Higher Education Associations' Sustainability Consortium, organized a web cast with The New York Times Knowledge Network to discuss "Climate Realities, Challenges, and Progress in Higher Education." SCUP's Campus Sustainability Planning Network homepage lists several press releases and news stories about CSD events that too
Cornell U Announces Funding for Sustainability Research Projects & Workshops
Cornell University's (NY) Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future has announced its inaugural Academic Venture Fund awards. This year's awards granted funding to seven sustainability research projects and five sustainability workshops for Cornell faculty. The seven projects include improving the stability and productivity of algal bioreactors for biofuels production; integrated digital design environment for sustainable architecture; forecasting disease and economic consequences of climate change; environmental, energetic, and economic potential of biochar; understanding aflatoxin accumulation in maize; vibro-wind technology as alternative wind energy systems for buildings; and how plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electrifying transportation affects energy use and emissions. The projects are funded by the Center's 2008 budget of almost $3 million. The five workshop topics include large-scale wind-generated power; managing sources of uncertainty for sustainable resource management; building social networks for biological inventories and information; urban trees for sustainable cities to develop an integrated social-ecological sciences research agenda in New York City; and environmental sustainability in an aging society.
George Mason U, Smithsonian Partner for New Conservation Program
George Mason University (VA) and the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park have signed an agreement to develop a comprehensive academic program for undergraduates, graduates, and practicing conservationists. Multidisciplinary faculty members from Mason’s Center for Conservation Studies and the Zoo’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability have launched Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Education Studies, a program that will provide academic opportunities for up to 50 undergraduate students per semester and accommodate an additional 60 participants in the professional training and certificate programs that the partnership will offer. The program will offer students an opportunity to live and study at the Zoo’s 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center, where it cares for and conducts research on more than 30 critically endangered species.
Highland CC Breaks Ground for Wind Turbine Technology Ctr
Highland Community College (IL) has broken ground for a 5,500 square foot Wind Turbine Technology Center. The Center will be fully available for students beginning in the fall 2009 semester and will provide space to house an Associate's of Applied Science in Wind Turbine Technology. Additionally, the new center will be fitted with specialized tools and supplies through a partnership with Greenlee Textron, Inc.
Macomb CC to Establish Center for Green Auto Technology
Macomb Community College (MI) has begun work on an Advanced Technological Education Center that will focus on advanced automotive technology as part of the college’s effort to help steer the region toward the economy of the future. The center will focus on the growing fields of hybrid electric, alternative fuel, and fuel cell technology as they relate to all aspects of the automotive product life cycle: design, development, manufacturing, service, and recycling. The college, working with a consortium that includes Wayne State University, Henry Ford Community College, and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, was awarded a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an implementation plan for the new center, which would be based at Macomb’s South Campus in Warren.
Pomona Announces Sustainability Action Fellows Program
Pomona College (CA) has announced the creation of the Sustainability Action Fellows program. The new program will allow for a group of 29 students to participate in the creation of the College's Sustainability Action Plan. Each Fellow will be responsible for seeking out sustainability strategies in one of six areas: energy, water, purchasing, ducation/communication, waste and recycling, or environmental justice.
U Guelph to Establish Centre for Ag Renewable Energy & Sustainability
The University of Guelph (ON) has announced plans to establish the Centre for Agricultural Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES). The centre will have an agricultural focus, with the objectives of strengthening the agriculture sector, improving sustainability and development, increasing alternative energy and energy conservation, and leveraging education, training, and research.
3 Institutions Establish LED Research Center
The National Science Foundation has announced plans to establish a new Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) to supplant the common light bulb with next-generation lighting devices that are smarter, greener, and ready for innovation. The NSF-funded Smart Lighting Center, which is supported by University of New Mexico and Boston University (MA), will investigate and develop light-emitting diode (LED) technologies. Twenty faculty researchers from Rensselaer, along with 10 researchers from BU and UNM, will staff the new center.
Carnegie Mellon U Announces Fellowships for Data Center Efficiency
Carnegie Mellon University (PA) and APC by Schneider Electric have announced the establishment of the APC Fellowships for Data Center Efficiency Research. The APC Research Fellowships, which are intended to increase the number of students engaged in data center efficiency research, support Ph.D. students at Carnegie Mellon with research foci in the area of data center efficiency.
U Florida Dedicates Pilot Ethanol Plant
The University of Florida has dedicated a pilot ethanol plant on its campus. The plant will research using genetically modified E. coli bacteria to convert plant waste into ethanol. Funded as part of a $4.5 million state grant, the plant will also be used to train graduate students.
UW Madison Holds Carbon Neutral Homecoming Game
This year's University of Wisconsin, Madison homecoming football game against the University of Illinois has been designated carbon neutral. UW Madison has planted thousands of trees at a nearby farm and purchased carbon credits through the Chicago Climate Exchange to offset the carbon dioxide emissions generated directly by activities surrounding the game. The event also provided information on ways fans can take action in their daily lives to become more environmentally friendly.
Virginia Commonwealth U Dedicates Env'l Research Pier
The Virginia Commonwealth University Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences has opened and dedicated its new 5,100-square-foot research pier that gives scientists direct access to James River. The pier was developed in partnership with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and sits on an ecologically rich, 343-acre parcel of land located on the north bank of the river. The site also serves as a science educator training facility and a place for local K-12 students to participate in various activities.
Ryerson U Kiosks Promote Environmental Goals
Ryerson University (ON) has installed three new touch screen kiosks on campus that promote Ryerson's environmental goals. Students can click on the large blue information kiosks to find out more about RU's environmental initiatives and what they can do to help Ryerson achieve its green goals. More kiosks are scheduled to be built in the coming months.
U Arizona Establishes Institute for the Environment & Society
The University of Arizona has established the Institute for Environment and Society. The new institute's primary goal is to facilitate partnerships among university scientists and society in developing environmentally sustainable technologies, strategies, and policies that will strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life in Arizona and beyond. Diana Liverman of Oxford University has been recruited to co-direct the institute with Jonathan Overpeck, UA professor of geosciences and atmospheric sciences. Overpeck has been director of UA's Institute for the Study of Planet Earth, which will be replaced by the new institute.
U Arizona Makes Biosphere 2 More Sustainable
The University of Arizona Biosphere 2 has begun offering opportunities for UA faculty and students who work on sustainability research or who are involved in a sustainability-relevant course to do experiments or projects within the biosphere. Additionally, Biosphere two currently features an on-site recycling program and will soon contain a rainwater catchment system. In addition, landscape architecture students are developing designs for a new master site plan to better serve visitors and incorporate new sustainable systems in Biosphere 2 operations.
Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley Partner with India to Reduce GHGs
The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley have announced a joint research and development program in which researchers will work with the government and private sector of India to develop paths toward reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases while maintaining sustained economic growth. Scientists of the initiative, named the Berkeley-India Joint Leadership on Energy and the Environment, will conduct research on basic science and engineering, new technology development, and policies to promote market transformation to further energy efficiency, clean energy sources, and smart growth.
Oregon State U Selected for Marine Renewable Energy Center
Oregon State University has been selected as the site for the Northwest Marine Renewable Energy Center. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded OSU a $1.25 million annual grant, which can be renewed for up to five years. This will be combined with funds from the Oregon legislature, OSU, the Oregon Wave Energy Trust, the University of Washington and other sources to create a total of $13.5 million over five years that will help create the Center. This monetary support will primarily be used to build a floating “test berth” to test wave energy technology on the Oregon coast. Construction of the new floating test berth should begin in 2010.
U Delaware Launches Energy Institute
The University of Delaware has launched its new Energy Institute. The purpose of the new institute is to create and integrate new solutions to challenges in energy sufficiency and sustainability. University President Patrick Harker has also announced the establishment of the Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration, which will explore connection and storage issues related to wind and other intermittent energy sources.
UW Green Bay Announces Institute for Env'l Mgmt & Business
The University of Wisconsin, Green Bay has announced plans to establish the UW-Green Bay Institute for Environmental Management and Business. Key goals of the institute will include strengthening and connecting academic programs that analyze environmental problems and seek practical, cost-effective solutions to these problems; providing outreach services to businesses and agencies that seek options for addressing environmental problems; promoting research by faculty and students aimed at solving local, regional, and global environmental problems; and serving as an academic resource for improving environmental sustainability of the UW-Green Bay campus.
U Wisconsin Oshkosh Establishes Community Garden
Students at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh have established a community garden on campus. The project started in 2006, and the students broke ground on the garden in June of 2008. The UW Oshkosh Community Gardens is managed by a student organization on campus named “Community Gardens.” The purpose of the organization is to maintain and promote the campus garden while engaging students in activities that encourage self-sufficiency, sustainability, and community connection. The Oshkosh Community Gardens will provide workshops in composting, irrigation, permaculture, “Sprouts for Sprouts” and Master Gardeners, as well as internships, summer school, and Service-Learning opportunities. There will also be regular farmers’ markets with proceeds going to local charities. The garden is currently only open to student participation, but the University hopes to open it up to the community next year.
GWU Integrates Corporate Responsibility into MBA Program
The George Washington University (DC) School of Business has launched a curriculum imbued with theories and practical applications on ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, and globalization. The new Global M.B.A. and World Executive M.B.A. programs incorporate values, theory, and international residencies aimed at producing ethical leaders.
Montana University System Unveils Green Jobs Portal
The Montana University System has unveiled a new web portal aimed at helping college students study and find jobs in an alternative energy field. The new website, called "Montana Green Campus," was developed by the state Commerce Department and the University System and provides opportunities for students to study, work, and live green. The site offers a list of the more than 50 online degrees and 500 internet classes available through the university system.
Ohio U to Hold Eco-Homecoming
Ohio University's 2008 homecoming weekend has been given the theme, "Get Your Green On." Participants in the homecoming parade were encouraged to construct floats using recyclable materials, and the Recycling and Refuse Office provided reusable float materials to float makers. Additionally, OU's Office of Sustainability created the "Adopt-a-Game" program where student groups are recruited to collect trash and recyclables during timeouts during the football game.
Power Vote Campaign Launches Debate Tour
The Campus Climate Coalition's Power Vote campaign, a nonpartisan youth voter campaign to elevate the issue of climate change in the 2008 election, has launched its debate tour with a 39 foot tall windmill installation on the site of the University of Mississippi campus, the site of the first presidential debate between candidates John McCain and Barak Obama. As part of the tour, the windmills will travel the country for 22 days, hoping to be installed on each of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debate sites. The remaining sites include Belmont University (TN) and Hofstra University (NY). The windmill installation is part of Power Vote's larger campaign to mobilize 1 million young Americans to pledge their vote for clean and just energy.
U Kansas Engineering Students Design Hybrid Car
Students enrolled in the University of Kansas Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project class have used a 1974 Volkswagon Beetle to develop a hybrid car as part of a project called "EcoHawks." The students started by redesigning the engine to be able to use gasoline, biodiesel, and ethanol. This year's group used biodiesel that was produced in a chemical engineering laboratory on campus. The EcoHawks projects will continue after this academic year, choosing a different primary fuel source each year.
Mills College Creates Center for Socially Responsible Business
Mills College (CA) has established the Center for Socially Responsible Business at its Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business. The center plans to examine how businesses can improve social conditions in practical ways that do not harm and may even help their bottom lines. Created in part by a three-year grant from the Elfenworks Foundation, the Center aims to advance the study and practice of socially responsible business, promote its values, foster social responsibility in graduate business education, and build alliances with like-minded Bay Area companies, nonprofits, academic institutions, and government agencies.
North Carolina State U to Host Renewable Energy Research Center
North Carolina State University has announced that it will host the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems. The center will be supported by an initial five-year, $18.5 million grant from NSF with an additional $10 million in institutional support and industry membership fees. The new center will develop technology that transforms the nation's centralized power grid into an alternative-energy-friendly "smart grid"
Skidmore College Launches Eco-Reps Program
Skidmore College (NY) has launched a student Eco-Rep program, a peer leadership program designed to help increase environmental awareness among Skidmore students and to continue fostering environmentalism on campus. Skidmore has hired 10 paid student Eco-Rep positions that each work four hours a week in a residence hall. Five Eco-Reps will also serve as mentors to five first-year students as a service-learning project for a First-Year Experience seminar. The Eco-Reps will help the students learn about Skidmore's campus sustainability program, and also how to plan and implement sustainability initiatives and activities. To help them prepare for their new assignment, the Eco-Reps participated in a full day of training to gear up for the upcoming year of sustainability education. Training included learning about current Sustainable Skidmore initiatives, participating in peer leadership activities, setting goals, and brainstorming initiatives for the year.
South Dakota School of Mines to Host Bioenergy Research Center
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and the National Science Foundation have partnered to create The Center for Bioenergy Research and Development. The School of Mines will be the host institution for the center, which will be a consortium of universities, industrial partners, and governmental agencies. Members of the consortium include South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, Kansas State University, North Carolina State University, State University of New York Stony Brook, and the University of Hawaii. Each university pledges, as part of the membership agreement, to bring five industry or governmental partners on-board, which yields an industry commitment of more than 30 members.
Acadia U Grows Produce for Dining Hall
A group of 50 Acadia University (NS) students along with members of the community have started an organic garden on campus. The 1,400 square meter, university owned plot yielded produce for the University's cafeteria over the summer. The students, who are members of the Acadia Environmental Society, are also holding public meetings and workshops with local farmers and agriculture experts to share tips on developing sustainable agriculture systems. The University also provided the students and volunteers with equipment to be used at the Acadia Community Sustainable Farm.
Dominican U Holds Fall Lecture Series on Sustainability
The Dominican University (IL) Siena Center will explore the topics of sustainability and stewardship of the earth from a number of perspectives during a series of lectures throughout the fall. The series, titled “Sustainability and the Christian Tradition,” will consider what stewardship of the earth and care of creation demands of Christians, and how this relates to the larger struggle for social justice in the world.
Energy Action Coalition Launches Power Vote Campaign
The Energy Action Coalition has launched "Power Vote," a national non-partisan initiative to elevate the issue of the climate crisis this election season. Power Vote aims to unite one million young "climate voters" behind a platform centered on combating global warming pollution, creating millions of new green jobs, and ensuring our nation's energy independence by transitioning to a new clean energy economy. Those participating in the campaign, Power Voters, will mobilize young people for the Green Jobs No
Princeton U Expands Campus Garden
Princeton University (NJ) moved its student-run organic garden plot from a 12 by 55 foot piece of land to a 1.5 acre lot. The University has also provided the student garden with a storage bin for tools, a composting area furnished with large piles of leaves gathered from campus, two picnic tables, and a farm stand for washing newly harvested produce. The expansion is a result of the success of the pilot garden, which was started in the summer of 2007.
Sustainability Colloquiums at Ohio Wesleyan, U Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island's Fall 2008 Honors Colloquium, "People and Planet – Global Environmental Change," will explore human-caused global change, its consequences and potential responses through a series of lectures, films, exhibits and a cabaret. The series of free, weekly events featuring international experts and URI faculty members will run throughout the fall semester. In collaboration with public libraries throughout Rhode Island, URI’s Honors Colloquium will partner with book clubs to recom
U Minnesota Organic Farm Receives USDA Certification
The University of Minnesota's campus organic farm has received USDA certification. The garden, now in its fourth year, is maintained by students in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences.
U Tennessee Partners to Build Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Facility
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation has partnered with DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC to construct a pilot-scale biorefinery and research and development facility for cellulosic ethanol in Vonore, Tennessee. The pilot-scale biorefinery will develop the commercial package for DDCE's cellulosic ethanol technology. The project will utilize UT's expertise in cellulosic feedstock production and co-product research, as well as its work with Tennessee farmers to develop the first dedicated cellulosic energy crop supply chain for cellulosic biorefineries utilizing switchgrass. The facility design will incorporate the flexibility to operate on two different non-food biomass feedstocks: corn stover, cobs and fiber, and switchgrass. The plant capacity will be 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually. Site preparations are scheduled to begin this fall, and ethanol should be available from the pilot plant by December 2009.
Indiana U Releases Guide to Sustainable Student Living
The Indiana University Task Force on Campus Sustainability has released the "Indiana Sustainable Student," a guide to sustainable living practices for students that features such issues as water and energy conservation, alternative transportation, and sustainable food. The guide was produced by an IU senior who participated in the IU Summer Program in Sustainability, a summer sustainability internship program. In addition to providing concrete tips for sustainable living, the "Indiana Sustainable Student"
Montana State U to Host Wind Applications Center
Montana State University has been named by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory as the home for the state's Wind Applications Center. As part of the project, MSU will incorporate more wind-specific topics into existing engineering courses for students, help educate the public about wind energy and provide support for Montana's growing wind industry. The wind applications center contract, which was awarded in April, provides the University with $40,000 a year for three years. MSU will begin offering wind-related coursework this fall.
UC San Diego Students Help University Cool Buildings
A group of University of California, San Diego undergraduate students have designed, built, and deployed a network of five weather-monitoring stations as a key step toward helping the University use ocean breezes to cool buildings, identify the sunniest rooftops to expand its solar-electric system, and use water more efficiently in irrigation and in other ways. The network, which will be expanded to 20 stations in 2008, includes stations on San Diego-area schools and businesses.
U Florida Football Goes Carbon Neutral
The University of Florida has announced that the 2008 Florida Gators home football season will be carbon neutral. The initiative, named Neutral Gator, aims to offset carbon emissions produced from game day activities including automobile travel, flights, hotel stays, and stadium energy usage. UFL will be the first college to host a carbon neutral football season. Neutral Gator has also partnered with a local utility company to provide compact fluorescent light-blubs to low income neighborhoods and is working to install solar panels on the UFL campus. Neutral Gator is a result of a partnership between the UFL Office of Sustainability, the University Athletic Association, and the Florida based non-profit Earth Givers Inc.
Villanova U Announces Year of Sustainability, Sustainability Eng. Prgm
Villanova University (PA) has announced that its 2008-2009 academic year has been designated as the "Year of Sustainability." As part of this theme, VU has also developed an interdisciplinary Master's of Science in Sustainable Engineering, available for enrollment in 2009. Open to engineers from all different fields, this program introduces students to the broader issues of sustainability through a series of core courses and then allows them to pursue one of three specialty tracks: alternative energy, sus
Yale U Student Builds Sustainable House
Yale University (CT) graduate student, Elizabeth Turnbull, with the help of family and friends, has designed and constructed a sustainable house to live in while attending graduate school. The 144 square feet Tiny House, as she calls it, features a composting toilet, solar panels, and recycled sailboat sails for ceilings. Turnbull decided to build the house after she realized that building the structure would actually save her money on housing and greatly reduce her carbon footprint while at Yale.
