AASHE Blog: Campus Sustainability Perspectives

AASHE Interview Series: Tim Galarneau, Food Systems Education & Research Program Specialist, University of California, Santa Cruz

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:33:54 +0000

This week’s interview is with Tim Galarneau, who works as the Food Systems Education & Research Program Specialist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prior to working full time at UC Santa Cruz, Tim was active as a student at UCSC working to establish a campus sustainability council, chairing the Student Environmental Center, and helping create the Food Systems Working Group. In addition to his full time duties at UCSC, Tim also works to further the progress of the Real Food Challenge, a campaign to increase the procurement of real food on college and university campuses, with a national goal of 20% real food by 2020.

What you are doing to make UC Santa Cruz a more sustainable campus?

Beginning as a student (from 2002-2005) I helped establish the Campus Sustainability Council which created a $250,000 funding body to fund student based campus sustainability projects. I also chaired our Student Environmental Center and student campaign to increase the sustainability of our campus food system. Through that effort, we created the UCSC Food Systems Working Group (FSWG). The FSWG has set shared action steps and objectives to foster sustainable procurement, enhanced operational practices, composting and waste reduction, and popular education and academic based research and learning opportunities. The FSWG and dining serivces have worked to increase local, organic food procurement by 24% (with 22,000 meals served a day this is a great deal of food!) and purchases coffee that goes beyond fair trade standards (example- CAN Coffee, which pays $3.32 per lb versus Fair Trade which only gives $1.27 per lb).

Since graduating and continuing to coordinate our campus FSWG and its respective activities I have also assisted with our campus sustainability assessment food section and current design of our campus sustainability plan food section. In addition, my role at the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) has allowed me to establish a Sustainable Agrifood System Fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students working on building further research and education into their campus food systems based work). This year UCSC SAS fellows are working with students from across community colleges, state schools, and other UC campuses.

How did you become involved in working to develop sustainable food systems?

It began with my interests around environmental justice and the impacts of historically marginalized communities, and the environmental and social factors that were part of the problem set. Specifically, issues of pesticide drift, farmworker exploitation, GMO contamination and intellectual patent rights in “developing” nations, and how communities are responding to these, and points of impact and intersection. I further began to see how our global agrifood system contains such a complex set of issues that to awaken students and bring them into a deeper sense of relationship to their food system, we need to begin with where they’re situated….hence their institution. Furthermore, linking food to climate change (as a leading human-induced greenhouse gas contributor) and showing how it's a major channel for US water usage, offers another set of ideas around which to build popular education and create a student campaign. So I got “both feet dirty” and helped launch Students for Organic Solutions which was a student organization advocating for a shift in procurement practices at UCSC as well as increased educational partnerships and building new ways to provide learning around the intersections of food.

What is the farm to college movement?

The farm to college movement has been rumbling along as a precursor to the most recent surge of food and nutrition concerns. It has its origins in farmers, students, faculty, and staff wanting to see new relationships of support within regional food and farming economies. It varies across region/geography, growing seasons, and ranching and farming systems, and includes various stakeholders, leaders, levels of buy-in and support, and many other important factors in creating lasting partnerships and a more just and sustainable food system. There are over 300 farm to college programs out of about 4,000 institutions of higher education and the number is steadily increasing every year.

What do you find most challenging about incorporating local and/or organic food into campus dining?

The greatest challenges entail a few important variables to note:

Student education/awareness - creating a link for students that have historically been immersed in a complex food system of packaging, branding, and high processed diets and access points requires the need for popular education and course-based programming that can link “local” and “organic” to broader values of health, wellness, justice, and sustainability. Students tend to support their values and question the systems they live within and this provides the opportunity to link broader values with concrete changes in procurement. In a recent study undertaken at CASFS on surveying the farm to college market, students reported that learning about sustainability and food at the point of purchase/consumption was more valuable than in class education around the issues. That really speaks to the need to bridge the institutional operational sites with relevant learning.
Administrative knowledge and time to work on this issue - given the constant demands and challenges within food services, having them understand how to integrate seasonal menu planning in their menu cycling and how to connect to vendors/distributors that supply regional, local, and organic produce that has source verification/direct connections to the sites of production isn’t an easy step for some (and varies across the country). This is an educational opportunity for both the distributors/suppliers and food service buyers and production managers.
Costs of local, organic, & sustainable food - the myth and reality of this issue is worth taking a moment to explore. If a campus can assess their current procurement practices and understand and get a baseline of what they’re currently doing they can then examine incremental steps to increasing sustainable procurement. A few ways to address costs include:
-Buying in season (when the product volume is high and costs lower),
-Crop planning with growers to lock down a price and volume of sourcing
-If creating sauces, jams, and jarred/canned foods, link up with buying the second tier of product which can often be sourced at half the cost of the premium (i.e. tomatoes, fruits, etc….)
-Rodney Taylor from Riverside Unified School district added a junk food tax at his schools which subsidized sourcing local, organic food for a salad bar in every elementary school in his district (thus added an internal tax of anywhere from $0.10-$0.50) onto a product that is not healthy and doesn’t promote the wellness of students.
-UC Santa Cruz went trayless last year and has reduced food waste by nearly 40%, which directly provides savings to the bottom line as well as saving over 1,000,000 gallons of water….thus thinking outside of the procurement box to create programs to allow more emphasis on increasing best practices.
-Meatless or beefless days: either creating education to remove meat off the menu cycle one day a week or beef can provide serious cost savings that you can re-invest into more sustainable product.

What advice would you give to others interested in bringing more local and/or organic food to their campus who are just getting started?

I would advise students to join the Real Food Challenge to link into a network of resources and stakeholders looking to support such activities
Other activities for campus stakeholders would include:

Conduct an assessment of current sourcing practices (*ed. note - Tim is happy to provide a template, leave a comment if interested) as well as mapping out educational programs & organizations that could assist in these efforts.
Convene a Food Systems Working Group or stakeholder body (which could be independent or connected to a sustainability office, campus sustainability committee, or climate action committee) to lay out purchasing, operational, and educational goals and priorities for your campus’s work
Outreach to partner NGOs working on food and farming to help you problem-solve distribution and access issues ; if you’re a land grant work with your sustainable ag. campus stakeholders to assist with such endeavors
Link to student leadership and empowerment opportunities through class credit, internships, and student work study/non-work study positions to help with this work

How are your efforts funded?

My current efforts at CASFS are funded through a USDA special research grant that allows flexibility and relevancy to community stakeholder issues as well as my own passion. My advising work to the Real Food Challenge (RFC) & the California Student Sustainability Coalition (CSSC) are in kind support.

In what ways are students involved in your work?

From internships, paid positions, to research and education partnerships I am committed to extending mentoring opportunities for students that are interested in being involved in this work.

What aspect or sustainable food systems do you find students to be the most enthusiastic about?

Their enthusiasm stems from social justice, humane issues with animals in food production systems as well as environmental (i.e. pesticide free, water & energy conservation) and community based (i.e. local) indicators. Students understand that the current food system is broken and that they can focus on stronger values driving the three stool legs of sustainability (i.e. social, environmental, and economic) and provide the intersections for good work to emerge.

Are you involved in efforts to incorporate sustainable agriculture into the curriculum? How?

I have assisted with the development of co-curricular and curricular programs and education with undergraduate course at UCSC as well as advising two fellows from UC Davis who focused on the new sustainable agriculture major there. In addition to many class based presentations across different departments on my research, education, and program development work.

You are also involved with the Real Food Challenge, what is your role there and what are your goals?

My role is being part of the national administrative team that advises the ongoing development and structure of the RFC as well as advising the West coast region and the student leaders there. Being a co-founder of RFC I have contributed time to provide research & educational models, studied and accrued overtime to assist the larger movement emerging through RFC. I am constantly inspired and humbled by the young leaders stepping up to inspire their peers, build a hands-on educational/transformational experience while in school, and taking their skills into the world understanding their responsibility for civic engagement.

Final question, what's your favorite food to grow?

I enjoy growing early-girl dry farmed tomatoes that burst with flavor as well as pardon peppers for a little sweet and spicy kick!

Table Dancing for Climate Action

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:06:24 +0000

On October 24, 2009, people in 181 countries came together to celebrate the International Day of Climate Action. Over 5200 events took place around the world, many of them on college campuses in the U.S. and Canada. My personal favorite (of those about which I read) was a spontaneous, yet coordinated event organized by the student group Bates Energy Action Movement at Bates College (ME). See the video below.

350.org's international campaign is dedicated to "building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis" (http://www.350.org/mission), and I was impressed to see that Goshen College (IN) took it a step further and incorporated events related to sustainability. They held an environmental and social justice coffee hour as part of their celebrations.

St. Lawrence University (NY) held a bike-walk-run, Allegheny College (PA) made a chandeleir out of 350 pieces of recyclable trash, Smith College (MA) made 350 origami cranes and rang its campus bell 350 times at 3:50pm, Concordia University (ON) held a recruitment effort to get 350 students to bike around Montreal, the University of British Columbia held a parade on the Cambie Bridge, and the University of Illnois held a climate change rally. Let me just say, student never cease to amaze me. They always come up with great ideas to create awareness and change on their campuses, across the country, and around the world. Never doubt the capabilities of a student.

Are Your Energy Savings Real? Energy Modeling and Management at Rice University

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:01:44 +0000

by Richard Johnson, Director of Sustainability, Rice University

When are reductions in energy consumption verifiable savings?

With the emergence of the ACUPCC and increasing focus on energy costs and supplies, universities across America are pursuing measures to reduce their energy consumption and their greenhouse gas emissions. As these schools attempt to measure their results and document savings, I ask how do they really know when they are saving energy?

Let’s assume that a campus building is metered for all utilities, and that these utilities can be tracked on a weekly basis. And further, let’s assume a two-week experiment, and that at the beginning of the second week space temperatures in the building are changed as part of a new campus building temperature policy to reflect what is considered to be a more efficient range. If the meter readings were lower in week two than week one, can a utility manager conclude that the energy conservation measure was a success? Given our experience at Rice University, we would argue that the answer is no.

The energy consumption of a building from one time period to the next is influenced by a number of variables, including outdoor temperature, humidity, time of day, day of the week, and day of the year. In the example above, week two could have been significantly cooler than week one, potentially leading to a false conclusion about the effectiveness of the new policy, and even masking unintended consequences of changing space temperatures. However, by creating a weather-normalized baseline model for energy consumption as our energy managers have done at Rice and then comparing this baseline against actual meter data, we submit that utility managers can be much more confident in interpreting their results.

Figure 1

How might one visualize this? Figure 1 presents one week of data for chilled water consumption at our student center, the Rice Memorial Center. The y-axis expresses chilled water consumption, and the x-axis represents time. The red line shows the modeled baseline for chilled water consumption for that building. The variation in the red baseline between daytime and nighttime is obvious, reflecting that we use more chilled water to condition the building during the day than we do at night. And yet, while the model for each day looks generally similar in shape, it is not exactly the same, because in reality these days were of course not the same. The blue line represents actual consumption, drawn straight from the chilled water meter at the building in near real-time. What we see is that due to a variety of conservation measures enacted in that building during the summer of 2009, actual chilled water consumption is now consistently well below the baseline model. Prior to these initiatives, the baseline and the actual meter readings would have been quite similar. These results are weather-normalized: we’re not having to guess whether the savings might be related to a cold front or a series of cloudy days.

Figure 2

We can use this system to express cumulative building-level savings (or losses) from electricity, chilled water, and steam in dollars. Figure 2 shows daily utility expenditures for the Rice Memorial Center over a 30-day period. The green bars represent actual daily costs, while the black lines are the predicted costs according to the baseline model. Notice how each day has a different predicted consumption? The blue space between the green bars and black lines indicates savings. On the right side of Figure 2, we see that over a 30-day period, we saved $4,931.49 in steam, $1,618.11 in chilled water, and $780.13 in electricity, for a total utility savings of $7,329.74.

The ability to plot meter data against a predictive baseline is a game-changer for campus energy conservation. Every two weeks, we hold an interdepartmental meeting to review the performance of a number of our campus buildings using this tool. Sometimes we see unexpected results that trigger maintenance work orders. Sometimes we find buildings whose nighttime setback temperatures have been placed in an override mode and need to be restored (and we can see the amount of money that we lost as a result of that decision). In the case of our own facilities building, when an unexpected electrical load caused us to consume more electricity than predicted by the model, we were able to estimate the size of the additional load, and our maintenance manager tracked it down to a baking booth in the paint shop that had been switched on and left on for several days. As one of my colleagues frequently observes, this tool allows us to shine the bright light of truth on how we’re consuming energy on our campus.

Rice’s approach to energy modeling is now the basis of a campus energy management product in development by Incuity Software, a subsidiary of Rockwell Automation. We are working to embed within this system the ability to track greenhouse gas emissions, which would enable us to display and report campus-level and building-level predicted and actual carbon footprints, divisible by type of utility. The position of our energy management team is that unless energy consumption is tracked against a weather-normalized baseline, we are suspicious of claims of actual savings. The implications for greenhouse gas reporting are clear: as we develop our inventories and compare them with previous years, did we enact measures that genuinely reduced our emissions, or did cooperative weather make us lucky? Without a proper baseline, we just don’t know.

EPA Signs Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:01:44 +0000

by Brittany Zwicker, Second Nature Intern

On September 22, 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator Lisa Jackson signed their Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. This is the final version of the proposed rule we alerted you to in the April issue of The ACUPCC Implementer (EPA Proposes National Reporting of GHG Emissions).

The new rule will go into effect on January 1, 2010 and the first reports will be due on March 31, 2011, reflecting emissions from the 2010 calendar year. The rule will require reporting by all facilities that release annual emissions of 25,000 metric tons CO2 equivalent (25,0000 mtCO2e), and the data reported will reflect 85% of all emissions in the United States. Similar to the ACUPCC’s transparent reporting system, the emissions reported to the EPA will be publicly posted.

As of October 2009, the ACUPCC has collected 719 greenhouse gas emissions inventories from 448 higher education institutions. Since many of the ACUPCC signatory schools already know their baseline GHG emissions, it will make it much easier for them to determine if they have to report. An analysis of the reports shows that approximately 60 ACUPCC signatories of the 448 that have already submitted GHG reports may have to report to the EPA.

Bob Koester, Implementation Liaison at Ball State University, says he believes that being a signatory to the ACUPCC places his school in a very good position for reporting to the EPA. They already have documentation of their GHG emissions and know that they will have to report. The EPA regulation may also assist the ACUPCC committee at Ball State in getting their Climate Action Plan approved. “We plan to talk about the EPA’s regulation when we present our Climate Action Plan to our president next month, to demonstrate that we are ahead of the curve in reducing our emissions and to gain support for our plan,” he said.

Although the rule has required reporting from certain emissions sources (i.e. cement or aluminum plants), the area most likely to be relevant to college or university campuses is the requirement for emissions from stationary fuel combustion equipment or boilers. In these cases, the details of the rule require reporting based on a single facility’s emissions. A facility is defined in the rule as “as any physical property, plant, building, structure, source, or stationary equipment located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public right-of-way and under common ownership or common control, that emits or may emit any greenhouse gas.” At Ball State for example, the electricity generating heat plant and all of its associated components are located in a central location on campus, constituting one “facility.” Conversely, at the University of Kentucky (not a signatory school), there are two coal-fired power plants at different ends of campus. In this case, the university will have to figure out the emissions from each plant to see if either emits more than the 25,000mtCO2e threshold.

For assistance in determining if your school will have to report, the EPA has released a table model with descriptive guidance and a more in-depth Applicability Tool for just that purpose. If you determine that you do have to report, be aware that the information the EPA requires might be different than that required by the ACUPCC. Also, since the reporting requirements are based on annual emissions, the EPA recommends that even if a facility is emitting less than 25,000mtCO2e at the beginning of a particular year, an institution should begin tracking emissions through the year to ensure that by December the facility has not exceeded the reporting requirement threshold. There is also an incentive for facilities to reduce their emissions built in to the rule. The EPA explains, “Once subject to this reporting rule, reporters must continue to submit GHG reports annually. A reporter can cease reporting if the required annual GHG reports demonstrate that reported GHG emissions are either (1) less than 25,000 metric tons of CO2e per year for five consecutive years or (2) less than 15,000 metric tons of CO2e per year for three consecutive years.”

For more technical information and answers to specific questions, the EPA has released a fairly extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions to accompany the rest of the documents collected on the issue. ACUPCC signatories might also be interested in the EPA’s annual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks Report (Inventory) which is a top-down assessment of the all of the emissions in the country.

Bookmark this Site! CampusGreenBuilder.org

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:01:44 +0000

by Amy Seif Hattan, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Second Nature and Gina Coplon-Newfield, Communications Director, Second Nature

This week, Second Nature launched a new free, interactive web site, the Campus Green Builder, to help universities and colleges build and renovate sustainably on their campuses. This large web portal is specifically focused on green building in the higher education sector, providing numerous links to green building-related web sites, directories of experts, and resources for training and funding opportunities.

The site is relevant to all higher education institutions but is particularly geared towards community and technical colleges, minority-serving institutions, religiously-affiliated institutions, and other under-resourced colleges and universities. The site was created in order to help build internal capacity at schools with fewer resources to spend on bricks and mortar projects, less in-house knowledge about green building, and limited opportunities to learn from peer schools that have excelled in this arena.

As a “portal” to the many excellent – but sometimes hard to find – resources spread throughout cyberspace, this web site is a one-stop shop for information on campus green building. Visitors to the site will learn about financing bricks and mortar projects, workshops and other current events, news on green building, hiring the right green contractor, and other topics critical to the campus green building process. In addition, the site presents new, comprehensive case studies of green building at under-resourced schools and an interactive format enabling visitors to contribute information about their schools’ green building projects. A blog allows for visitors to ask questions and share lessons learned with peers.

Under-resourced schools that visit the Campus Green Builder site will learn about special discounted offers to access the BuildingGreen Suite, an online database of resources for green building that has been compiled by Building Green, LLC, the publishers of Environmental Building News, and for membership in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). They will also access information on how to participate in the other activities offered by Second Nature.

The development of Campus Green Builder is part of the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education initiative launched by Second Nature in 2009 and made possible by a $1.2 million grant from The Kresge Foundation. The goals of the initiative are to make green building at colleges and universities “business as usual,” to level the playing field for all institutions of higher education to access funding and technical resources for green building, and to encourage schools to commit to climate neutrality through the ACUPCC. In addition to the web portal, the Advancing Green Building in Higher Education initiative also provides green building fellowships for senior college and university managers, regional institutes for minority-serving institutions, and strategic direction for green building education in collaboration with the US Green Building Council.

Buildings account for an estimated 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to global climate change. In the higher education arena, more and more institutions are constructing high-performance, healthy facilities that reduce or eliminate harmful emissions and waste. Green building is an integral part of many institutions’ climate action plans, and this site provides an abundance of resources to assist their efforts in this area, including information on expert assistance, models to guide decision-making, and funding resources.

Transforming the Academy: Fostering a Climate Literate, Energy Aware, Science Savvy Society

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:01:44 +0000

by Mark S. McCaffrey, Associate Scientist III, The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Education & Outreach Group, University of Colorado at Boulder

In the past fifty years, as the population of the planet has more than doubled, emissions of carbon into the atmosphere have risen from about two to nine gigatons a year, with 12 gigatons a year projected by 2030. Given the overwhelming body of knowledge that confirms that these emissions and other human activities will fundamentally change life on Earth, probably for the worse, it’s fair to ask educators what they are doing to combat this issue.

Indeed, how well have we as U.S. educators done in recent years to foster a climate literate, energy aware society? As an educator focused on these topics, I believe we have failed in providing our students the necessary background for understanding the basics of climate – which is a prerequisite for understanding anthropogenic climate change – or in helping them appreciate the ecological and social ramifications of a fossil-fuel driven economy.

The National Science Education Standards developed in the mid-1990s don’t include any content standards relating to anthropogenic impacts on the climate system. While state standards are somewhat better, few emphasize solutions. In higher education, in part because faculty themselves lack background and often dictate what is taught, only a few universities or colleges have such requirements. A colleague in one prominent Environmental Studies program admits that even students in their renowned program can skate through to a degree without being required to understand the basics of climate and energy science, in part because policy is emphasized and science is not.

We may ask students and maybe even ourselves to measure their carbon footprint, use carbon calculators, buy carbon offsets, and reduce their carbon emissions. In doing so, we usually assume that the connection between carbon and climate is clear, when in fact it usually isn’t. In recent years we seem to have put all our eggs in the proverbial basket of fighting climate change by simply branding CO2 as something “bad” that needs to be gotten rid of. Were that it were that simple. Anthropogenic climate change is a symptom of, among other things, an educational system that has been unable to foster holistic, whole-systems thinking. To minimize the impacts and adapt to the changes that are already occurring, we need nothing short of an educational revolution. Is it possible to understand (and act on) climate change without a fundamental understanding of climate principles? Perhaps. But being firmly grounded in the basics of climate science including the human dimension (how we are influenced by climate and how, now, we influence climate) will go a long way to fostering effective solutions.

Which is where the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy can come in. Developed by educators, communication experts and climate scientists, reviewed and endorsed by 13 federal agencies involved with the US Climate Change Science Program (now the US Global Change Research Program), the Essential Principles and related resources, such as the Climate Literacy Handbook, and programs, such as teacher workshops and online courses, can help backfill the enormous gaps we as a society have. The seven principles below, which every faculty member should be familiar with and whenever appropriate weave into the fabric of their teaching – are framed by a guiding principle for informed climate decision-making: That humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts.

Following are the seven essential principles with suggested, preliminary solution strategies:

The Sun is the primary source of energy for Earth’s climate system (Focus on solar cooking, passive/seasonal solar design, photovoltaics, solar thermal, concentrated solar power)
Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth system (Compare fossil fuels with nuclear power and renewable energy such as wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal)
Life on Earth depends on, is shaped by, and affects climate (Photosynthesis as the core of carbohydrates and the food chain and root of hydrocarbons/fossil fuels, and how biosphere and climate system are closely coupled)
Climate varies over space and time through both natural and man-made processes (Examine energy consumption on short (diurnal) to seasonal scales, as well as projected longer term trends and solutions)
Our understanding of the climate system is improved through observations, theoretical studies, and modeling (Make use of all STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics—disciplines as well as arts and humanities to enrich and expand climate and energy studies)
Human activities are impacting the climate system (Examine energy consumption patterns and systems, as well as social, economic and psychological barriers to changing behavior and transforming activities)
Climate change will have consequences for the Earth system and human lives (Focus on not only mitigation of greenhouse gases, but energy and social equity issues, climate adaptation, and emerging opportunities and careers that don’t currently exist)

While the principles are in many respects “no brainers,” the fundamental concepts nested below each principle require unpacking. Many of the concepts don’t specifically relate to human-induced change, but, clearly, understanding basic climate dynamics is imperative to finding effective solutions. Putting a climate action plan together is not trivial, but when all is said and done it’s largely a narrative wrapped around a spreadsheet with various assumptions that run decades into the future when some of our students may still be around but most of us won’t be. Transforming the academy so that graduates will have a full appreciation for the problem, the immensity of the challenge, and the skills to address the known and unknown technical, psychological and organizational issues should be the highest priority of all.

Decarbonizing the global economy, addressing energy equity and justice issues, and building resilient communities will require a fully informed, climate literate, energy aware and, yes, science savvy society. No, we don’t all need to be climatologists or energy experts to make informed choices. But we do need a far more integrated, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach than what exists now, with energy policy over here, climate science over there, and sustainability over in that new building on East campus.

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Sidebar links:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tyndall

2. http://www7.nationalacademies.org/archives/IGYPlanetEarthPosters.html

3. http://www.seed.slb.com/subcontent.aspx?id=4120

4. http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2007-2008/papers/leiserowitz_anthony.pdf

Creative Campus Sustainability Day Events Galore

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:19:20 +0000

The 7th annual Campus Sustainability Day, which took place on October 21, 2009, was very engaging and creative this year! Campuses offered week-long events, scavenger hunts, bike-powered blenders, rooftop garden parties, free bike tune-ups, mini-grants for campus sustainability projects, an Art for the Sky project of a raven embracing the earth, and SCUP's annual webcast. Here are the details:

Michigan State University's week long celebration included a tour of its new Surplus Store and Recycling Center and a campus sustainability day scavenger hunt, which worked like this: participants were given clues that pointed them to a location where they would find the next clue. The first clue was posted on on MSU's sustainability website, and participants had a total of 3 days to find 5 clue sheets. Prizes for the scavenger hunt included a $50 gift certificate from MSU bikes and a year-long bike lease!
Boston University (MA) demonstrated how to power electronics with a bicycle. They connected a bicycle to a blender and offered "bike-powered smoothies."
Cleveland State University's (OH) events lasted from 11am to 10pm that night and included a rooftop garden party on the Recreation Center's green roof.
Willamette University (OR) announced mini-grants for campus sustainability projects. This year's Sustainability Mini-Grants helped to create cold frames at a nearby community garden, an environmental justice equity project, additional bicycle racks, and a helment use campaign, among other projects.
Iowa State University offered free bike tune-ups.
Butte College (CA) hosted several teach-in panels with faculty members, students, and outside experts. Topics included the biological and physical consequences of climate changes; the socio-economic, cultural, psychological, and philosophical aspects of climate change; and the importance of acquiring a well-rounded understanding of sustainability issues. They also had Daniel Dancer, an internationally recognized conceptual eco-artist and environmental photographer, create an Art for the Sky project on the College's football field. Using between 1,000 and 2,000 college students, faculty and community members, Dancer created an image of a giant black raven embracing the earth.
During the Society for College and University Planning's webcast, "Sustainability Strategies for Vibrant Campus Communities," this year's panelist discussed their own experiences with green initiatives, cost control issues, and the effects of uncertain revenue. They also addressed the question, "Can higher education afford to not make sustainability its core strategy?" If you couldn't attend the webcast, the archived version is now available.

Taking out the Trash

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:05:28 +0000

A new duty will be added to a few school’s faculty and staff job descriptions this year. Buried amongst qualifications such as research, publication and teaching experience will be this line, “Successful applicants will show a demonstrated ability to properly sort recyclables and take out their own trash.”

Programs at Purdue University, St. Michael’s College, University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Vermont are aimed at encouraging employees to be more conscious about both recycling and the amount of trash they produce. Their tactics vary but the basic idea is this; if employees are more aware of the trash they produce, they will produce less.

At Purdue, employees are provided with desk-side recycling containers but must walk to a central location to throw trash away. In its pilot phase the program saw recycling participation reach 99.5 percent and it is now being implemented campus-wide.

St. Michael’s College in Colchester, VT has begun to monitor employee trash. Employees who don’t comply with the recycling policy don’t get their trash picked up.

The University of Vermont has begun placing small, green “mini-bins” on employees’ desks in an effort to have them trash less. They are responsible for emptying both their mini-bin and recycling at a central location. This move could save close to $400,000 while also leading to more recycling.

Similarity, the University of Colorado at Boulder has eliminated office trash pick-up partly because employees were doing such a good job of recycling that there was often no trash to remove. Employees will be responsible for taking out what trash they do have.

Not only will these new programs help save money, they will also promote awareness of how daily lives and choices have an effect on the world. By returning to the basic responsibility of taking out the trash - something most everyone learns to do as a child - people are connected in an intimate way with an oft-overlooked aspect of life. It is this type of individual action, this returning to something so basic we tend to forget it even happens, that can ultimately have a huge impact on our communities and world. What an unexpected call to action it is; “Take out the Trash!”

For more information see:
Purdue - Innovative program boosts Purdue recycling, goes campus-wide
St. Michael’s College - Faculty at fault for trashing recyclables
University of Colorado at Boulder - Budget cuts prompt CU-Boulder to stop office trash pickup
University of Vermont - New Garbage Policy Reduces Costs, Waste

AASHE's Campus Sustainability Discussion Forums are here!

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:29:28 +0000

The AASHE Campus Sustainability Discussion Forums are here!

If you have an interest in joining in on interactive campus sustainability discussions, you will want to visit and participate in the forums. The forums provide a central place where those interested in campus sustainability can ask and answer questions, share knowledge and expertise, and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on campus sustainability.

There are 17 forum topics (which parallel the STARS sub-categories): co-curricular education, curriculum, research, buildings, climate, dining services, energy, grounds, purchasing, transportation, water, waste, coordination and planning, diversity and affordability, human resources, investment, and public engagement.

As noted above, the forums include a topical section on climate. It will be of great value for the 650+ institutions committed to achieving carbon neutrality as signatories of the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment.

We anticipate that the forums will catalyze meaningful discussion and valuable information sharing among those interested in campus sustainability.

Visit and join the conversation today!

New Resource on Campus Fleets with Hybrid Vehicles

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:27:12 +0000

AASHE has a new members-only resource featuring a list of campuses with hybrid vehicles in their fleets. This resource accompanies two other resources on campuses with electric and biodiesel vehicles in their fleets. Many campuses are making a transition to more efficient fleet vehicles in an effort to save money on fuel costs and lessen their impact on the environment.

Through the purchase of new hybrids to replace less efficient vehicles, institutions of all types are making an effort to transition to cleaner fleets. For example, Ball State University has 19 hybrid cars and 6 hybrid buses in its fleet. Northern Illinois University has 40 hybrids in its fleet, which contribute to the university saving 38,000 gallons of fuel a year.

What are some of the ways your campus has benefited from adding hybrids to its fleet?