It's the little actions that make a difference...

In order to achieve our sustainability goals, we need everyone doing both big and little things.  The big things include our heating plant upgrade, renovating our buildings to achieve LEED certification, advancing sustainability in our curriculum, operating our campus compost facility, and running our 0.5 acre community vegetable garden.  The little things include turning lights off in unoccupied rooms, taking shorter showers, eating more healthy and locally produced food, and recycling.  The cumulative result of hundreds of Colgate community members doing small actions makes a big difference.  This is a big reason why the university has significantly reduced our energy consumption, water use, landfill waste, and paper use over the past few years.

Maureen McKinnon (Senior AA to the VP for Finance and Administration), for example, is helping to reduce our waste stream by taking one small action.  Whenever Maureen has work done through our Print Shop, she receives the copies in a cardboard box wrapped in twine.  After removing the contents, Maureen folds the box and sends it back to the Print Shop for reuse.  This saves the Print Shop money in materials, energy to cut and process trees to make the boxes, and fuel and carbon emissions to deliver them to campus.  Imagine if we all took small actions such as this!

Even the birds appreciate Maureen's effort as she takes the twine home because the birds will use it this spring for building their nests.

Thank you Maureen!

Let us know the big and little things you do to advance sustainability on campus!
Email: sustainability@colgate.edu.

In Love with LED Lighting

Sometimes being ‘green’ is as easy as changing a light bulb. Recently, our Buildings and Grounds team replaced sixty 250-watt and eighteen 100-watt incandescent bulbs from Love Auditorium and replaced them with seventy-eight 20-watt energy efficient LED lights. The LED lights cost about $3,500.  The project was refunded $2,000 from the Hamilton Coop Electric. So, overall the project cost Colgate about $1,500 plus the cost of labor.

Warrick Dunn addressing Raider Nation in Love Auditorium

This lighting upgrade will reduce energy consumption by about 420,000 kWh a year.  At $0.041 per kWh this will save Colgate approximately $17,500 a year in electricity costs. It is also important to note that changing a light bulb is easy, but changing 78 light bulbs in a high auditorium ceiling is a much more daunting task. So, we would like to acknowledge all of the work that went into making this project possible and thank our electric shop including Ted Kowalski, Jim Ayers, Rob Bachman, and Jim Hall. The good news is that LED lights last for up to 50,000 hours. That is 42 times longer than a regular incandescent[1]. As a result, the lights will not have to be changed again for an estimated 8-10 years. This saves money and time related to labor.

Taken altogether, this project paid for itself in slightly over a month.

However, that is not the end of story. The reduction in kilowatt usage will reduce our campus carbon footprint by 25 tons. As Raider Nation knows, Colgate has signed a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2019 and a part of our Sustainability and Climate Action Plan involves investing in carbon offsets to reach neutrality. The less carbon we emit, the fewer offsets we will have to purchase in the future.

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[1] Found at http://eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html

MADISON COUNTY IS GOING SOLAR

Solar energy is not only possible in Central New York, but it is already happening right here in Madison County.

The Solarize Madison project is a grassroots, community-led effort that streamlines the entire process of installing solar energy for the average homeowner in Madison County.  Besides walking residents through the solar installation process, the cost of solar is significantly lowered through group purchasing.  The goal of Solarize Madison is to bring at least 15 solar photovoltaic and 20 solar thermal (hot water) installations to the county.  Early adopters are taking advantage of the opportunity and many of the instillations have already been put in place and have received strong positive feedback.

Bruce Moseley, Associate Director of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations, is one of those early adopters. Bruce researched different types of alternative energy sources, including wind, but decided that they were not right for his home. However, when he heard about Solarize Madison he thought “Let’s do it!’

In addition to incentives from New York State, Bruce received a grant for $2,000 from Solarize Madison for being one of the first 15 participants and will also receive additional tax credits. He estimates there is about a 6-7 year payback period, but he can already see the savings happening.

Bruce clarifies that getting solar panels for most households does not make them independent of the energy grid. Instead, the solar power supplements the energy they need to pull from the grid. Bruce’s panels generate about 3,000 of the 6,200 kWhs that his house uses, effectively cutting his electric bill in half. During daylight hours the meter can often be seen running backwards, even when high-energy use appliances, like the clothes dryer, are running. Bruce explains that all the information from the panels is displayed clearly by the panels operating software. Everything from number of trees saved to the efficiency and use of each panel can be displayed.  Bruce recently told his story to sustainability interns Amanda Griffiths ’13 and Jayne Tamboia ’13 and is now a part of the Office of Sustainability’s Podcast Series.  Visit the sustainability website to listen to the short podcast. 

In 2013 Solarize Madison will add solar thermal hot water systems to their program. If you want to learn more, check out the Solarize Madison website at www.solarizemadison.com.

RECYCLEMANIA VIDEO CONTEST!!!!

GOING SOMEWHERE COOL OVER BREAK? Or maybe you're just bored...
 
MAKE A 1-3 MINUTE VIDEO ABOUT IT AND INCORPORATE RECYCLING!

Recyclemania!

It’s that time of year again! Once again, Colgate is getting into the sustainable spirit by participating in Recyclemania! This intercollegiate competition encourages colleges and universities across the United States and Canada to increase the amount of materials they recycle and decrease the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. This year, the Colgate Eco-Reps threw a kick-off event in the Coop TV room to inform the campus about our goals for this year’s competition and to educate the Colgate Community about what can and cannot be recycled on campus. The event was extremely well attended, with over 80 people swinging by to sign recycling pledges to make a commitment to live more sustainably.

Additionally, throughout the month-long competition, the Recyclemaniac will be running around campus encouraging students to recycle everything they can. If you see the Recyclemaniac, get a picture with them and upload it to the Recyclemaniac Facebook! Better yet, get involved in the Recyclemania video contest! Create a 1-3 minute video that highlights the theme of “Recycling at Colgate.” It can be comedic or informational! Just upload it to YouTube and email the link to GreenRaiders@Colgate.edu! Grand prize is a $50 gift certificate to Hamilton Whole Foods and having your video displayed on the Colgate Homepage! Entries are due March 16^th at midnight! Any questions can be directed to sdickinson@colgate.edu or jptaylor@colgate.edu. Stay green!

Colgate students participate in nation's largest ever climate rally

On President's Day 2013 (Feb 17), about 20 Colgate students and members of Colgate's Office of Sustainability headed to Washington, D.C. to join about 40,000 others in the largest rally ever against climate change. 

Photo by Jenna Pope

The purpose of the rally was threefold:

• to show President Obama just how large and passionate and urgent the climate change movement has become
• to urge the President to stop the Keystone XL pipeline
• to get the President to set carbon limits for power plants

Colgate students left late Saturday evening arriving in D.C. in the morning with homemade protest signs in hand. The atmosphere was charged and the energy was high.  There was singing and drumbeats and chants and dancing and outbursts and music...

The rally officially began at noon.  Speakers included:

• Michael Brune; Sierra Club Executive Director
• Bill McKibben; 350.org President, Scholar at Middlebury College
• Van Jones; Rebuild the Dream President, NYT Best-Selling Author
• U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse; Rhode Island
• Maria T. Cardona; Latinovations Founder, Dewey Square Group Principal
• The Rev. Lennox Yearwood; Hip Hop Caucus President and CEO
• Chief Jacqueline Thomas; Saik'uz First Nation
• Crystal Lameman; Beaver Lake Cree First Nations

Michael Brune stated, "Tar sands oil is the most toxic fossil fuel on the planet. It leaves in its wake scarred landscapes and a web of pipelines and polluting refineries all the while delaying our transition to a clean energy economy." 

Bill McKibben followed, "I cannot promise you we’re going to win, but I’ve waited a quarter century to find out if we were gonna fight. And today, at the biggest climate rally by far, by far, by far, in U.S. history — today, I know we’re going to fight.”

Van Jones' sentiment was repeated throughout the rally, "I think if you look at the status quo, the big polluters tend to win these fights. They’ve got the big money. They’ve got the big lobbyists and they tend to win these fights. And that’s why the people have to come out." 

Senator Whitehouse agreed, "It sends a message to Congress that we’re here, we care and this is an issue that matters. And it sends a message to the president to be strong and we’ll have your back."

The rally then left the Mall and 40,000 strong marched to the White House.

 Photo by John Pumilio

  Photo by John Pumilio

The State Department recently announced that it will be until late March before it finishes reviewing the case and makes a decision.  Students at Colgate and all across the country and planet will be watching closely.  In the meantime, Colgate students can be proud that they took a stand for committed action against climate change - something they believe is in our national best interest!

GateSwap

GateSwap is a safe, social, and sustainable way to buy and sell goods and services on college campuses. It is a free service that connects members of the Colgate community who might be looking to buy a new refrigerator, sell a poster or textbook, find a ride to the airport, or accomplish a range of other things by reaching out to fellow members of the university. Developed by Gabe Zetter and Rob Carroll, GateSwap is also a great way to promote reuse on campus and raise awareness about how to live sustainably at college! Check it out here: www.gateswap.com 

Eco-Campus, LLC - Colgate's First Legacy Business!

EcoCampus, LLC was launched by two student entrepreneurs (Ryan Smith '13 and Brendan Karson '13) to provide green office supplies and tree-free paper to the Colgate community and beyond.  Recently, Ryan and Brendan sold their company to four juniors: Robert Nicholas, Cameron Borriello, Michael Hendricks, and John Gabler.  This made Eco-Campus Colgate's first legacy business.  Congratulations guys!  The new owners have exciting plans for 2013.  Stay tuned!

Like them on Facebook.

Electric Cars on Campus

Photo: livingstingy.blogspot.com

We would like to thank you all for participating in the Office of Sustainability’s annual transportation survey.  Once again we had a huge response rate with over 330 respondents. Congratulations to Dan Sloan, winner of 4 movie tickets, and Ainslie Ellis, winner of a $20 gift card to the Colgate Bookstore.

Faculty and staff commuter emissions make up roughly 10 percent of our campus carbon footprint.  Carpooling, walking, biking, and telecommuting are a few options that can reduce emissions while helping us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2019.

If you are interested in carpooling we encourage you to sign up for Purpool (www.purpool.com), a ride share program for the Colgate community.  Carpooling will save you gas money, reduce wear and tear on your vehicle, lower maintenance costs, and allow you to better connect with your colleagues. However, we understand that schedules do not always match up. So, what then?

Switching to fuel-efficient vehicles can also save you money while reducing emissions.  Electric cars, for example, have come a long way in the past few years and have finally started to make their way onto the Colgate campus. Clara and David Lantz[1] and Catherine Cardelús and James “Eddie” Watkins[2] have recently become the proud drivers of a Chevy Volt and Prius V Plug-In respectively.

The Lantz family has had their Volt since April 2012 and are really enjoying it. The Volt has an advertised battery range of 38 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (mpge) on a full charge and then seamlessly switches to a gas engine. The Volt is meant to be a high performance electric car and can reach 100mph when running on electric power alone. The car takes about 10 hours to charge and costs the family about $18 a month in electricity to run. The Lantz family primarily uses their Volt for short trips around town and because of this they still have the original tank of gas in their car.  Incredible! However, they have discovered the fine print about the battery life. The advertised 38mpge is an average of what customers experience.  The actual range of the battery is 25-55mpge and varies based on terrain, outside temperature, and driver technique.  The Lantz family was getting about 46 mpge in the summer, but that number has drastically dropped to about 27mpge in the cooler fall months.

The Cardelús -Watkins family traded in their Jeep for a Prius V plug-in about a month ago and their only regret is not doing it sooner.  The Prius has a 12 mile range on battery power alone and then switches to hybrid mode, allowing the driver to get around 100mpge and 50 miles to the gallon in hybrid mode. The Prius battery takes about 3 hours to charge and can be timed so it only charges during off peak hours, which means cheaper electric prices. The Cardelús-Watkins family has only spent about $65 fueling their Prius for one month of both short and longer range driving.

These cars also have other innovative features. The Prius and Volt can both sense where the key is. As long as you have it on your person you can push a button to start ignition and lock or unlock the doors of the Prius with a wave of your hand. Both cars are incredibly quiet and feature LCD screen displays and integrated technology meaning you can talk on your phone or play MP3s directly through the car. Clara Lantz described the Volt as being “like you’re driving a computer, but it isn’t complicated at all and still feels and drives like a gas-engine car.”  The 2013 Volt will allow drivers the option of manually shifting from gas to electric so they can save battery life for a city destination. The Prius also helps you alter your driving habits to be as efficient as possible by showing you what your current MPG is and can even display your fuel efficiency history in a graph for all the data lovers out there. Other incentives include preferred parking at places like Trudy Fitness Center and Price Chopper and tax credits.

When buying an electric car it is important to do your research and select the car that is right for you. Other models to consider are the Nissan Leaf, the Ford C-Max Energi, and the luxury BMW I-8.

The Sustainability Office will continue to highlight individuals on campus who are advancing sustainability in their own way. If you know of someone who is putting sustainability into practice, please let us know (sustainability@colgate.edu)!

[1] Clara is an administrative assistant at the Chapel House and David is a professor of mathematics.

[2] Catherine and Eddie are both assistant professors of biology.

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Library Recycling Efforts in the Spotlight

This month we would like to focus on the extra effort put in by the professional and student staff members in the library for recycling ~15,000 volumes of 499 journal and 715 rolls of micro film.

Many journals and other forms of print information have been digitized and made readily available online through databases like JSTOR.  This renders the need for paper copies and microfilm records obsolete. So, what do Universities and other institutions do with all those copies? Well, thanks to the efforts of Karen Johnston, Ian Woodward, Emily Hutton Hughes, Darlene Virgil, Lisa Wynn, and several other members of our fantastic library staff all of our waste was handled properly.

Karen Johnston (Administrative Coordinator to the University Librarian) spearheaded this recycling effort.  Karen is pictured here with her grandchildren.

This project began last summer when digitized, infrequently used, non-image intensive journals began to be identified.  A program called ITHAKA was used to help identify journals that could potentially be removed.  A list of journals was then circulated to departments to ask if anyone wanted to keep the physical copies of any journals on the list.  Some of the journals were donated to departments. Others were offered to print depositories like the Center for Research Depositories.  However, many of the journals were still left to dispose of.

Our library staff looked for a recycling company that would assist with the disposal and they found Syracuse Haulers.  Syracuse Haulers brought a 15 yard dumpster, complete with cover and lock to protect from weather and the unknowing trash depositor, to campus which the library filled within 2 weeks. They then proceeded to partially fill a second 15 dumpster. This process was much more labor intensive than it seems at first glance. Most library journals had been bound with a non-recyclable cover that had to be cut off by hand with X-Acto knives (NOTE: no injuries occur in the process of this recycling). The entire journal recycling effort took less than 4 weeks including the collection of the volumes from LASR, stripping of covers, and disposal for all 15,000 volumes.

The second phase of the library’s recycling efforts involved the proper disposal of microfilm. Our microfilm was determined to not possess silver halide, which you can actually sell for it’s silver content.  However, Empire Resource Recycling Inc has just agreed to pick up the microfilm and even offered to supply us with a certificate of proper destruction.

Overall, Karen Johnston said, “It was a whole lot easier than I thought!” That just goes to show a little extra effort can make a big difference. Thank you again to the Library staff for all the work you did!

OMEGA Institute Design by Nature Conference

In October members of the Sustainability Office along with a student attended the Design by Nature Conference. It was an inspirational weekend that gave everyone a new, more realistic fervor for the sustainability movement.  The conference featured leaders in the field like Jeremy Rifken, Janine Benyes, and Van Jones.  The topics included what the green movement can do for the American economy, the future of food production, and the lessons we can learn from nature.  It touched on economic, social, architectural, and design solutions to many of tour country’s problems.  To summarize the weekend, there is a future for green energy, running a green economy, and humans living in a healthy sustainable world.  This kind of system is currently being put into action in Europe and it is working.

The OMEGA Institute has embodied this dedication to sustainability by building the first LEED Platinum Certified Living Building. The building serves as both a wastewater treatment center and a Yoga studio. Surprised about the combination? The system uses natural processes to break down the waste.  The process includes anaerobic bacteria, outdoor wetland plants and indoor vegetation, fish, and water circulation to remove all contaminants, including pharmaceuticals and hormones, from the water.  The process is odorless and can be done with less energy than the building collects on its solar panels meaning that the building makes more energy than the process uses.  Wastewater can be processed like this almost anywhere. It is with innovation and inspiration from nature that we should continue into the future.