Category: Colleges and universities

Uncovering solar energy solutions in Michigan’s cloudy climate

Read the full post at Be Spartan Green.

With an average of only 174 sunny days every year and many months of cold weather, East Lansing, Michigan may seem like an unlikely hub for solar energy research. However, MSU’s commitment to sustainability is driving university researchers to uncover clean energy solutions, no matter the difficulty.

“We’re testing the effectiveness of solar water heaters in Michigan’s climate, specifically on MSU’s campus,” said PhD candidate Sina Jahangiri, solar water heater researcher from MSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, “as water accounts for a substantial portion of energy use at many residential, commercial and institutional buildings, the project has an opportunity not only to reduce environmental footprint, but also to lower energy cost.”

Call for Proposals: Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference 2017

With a theme of Renew, Restore, Regenerate, interested parties are invited to submit proposals for the 2017 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference, March 26-28, 2017, in College Park, Maryland. Sessions are 50- and 80-minutes in length and alternative presentations styles are supported. Proposals are due on Oct. 30.

Zero Waste takes initiative focuses on student outreach to reduce ASU’s landfill waste

Read the full story from the State Press.

For ASU’s Zero Waste program, reducing the University’s waste is less about recycle bins and compost and more about outreach.

According to Zero Waste program coordinator and ASU graduate Katie Schumacher, Zero Waste is a diversion program and department that oversees the University’s goal to reduce the total amount of waste sent to the landfill by at least 90 percent.

Student waste leads to weird and wonderful creations at Campus Recycling

Read the full story in The Post.

In a humid, airless facility tucked behind the The Ridges, forgotten memories can be found.

Used textbooks, bobbleheads, little league trophies and cameras sit delicately on a far shelf. The “Hall of Cool Things,” Campus Recycling and Zero-Waste Manager Andrew Ladd calls it.

A swirling art project that once was displayed on campus hangs above as decor and gives the stuffy storage facility life — especially on this sticky Athens summer day, when standing outside is almost unbearable.

Ladd and Campus Recycling collect the forgotten relics to give them a second life after O[hio] U[niversity] students leave them behind.

When it comes to saving energy, it’s really not all about the money

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

A recent psychological study has provided suggestive evidence that when people decide to take steps to use less energy at home, and so to protect the environment, they don’t merely do so because they want to save a little bit of cash on their electricity bills. If anything, it suggests, some forms of materialistic or competitive thinking may inhibit deep or long-lasting conservation attitudes.

 

North Carolina State University says “Pollinators Welcome Here”

Read the full story from NCSU.

The home of the Wolfpack is also becoming a home for pollinators.

That’s the intent of numerous NC State students, staff and faculty, who are driving an effort to create food sources for pollinators through strategic plant selection on the university’s urban campus.

Opportunity to be a Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum

AASHE is seeking 4-6 partner institutions or organizations to help us develop and pilot a “Centers for Sustainability Across the Curriculum” program. Applications to serve in this role are due by Monday, August 1.