Renewable Energy: How Energy Works and Why Renewable is Better

So a new college year begins, and as I am told, this is a new CURES - Cornell University for Renewable Energy Sources - blog. Well, I think it’s fitting for our first blog to talk about our goal. We are an organization dedicated to promoting and spreading renewable energy sources, and teaching people about renewable energy sources. Well, why is renewable better? There are many answers to the question, such as saving nature, promoting cleaner air, conserving natural resources, etc. Those are wonderful reasons for renewable energy, but the one reason that probably convinces legislators the most is: it is economically smart to use renewable energy. So, the aim of this first blog entry is to explain the basic process of “making” energy, and why renewable energy sources are beneficial.

Making Energy

As most people who have taken any chemistry or physics class know, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. So, how do we “make” energy? Well, we never really make energy; we simply convert one energy from one form to another. The general outline of this mechanism has not changed very much in the past few hundred years. It started with the basic idea of a water mill. A water mill converts the rivers flowing energy into rotational energy, thus powering a rotating device. Then steam engines were invented much along the same principle. Moving water creates rotational energy, which then can be used for a multitude of purposes. By using a combustible such as wood or coal, you burn it to heat up a chamber of water. The water turns to steam, and the steam is the driving force behind a turbine. A turbine is essentially a rotating device that is designed so the steam can only escape by pushing the turbine, thus causing it to rotate. This was used on steam boats, much like the ones Mark Twain was so fond about in his youth on the Mississippi. Then, how do we make electricity? Same idea as a steam engine, except the turbine doesn’t turn a giant ferry wheel on a steam boat, it turns a magnet surrounded by wires that, in a sense, forces the electrons in the wire to move in a certain direction, which physics calls an electric current. The exact physics is rather complicated, and it’s not always a magnet being rotated, but the general idea of creating rotation using a turbine of any sort to create electricity has not changed for the past hundred years.

Why is Renewable Sources Better?

Well, renewable energy sources, by definition, are sources of energy that do not disappear over time, or rather, our usage of this energy does not decrease its overall supply in the world. Common examples are wind, solar and water energy sources, where, no matter how much wind we use to generate power, the overall wind in the world will not decrease by any noticeable amount. But, the more oil and coal we use, the less and less we have left in the world. Well, any economist can see a problem here: as the supply of oil and coal is constantly decreasing, the demand continues to increase. The price of oil and coal will trend towards infinity, or rather, some really unaffordable number. You think 3-4 dollars a gallon is bad? People in Europe are already paying more, and there is no way the price is going to go down in the long run. By some estimates, all of the petroleum we have left on Earth will be depleted within 50 years. So, even ignoring the environmental benefits of a cleaner air or a greener world, it is still a very good idea to begin investing in renewable energy sources. For example, a simple Wikipedia search on “renewable energy” yields a page, with a chart from the “World Energy Assessment, 2004 Update.” Here are the main points shown below:
Note: all costs are in 2001 American cents per a kilowatt-hour (cents/kWh). The data is for a general overview of current status, and predicted future costs of large-scale implementation. Note, coal is given here as a comparison, but in some G8 nations, such as America, the cost of coal could be as high as 15 cents/kWh. The First set of numbers refer to the 2001 energy costs, while the second set of numbers refer to the predicted future energy cost

2001 Energy Costs (cents/kWh)---> Future Energy Cost (cents/kWh)
Wind 4-8, 3-10
Solar Photovoltaic 25-160, 5-25
Solar Thermal 12-34, 4-20
Large Hydropower 2-10, 2-10
Small Hydropower 2-12, 2-10
Geothermal 2-10, 1-8
Biomass 3-12, 4-10
Coal (comparison) 4

http://www.undp.org/energy/weaover2004.htm - The place to go for more information on this chart.

The reason a range of energy exists is because in some cases, it’s a little cheaper to produce energy in some places than others. For example, it’s cheaper to produce solar power where there’s more sun year round, usually near the equator, than places with comparatively lower amounts of sunlight year round, such as Canada or Alaska. Also note how much cheaper some of these sources of energy will be once the proper infrastructure is developed.

So What do we Do?

Well, there is a considerable amount of research and development that needs to be done, not to mention the initial investment for such power plants to be developed, in order for large-scale energy production using purely renewable sources to be economically feasible. So, what can we do? Well, you could enter the field of renewable energy research, but for those of us who have other plans in mind, we can simply be aware of the growing need for renewable energy, and continue educating ourselves and others about this growing need, and the benefits of renewable energy. We can promote the idea of renewable energy to our legislators, and push for increase funding and investment into the research. Or, we can simply keep this in mind as an issue we want to consider when we vote, or just spread the word. No one is expecting change overnight, but we can start working towards a better tomorrow with renewable energy. Renewable energy is a real possibility. With enough research funding and investment, it won’t just be a far off dream.

Any comments or questions can be directed to jc867@cornell.edu with the subject heading of, “Renewable Energy Blog Comments,” or something to that extent.

Zeus Serves as Sustainable Sanctuary

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

of Zeus café, located in Goldwin Smith Hall, cultivates a loyal customer base through emphasis on vegetarian foods and a friendly atmosphere.

The origins of Temple of Zeus, an independently run eatery affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences, can be traced back roughly 45 years to its first location in what is now Kaufmann Auditorium. Zeus, named for the statues of the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus in Greece that shared the space in Kaufmann, “grew up from an empty room in a basement,” said Thomas Walls, manager of the eatery. Zeus “was nothing more than some tables, chairs and coffee.” That was the way the café ran for 30 years until the College of Arts and Sciences hired Walls 13 years ago in an attempt to turn Zeus into a viable business.

Continue reading.

University Maintains Climate Commitment

Adopted from Cornell Daily Sun:

Recent news of shipping routes cutting through Alaska and dwindling polar bear populations may cause us to lose hope in our fight against global warming. Cornell, however, is joining other universities across America to do its part in reducing its carbon output.

On Feb. 22, President David J. Skorton signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. He was prompted to sign this commitment by a petition organized by KyotoNOW!, a student environmentalist organization.

“I think KyotoNOW!’s involvement was instrumental in President Skorton’s signing,” said Katherine McEachern ’09, president of KyotoNOW!.

Continue reading.

Student Interst Spawns Sustainable Dining Eateries

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

Two new eateries, Manndibles in Mann Library and Moosewood in Anabel Taylor Hall, have opened this semester to answer the demands of Cornell students for increased sustainability on campus.

Moosewood Restaurant, a longstanding Ithaca landmark for vegetarian eating, opened their lunchtime café this semester.

Anthony Kveragas, senior executive chef of Cornell Dining, said that he has “been working with students to get more local and sustainable practices on campus” and that bringing in Moosewood to implement this plan brought in name recognition and helped Moosewood to test pilot the organic interest on college campuses.

Continue reading.

Center for Progressive Leadership Training Program

The Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL) is looking for diverse college students and other young leaders from across the country to apply for our New Leaders Program. CPL’s New Leaders Program works to change the face of tomorrow’s political leadership by connecting young people of color and women to paid internship opportunities with progressive organizations in Washington, DC.

To learn more, click here.

Redbud II?

It’s been two-and-a-half years since Cornell “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” on University Ave. Flash forward to the present day and we are at a similar crossroads. Only this time, there’s a 270-day building moratorium before the fate of Sapsucker Woods is decided.

During the Redbud Woods debacle, environmentalists and activists found a clear adversary in Cornell. It was almost too perfect. Big Red Bureaucracy vs. heroic students. This time, Cornell has chosen to remain a silent third party in the ongoing debate between developer Rocco Lucente and Ithaca residents.

In a sense, Cornell’s silence is prudent. After all, inaction prevents students from chaining themselves to President Skorton’s desk. Lucente has wisely pledged 25 acres of Sapsucker Woods to Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology to counter the construction of his new housing development project, Briarwood II, thus providing the University with a material incentive to keep her Big Red Lips shut.

Continue reading.

CU Farm Promotes Local Organic Food

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

As interest in agricultural sciences increases at Cornell, Dilmun Hill, the University’s student-run farm is offering student farmers and those studying agricultural science the opportunity to learn about the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

Located on a 12-acre plot of land on Rt. 366 and next to the Cornell Orchards, Dilmun Hill is one of the largest student-run farms in the country. About 30 students, spanning several colleges and majors, operate the farm independently and participate in all aspects of farming — from planning to harvesting to transporting the crops.

The farm presents “an unmatched opportunity for students seeking a hands-on learning experience and wanting to be more involved in their food system,” said Ben Scott-Killian ’09, one of the farm’s managers. Students use the farm for both informal agricultural training as well as an outdoor classroom for academic work.

Continue reading.

Sustainable Enterprise Association Fall Work

The following includes a brief summary of each SEA Project Committee with the committee leader's e- mail information:

SustaInvest/Finance Initiatives:

Launch of SustaInvest: The Sustainable Investment Challenge, co-sponsorship of The Cornell Sustainable Investment Coalition. Leading other finance-related events like the Sustainability-Driven Financial Management Panel Discussion.

- Allison Silverstein (als232@cornell.edu)
- Addison Raap (awr22@cornell.edu)
- Richard Weidel (raw49@cornell.edu)

SEA Event Planning: Development and Marketing: Collaborating with other sustainable clubs like Sustainability Hub to host sustainable- related events like "Sustain Your Appetite" where local food companies will display their products. If you're interested in meeting people on-campus and off-campus with similar sustainability interests, join this committee.

- Melissa Kim (msk57@cornell.edu)
- Emily Isaacs (eri2@cornell.edu)

Net Impact Undergrad: All programming related to the Net Impact Sustainable Business network with which SEA is affiliated (www.netimpact.org). Opportunities to get involved with The Johnson School's Net Impact MBA Group projects.

- Allison Silverstein (als232@cornell.edu)S

EA Salons: Educational/social events, which will be hosted approximately twice each month on-campus or at a SEA member's home in close vicinity to campus with special guests (i.e., professors, advisors, etc.)

- Leah Feygin (lbf32@cornell.edu)
- Marina Goland (mg345@cornell.edu)

Thank you your interest in in SEA. Please e-mail committee leaders if you are interested in being included on their assigned committee. Feel free to sign-up for more than one! Each project committee will receive regular e-mails from committee leaders regarding related opportunities and meetings.

will meet as an entire group during SEA Salons (approximately bi- monthly) and major SEA programming/event. Of course, all information regarding major SEA programming/events and relevant on-campus initiatives will be sent to the listserve, so keep your eye out for those; your level of involvement is up to you. Looking forward to a great year!

Cornell Carpooling on Facebook Competition

***PLEASE SPREAD FAR AND WIDE***

The Cornell Carpool on Facebook Competition

The Problem: Driving our personal cars contributes 20% of US CO2 emissions, the single most significant source from individuals. CO2 emissions levels need to be curbed to avoid potentially catastrophic effects of climate change.

Solution: You and Carpool on Facebook!

Carpool on Facebook was built to provide a safe and hassle free way to find a ride, wherever you are going. Carpool on Facebook will make life easier for those without a car, provide company and money for those with a car and help those who want to share a cab. The application is built upon Facebook’s social network of 30,000,000+ users. Carpool on Facebook uses geo-coding technology to make rides easily searchable, and calculates your CO2 emissions saved.
For more information about Carpool on Facebook go to: www.zimride.com.

Your Mission: To market Carpool on Facebook to the Cornell community bydeveloping and executing a marketing plan that could easily be replicated at other universities. The best statement of interest we receive prior to October 15th, will be chosen to participate in the Carpool marketing campaign. The winning team will be supplied with a marketing budget to cover all associated expenses.

For years, there have been carpool-matching sites on the internet. Never has there been a community (campus or city) that has achieved large-scale use of carpooling as a means of transportation over single occupancy travel. Social networking, the strength of the Cornell community and your help can make history towards a more sustainable planet.

Statements of interest should describe your team (please include resumes if easily attained) and your plan. Statements should be approximately 2 pages in length. Judging submissions will be the founder of Carpool on Facebook, New York City Senior Project Manager for Congestion Pricing, and a Professor in the field of Sustainable Business.

PLEASE EMAIL QUESTIONS AND YOUR SUBMISSION TO LOGAN@ZIMRIDE.COMDEADLINE: OCTOBER 15TH

Mark Orlowski from Sustainable Endowments Institute

Just wanted to let everyone know about an amazing upcoming speaker- Mark Orlowski from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the group that puts out the College Sustainablity Report Card. Check out how Cornell did last time here- http://www.endowmentinstitute.org/sustainability/profile29.pdf. Pretty good, excepts for those couple of F's. Luckily, Mark will be talking about that in particular- how our investments stack up against all the work towards being a more sustainable university. Mark's a great speaker and a really fun guy so I encourage all of you to come out, hear him speak and chat with him afterwards.
Monday, Sept 24 in Goldwin Smith's Lewis Auditorium!
More info on Mark: http://www.endowmentinstitute.org/staff.html

Sustainability Center Aims to Unite CU Researchers

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

The City of Ithaca has a history of being passionate about living sustainably, as evidenced by the presence of various environmental groups and rallying around issues such as Redbud Woods and recently, the Cayuga Lake Cooling Project.

Cornell is adding to the efforts by creating the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future to integrate research efforts dealing with sustainability across and beyond the Cornell community. The need for the center arose in part as a response to President David Skorton’s signing of the President’s Climate Commitment to a climate-neutral campus last year.

Continue reading.

Lake Source Cooling Critized

While this summer marked the seventh operating year for Cornell’s lake source cooling facility on Cayuga Lake, the anniversary has not marked a lucky break in resolving worries over lake health and the controversial cooling plant.

Concerned community activists in Ithaca have been keeping a close eye on the project since its approval in 1998. Many activists view the facility as a threat to the lake’s delicate ecosystem. This year has been no different despite recent talks between Cornell’s utilities department and Tompkins County’s Water Resources Council that focused on improving water quality monitoring at the plant.

Attempting to win over the opposition, the University has engaged in dialogue with the WRC to review the current monitoring system and solicit advice on how to better handle the facility’s monitoring duties. Early assessments have revealed costly redundancies in some areas of the system and needed additions in other areas — an eye-opening start to what is hoped to be a productive partner ship.

Continue reading.

Powershift 2007

The first-ever youth global warming summit is happening November 2 - 5th at the University of Maryland - College Park.

All across the country, tens of thousands of young adults are rising to confront the global warming challenge. Power Shift is designed to build off of the momentum on campuses and catapult the youth global warming movement to the next level. On Nov. 2nd, thousands of youth leaders will converge on the Washington, D.C. area for Power Shift 2007, the largest climate conference ever held.

Youth leaders from across the country will hear from invited leaders and experts on global warming including invited speakers former Vice President Al Gore, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Carol Browner, former head of the EPA. You will learn new skills, make new connections with other youth leaders, and establish a national voice for their generation that now is the time to address global warming.

Register now at http://www.powershift07.org.to/ be a part of this historical event, sign up to be a campus coordinator to recruit your peers to attend. For more information or to get involved please contact Natalie at nataliepowershift07@gmail.com or 240-281-7270.

New Rules To Promote Coal Would Cook The Planet

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, by myself:

As if it isn’t clear that global warming is being fueled by our use of fossil fuels, the Bush administration is coming up with new rules that will allow coal companies to expand their mountaintop removal activities. Despite major support for a clean energy economy from the public and many in the private sector, the Bush administration has decided to once again ignore the massive public outcry in the hopes of making a few wealthier.

Coal is the main source of global warming pollution by far. The cheapest way of extracting coal, called strip mining or mountaintop removal, has already flattened more than 400 mountains, destroyed dozens of communities, filled up thousands of miles of rivers and streams with toxic waste and eliminated vast areas of forests in the U.S.

Continue reading.

Just New: Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future

From the Cornell Chronicle:

Issues of sustainability facing the world as well as the university are the drivers behind the new Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, still in early stages but quickly gaining momentum.

Leading the effort, which will bring together expertise in education and research from across campus to work toward common sustainability goals, will be interim director Frank DiSalvo, the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science, Cornell Provost Biddy Martin recently announced.

The Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future has emerged from several committee reports, including from former Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman's "Call to Engagement" and the provost's Task Force on Sustainability in the Age of Development. Since then, several other groups submitted reports on different aspects of sustainability needs; the most recent one is Cornell's first campuswide Green Report, available at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/.

Continue reading more here.

KyotoNOW! To Organize New York Climate Summit

Jumping off the amazing energy that's emerging nationally for strong action on global warming, KyotoNOW!, together with other student and community organizations around New York State, plan to organize the New York State Climate Summit 2007. Scheduled for November 16-18, the summit's goals will be to 1) train students and community members to lead effective energy campaigns in their campuses or communities, and 2) to develop an agreed-upon plan to launch a strategic campaign to pressure Albany to pass legislation requiring 80% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2050.

With states like California, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, and others leading on this important issue with binding targets, New York should become a leading state in the fight against global warming. Stay tuned for more as we develop our plans for the summit. To get involved, please contact Carlos Rymer at carlos.rymer@gmail.com.

Sustainability Hub Updates

The officers this year are Carlos Rymer (President; cmr55), Chelsea Clarke (Treasurer; cmc255), Ding Kong (Vice President; dk278), and Whitney Larsen (Outreach Coordinator; wbl5). Our advisor is Dean Koyanagi (drk5), who is also Cornell’s Sustainability Coordinator. More on Sustainable Campus at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/. Our website can be found at www.rso.cornell.edu/sustainabilityhub. Also, the Cornell Activist Calendar can be accessed at http://my.calendars.net/cu_ac. It is updated for the Fall Semester.

Here are the projects we plan to work on this semester, ordered by high priority:

- Sustainable Investment Initiative: forming a coalition of student organizations to ensure that Cornell invests in sustainable and responsible companies.

- Newsletter: collecting and distributing updates from sustainability efforts on the Cornell campus.

- Energy Independent Caroline: see attached document. Making the Town of Caroline a model of sustainability. Projects include work in wind energy, energy efficiency, outreach, and much more!

- Website: Improving the website and update all recent news, newsletters, minutes, etc.

- Sustainability Boards: Maintaining our outreach boards on a monthly basis.

- North Campus Outreach Team (new, to be discussed next week): speaking to students in North Campus Residence Halls about sustainability, what they can do, and how they can get involved.

- Biodiesel: potentially producing biodiesel using Cornell Dining waste vegetable oil.

- Green Building (LEED-Gold): identifying what needs to happen to make this policy and pushing for it.

- Double-Sided Printing: working with the Society for Natural Resource Conservation to increase this activity on campus.

- Recycling: placing more recycling bins in all buildings and other campus locations.

- Plastic Bag Reduction: reducing the use of plastic bags in the Cornell Store.

- Renewable Energy Awareness: talking to students and the community about the benefits of renewable energies.

- Dorm Competition for Energy Conservation: working with the Campus Life Green Team to make this happen.

Here's a quick summary of the calendar for the Fall semester. Add anything that's not here to the Activist Calendar:

- Environmental Justice Series, September 5th @ 7PM in HEC Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall.

- Confronting the Triple Crisis Conference(www.ifg.org), September 14-16

- Green Festival in D.C. (http://www.greenfestivals.org/content/view/625/280/), October 6-7

- Trustee Council Weekend, Skorton Annnounces Sustainability Initiative, October 18-20

- Campus Sustainability Day, October 24th

- Special Guest Speaker, Bill McKibben, October 26

- Step It Up 2 (theme is leadership; www.stepitup07.org), November 3rd

- Powershift 2007 (National Youth Climate Conference; http://www.powershift2007.org/), November 2nd-5th

Cornell Study Says Pollution Causes 40% of World Deaths

A recent Cornell research project concluded that pollution deserves a place alongside heart disease and cancer on the list of leading causes of death worldwide. Contamination of water, air and soil leads to 40 percent of the planet’s death toll, according to a study conducted by Prof. David Pimentel, ecology and evolutionary Biology.

“In the United States alone, 76,000 people are in the hospital each year, with 5,000 deaths, just due to pollution of air, food or water. Cancers are increasing in the U.S., and AIDS is on the rise,” Pimentel said.

Continue reading.

A New Rallying Cry: A Carbon Neutral U.S.

From It's Getting Hot In Here and Watthead:

http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/08/24/putting-aside-percentages-the-right-target-in-the-fight-against-global-warming-is-carbon-neutrality/

Shoals Marine Lab To Become Model for Sustainability

Adopted from the Cornell Chronicle, dated August 6, 2007:

With the thin, dark coastlines of Maine and New Hampshire visible in the far distance across a shimmering Gulf of Maine, engineers use a backhoe to fit a 2,000-pound cylinder of galvanized steel onto a huge metal base.

The cylinder is part of the 80-foot-tall wind turbine about to generate electricity on Appledore Island, home of Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML).

Cornell partners with the University of New Hampshire to operate this remote facility, located six miles offshore, where students study such subjects as marine biology, ecology and sustainability every summer.

Powered by this new energy source, an array of instruments on the island will collect air quality and meteorological measurements year-round, instead of having to be shut off in October when SML staff batten down the lab and turn off the diesel-powered generators for the winter. The wind turbine also symbolizes SML's efforts to make Appledore a case study for innovative sustainable practices.

To continue reading, click here.

Earth Day Brings Out CU Activism

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, dated April 23:

As the remnants of last week’s nor’easter melted away, members of the Cornell community came out to Ho Plaza on Friday to celebrate Earth Day and enjoy the spring weather. The day’s festivities concluded Cornell’s First Annual Global Warming Awareness Initiative, a week of events promoting the University’s sustainability efforts that included community service projects, a panel discussion, a film screening, a lecture and a benefit concert.

Friday’s event brought out a broad array of about twenty organizations, from Cornell Students Against War to Tzedek: Jewish Social Justice.

KyotoNow!, a student group for environmental action, had a table at the event, informing attendees of the threat of global warming. Earlier this year, the group proposed the Referendum for Green Energy Purchases at Cornell, which was passed by the Student Assembly, and encouraged President David Skorton to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment agreement.

To continue reading, click here.

KyotoNOW! Wins MTV Climate Challenge Contest

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, Dated April 24, 2007:

While the campaign to stop global warming may be an uphill battle, Cornell students proved yesterday that students can have a big impact in the fight. Yesterday the group Kyoto Now! was announced as the winner of thinkMTV’s Break the Addiction Final Exam contest, which challenged campus organizations across the country to submit evidence of educational activities and policy advocacy to reduce their school’s global warming pollution. Kyoto Now! won $10,000 toward an eco-renovation for their student center on campus and was featured on MTV’s Total Request Live yesterday for a special Earth Day episode.

ThinkMTV is a campaign that promotes discussion and action about important issues for young people. This specific contest was part of thinkMTV’s Break the Addiction, a 12-month campaign launched on Earth Day 2006 to “educate and empower young people to make daily choices that improve their life and simultaneously curb the impact of global warming and preserve the environment,” according to an MTV press release.

To continue reading, click here.

State of the University Address Focuses on Sustainability

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, dated June 9, 2007:

Skorton talked about the importance of sustainability, saying that the world needs economic growth that will not inhibit future generations. Cornell students, he said, have been especially effective on issues of sustainability on and off campus. In February, Skorton signed the student-prepared Kyoto Now! resolution, which calls for a reformed energy policy that will commit to carbon neutrality. Cornell Center for the Environment promotes interdisciplinary studies that focus on sustainability as well.

The President also remarked that many of Cornell’s colleges, including the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Johson Graduate School of Management, list sustainability and the environment as among the most important issues to study.

This affects the student experience on campus, Skorton said. He mentioned two student groups – the Solar Decathlon Team and Engineers for a Sustainable World – that have each worked towards sustainability.

To continue reading, click here.

Cornell, U. Maryland Students Support Clean Energy

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, dated May 3, 2007:

A proposal to charge students at the University of Maryland — College Park a small fee to purchase clean energy received overwhelming support from the undergraduate community.

Student leaders at UMD are hoping that the University administration will implement this fee by 2008 or 2009. The proposed fee would start at $4 and increase by $2 every year to reach a maximum price of $12.

According to a UMD Energy press release, if fully implemented, the fee would raise enough money to purchase 137,000 Megawatt hours of clean electricity per year at today’s prices and would be the largest purchase to date by a college or university in the United States.

The vote on the fee declared 91 percent of the UMD undergraduate community in favor of the fee. This came as no small surprise to many, as tuition and fees have been on the rise at UMD in the past several years.

To continue reading, click here.

Former NJ Gov. Pushes Campus Sustainability

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, dated April 25, 2007:

The Sun sat down yesterday with Christine Todd Whitman, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and former governor of New Jersey to discuss college students’ impact on the environment.

The Sun: What brings you to Cornell, and what have you enjoyed about your experience here?

Christine Whitman: I went to the Ornithology lab yesterday, and that was just fascinating. I’ve been to Cornell before, and it’s just fascinating the work the lab is doing with animals and animal sounds. I’ve met with the head of [the College of] Architecture Art and Planning, and talked about some of the innovative things that are going on. I particularly enjoy spending time with students, because you never know what the questions are going to be and this is a very bright, engaged campus, with some very good, thoughtful people. So it has been fun to be able to spend some more time here than I did the last time I was here.

Sun: You’ve been interested in the environment before it became trendy and politicians and celebrities jumped on the “green” bandwagon. How did you become interested in the environment and involved in environmental causes?

Whitman: I grew up on a farm, so you are outdoors a lot, you understand the changes in nature, and the interrelationship of the eco-systems, you see that on a daily basis on a farm.

And I had parents who were very committed to the outdoors; we spent a lot of time outdoors whenever we could.

And getting more sophisticated about it, you take a state like New Jersey and you watch the farms disappear. You see housing developments where there used to be woods. You get a sense and understanding of the pressure, and it becomes more critical to take some action.

To continue reading, click here.

The Chronicle had an article about the recent commitment to climate neutrality. Check it out below:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Feb07/climate.change.aj.html

VOTE YES FOR CLEAN ENERGY ON MONDAY!

Cornell Commits to Climate Neutrality

After a year of aggressive campaigning to make Cornell go Beyond Kyoto, Cornell has embraced the goal of achieving climate neutrality to “make a difference… for the world at large” through leadership. With a majority of the campus supporting this goal, Cornell is ready to begin planning how to truly make the campus climate neutral.

Before you go on to read the press release, I wanted to let you all know that this has been the result of an amazing team. Everybody from the student organization KyotoNOW! should be proud, and we truly thank the entire Cornell community (particularly student, organization, faculty, and department endorsers), as well as the broader campus climate movement, for motivating us to do better every day.

To read the press release on President Skorton’s commitment, click here.

Campus Sustainability News: Calling for Submissions

The first issue of Campus Sustainability News for the Spring semester is scheduled to be completed by March 10. If you have great updates to tell everybody, then you should submit them for the newsletter.

Send all entries to Carlos at cmr55@cornell.edu.

Thanks!

Break the Addiction

Love or hate MTV, here's a nice clip of the Campus Climate Challenge, highlighting the students themselves!
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1542702

Cornell To Go Climate Neutral

After meeting with members of KyotoNow! last Friday to discuss the possibility of Cornell becoming climate neutral, President David Skorton decided to form a six person committee of students and faculty to gain a more in-depth understanding of the implications of the commitment. Skorton promised to present his decision by Feb. 23.

“I strongly endorse the students of KyotoNow! and I am highly inclined to sign the commitment, but I don’t want my signature on that paper to be an empty gesture; I want Cornell to be able to honor its commitment,” said Skorton.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

KyotoNOW in the news again

Sign It, Skorton
Brutal Honesty
By Jeff Purcell
Feb 5 2007

Among other criticisms, former President Lehman was accused of being distant and unresponsive to student and faculty concerns. To show that he was none of these things, President Skorton moved into Mary Donlon Hall and, like every other freshman, took the swim test. From his inauguration to his bedroom, the point was that Skorton was listening to students and sensitive to their concerns.
This Friday, he can prove it when he meets with Kyoto Now!
Formed to engage Cornell’s leadership and community around environmental concerns, Kyoto Now! has joined a nationwide effort to improve campus-based emissions and waste. And now, timed to coincide with the release of the Fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Kyoto Now! is presenting Skorton with a Climate Neutrality resolution.
Working with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (www.aashe.org), the resolution requires Cornell to join hundreds of other colleges and universities to become “carbon neutral” by 2050. This pledge sets a clock for our phasing out of fossil fuels, and increasing reliance on renewables, so that by 2050 Cornell will no longer require burning anything to power itself. By pushing campuses to design and implement comprehensive efficiency enhancement, waste reduction, mass transportation and reusable energy policies, AASHE is pushing for leadership to prevent climate change.
“We’re using the resolution to educate our students, so that when they become leaders they’ll understand how to be a sustainable community,” and “we’re pushing Cornell to be a leader in itself,” says Kyoto Now!’s Vice President Katherine McEachern ’09. “We need every school to go carbon neutral.”
Last weekend, the group packed Robert Purcell and Cornell Cinema to show climate change documentaries and has held rallies and teach-ins to publicize the imperative of reducing emissions.
With over 2,000 student signatures urging Skorton to commit, Kyoto Now! is working toward securing more transparent and forward-thinking leadership than Cornell has seen before. In 2001, the administration agreed to go beyond standards required by the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty the U.S. signed but has never ratified. The Protocol asks countries to reduce emissions to 5 percent below their 1990 levels, and Cornell has lived up to its promise — sort of. Though our emissions are down, our energy use is up, and our projections make clear that we’ll break our promises by 2009. Day Hall may be betting that student memory is only four years.
These promises were made because of student demands. In 2001, Kyoto Now! gave President Rawlings over 3,000 student signatures and mountains of faculty support demanding Kyoto-like commitments from Cornell. After his silence to this series of actions, members staged a sit-in at Day Hall during Cornell Days. Negotiations ended with Vice President Hal Craft ’61 pledging Cornell would go 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2008.
Rawlings required dramatic action to convince him of an idea whose time had obviously come. Lehman refused to negotiate with students and faculty who protested his decision to raze three acres of trees to build a parking lot. With a sensible and easily achieved policy on his desk, will Skorton sign the pledge on Friday?
“This is what schools are going to be doing,” McEachern says.
And she’s right. Schools that have signed the pledge and are working to implement it include the entire University of California system, the University of Florida, Oberlin, Carleton and the University of Minnesota. Big and small, urban and rural, campus leaders elsewhere feel the wind blowing.
Designing a policy to reduce — and ultimately end, by 2050 at the latest — our reliance on fossil fuels is a process, and at this point it’s vital to secure a concrete commitment to that process. Kyoto Now!’s next step is to begin a “dialogue with the community to devise a plan to achieve the goals. It’s about engaging climate change,” not just observing it.
What’s important to monitor, after Skorton signs the pledge, is how Cornell plans for its future. Its current CO2 forecast, as noted, is poor. And its quarter-billion dollar residence hall rebuilding includes just one building certified by LEEDs, a construction industry standard for sustainable growth. The Alice Cook House was designed to reduce energy needs and abate its impact on its surroundings. Its three-acre parking lot notwithstanding, Cook’s roof collects rainwater and moderates the building’s temperature and creative use of windows and light fixture placement reduces its energy needs. This is an example of what we should be doing — with every building. Instead of filling this paper and the Chronicle with stories about our few good deeds, Cornell needs to fill its campus with many of them.
The entirety of Cornell’s environmental impact is called its footprint. This includes its energy, water and waste, its buildings and commuters. It considers where we buy our food, how far it travels to get here, how much we throw away and where we throw it.
President Skorton is four days away from an opportunity to lead Cornell toward the future of reducing our footprint, to enhance our impact on New York. Previous presidents of Cornell have failed to appreciate the concerns of thousands of students and faculty, especially in areas of Cornell’s impact on its surroundings. Swimtrunks were a fine start, but the next step is to sign the Climate Neutrality Resolution and fully support and expand the resources and responsibilities of Dean Koyanagi, Cornell’s sustainability coordinator. At the moment, Koyanagi has a staff of one part-time employee, hardly a signal from Day Hall that past and future commitments to sustainability and carbon neutrality are more than smog and mirrors.
Mr. President, our campus is engaged and concerned and insists Cornell live up to its previous agreements. Just as importantly, we must increase our efforts, and the resolution is that commitment. Between the two campaigns, over 5,000 students are insisting you act on the side of progress and foresight. We must all swim with the new tide of ecological awareness and action, and not just tread water in Teagle.
By Jeff Purcell at Feb 5 2007

Want to stop Climate Change? Time to get organizing!

Hi all,
Wanted to let everyone know that KyotoNOW! is having a planning session and skills training on Saturday at 1 pm in McGraw 145. Maura Cowley, the Northeast Coordinator for the Campus Climate Challenge, will be there as will all the coolest kids on campus.
Time is running out for our schools to take action on this- but students across the country are stepping up and demanding action! Come add your voice. See you at 1.

People on campus are responding to the call- check out http://cornellsun.com/node/21098.

~Katherine

"Students around the world have been at the forefront of movements to promote democracy and human rights. Student movements have toppled powerful dictatorships and military juntas. Student movements have ended wars. And student activism has often served as the conscience for nations, reminding people in times of turmoil of the founding ideals of their countries and the aspirations of all people for justice, dignity, and equality."-Glenn Omatsu

Kyoto Now! Demands Climate Action From Skorton

This week, Cornell joined 575 schools in the Energy Action Coalition to stop global warming, an environmental trend that has consistently gained prevalence on social and political agendas around the world.

The Energy Action Coalition, which consists of 41 organizations in universities across the United States and Canada, has united students in the Campus Climate Challenge, an effort to institute clean energy policies on college campuses. Groups in the Energy Action Coalition include Cornell’s Kyoto Now!, Americans for Informed Democracy and the Sierra Student Coalition.

Carlos Rymer ’09, a member of Kyoto Now!, said, “Global warming is the defining issue of our generation, and as Cornell students, we believe that Cornell should join other schools that have committed to eliminating their greenhouse gas emissions on campus. If we are to show our federal government that serious action is needed, we need to begin that action ourselves to show that we are ready for big changes now.”

To read the rest of the story, click here.

There Is Hope In This New Energy

"Global Warming. Everybody talks about it. We hear it in the news all the time nowadays. The Congress, major corporations, the insurance industry, and even the White House have picked up the point: the buildup of global warming pollution is heating Planet Earth."

"Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “we judge a man’s wisdom by his hope.” This is not just an opinion about hope. This is a finding about the relationship between human actions and the idea of “hope.” Why so? Today, we are experiencing the effects of a changing global climate. From melting glaciers to stronger hurricanes to the loss of habitable land and agriculture, we are recognizing that this heating of the planet is coming right at us. “Hope,” in this case, is not simply an option. As temperatures soar and the numbers of scary events increase, we see more people joining the global climate movement, more corporations recognizing the need for change, more governments taking stronger actions, more scientific reports warning of danger, and more big actions being organized everywhere. Why? Our recognition of the climate crisis creates hope, a hope in the new energy of the climate movement."

To read the rest of the Op-Ed, click here.

Joel Salatin speaks at Cornell about the local food movement

Joel Salatin addressed a full auditorium of Cornell students, faculty, staff and growers Thursday, January 25th. His talk "In-sourcing out food: scaling production and distribution for local viability" was an engaging account of Joel's innovative work at his family farm, Polyface Farms in Swoope, VA. Joel described his pasture-based multi-species livestock system that combines new technology in the form of mobile electric fencing and centuries old wisdom of animal husbandry.

After the talk, Joel addressed another full house Cornell Dining's "Farm to You" dinner for local growers, part of their local produce initiative. Joel described his own entrance into direct marketing with restaurants and how it has been a successful enterprise for his farm and for local chefs.

The talk was sponsored by NWAEG at Cornell (funded in part by the GPSAFC), Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell Dining, Cornell Beef Extension Program and Cornell Orchards.

Video of the talk will be posted soon at www.rso.cornell.edu/nwaeg/

Students Use Civil Rights Tactics to Combat Global Warming

"At campuses across the country, in marches, blogs even performance art — one student dressed as a pink light bulb to deliver energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs around campus — students are pressuring their colleges to use renewable energy and calling on congress to enact legislation that encourages reductions in carbon emissions. "

"'We don't just see this as environmental but about civil rights,'" said 19-year-old Catherine McEachern of Cornell University. "'It's the calling of our generation. Global warming has been neglected by the previous generation, and we see it as an injustice that needs to be changed.'"

Energy Action. Step It Up. KyotoNOW. Bright Planet. Focus the Nation. Campus Climate Challenge. With so many cross-pollinating student groups and efforts, no wonder global warming is hot.

To read the entire story, click here.

University of Wisconson-Green Bay Commits to Climate Neutrality

"The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay today (Dec. 20) pledged to take a leadership role in addressing the critical issue of global warming. UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to develop a long-range plan to reduce and ultimately neutralize greenhouse gas emissions on the campus. "

To read more, click here.

Solar Panels on Day Hall

"When you look at the lighted face of the McGraw Tower clock at night, think of the sun, because the sun now supplies the university with enough energy to light the tower. In late December workers completed the installation on the roof of Day Hall of solar panels that will generate slightly more electricity than is used by the clock tower lights, so the tower has been chosen to symbolize the new energy source. The system was turned on and began feeding power into the university power grid Dec. 20. With 54 26-square-foot solar panels generating a peak 15 kilowatts (kw), it is the third largest solar array in Tompkins County after the Tompkins County Library, whose system is rated at 145 kw, and a recent apartment building installation rated at 16.7 kw. Eight similar panels, rated at 2.2 kw, will be installed over the loading dock of the Cornell Store."

To read the rest of the story, click here.