Unchallenged assumptions took a beating in a session from Wendell Brase of UC-Irvine at today’s Smart and Sustainable Campuses conference.
Focusing on labs and IT facilities, which often have 24/7 loads and are the fastest growing consumer of energy, Brase described data center equipment used at his campus that is designed by its manufacturers to run normally at temperatures in excess of 85 degrees, but until recently was kept in a room air conditioned to 68 degrees, which requires more energy.
“No one thought that we could do it differently than the way we always had, but it says right there in the manuals that you can safely operate the equipment this way,” said Brase. “The way to make these labs less of a burden on our carbon footprint is to make them smarter. They’re hungry, but they can be managed a lot better than we’re doing. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re still making choices based on assumptions from 1965.”
The Department of Energy estimates the growth of energy consumption from labs and IT centers at 15% per year across the country, though Brase notes the number is probably higher at a university, particularly a research institution. To compensate, UC schools have been changing their desktop power settings, closing fume hoods to save energy, consolidating equipment, and experimenting with virtualized desktops.
“We’re interested in what’s called deep energy infrastructure projects. We’re not doing a project right now unless we can save 50% of our carbon emissions,” said Brase. “We’ll get back to the 10% or 15% projects eventually, but right now it’s a matter of speed, scope and scale.”
We’re blogging the Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference at University of Maryland today and tomorrow. If you were in any of the sessions, share your notes in the comments.
One of the first sessions at this year’s Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference gave community colleges a starring role in preparing students for jobs in a greener economy.
Keith Ratcliff of the Central Piedmont Community College Center for Sustainability began by asking, “Don’t we want our students to learn a skill, to be able to get a job? My son is in college now, and when I ask the school what kind of job he’s going to be able to get, how much money he might make, they don’t have any idea. Think about it, they don’t know what my son’s job prospects will be.”
In the next ten years, Ratcliff said, 75% of American jobs will require a two-year degree. This fits with other studies that claim much of the projected demand in green-collar jobs will be in middle-skilled occupations: those that require some education beyond high school, but not a Bachelor’s degree.
The fact that community colleges fit right in this spot, said Ratcliff, is an untapped opportunity. “People are so interested in this issue. After a talk I gave to a bunch of sales and marketing people, many of whom were losing their jobs, they were so excited that they came down to campus and signed up for our training program,” he said. “I’m not making that up.”
Central Piedmont Community College has indeed seen a hike in applicants for the new Associate’s degree program in sustainable technology, which offers students the choice of an emphasis in alternative energy, environmental engineering, sustainable manufacturing, or green building.
Most importantly, said Ratcliff, schools shouldn’t train people for jobs that don’t exist. “When we were launching this program, what I had to do was call over 130 companies, find the right person, tell them about the program, and ask if they would have a need for these students in two years. And these companies told us that they could see that need coming up.” (A recent WorldChanging article shows how some schools have partnered with local workforce boards to do similar research on green employment opportunities.)
The greatest demands in North Carolina, where CPCC is located, are expected to be in research and development, biotech, manufacturing of clean energy components and equipment, clean energy distribution, and construction and maintenance, many of which can be embedded into existing programs at community colleges.
“A green engineer or green architect can be trained within the program that already exists, with a few changes,” finished Ratcliff. “You don’t start from ground zero—a person is already an engineer, or a plumber, or an electrician.”
We’re blogging the Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference at University of Maryland today and tomorrow. If you were in any of the sessions, share your notes in the comments.
Energy Bill Includes Amendment for Green Training at Community Colleges
A new amendment to the 2009 energy bill is designed to fund job training at community colleges in renewable and alternative energy fields.
This amendment, sponsored by Senator Wyden (D-Ore.) would authorize $500 million ($100 million per year for five years) to ensure that workers are ready to create, install and maintain wind, solar, biomass and geothermal projects. Once passed, the bill authorizes the Department of Energy to fund programs at 1,200 American community colleges, with half of the funds going towards schools who already have strong programs in place.
A letter sent on Monday by National Wildlife Federation to Senators Bingaman and Murkowski, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, supported the inclusion of provisions for community colleges and stated, "This amendment would establish a community college-based training and education program for sustainable and alternative energy technologies such as wind energy technicians, energy auditors, geothermal energy technicians, and energy efficient construction."
Organizations such as NWF and the American Association of Community Colleges also point out that this amended bill supports education and training for workers in sustainable agriculture and farming. Recent articles in ClimateEduand the Chronicle of Higher Education have explored the issue of teaching sustainable agriculture, but focused on liberal arts schools like Warren Wilson College and the University of Montana. Community colleges have largely stayed out of the farming arena (Central Carolina Community College being one of a few notable exceptions), but may soon be able to take advantage of federal funds for such projects.
However, such a day is still far off. The New York Times reports that the bill is still in early drafting stages, and due to the inclusion of mandatory limits on carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade market, lacks Republican support.
Our own Xarissa Holdaway has a story at WorldChanging that describes how some California community colleges are experimenting with green-collar training programs.
In many regions, early reports suggest there are not enough workers to meet demand for wind, solar and geothermal projects, while some states find the opposite: that there are more trained professionals than there are jobs. A report from the National Council on Workforce Education states,
"[M]any jobs that are currently, or predicted to be, in demand are
‘middle-skilled’ jobs that require more than a high school diploma but
less than a bachelor’s degree. It is important to note that although
there will be a growing number of new green occupations requiring new
knowledge, skills, and abilities, it is expected that the majority will
be transformed from existing jobs, requiring a redefinition of skill
sets, methods, and occupational profiles."
To more accurately predict when and where workers will be required, not to mention training these workers, she reports that community colleges are turning to local organizations and pioneering a new collaborative model that can "respond to
trends in clean and green technology." One such project, the New
Energy Workforce (NEW) Initiative, a partnership between Bay Area community colleges and regional workforce investment boards, is able to conduct courses, research employment opportunities, and share successful curricula between schools.
Kitty O'Doherty, convener of the NEW project, says, "This is a call for new levels of collaboration. We convened the
Workforce Investment Boards and the colleges in our region in February,
and both groups are extremely committed. They [WIBs] are going to have
the funding to place people in these jobs, and we're going to have the
training. The common mission of preparing individuals for meaningful
careers and creating a well-qualified workforce for our region is a
very compelling motivator."
Nalini Nadkarni, a faculty member at Evergreen State College, talked to TED about her work studying and preserving rainforests, including outreach projects that get inner-city youth from Washington into the trees and learning about nature. Here she describes the richly developed ecosystems of rainforest canopies, which are unlike the dark, quiet forest floors.
Scott Carlson reports that "about 25 percent of the colleges that should have turned in their
greenhouse-gas reports in September are still delinquent. Of the
colleges that had a deadline in January, nearly half have yet to file."
The American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, which has more than 600 signatories, commits schools to working towards climate neutrality, and the first step in that process is creating a public greenhouse gas inventory. As Carlson points out, it is a difficult requirement, but an easier one than those following, which include creating an emissions reduction plan, carrying it out, and integrating sustainability education into the university's curriculum.
However, between budget shortfalls and shifting priorities, many schools have failed to create or publish their emissions report, and some, like the College of Alameda in California, seem to have forgotten entirely. Many of the delinquent schools are small institutions with fewer resources or shrinking enrollments, for whom large investments in sustainability were always a stretch:
"Mr. King says Cabrillo [College] may have to
postpone plans for some renewable-energy projects, like solar panels,
that require upfront investment. The college has plans for a new
building that would be certified platinum in the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design program, but budget concerns may require the
college to shoot for a lower certification instead."
Many of the schools that have yet to create an inventory report that their philosophy remains unchanged, and that sustainability remains an important part of the agenda, even in difficult times. The article also notes that supporting organizations, such as Clean Air -- Cool Planet and AASHE, are continuing to reach out to schools that are lagging and provide resources.
But what of the other 75%, who have reported their emissions and are now (presumably) writing their climate action plans? The Chronicle notes in a different story that Butte College, a small, two-year institution in Northern California, has just added three new solar arrays to its existing panels from 2005. The beefed-up system will generate 2.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, and is expected to save the school $32.6 million on utility bills in the next 20 years.
The final event of Power Shift, which took place on a snowy, below-freezing day in Washington, DC, drew thousands of students to the Capitol for pre-scheduled visits to members of Congress.
Christopher Applegate, a Missouri transplant now attending the University of Oklahoma, said that his state has been underrepresented, so he came with a group of ten people to speak with Senator Coburn and Senator Inhofe.
"The biggest issue we’re facing is that they’re trying to get some nuclear energy and some coal plants put up, but Oklahoma already has 708 MW of wind energy and another 126 going on the grid this year, so we're looking for ways to transition to more of that," said Applegate. "Oklahoma has already voted down one coal plant and through grassroots organizing we got rid of another one." He noted that the University of Oklahoma has announced that it will be completely powered by wind energy by 2013.
Lindsay Randall, a graduate of Purchase College in NY who now works as the school's Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator, said, "“It’s incredible, there are 12,000 people here at Power Shift, and that’s just the people who could afford tickets, who could take the time off school. It’s just a fraction of the people who wanted to be here."
The 11 students who came with Randall, most in environmental studies, art and business, went to a meeting with Senator Gillibrand's environmental staffer, Ben Rosenbaum. "When she was Congresswomen, she was a co-sponsor of the state climate act, so we look forward to working with her. I think she’ll be supportive, and that we’re going to be able to make some good progress with her," she said.
Purchase College, a signatory of the President's Climate Commitment, recently completed its greenhous gas inventory. "We're looking at reductions right now," said Randall. "The students are going to be more involved. They learned skills here to organize on campus, and we’re going to do a lot more activism and awareness of federal legislation. We have a really strong non-violent action group on campus, and they’re going to do more."
After the rally and visits were over, many left not for home, but for a protest that ended up at the Capitol coal plant. Carrying signs advocating everything from a no-coal economy to green jobs, students from Power Shift joined groups from Greenpeace, the Chesapeake Climate Action network and other organizations. As they walked, the group of more than 2,500 protestors passed a rival protest from coal supporters that had attracted fewer than 20 people.
Several days earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had announced that the U.S. Capitol Power Plant would be switched to burn only natural gas, a transition that will require significant retrofitting to the equipment that produces 35% of the plant's output from coal. No timeline for this transition has been determined.
During lunch on Saturday, I went from table to table to ask groups of students why they had come to Power Shift and what they were hoping to gain.
Two high school students from Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca, NY, were sitting with a friend of theirs who now attends college in Oberlin, OH. Younger than many of the attendees, they were deep in a discussion of the high-speed rail funding in the recently-passed stimulus bill when I interrupted.
At the Lehman school, which brought 16 students to Power Shift, environmental issues are not new. Miroslav Azis, 17, said, "I was at Bioneers By the Bay in October, and I thought it was an amazing experience. My ecology class back at school picked up on this and thought we should go to Power Shift. It’s great to meet people here who are like-minded. We’re still high school students, so we’re drawing a lot from those who are in college, who have already taken economics and other classes, and can talk about it in the workshops."
Lukas Friga, also 17, interjected. "I’m not the most active person in terms of political stuff, but I’m getting a lot out of the workshops that are more about information. I want to go into international relations, so the panels on what’s going to happen at Copenhagen are really interesting to me." He went on to describe other workshops he wanted to attend, most of which were academic in nature, rather than personal. Avis agreed that "there aren't any workshops on how to 'be green.' They're on what issues come up in making green things happen."
When asked what they were planning to take away from the conference, all three said that they hoped they would be better at talking to people who might not be interested in mingling with the environmentalists and social-justice advocates at Power Shift. "This is more of a cultural gathering than anything else," said Friga. "But we need to be able to pull in everyone. Hopefully, we can learn the skills here to go back and talk to the people that don’t want to hug trees. If you say, I know this area is losing jobs, what if you were all to work in x, y, z that’s more sustainable? That’s going to hit a lot more. You don’t want to be a treehugger, you want to be able to say that your ideals have all these logical supports to them, and that’s what we’re here to learn."
Miriam Rothenberg, who attended Lehman last year but now goes to college in Ohio, felt strongly that the impact of Power Shift wouldn't be felt this weekend, but as students dispersed to their separate schools. "There are a lot of people on my campus that are apathetic," she said. "But here I feel like we’re really a force. We have the numbers, and we have the drive, and we have the science to back us up. We all have different backgrounds, but there’s a sense of drawing together to be one unified movement, and then going back out to make all of this happen."
Environmental Justice Takes Center Stage at Power Shift '09 Opening Session
Power Shift, a conference and lobby event that aimed to bring 10,000 young people to the Capitol to take action on climate change and environmental degradation, took a turn for the socially-aware at last night's opening keynote speeches.
Almost 12,000 t-shirted twenty-somethings filed into the hall, sometimes breaking out into spontaneous cheers or songs. About 2,000 more people had registered than Jessy Tolkan and other members of the Energy Action Coalition had hoped, and they filled the room to capacity. Buses were unloading more groups from colleges and youth groups all over the country until just before the session opened. The event is being cited as the largest gathering on climate change and clean energy in the history of the US; more people are in attendance here than were at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December 2007.
For a group that considers itself the most tolerant and most diverse environmental movement in the nation, it was no surprise that opening speakers didn't restrict their remarks to increasing atmospheric CO2 or ocean acidification. Instead, Lisa Jackson of the EPA, Ken Salazar of the Department of the Interior, Majora Carter, Mayor Rocky Anderson, Van Jones, Clayton Thomas-Muller and others elaborated on the idea that environmental work cannot be delegated to any one group, nationality or ethnicity.
Majora Carter, an environmental activist from the South Bronx who has spent years on a "Greening the Ghetto' campaign, told stories of the pollution in the neighborhoods where she grew up, and the diabetes, asthma, and other health problems caused by manufacturing and energy plants in the Bronx. "Our pollution-based economy is built on the subsidies on the health of poor people," she said. She urged the audience to put a stop to mountaintop coal removal and other community-harming sources of fuel, to meet opponents with love and companionship, and find safe, fair work for those currently employed in coal or other industries. "Environmental justice," she said, "is civil rights for the 21st century."
Overwhelmingly, the crowd signaled their commitment to working with government and other organizations to find solutions to climate problems. One of the loudest cheers of the night went to Ken Salazar, who promised that the Department of the Interior would "appoint thousands of young people to restore America. We'll have the best youth conservation corp the world has ever seen!"
Van Jones also noted the importance of "adding to the world" rather than taking things out of it. "If all we do is take away the dirty powers in the system and stick a solar panel on it, but don't deal with our water, or the way we treat each other, we'll have biofueled bombers, and be fighting over lithium for the batteries," he said. "We can be locusts or we can be honeybees," he finished. "Will our work be a scourge on this planet or a blessing on this generation?"
Ball State university, long a leader in climate action (and frequent sustainability conference host), has just approved drilling almost four thousand closed-loop wells to heat and cool the campus. Ground-source heat pumps use constant ground temperature, which is cooler than the surface in summer and warmer in the winter, to save energy and cut carbon emissions. The university hopes to drill the first well after commencement this May.
What's most interesting is how the project will be funded: The university already had $40 million from the state legislature to replace aging and inefficient boilers, but received no bids for the project, even as the cost of the upgrade rose to $60 million. Now, BSU will ask the state budget committee to re-apportion the money to the ground-source heating project.
The project could eliminate the 85,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by the current boilers. It also has the potential to decrease university operating
costs, reduce dependence on coal and natural gas market fluctuations,
eliminate other air pollutants, and allow the university to
sell carbon credits. BSU also hopes it will create about 870 jobs, though not all will be permanent.
We talk a lot about geothermal, because the paybacks for a properly installed ground-source heating system are bigger than most conservation measures and even some renewable energy sources. The majority of energy consumption on campus buildings goes towards heating and cooling. Richard Stockton college, using a closed-loop system similar to the one that Ball State proposes, cut its electricity consumption by 25% and its natural gas uage by 70%, saving approxiamtely $330,000 in energy costs per year after an initial investment of only $5 million. BSU's plan is much more ambitious, and could lead to the biggest ground-source heating installation yet in the United States.
