August 6th, 2009

Keene State's commitment to sustainability has brought two huge co-generation steam boilers to campus. Each of the units creates steam for heating and more efficiently generates electricity, saving money and lessening CO2 emissions. (Photo by Colin Burdick).

This winter, Keene State will heat its campus more efficiently, generate electricity, and reduce the College’s carbon footprint. A newly constructed co-generation heat plant is expected to reduce energy costs by more than $120,000 a year and to reduce green house gases caused by campus electrical consumption by more than 500 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.

When the steam plant that has heated the campus for nearly 100 years needed an upgrade, the design team chose to think more broadly about the assignment: How could it incorporate other energy savings? The project, which had originally focused on replacing two 46-year-old boilers, expanded into a new co-generation facility with classic lines attractive enough to be built on the original site at the center of the campus.

The new brick building blends with neighboring Fiske Hall, the College’s first residence hall, and has huge glass panels that reflect the central campus quad. Inside, the two new boilers have high-efficiency burners that increase steam output with almost no waste. A control system regulates the boilers for maximum output, and they use less water. In addition to providing heat, the steam turns a turbine that will generate up to 12% of the campus’s electricity.

Vice President for Finance and Planning Dr. Jay Kahn estimates a seven-year payback and a $5.6 million savings over the 30-year life of the boilers. “We could save even more if they last as long as the 46-year-old boilers they are replacing,” he adds.

The $9.5 million project began in April of 2008, when contractors razed the 79-foot brick chimney of the old plant (the bricks were then recycled into road base). Construction was completed in spring of 2009.

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Photo by Lynn Roman. Bud Winsor (Physical Plant) talks about the crab apple tree that was planted next to Rhodes Hall on Friday, April 22, as part of Keene State’s Earth Week celebration. Children from the Child Development Center are in the foreground.

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From Jeanne Hearn, Sustainability Council Eco-Note Committee: This year’s RecycleMania competition has come to a close, and once again, Keene State posted a strong showing as one of over 500 colleges and universities to participate in the eighth annual event to raise awareness of recycling and waste reduction on campuses across the country. According to RecycleMania 2009, 4.7 million students and 1.1 million faculty and staff on these campuses collectively recycled or composted just over 69.4 million pounds of waste over ten weeks.

In the Per Capita Classic Competitive Division, schools competed to collect the largest amount of acceptable recyclables per person. Keene State College placed 97th out of 293 schools in this category and third in New Hampshire, with 13.93 cumulative recyclable pounds per person.

In the Gorilla Prize category, based on collection of the highest gross tonnage of materials, Keene State College placed 149th out of 293 schools and third in New Hampshire, with a total collection of 73,334 pounds of recyclables.

The complete rundown of results of RecycleMania 2009 is available at www.recyclemaniacs.org/Results.aspx. Thank you to ROCKS, Eco-Reps, and the campus community for their contributions to another outstanding showing!

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On Monday, April 20, KSC students Amanda Abramson and Martin Hansen will discuss food choice and the sustainability of the food system at 6:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room, Student Center. A short film edited by KSC film major Erik Breakell will be shown.

This program, which is entirely student developed and presented, is the final presentation in the Keene Is Reading Series inspired by Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. Michael McCarthy (Communication), faculty advisor for this project, notes that the presentation is a great example of how students from three different disciplines can collaborate to educate our campus community around local to global food issues, adding, “It has been my honor and pleasure to assist these students in the development of what I think will be an academic and interesting look at problems and solutions.”

Final “Keene Is Reading” student posters

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From Kaitlyn Taft, Recycling: While celebrating the Earth is a daily ritual for many, the special week dedicated to our planet has come once again! Earth Week takes place Monday, April 20 to Saturday, April 25 this year, and there is something going on every day. Please join in the celebration, and bring a friend!

Monday, April 20:
Trash Audit: Come see what’s really in your trash!
“Food with a Face, Food with a Future,” KSC student presentation
Tuesday, April 21:
Gardening Workshop: Marc Cormier on starting a garden with very little
Tom Wessels, author of The Myth of Progress
Wednesday, April 22, EARTH DAY:
Earth Day Fair
Chris Feiker Garden Dedication
Clothes Swap
Thursday, April 23:
Arboretum Tour
Natural Dyeing Workshop
Friday, April 24:
Annual Memorial Tree Planting
Saturday, April 25:
Solarfest: Campus Ecology’s annual solar-powered music festival

All events are sponsored by the Recycling and Sustainability Office, the President’s Council for a Sustainable Future, and Campus Ecology. Visit the website for event details and more information.

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From Kaitlyn Taft, Recycling: Hello fellow Earth dwellers! Keene State is holding an Earth Week Photo contest during Earth Week (April 20–April 24). Any photo that relates to the earth or preservation of nature can be entered, and all members of the campus community are invited to submit.

Photos (in hard copy only) can be submitted to Kaitlyn Taft MS 2502, or dropped off at the ROCKS office behind Whitcomb by Wednesday, April 15. The photos will be displayed in the Student Center during Earth Week and the public will vote. Fabulous sustainable prizes and a gift certificate for first place. Questions? Email ktaft@keene.edu or call 8-2567.

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From Mary Jensen, Recycling and Sustainability: This year, Keene State is participating in Earth Hour 2009, an international event that will take place between 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 28. For one hour this coming Saturday, turn out your lights and turn off all energy-using objects (more information here).

People from all over the world will be taking simple everyday steps to collectively reduce carbon emissions – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby. As part of the world’s first global election between Earth and global warming, 2,140 cities, towns, and municipalities in 82 countries have committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009. Let’s get involved and join this great effort. Do it in the dark and see what a difference you can make! (For inspiration, watch this.)

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From Mary Jensen, Sustainability and Recycling: The President’s Council for a Sustainable Future is welcoming grant applications for the Spring 2009 Semester. Projects should support educational and institutional activities that promote environmental awareness and stewardship, and also benefit the campus community. The deadline for the spring semester is April 3. Visit the sustainability website for more information.

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From Kaitlyn Taft, Recycling: RecycleMania is underway until March 28! We are currently ahead of UNH, but not by much. And we only rank 99 out of 147 in Waste Minimization with 8.23 lbs of waste per person last week. We can do better, and we need your help! Reduce your waste by these simple tasks:
• Do not print agendas at meetings.
• Avoid disposable dishware.
• Use a reusable coffee mug/water bottle.
• Email whenever possible.
• Reuse all one-sided paper.

With your help, we can reduce the amount of waste headed for landfills, save money and resources, and take the RecycleMania title!
Visit www.recyclemaniacs.org for up to date information about where we rank and the details of the competition.

Another recycling reminder: ROCKS takes a great variety of items for recycling or reuse. They include:
• Ink Jets
• Batteries
• Media: CD’s, VHS, cassettes, floppies, and their cases
• Textiles
• Packing peanuts
• Cell phones
• Compact fluorescent light bulbs
• Electronics
• Transparencies

Contact ROCKS at 8-2567 or visit www.keene.edu/rocks for more information. Thank you for recycling!!

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From the Campus Sustainability Council: Confidential data destruction bins are available from the Recycling Office. Many are already located in your building’s recycling area, and mini locked containers are also available. It is an easy, quick, and safe way to manage your confidential data — no more standing over a hot shredder slowly feeding paper in piece by piece!

Please try to limit materials to confidential data only. It may not always be convenient to find another recycling container, but the minimum charge for a container to be shredded is $35. The less non-confidential material we put in, the better our bottom line. In addition, please try to avoid putting in rubber-band wrapped papers, large metal clips, or plastic of any kind — including folder covers. Paper only, please! Staples and small amounts of paper clips are fine. This material is dumped directly from the bin into a huge shredder. The undesirable materials damage the equipment, but also the recycling value of the shredded paper is severely diminished if plastic gets in the mix. For more information, contact R.O.C.K.S. at 8-2567.

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After a two-week trial last semester, the Dining Commons has officially gone “tray free.” Signs like this one describe the new initiative and outline the various sustainability reasons for the policy. “Tray-free DC” minimizes food waste because diners only eat what they can carry. It reduces water, detergent, and electricity used to wash the trays, and improves the community water supply by reducing the amount of detergents, solid waste, and grease that go into the drains. Visit www.keenestatedining.com to find other sustainability initiatives happening at Keene State.

Photo: Renee Staudinger

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From Kaitlyn Taft, Recycling: The national, 10-week RecycleMania competition started January 18 and continues until March 28. Keene State has entered the Waste Minimization category, which means we are trying to create the least amount of waste per person on campus. We ask that in the next 10 weeks you:
• Do not print agendas for meetings
• Reuse all one-sided paper
•Do not provide disposable cups at meetings
With these three simple acts, we can significantly decrease the amount of waste created on campus, and this will lead to less garbage entering landfills and a happier planet.
Check out www.recyclemaniacs.org for more information and to keep up on how we’re doing.

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From Eric Anderson, a journalism senior at KSC and member of the Sustainability Council: With falling gas prices, the number of miles Americans are driving has also dropped, and the most likely culprit is the sagging economy. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans traveled 11 billion fewer miles in 2008 than in 2007. One plan that can help keep money in drivers’ pockets is the Keene State College ride-share program.

The college has teamed up with erideshare.com to bring together faculty and staff to share the commute to campus. Mary Jensen, coordinator of Sustainability Programs and Recycling, joined in a car pool with professor Renate Gebauer of the college’s science department. Jensen and Gebauer try to carpool at least once a week. Jensen believes she drives at least 60 miles a month less and that it saves on gas and the car’s wear and tear. Also, she says carpooling offers “an enjoyable conversation on the way to and from work, and an opportunity to get to know someone better.”

The American Automobile Association estimates that it costs approximately 54 cents a mile to drive your car (figure includes gas, oil, maintenance, tires, and depreciation). For a 40-mile round-trip commute, this comes to $21.64 per day, $454 monthly, and $5,453 annually. KSC’s Sustainability Council hopes these figures will motivate college employee’s to share rides, but Jensen says the Human Resources department is also offering prize incentives to spur potential car poolers. Both Gebauer and Jensen have the environment on their minds when they ride to work — erideshare.com says that approximately 18 pounds of carbon monoxide are created for every gallon of gasoline that is burned. But Jensen also considers government taxes: in theory, fewer vehicles on the road will decrease the amount of tax money spent on highway maintenance.

If you are looking for someone to carpool with, visit this link. You’ll find answers to any questions you may have about logistics and tips for a smooth running ride share. For Jensen and Gebauer, the chance to make a difference, even a small one, is well worth any scheduling conflicts: They are saving money and polluting less, and they’ve made a lasting friendship.

Courtesy Photo

Renate Gebauer (left) and Mary Jensen try to carpool at least once a week.

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From Ralph Palmer, Physical Plant: KSC has adopted a new LED setup for the holiday tree that is on Main Street. The LED lights use 0.75 amps (90 W). For about 300 hours of lighting time (4 p.m. to midnight, now through December 31), the total cost for electricity will be $3.16.

The old setup, using incandescent lights, used 98 amps (11,760 W). Last year the same amount of holiday lighting time cost $412.78.

Cost savings: $409.62, energy savings: 3,521 kWh!

Photo: Robin Dutcher

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Batchelder Biodiesel Refineries, LLC will host a grand opening of their first biodiesel refinery on Wednesday, December 17, from 6–9 p.m. at 29 Front Street in Nashua, N.H. (For more information about the event, please contact Christopher Langille at clangille@bbr-llc.com.) This new facility will convert yellow and brown waste grease into 100% ASTM-certified biofuel, a process that eliminates the “food vs. fuel” controversy created by biofuels like ethanol, which is processed from corn.

BBR plans to open a second refinery, the Monadnock Biodiesel Collaborative (MBC), in Keene in the early spring of 2009. Keene State College and the City of Keene are collaborating with BBR to create a unique private/public/college sector facility where business, research, education, and community service activities will support the community’s goal of creating sustainable practices to improve public health and environmental quality.

The Keene facility will house a BBR refinery to convert waste grease from across New England into more than 250,000 gallons of biodiesel per year, and will also provide KSC researchers with quality fuel for emissions analysis.

A KSC fuel-quality and emissions-testing laboratory located within the MBC will expand the college’s current fuel-emissions and exposure-assessment program, verify the quality of biodiesel produced by the MBC, and provide a sustainable funding stream to support student research and learning experiences from several disciplines across the Keene State College campus. The laboratory will build on Keene State’s research program in occupational and environmental exposure assessment for petroleum diesel and biodiesel (see COBRE grant article).  As many as 50 students per year will be able to actively engage with faculty and staff in such areas as journalism, communication, education, refinery processing, chemistry, environmental science, business management, green business practices, occupational and environmental health, ecology, and public policy engagement.

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From the Campus Sustainability Council: Over the holiday break, please shut down any computers, printers, speakers, copiers, and other electronic equipment in your office, work area, and in computer labs you oversee. Make sure to shut your monitor off completely — energy is used even in sleep mode. Learn more about energy use and campus computers here. Shut off lights in offices, classrooms, and work or common areas. If you have control over your heat, please consider lowering the temperature to 60 degrees.

Here are some tips for a “green” holiday season. Thank you, and best wishes for a wonderful and safe holiday break.

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From the Sustainability Council’s ECO-NOTES Team: Precycling is defined as a reduction in the amount of materials consumed in an effort to decrease the amount of materials requiring recycling or disposal. By precycling, you can reduce waste by not buying something that will generate heaps of waste. Here are a few precycling suggestions to think about when shopping:

1. Buy Items You Need and Will Use: Buying items you will use saves money and keeps clutter to a minimum. Ask yourself, “Do I really need this?”
2. Select Products Carefully: When choosing products, consider the environmental impact of your purchase. Is it safe for the environment and your loved ones? Does it have special storage and disposal needs? Is there a nontoxic alternative product available? Is the product/packaging made of recycled/recyclable materials?
3. Buy Locally, Think Globally: Buying locally reduces waste generated through transportation — including air and water pollution — and also supports the community. Purchasing local food from a farmer’s market or local producer allows you to enjoy fresh food that is not heavily packaged.
4. Consider Products with Reduced or Zero Packaging: Packaging makes up more than 35% of our waste stream. If packaging can’t be avoided, choose products that have packaging made of recycled and recyclable materials. Buying in bulk and reusing shopping bags will reduce your packaging load. Canvas bags last a long time and endure the weight of groceries much better than paper or plastic. Don’t take a bag when you have single items.
5. Avoid Plastic: A recycle symbol on plastic items and packages does not always mean an item is recyclable. The chasing arrows symbol has been taken over by the plastics industry, allowing them to look environmentally friendly without having to actually change their practices.
6. Avoid Disposables: Don’t buy products manufactured for automatic disposal. Buy items that are designed for reuse or things that can be repaired. For example, using a refillable mug eliminates the need for disposable cups and often gets you a discount on your beverage.
7. Reuse Items or Donate Them: When items are no longer useful to you, donate them to charity. You save landfill space, get a tax credit, and help someone else out!
8. Compost: Feed your garden and it will feed you. Kitchen scraps like vegetable and fruit peels provide nourishment for your garden. Composting is easy! Check R.O.C.K.S. for more information.
9. Take the Time to Give Feedback: Take a minute to talk to a store manager about a product or packaging preference. Patronize businesses that offer low-impact products and packaging. Write manufacturers with feedback on improving their product’s impact on the waste stream and environment. Contact your legislators to encourage legislation that supports these practices.
10. Teach Your Children: Children are consumers of the present and the future. By teaching children to precycle, you help them take responsibility for their impact, reduce the strain on your budget, and make them better citizens of the planet. For more information on Greening Your Holiday: www.keene.edu/sustain/gg_holiday.cfm.

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From Mary Jensen, President’s Council for a Sustainable Future: The President’s Council for a Sustainable Future is welcoming grant applications for the Fall 2008 semester.

Projects should support educational and institutional activities that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and also benefit the campus community. The deadline for the Fall 2008 semester is October 31, 2008. For more information visit http://www.keene.edu/sustain/grants.cfm

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From Kim Schmidl-Gagne, Academic Affairs: Just a quick reminder to encourage you to enroll in the TRIP Incentive program when you carpool (see below for instructions), walk, or ride to campus. We have some nice incentives when you complete the TRIP Tracking forms (Contact Valerie Hodge for details at vhodge@keene.edu), and you’ll be helping to reduce your and the campus’s carbon footprint! You don’t need to carpool, walk, or ride everyday — just one day a week or every other week can make a difference.

Based upon the 2007/08 Faculty and Staff Transportation Survey, average estimated total miles traveled (including commuting miles and travel throughout the work day) by faculty and staff is 2,435,722 miles per year, representing an estimated use of 110,214 gallons at an approximated cost of $407,791 (assuming $.3.70 per gallon of gasoline). Clearly, these figures are staggering!

Carpool Instructions: All KSC faculty and staff are invited to take advantage of carpooling through erideshare.com. This free, easy-to-use, web-based service can match you up with other KSC employees from your area — allowing you to carpool to and from Keene State College.

To sign up for erideshare, go to http://keene.erideshare.com. Use the password trip. You will need to set up a membership account, but you can immediately start using the service. You may want to check to be sure that you actually post your ride request to the Keene State College site (check out the toolbar at the top of the page). Otherwise it will be posted to the general Keene site (which might be fine if you want to look for any driver who works in Keene to ride with). If you need to change or delete your listing, look under the “membership and tools” tab.

By completely filling out your erideshare electronic form, KSC will be able to track faculty and staff miles including the reduction in our carbon footprint, trips taken, miles saved, and more.

To facilitate your bike ride to work, green bikes are available through the Mason Library with your Faculty/Staff ID. The bike trail has recently been paved and borders the campus off Butler Court, with easy access to campus and the adjacent shopping areas. In addition, the KSC Community Bus and City Bus service is also available for travel throughout the work day.

Please send any questions, comments, and concerns to Mary Jensen, sustainability coordinator at mjensen@keene.edu

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From Mary Jensen, Campus Sustainability and Recycling: Keene State College is participating in Mac-Gray Campus Solutions’ new “Lighten the Load” program to operate carbon-neutral laundry rooms.

Mac-Gray Campus Solutions, a contract operator of card- and coin-operated laundry facilities in college and university residence halls, has announced a partnership with Carbonfund.org aimed at making its college and university accounts carbon neutral. The “Lighten the Load’ program is offered to all of Mac-Gray’s college and university accounts.

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