Business Education Guide

Green News: Stockton's Commitment to "Green" Technology Saves Operating Expenses & Energy

Pollution Reduction and Alternative Energy
Sources Take Center Stage at the College

The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey implements environmentally responsible decisions in working toward a sustainable South Jersey community. Stockton’s efforts in the application of cutting-edge “green” technology saves precious energy, operating expenses and reduces pollution. It also demonstrates public-private sector partnerships with such diverse entities as New Jersey DEP, regional utilities and local elected officials.

Stockton’s planned Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage System (ATES) will cool five buildings on the campus, using cold water generated during the winter with a cooling tower and stored in an aquifer. This project is a technology Stockton is putting to use to save on the traditionally large amounts of electricity consumed in cooling costs. This system, which is common in Europe, utilizes the cold groundwater found in the soil on the campus during the winter months to help cool the College buildings during the summer months. The cold water is pumped through a cooling tower to further reduce its temperature and then returned to the aquifer at a different location for storage. During the summer, it will be used to cool many of Stockton’s buildings, reducing the need for conventional “chillers” which consume large amounts of electricity.

“This type of system is estimated to be 15 to 30 times more energy efficient than conventional air conditioning,” said Stockton Professor Lynn Stiles, who heads the project. “These types of systems are fairly common in the Netherlands, which shares the same seasonal and geographic similarities with this part of New Jersey,” he said. “We have the same type of soft sandy soil and very cool winters.”

The College expects to deduct at least $100,000 of the $544,000 construction costs through a New Jersey Clean Energy Program rebate. Professor Stiles expects the project to pay for itself within nine years through operating cost-savings alone.

Stockton is a leader in the application of new and alternative technologies to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuel energy sources. Stockton’s exceptionally large 400-borehole BTES (closed-loop) geothermal heat pump system has heated and cooled the academic buildings since 1994. The system decreases Stockton’s electric consumption by 25% and the College’s natural gas consumption by 70%. Carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by 13%, which saves the College $330,000 per year. A 200 kW fuel cell provides 1/10th of the College’s total energy and has been in place since 2002. The fully operational 20 kW of solar photovoltaics save the College $3,500 annually.
On February 21st of this year the College broke ground on the Housing V Community Commons. Each building will be subject to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System principles. These codes will be applied to the construction of the buildings and used to provide a sustainable environment for the students. The LEED benchmark promotes sustainability in five areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
Earlier this year, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey won first place in the National Wildlife Federation’s Chill Out Contest in recognition of the College’s outstanding environmentally responsible contributions and programs. Stockton is one of only seven institutions of higher education in the nation that were so honored. The competition recognized the efforts of higher education schools that use clean, renewable energy sources in a cost-saving and efficient way.
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Green projects and initiatives at Montclair State University
The Passaic River Institute
Housed within Montclair State University’s College of Science and Mathematics, the mission of the Passaic River Institute is to further environmental research and education and to help find solutions for environmental problems within the Passaic River Basin, including tributaries and surrounding watershed lands. The Institute is an important resource to state and municipal authorities. Kirk Barrett, Director of the Institute, was recently quoted in the news regarding the disastrous flooding of the Passaic River in May.

The Model 512 In-Vessel Aerobic Food Composter
MSU recently acquired and installed an aerobic food composter which will begin shortly on a modest scale to test the viability of composting all food waste produced by one of the main buildings on campus, University Hall. If the project is successful, efforts will be made to compost all of the food waste generated on campus. In the October 2006 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, food composting was identified as one of the “steps that a generic ‘Sustainable U.’ Might take.”
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Rutgers Tops National Recyclemania 2007 Competition
In only its second year of participation, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, made an impressive showing in RecycleMania 2007, collecting more recyclable materials than any other college participating in the 10-week competition.
Rutgers won the “Gorilla Prize” by collecting more than 2.7 million pounds of recyclables. The closest contender, Stanford University, collected half that amount. Rutgers also took the “Food Service Organics Prize” by recycling the largest amount of organic food waste (71.2 pounds) per person on campus.
RecycleMania is an annual nationwide “friendly competition” among college and university recycling programs to reduce waste and promote recycling on their campuses. This year, 201 institutions from 42 states participated.
Rutgers also placed second in the “Bottles and Cans” category, recycling more than 19 pounds of bottles and cans per person on campus. In addition, Rutgers placed in the top five in two other categories: the “Per Capita Classic,” in which schools compete to collect the largest amount of acceptable recyclables (Rutgers collected 72.58 pounds per person); and “Corrugated Cardboard,” in which schools compete to recycle the largest amount of corrugated cardboard (Rutgers recycled 31.33 pounds per person). No other school placed in the top five in as many categories as Rutgers.
“This was a universitywide effort,” said Dianne Gravatt, director of Environmental Services and Grounds. “We are particularly proud of the tireless work of the custodians and grounds people who collect and sort through tons of material every day. The Dining Services staff made a tremendous effort; last year they recycled more than 6,000 tons of food waste, nearly 240 tons of cardboard and 4.5 tons of glass plastic and cans. In addition, the students in Rutgers housing increased their recycling rate by more than 20 percent.”
In 2005 – the most recent year for which numbers are available – Rutgers’ recycling program prevented the release of more than 4,400 metric tons of carbon equivalent into the atmosphere. This reduction is green house gases is equivalent to removing 3,480 passenger cars from the road for a year or saving the amount of electricity consumed by 2,000 households.

“This is just a snapshot of what we do everyday, year-round, to try to make Rutgers the greenest university system in the nation,” said Magda Comeau, Green Purchasing Program Manager.
Rutgers is in the process of retrofitting lighting in university buildings on the Camden, Newark and New Brunswick/Piscataway campuses, to reduce its energy consumption by 42.5 million kilowatt hours and cut CO2 emissions by more than 23,000 tons.
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Rowan signs pledge to reduce global warming emissions
Rowan University President Dr. Donald Farish has committed the university to the green movement by signing a pledge to work toward becoming climate neutral.
"We cannot depend on manufacturers alone to reduce global warming emissions," said Farish. "Colleges and universities, in many cases, are like small cities. We have a responsibility to address the issue of global warming both in our curriculum as well as in our practices."
Farish is one of 134 presidents, and the first in New Jersey, to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Climate neutrality is achieved when an organization reduces its carbon emissions as low as possible and then institutes initiatives that offset the remaining emissions, such as purchasing renewable energy. The University will conduct a comprehensive inventory of all greenhouse gas emissions and develop an action plan to implement new policies and procedures that will reduce carbon emissions and save energy.
Rowan signed a contract to purchase 25% of their electricity from wind energy sources. The University is in the midst of organizing a sustainability council that will work with the broader University community to achieve the goals specified in the climate commitment. And, Rowan has made great strides in reducing waste through its recycling program.

NJIT Professor Obtains Patent To Detect Trace Airborne Pollutants
A breakthrough patent awarded to a New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) researcher will enable manufacturers to create a device to uncover miniscule amounts of airborne pollutants. Using computer chip technology, Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and chair of NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, has developed and patented what could eventually become a simple keychain device to detect tiny, though potentially lethal, amounts of airborne carcinogens.
“The value of our sensing system is that it can see pollutants even when they are present at very low concentrations,” said Mitra. “Down the road, we hope to see this technology pave the way for developing a small, inexpensive device to fit on a key chain.”
It is still not as simple as many people imagine for scientists to monitor pollutants. The consequences from automobile exhaust, the dilution of cleaning solvents in air or the problems that occur when tankers spill gasoline, remain of concern.
“Typical concentrations of many pollutants can be small--only a few molecules of pollutants in every part per billion of air or water molecules,” Mitra said. “But even at these levels, these pollutants pose a threat to human and public health.”
“For example, we know that benzene, a by-product of automobile exhaust, causes cancer,” Mitra said. “The organics from auto exhaust fumes also lead to smog formation in urban areas like Los Angeles. Measuring benzene and similar chemicals, though, is costly and difficult. But using the microconcentrator, this will no longer be the case.”
Although the market currently features affordable miniature sensors, the technology is not there yet for the tiniest amounts of pollutants, said Mitra.

UMDNJ Vehicles Now Powered by Biodiesel Fuel
All diesel-powered vehicles on the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's Newark campus have switched to a blend of diesel and agricultural oils for power, joining a nationwide trend in shifting to so-called "biodiesel fuel." According to UMDNJ's Logistical Services Group, the University's buses, ambulances, and rescue trucks burn about 100,000 gallons of diesel annually in Newark alone. The group is partnering with the New Jersey Board of Utilities and receiving a rebate to offset the increased costs of biodiesel over regular diesel fuel.
Biodiesel is a blend of regular diesel fuel and either a soy or used vegetable oil based solution. Emissions are greatly reduced, and UMDNJ will reduce its dependence on fossil fuel by using a percentage of renewable fuel. The blend – B20 – is 20% soy or vegetable oil. UMDNJ is the frontrunner in the use of biodiesel in New Jersey.
UMDNJ is New Jersey’s university of the health sciences, with campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Camden, Stratford, and Scotch Plains. It is the largest institution of its kind in the nation.

Bank Offers 20 Billion Green Dollars
Bank of America has made a 10-year commitment to lend $18 billion to commercial clients committed to constructing green buildings and developing sustainable products and services. The remaining funds will be used to develop consumer programs — including incentives for purchasing sustainable merchandise or investing in companies committed to green house gas reduction — and ensuring that the bank's own building practices and operations are environmentally friendly.

Top US REC Purchaser
PepsiCo today announced a three-year purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs) that are comprised of more than 1 billion kilowatt-hours annually, to offset 100% of purchased electricity used by all PepsiCo U.S. facilities. With this purchase PepsiCo now tops EPA's list of top-25 green power purchasers.

Vatican City Goes Solar
A giant rooftop garden of solar panels will be built next year on top of the Paul VI audience hall, creating enough electricity to heat, cool and light the entire building year-round.
Pier Carlo Cuscianna , the Italian engineer said appeals by Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II to respect nature inspired him to help power the Vatican's energy needs with renewable resources.

Media Mogul Pledges Carbon
Neutrality
Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, enthusiastically joins the fight against climate change. In May of this year, the media mogul pledged not only to make his News Corp. empire carbon neutral, but to persuade the hundreds of millions of people who watch his TV channels and read his newspapers to join the cause.

Google Solar
Google Installs the largest commercial system in the U.S. to date. Sharp, the world's leading provider of solar cells, has provided the solar modules at Google's corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California. In addition to roof-mounted arrays, the system also features a new structure that encompasses two carports under which employees can park – and if they drive a plug-in hybrid, recharge – their cars.

The New Jolly Green Giant?
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, launched a campaign last fall to sell 100 million compact fluorescent bulbs. They also have plans to install solar on many of their stores. It could amount to a huge installation--on the order of 100 megawatts of power over the next five years.

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How We Can Use
Green Building to Save our Planet