Newsletter
Early April, 2004

In this issue:




        Kean University's New Academic Building

Energy and Green Buildings Explored at Kean University

On March 30th, over 30 people gathered at Kean University for an energy mini-workshop, designed as a complement to a US Green Building Council event later that evening. Speakers from Steven Winter Associates and Vanderweil Engineering spoke about the energy modeling and energy decision-making for Kean's New Academic Building, featured in the evening USGBC event. A speaker from Dome-Tech presented a commissioning case study, and the event concluded with extensive information on the new landscape of solar financing.

Ronald Jackson from the BPU presented information on the very lucrative opportunity soon to exist in New Jersey for solar-power producers: the market in solar Renewable Energy Certificates (sREC's). In 2005, energy providers in the state of New Jersey must own a certain number of sREC's, which are produced by solar electric generation and owned by the solar energy producers, or face an alternative compliance payment of 30¢ per kWh for a mandated quantity of solar energy. The BPU is committed to maintaining this requirement of New Jersey energy companies, which means that solar power producers in New Jersey will gain a substantial source of revenue that will dramatically offset the high initial cost of installing a solar PV system. Ronald Jackson from the BPU stated that the market value of sREC's is expected to be between 10-25¢ per kWh! He offered the following financing example:

This monthly income is about the size of a loan payment for a 20-year loan at 6% interest. It's now possible, in other words, to do solar projects that have immediate neutral or positive cash flow! There is some uncertainty about the long-term reliability of the SREC requirement, and market forces will influence the market price of an SREC, but for the near-term future, New Jersey PV systems will produce a new and potentially deal-making source of revenue.

Three solar providers -- McConnell Energy Solutions, SunEdison, and PowerLight -- made presentations on their technology and financing strategies. McConnell can offer "no money down" lease-purchase agreements, and presented on their SolarDock mounting technology. SunEdison's presentation focused on their innovative "no money down" financing strategy: a for-profit entity owns and operates the PV array on a campus building, and provides equally-priced electricity (sometimes with a slight discount) as "solar services" to an institution via a long-term contract. The PowerLight presentation stressed their extensive collection of solar installations (including one at the Harvard Business School), their low installation costs, and their easy-to-install technology.

We offer the following PowerPoint presentations as free downloads (if you want to save the presentations, right-click and save to your hard drive):

In the evening, Eduardo Del Valle made a detailed presentation on the design and construction of Kean University’s New Academic Building. Michael Buono, from the waste management consulting company ESMG, made a compelling case for the ease and utility of extensive recycling and reuse of construction waste. Gina Bleck, Senior Project Architect and Director of Design at Rutgers University and also Co-Chair of the NJHEPS Green Design Team, announced the imminent arrival of the High Performance Campus Design Handbook, Volume Two, green design guidelines for New Jersey higher education, a project of the NJHEPS Green Design Team and a companion volume to the High Performance Campus Design Handbook, Volume One: Rationale and Overview, available from the NJHEPS Green Design web page.



Save the Date! Energy Workshop, Princeton University, May 26th

We invite anyone interested in reducing energy costs and emissions to join us on Wednesday, May 26th at Princeton University (the Friends Center, Engineering School) for an all-day energy workshop. Princeton has implemented an impressive and diverse array of innovative energy projects, and plans to offer even more. NJHEPS welcomes this opportunity to showcase these developments! We especially welcome southern colleges and universities, and hope this location makes it especially convenient to attend.

We plan to offer workshops, panels and peer-learning opportunities, on financing energy projects, making the case for energy progress on campus, CHP, new solar opportunities, new wind developments, an update on the Greenhouse Gas Action Plan, metering and management technologies and options, BPU incentives and opportunities -- among many others.

Please RSVP to Andre Sharrief (sharrief@njit.edu, 973/596-2938) if you plan to attend or definitely cannot attend.



New Resources for Sustainable Materials Use

NJHEPS is please to announce a revamped, updated web page on Environmentally Preferable Purchasing & Sustainable Materials Use. Thanks to extensive support from the Environmental Foundation of America, NJHEPS and the New Jersey Solid Waste Policy Group (Cook College, Rutgers University) have been able to produce some resources helpful to campuses seeking to become "paper-wise" through buying recycled paper, recycling more paper waste, and reducing paper use on campus. These resources -- PowerPoint presentations, flyers, brochures -- are available on our website as free downloads. Also find a helpful list of web resources for "making the case" and implementing sustainable materials use on your campus!



AROUND THE CAMPUSES


Monmouth University Receives Wind "Green Tag"

Monmouth University has received a Renewable Energy Certificate for nearly 750,000 kWh of emissions-free wind energy, supplied to Monmouth during 2003, from its wind energy supplier Community Energy. This is the first installment of a 5-year contract to purchase 1 million kWh of wind energy a year. This commitment represents at least 5% of Monmouth's total electricity usage, and will make a significant contribution to reducing Monmouth's emissions. Monmouth currently is a Greenhouse Gas Action Plan (GGAP) attainer in energy intensity -- it has reduced its emissions by more than 3.5% per square foot of campus operations and per campus community member -- and is moving significantly, with this wind energy purchase, to attaining GGAP levels of emissions reductions in their total greenhouse gas output -- an impressive feat, as their campus has expanded by nearly 4% and their campus population by over 18%.

We hope more institutions follow Monmouth's lead: an NJHEPS-negotiated lower price for wind energy from CommunityEnergy makes the purchase of planet-friendly power all the more attainable. NJHEPS sends Monmouth its congratulations!



New Jersey Earth Day Events!

Take a moment to celebrate the wonder of life on Earth -- and give thanks for the essential support your life receives from our planet!

  • Rutgers University Earth Day Summit: Building a Sustainable Future
    sponsored by Students for Environmental Awareness
    Sunday, April 18th from 12 pm to 8 pm

    KEYNOTE: Andrew Kimbrell from the Institute for Food Safety, discussing the controversy and issues involved with genetically engineered foods/crops

    Vendors: There will be vendors present selling books, clothes, home furnishings (white lotus futon), jewelry, food, and fair trade goods. Also a hybrid car display.

  • Stockton College will be joining Clean Ocean Action's Beach Sweep on Saturday, April 24th, 9AM - 1 PM. They are trying to get volunteers to help out with the Atlantic City Site on New Jersey Ave. For further information, contact Casey Romanick (casey@waterwatchonline.org, 609/748-6097).

  • The Garden State Earth Institute (www.gsearthinstitute.org, claire@gsearthinstitute.org, 973/984-5371), in conjunction with the Green Sanctuary Committee of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, will celebrate Earth Day on Sunday 25 April. Services at 9 & 11 AM, with a coffee hour in between. The speaker at the service will be former NJHEPS intern Matt Immergut (Ph.D., Ecology and Religious Studies, Drew University). The theme will be "How Big is Your Footprint?. For further information, contact Danelle Simonelli dksimonelli@hotmail.com).

  • New Jersey Community Water Watch events around the state: www.waterwatchonline.org/nj/njww.asp?id2=9470.

  • Rowan University: An extensive list of speakers, activities and events is being planned, with on-campus environmental info and presentations and off-campus environmental service opportunities. Contact Dr. Peter Jansson for further information (jansson@rowan.edu; 856/256-5373).



    Green Campus News: UNC, Carnegie Mellon and University of Virginia



    SCUP 39 -- Hard Choices, Smart Planning

    July 17 - 21, 2004
    Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
    Further info: www.scup.org/annualconf/39/, www.scup.org/annualconf/39/sessions.html

    Among the many sustainability-related sessions at this conference, offered by the Society for College and University Planning:

    • Benchmarking--Understanding Our Green Buildings
    • Defining a New Campus through Sustainability
    • Lean Green Research Machine: Implementation Strategies for Sustainable Laboratory Facilities
    • A President's Perspective on Advocacy and Sustainability in the Academy
    • Sustainable Practices for University Research Buildings



    New INFORM Resource: Purchasing for Pollution Prevention

    www.informinc.org/p3_00.php

    INFORM's Purchasing for Pollution Prevention Project is designed to help federal, state, and local governments purchase safer alternatives to products containing persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemicals (PBTs) such as mercury, lead, and dioxins. INFORM staff are identifying products that contain PBTs and working directly with purchasers and policymakers to identify, evaluate, and specify less toxic alternatives.

    The site contains specific recommendations for low-mercury or mercury-free lights and controls, targeted information on a range of products and persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBT's), purchasing for asthma prevention, and sample contracts and contract language for RFP's and for specifying and sourcing PBT-free equipment.



    Let Your Voice Be Heard!

    The Barcelona Forum 2004 US is pleased to announce the "Let Your Voice Be Heard" essay contest. All high school, college and graduate students in the United States and Canada area encouraged to write an essay on one of the following themes:

    There will be three first place prizes consisting of round trip airfare to Barcelona, Spain with seven night accommodations and a three-day pass to the Forum. Ninety-seven runner-up winners will be awarded prizes consisting of one copy each of You Can Change the World by Ervin Laszlo, and How to Use What You've Got to Get What You Want, by Marilyn Tam.

    A distinguished panel of professors from the nation's top universities will select the winning "Let Your Voice Be Heard" essays. The top 100 essays will be published in a book and distributed through bookstores and online venues. The winning essays will also be posted on all our web sites.

    The Barcelona Forum is the largest cultural event in the history of the world. It is an unprecedented gathering of people from all societies to spontaneously and freely participate in creating a better planet based on the principles of cultural diversity, economic sustainability, and world peace. For more information on the "Let Your Voice Be Heard" essay contest please visit the above-listed websites or call David Rippe at 513/618-6449.



    Sustainability 101: The Food We Eat

    Many American families gather together in spring for family dinners that are part of religious traditions, eating food that ties them to a rich historical past, to other lands, and to stories central to cultural identities. But there are other stories, untold stories, which the food that they eat at these celebrations could tell:

    • 25% of the Earth's surface is commandeered by human food production.
    • The Union of Concerned Scientists says that food rivals transportation as the human activity with the greatest impact on the environment.
    • One European study found that food consumption accounted for between 10 and 20% of the environmental impact of the average household.
    • There is nearly a factor of ten difference in carbon emissions between locally-grown vegetables and a meat-rich diet with many imported ingredients.
    • Industrial fleets have fished out at least 90% of all large ocean predators in just the past 50 years.
    • By 1974 (date of the last study), one calorie of US food required 1 calorie of oil -- and the amount of energy it takes to make that oil has increased by a factor of 10 since the 1940's.

    Sources: State of the World 2004, WorldWatch Institute, Chapter 4; Richard Manning, "The Oil We Eat," Harpers Magazine, February 2004.

    Modern food production is also producing growing inequities in wealth distribution: a few corporations are commandeering most of the profits and farmers increasingly are unable to earn a living wage. Pesticide and water issues further compound the problems associated with our high-input, short-sighted, global food system.

    Luckily, more and more convenient and affordable alternatives to this food system arise each day. Explore the following sustainable food resources and increase peace, justice, health, and ecosystem well-being with the food you choose to eat:

    • EatWild: :www.eatwild.com. A thorough listing of farms and sources of grass-fed meats and free-range poultry. New Jersey has three farms listed on this site -- NJHEPS staff can attest to the quality and affordability of Simply Grazin' Organic Farm's offerings, in Hopewell NJ!

    • EatWell: www.iatp.org/eatwell/orgResults.cfm. A comprehensive source of greener meat choices (stores, restaurants, and local producers).

    • The Green Guide's Product Reports (www.thegreenguide.com/reports/) on Meat, Poultry & Eggs, and Milk.

    • Slow Food USA: www.slowfoodusa.org. Slow Food practitioners want to recapture the quality and cultural richness of food which they believe is lost in modern industrial farming, food processing, and eating practices.

    • Heritage Turkeys: www.slowfoodusa.org/ark/turkeys.html. Buy an old-style, free-range and hormone-free bird -- two producers are in New York state (you may need to order substantially ahead of time).




      UPCOMING EVENTS



      Labs 21 Workshop
      April 15, 2004; 8:30 AM - 5 PM
      at Pfizer, Inc., 201 Tabor Rd, Morris Plains, NJ 07950
      Registration Fee: $125 before April 8th, $175.00 after.

      The USGBC-NJ Chapter is pleased to announce a second Labs21 Design Course Workshop. The Labs21 High Performance, Low-Energy Design Course is a full day workshop that introduces strategies for designing and constructing sustainable laboratories in both new and existing facilities. Seasoned laboratory designers, energy managers, and facilities professionals teach this full day course. Course topics include: The Architecture of High Performance Labs, The Energy Efficient Design Process, Air Supply and Distribution Systems, Laboratory Exhaust Systems, Direct Digital Controls, Commissioning, Lighting, etc.

      This course is worth 6 Professional Development Hours for professional engineers and 6 Continuing Education Credits from the American Institute of Architects for Registered Architects. Register online at Acteva, www.acteva.com//booking.cfm?bevaID=63054. To pay by check, send an e-mail to Marianne Leone (marianne1013@comcast.net) to confirm your registration and remit your check to USGBC-NJ Chapter, PO Box 3016, Princeton, NJ 08543.



      The Hydrogen Economy: Becoming Self-Sufficient in Energy
      April 15, 2004; 8 AM - 5 PM
      Roosevelt Hall, Farmingdale State University of New York
      presented by The Distinguished Speakers Program at Farmingdale State University of New York

      The Hydrogen Economy represents the conversion from fossil fuels as a means of energy transport and storage to the use of Hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is currently available by extraction from natural gas. However, in the future it will be available by extraction from water using renewable energy resources such as solar, geothermal, wind, hydropower, fuel crops, etc. The potential for the Hydrogen Economy to become actual in the near future is very real. The world will need to relinquish its dependence on fossil fuels long before they become totally depleted, for the remaining stocks will become highly valuable as a material resource to make chemicals, drugs, plastics and myriad other products. Meanwhile, there is extensive research and development going on right now. Fuel cells and other products are making a profit in many markets. Those markets are expanding yearly. The major automobile companies all have working fuel cell cars for demonstration, and fleet vehicles will be offered soon. Many transport and distribution methods are similar to those used for Natural Gas and are already in use for Hydrogen.

      Explore these issues with numerous distinguished speakers. For further information:



      Beyond Brochures: Fostering Sustainable Behavior Workshop
      April 19, 2004 (9:00 am to 5 pm, with registration beginning at 8:00 am)
      Wyndham Baltimore - Inner Harbor: 101 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201
      Registration: $125 U.S.

      This full-day workshop introduces community-based social marketing and provides participants with the knowledge they need to deliver effective programs. It covers how to: identify the barriers to a desired behavior, such as proper disposal of hazardous waste or reducing lawn watering; use behavior change tools to design more effective programs; pilot test a program; and evaluate the impact of a program once it has been broadly implemented. Case studies are used to make social marketing concepts -- such as gaining commitment or using prompts -- concrete, and frequent opportunities are provided for discussion. The emphasis is on ensuring that participants feel confident in using community-based social marketing within their own work contexts.

      For over a decade Dr. McKenzie-Mohr, an environmental psychologist, has been working to incorporate scientific knowledge of behavior change into the design and delivery of community programs. A professor at St. Thomas University, he has assisted in the development of Canada's public education efforts on climate change. He has also served as a member of Canada¹s National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. As the founder of community-based social marketing, he has repeatedly illustrated its utility in his writing, workshops and consulting.

      Registration includes a copy of Dr. McKenzie-Mohr's book, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing. Lunch is not included in the registration fee. To register, please visit www.p2.org/summit2004/. Questions: email summit2004@p2.org or call 202.299.9701.



      Amartya Sen, "The Content of Democracy"
      April 22, 6 PM; New School University, Tishman Auditorium
      66 W. 12th Street, New York City

      Famed Nobel Laureate will speak about development, freedom, and democracy. Admission free, but space limited, so reservations are suggested (boxoffice@newschool.edu; 212/229-5488).



      Building Green on Brown: Development Issues, Sustainable Answers
      US Green Building Council, New Jersey Chapter
      Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 8 - 11 AM
      West Side Village I, Newark, NJ
      Fee: $20 NJ Chapter members, $30 non-members, $40 at the door.

      At this USGBC NJ Program you will learn:

      • Why building green on brown makes sense
      • How brownfields redevelopment & sustainable building go together
      • Opportunities for harvesting LEED points
      • The benefits of high performance buildings to the project & community
      • Innovative strategies & initiatives
      • State & Federal Incentives
      • Tour of West Side Village for those who want to stay longer.
      Speakers include Ken Kloo, Bureau Chief, NJDEP Office of Brownfields Reuse; Barry Skoultchi, PE, President, The Whitman Companies, Inc.; Darren Port, NJ Department of Community Affairs (NJDCA); Edward G. Martoglio, President, RPM Development Group.

      Register through Acteva at: www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=64949. Registration Deadline is April 22, 2004 or until the event sells out. For more information on this event contact Marianne Leone at marianne1013@comcast.net.



      Who Needs the Kyoto Protocol?
      April 29, 2004, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
      New York Academy of Sciences, New York City

      The discussion will concern the refusal of the United States to sign the Kyoto Protocol on reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as the lack of any laws specifically requiring reductions.



      Creating Very Old People: Individual Blessing? Or Societal Disaster?
      April 30, 2004 8 AM - 5 PM, Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30am
      Marriott Glenpointe, Teaneck, NJ
      Admissions: $50

      The science of prolonging life spans is moving with incredible speed. Preventing disease and promoting health can add ten to fifteen years to current life expectancy. Changing the aging process itself can allow life expectancies at birth of 110 to 120 years, or beyond. Drugs are now under development to do just that.

      For more information or registration:
      Call: 973/972-0124 or 973/972-0125
      Fax: 973/972-0025
      email: louriado@umdnj.edu
      Make checks payable to: UMDNJ Att: Dr. Louria
      30 Bergen Street, Bm. #1605, Newark, NJ 07107



      Environmental Education Forum
      May 1st, 10 AM - 5 PM
      Richard Stockton College, Pomona NJ
      Sponsored by the New Jersey Community Water Watch, www.waterwatchonline.org
      Admission free, meals included.

      Join Stockton students and the Stockton community as they explore this year's theme: Promoting Community Engagement Around the Environment. For further information, contact Casey Romanick (casey@waterwatchonline.org, 609/748-6097).



      Buy Green and Save Green: Purchasing Strategies for New Jersey Local Governments and School Districts
      Friday, June 11,8 AM -3:45 PM
      Rutgers University Busch Campus Center, Piscataway, NJ

      The Conference will feature: more than 15 New Jersey presenters from local governments and school districts who are leading the way, and will review cost savings and contract specifications; vendors showcasing technologies, services and products in related fields; time to learn and share; and a raffle of products and services. Sign up for a lunchtime tour of the Rutgers Dining Services food recycling system. CEU's are available, and a specially developed Resource Guide will be distributed as well.

      Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) is defined as: "Purchasing products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. The product or service comparison may consider raw materials acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation, maintenance, or disposal (Federal EO 13101, Section 201)." EPP includes purchase of items ranging from toner cartridges to furniture to landscaping material; to energy, building design and maintenance. Major EPP benefits include reduced economic, health and legal consequences.

      CONFERENCE GOALS: to explain and review what Environmentally Preferable Purchasing is, why it's important, and how it can be easily integrated into routine decision-making in local governments and school districts.

      To register and for more information: aesop.rutgers.edu/~envpurchase/eppconf/


      ***
      NJHEPS
      Dr. Donald Wheeler, Executive Director
      Dr. Daniel Watts, President

      Want to share progress towards sustainability on your campus? Please send news items to Carmela Federico (973-596-2938; cfederico@njheps.org) for inclusion in our newsletter.

      NJHEPS gratefully acknowledges the support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Educational Foundation of America, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the AT&T Foundation, AT&T, Inc., and the NJHEPS 33 Member Institutions.

      This newsletter is available online (from www.njheps.org/press.html). This newsletter is sent out twice a month by NJHEPS via an announcements-only listserv, NJHEPS-news@listserver.njit.edu. If you no longer wish to subscribe to this listserv, please use the tools available on the listserv's homepage, at http://listserver.njit.edu/mailman/options/njheps-news/* (replace the "*" with your email address), or notify Carmela Federico, NJHEPS Program Manager.