Newsletter
Early April, 2004

In this issue:



Explore New Sustainability Frontiers: May 20th at Stevens Institute of Technology

Please join NJHEPS on Wednesday, May 20th (9 AM - 3:30 PM). The day will offer presentations on some new opportunities for New Jersey college and university faculty and educators interested in infusing sustainability into their curricula, including some new sustainability modules, a new local climate-change modeling tool, involvement with New Jersey's Sustainable State Project Report, and models for realizing teaching objectives through involvement in community development and through service learning.

Participants will also be invited to explore new areas in which the NJHEPS network can advance sustainability. A recent 5-year planning process has defined NJHEPS' strategies, activities, goals and objectives (see article), but we seek input from the larger New Jersey higher education community for future project ideas. Should we focus on sustainability issues in health? food systems? climate change education? community development? service learning? sustainable careers? We invite anyone with an idea and a plan to come and help us improve and expand beyond our current successful efforts in energy, green design, and sustainable materials use. There will be substantial time, during the day, for small like-minded groups to develop funding ideas, outreach strategies, and project implementation plans for new NJHEPS projects that relate to their passions and areas of expertise.

Please RSVP to Andre Sharrief (sharrief@njit.edu, 973/596-2938) if you plan to attend. Further information will be forthcoming.



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, managing performance contracting, 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.



AROUND THE CAMPUSES

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!

  • In conjunction with Earth Day, Rutgers is offering three weeks of free computer recycling, for all Rutgers campuses. Contact Pete Shergalis at Shergali@rci.rutgers.edu for more information.

  • 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 NJIT Community Environmental Awareness Group is offering an Earth Day Festival at Watssessing Park in Bloomfield, New Jersey: Saturday April 24, from 10 AM - 2 PM. Free food, fun, and a clean-up effort. Call 973/353-5021 for further information.

  • Bloomfield College is offering a tree and flower planting at their Student Center. Contact Student Services (973/748-9000, ext. 245) for further information.

  • Rowan University's Earth Day: Thursday (April 22) from 10 AM to 2 PM in the back courtyard of the student center. At 2 PM, we will clean up a portion of Chestnut Branch, the stream that runs through campus. Posters will be available highlighting environmental and campus greening developments. Contact Professor Jess Everett (856/256-5326) for further information.

  • Atlantic Cape Community College offers an Earth Day Spring Fling. Each of 25 campus clubs will offer an Earth Day exhibit that is displayed in the Quad and is judged by faculty and staff, and community organizations will also have tables. There will also be a Bungee run, Velcro wall and Gladiator Joust. Free lunch to ACCC Students. Contact Aline Bennett (609/343-5089, abennett@atlantic.edu) for further information.

  • Earth Day Solarbration: Thursday April 22nd, 11 AM, Whole Foods Market (905 River Road, Edgewater NJ, 201/941-4000). See their 120 kW PV array in action! Speakers include Jeanne Fox, BPU President, and Mary Shields, Regional Vice President of BP Solar North America. RSVP gearypr@aol.com.

  • 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.

  • The Paramus Environmental Commssion and The Learning Center For Exceptional Children present The Celebration of the Earth Festival: Sunday, May 2, Noon - 4 PM, at Van Saun Park, Paramus, New Jersey. Further information: earthfestcelebration@yahoo.com.

  • The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection offers this comprehensive Earth Day Calendar: www.nj.gov/dep/seeds/earthday/april.htm.



    Rowan University Clean Energy Week: June 14 - June 18

    Rowan's University Clean Energy Week June 14-18, 2004) will include the following:

    Monday - Thursday: PV Installation Training by Gay Canough of ETMSolar.

    Friday: Rowan University's 2004 Clean Energy Conference, 9 AM - 4 PM, offering:

    • Energy Efficiency Measures by Rowan Faculty and Facilities
    • PV Systems and Installation in New Jersey by Gay Canough
    • Lunch and Clean Energy Industry Booths/Displays
    • Geothermal Systems by Dr. Lynn Stiles, Richard Stockton College
    • Small Wind Energy Systems by Bergey Windpower
    • Clean Energy and Smart Start Incentive Program Presentations by NJBPU

    Other speakers may also be recruited.

    The Conference is aimed at homeowners, commercial developers, and business owneres. An outreach manual (with system overviews, local dealer/suppliers, design info, incentive details, interconnection requirements, contact info, etc.) will be provided. The event is FREE.

    For updates and further information, contact Dr. Peter Mark Jansson (856/256-5373;jansson@rowan.edu).



    California College to Turn Food Waste into Green Electricity

    California State University's new Channel Islands campus hopes to generate up to $2 million each year with the country's first anaerobic digester, a series of enclosed tanks in which bacteria compost food waste and grass clippings to produce methane gas. Local farms can bring biomass to the university and pay a fee for its disposal. The university would convert the biomass to methane gas and sell it to the plant that supplies the campus with electricity. The leftover compost would then be sold to farms. The digester should be functioning later this year. "It's clean, and its energy is inexpensive," says George Dutra, the university's associate vice president for operations, planning and construction. "I bet it will spread to other campus communities."

    Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education, http://chronicle.com, Section: Money & Management, Volume 50, Issue 30, Page A27.



    Accountability Forum Launched

    AccountAbility Forum
    A Quarterly Journal on Social and Ethical Accounting, Auditing and Reporting
    www.greenleaf-publishing.com/af/afframe.htm

    AccountAbility and Greenleaf Publishing are pleased to announce the launch of AccountAbility Forum. AccountAbility Forum is a quarterly journal dedicated to providing the most up-to-date information on the practice and theory of social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting worldwide. By bringing together contributions from practitioners working in the field it provides insight through practice, and offers experiences and perspectives in order to demonstrate how accountability drives performance.

    AccountAbility Forum provides an essential resource for businesses, NGOs, governments and academia to learn about the most recent and important developments in accountability for sustainable development. Through consultation with AccountAbility's networks and partnerships each issue focuses on a current development or trend in the area, and in this way ensures that topics are both timely and relevant.



    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



    NJPIRG Study: NJ Economy to Benefit from Green Energy

    From Grist Magazine: The false "environment vs. economy" dichotomy took another blow recently with the release of a study showing that shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the mid-Atlantic region would promote job creation and benefit the New Jersey economy. The report, conducted by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, claims that developing renewable energies like solar and wind would create jobs in manufacturing, installation, operation, and maintenance, reduce consumer energy bills, and funnel millions of dollars to rural landowners who lease their land for wind farms. The main obstacle is the substantial upfront costs; "renewable energy producers are financing 30 years worth of power all at once," the report says. However, the upfront costs are rapidly paid off by low-cost production and the kind of stability that fossil fuels can't match. "The sun and wind will never raise their fuel prices," notes the report.

    Source: Courier-Post, http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2178.



    Funds to Plan and Design Greenways Available

    The Kodak American Greenways Awards, a partnership project of the Eastman Kodak Company, the Conservation Fund, and the National Geographic Society, provide small grants to stimulate the planning and design of greenways in communities throughout the United States. Awards are given to local, regional, or statewide nonprofit organizations to plan and design corridors of protected public and private land established along rivers, stream valleys, ridges, abandoned railroad corridors, utility right-of-way, canals, scenic roads, or other linear features. Grants may be used for activities such as: mapping, ecological assessments, surveying, conferences, and design activities; developing brochures, interpretative displays, audiovisual productions or public opinion surveys; hiring consultants, incorporating land trusts, building a foot bridge, planning a bike path, or other creative projects. In general, grants can be used for all appropriate expenses needed to complete a greenway project including planning, technical assistance, legal and other costs. Nonprofit organizations and public agencies are eligible to apply, although nonprofit organizations will be given preference.

    Applications may be submitted from March 1 to June 1, annually. Visit the website for more information: http://www.conservationfund.org/?article=2106.




    UPCOMING EVENTS


    Nova Series: World in the Balance
    www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/
    With moving personal stories from India, Japan, Kenya, and China, "World in the Balance" gives an up-to-date global snapshot of today's human family, now numbering 6.3 billion and likely to increase to nearly 9 billion by 2050. Paradoxically, the world is now careening in two completely different directions. The program explores how decisions made now will affect the United States and the Earth over the next 50 years. In the first hour, "The People Paradox," NOVA investigates three countries where social and economic forces have produced starkly different population profiles. In the second hour, "China Revs Up," NOVA takes the pulse of China's hyperactive economy, which is the fastest growing in the history of the world.



    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.



    Food Events: April 28th and May 1st

    Sustainable Food Supply in the City:
    Urban Agriculture Workshop Sponsored by the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions
    Wednesday, April 28, 2004, 5:30 - 9 PM
    Middlesex County Administration Building; 75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick

    North Jersey Fresh Farmer-Chef Meeting
    Saturday, May 1, 2004
    NOFA-NJ is currently planning Farmer-Chef Meetings. Our April 10th Central Jersey Farmer-Chef Meeting was a great success! Our North Jersey meeting will be held May 1, 2004, 10am-12pm, in cooperation with the Foodshed Alliance fo Ridge and Valley, (tentatively).... If you are interested, please contact Mikey Azzara at (609) 737-6848 or mazzara@nofanj.org



    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.



    Bringing Sustainable Practices to Your Business or Community:
    What we can learn from the Eco-municipalities of Sweden
    Thursday April 29th, 5:30 to 7 PM (book signing and reception to follow)
    Ethical Society, 1906 S. Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia PA
    Fee: $10 - $15, students free

    Throughout Sweden, over 60 cities and towns of all sizes and shapes have adopted sustainability principles as official municipal policy, and have implemented these widely throughout their governments and larger communities. Achieving 100 percent freedom from fossil fuels in municipal operations, 90 percent solid waste recycling rates, over 200 new eco-enterprises in a small town with a former 25 percent unemployment rate are just a few of their countless accomplishments. Many communities in the U.S. and elsewhere are working on single-issue sustainable development projects and initiatives, such as green building, climate change, or sustainability indicators. In contrast, the Swedish eco-municipalities are working on sustainable development across the board, where thousands of municipal employees, citizens, and business people are systematically changing to sustainable practices.

    Speakers:
    Sarah James and Torbjörn Lahti, authors of The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices will introduce the accomplishments of the Swedish eco-municipalities and show why they are particularly good models for communities in the United States. Torbjörn Lahti, who was the planner for Sweden’s first eco-municipality in the 1980s, is presently leading Sustainable Robertsfors, an international sustainable community demonstration project in Sweden. He was instrumental in the development of Sweden’s eco-municipality movement. Sarah James, a practicing city and town planning consultant, co-authored the American Planning Association’s Planning for Sustainability policy guide. She has worked with communities in the U.S. for almost two decades, using a participatory planning approach that has strong similarities to the eco-municipality model.



    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).



    "Sustainability, Health and Meat"
    Saturday, May 8th, 10 AM - 1 PM
    CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York NY
    Presented by the Baum Forum on Food and Farming and City University of New York Graduate Center
    $45, which includes a guided tasting lunch.

    Speakers include Dr. Marion Nestle, Peter Hoffman, Steffen Schneider, Bill Niman, Hilary Baum and others. Producers from Niman Ranch, Wolfe’s Neck Farm, and Organic Valley Meat Co. For more details: please visit www.baumforum.org. At CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave, New York City. 10am-1pm. $45. Registration: call 212/817-8215 or visit http://web.gc.cuny.edu/cepp/registration



    Tour de Sol: The Great American Green Transportation Festival and Competition
    May 22-25, 2004

    Events in three communities: At "Burlington Day" festival in City of Burlington, NJ (Saturday, May 22); street fair in downtown Trenton, NJ (Monday, May 24); grand finale in New York City's lower Manhattan (Tuesday, May 25).

    See and try out advanced vehicles for the 21st Century at a fun free festival. Over 50 exhibits including hybrid cars, e-bikes, clean buses and more. Visit with vehicle manufacturers and exhibitors. Talk with hundreds of students and visionaries about their one-of-a-kind Earth-friendly vehicles in the Tour de Sol Competition. Advanced vehicles have great performance and styling and can reduce global climate change and our dependence on oil.

    To find out more go to www.TourdeSol.org, or call 413/774-6051.



    Upcoming AEE Telecourses

    Complete Course Offerings: www.aeecenter.org/realtime/ (includes courses on fuel cells, microturbines, HVAC Performance, and many other topics).



    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/



    LEED™ Advanced Training Workshop
    Wednesday, June 16th, 8:30 AM - 5 PM
    Multi Purpose Room, Frist Campus Center
    Princeton University

    Included in the registration fee: LEED-NC Version 2.1 Reference Package, which contains:

    • Printed LEED Reference Guide, Rating System and Project Checklist
    • Immediate online access to download the Reference Guide for office or remote viewing -- Version 2.0 and 2.1 and the v2.1 Letter Template
    • Exclusive one-year access to the LEED credit interpretation ruling via the LEED website

    Profound knowledge of LEED or completion of LEED Intermediate workshop strongly suggested. Register at www.usgbc.org/Events/events_training_calendar.asp.


    ***
    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.