Jim Merkel: Sustainability and the College Campus

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Jim Merkel of Dartmouth College on sustainable energy on the college campus

Transcript of Jim Merkel: Sustainability and the College Campus

www.dartmouth.edu/~sustain

Sustainability at

Dartmouth College

The Task:

•To embed principles of sustainability in all of Dartmouth's roles…

•To make Dartmouth a model of sustainability.

IVY Sustainability Coordinators

Brown University – Teichert, Kurt Columbia – Mesa, Nilda Cornell – Koyanagi, Dean Dartmouth – Merkel, James Harvard – Sharp, Leith Penn – Riley, David Princeton – Weber, Shana Yale -- Newman, Julie

CEO Ray Anderson

Zero footprint by 2020 – in all of Interface’s operations

Dematerialization – renewable embodied energy

by shaking it

waste down 80% saved over $300 million in 12 years.

“it is so hard to shake

the opiate of status quo”

Why are educational institutions moving toward sustainable practices?

To model sustainability

To educate creative caring leaders versed in sustainable practices.

To address the challenge of our time.

There are Other Benefits:

Financial Institutional Health Risk Reduction: e.g. Oil Dependence Effective Management e.g. Understanding system

dynamics

Reputation/Differentiation Transparency Global Responsibility Alignment with Mission…

Why Worry About Sustainability?

1-800-NASA

Humanity’s Consumption

Compared to

Biospheric Production

Quantifying Sustainability

Footprints

Nation or group Footprint – acres

USA 24

UK 14

Ukraine 8

Mexico 6

Humans use 5.5

Exists 4.4

China 4

Iraq 2

India 2

80% for other species

1

Afghanistan 0.3

Campus per-capita footprint

Energy footprint: 7.35 acres

Garbage footprint: 5.3 acres

Only 4.4 acres available

Over 200 species go extinct every day

1000 times faster than natural rate

Radical Disparity

Wealthiest Billion

$70 per day

Poorest Billion

$0.25 per day

Global Gap = 250:1 and growing

Inter-human equity

We are alive at a unique time

Exponential Growth of Population and Consumerism

“…no longer than a decade, at the most…,” Dr. James Hansen

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Heads the NASA Institute for Space Studies in New York City

Nineteen of the hottest 20 years on record occurred since 1980. -- The Union of Concerned Scientist

meltwater descends through crevasses to the

ice sheet baselubrication increases

the movement of the ice sheet

the discharge of giant icebergs

Climate Zones are Moving Toward Poles at 35 Miles

per Decade:

Species are Moving at 5 Miles per Decade:

Loose Maple Syrup?

Get Deer Tics?

What will we do about it?

The primary factors that drive impactare in our control. (IPAT)

Impact=P x A x T

A – Affluence. How much we consume.

P – Population. How many children we have.

T– Technology. How efficiently we employ tools.

Where to Start?

Projects Include:

•Indicators•High Performance Buildings•Energy and CO2 Reduction•Solid Waste Reduction •Waste-free Dining•Sustainability Coordinator Training•Outreach and Communication

Indicators:

•Annual Dartmouth Sustainability Report

•Building Feedback Posters in 60 Locations

Inputs   Total energy consumption No. 6 fuel oil Purchased electricity Other fuels Gasoline Water

Outputs      CO2 emissions Other emissions Solid waste

Ecological Footprint

Building Feedback -- Energy and Water

Dartmouth CO2 Emissions

0

50

100

150

200

250

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

2025

CO

2 E

mis

sio

ns

(106

lbs

per

yea

r)

Recorded emissions Kyoto target by 2012 Projected emissions

Reduction per year 0.5% Reduction per year 1% Reduction per year 2%

Reduction per year 5% Chicago Climate Exchange Fuel oil contribution

2005 emissions = 164.8 106 lbs/year

Missing data1993-1994

Kyoto target = 7% below 1990 level = 101.6 106 lbs/year

Reductions could come from efficiency, behavior change, switch to renewables, carbon offsets, etc

Emissions from burning #6 heating oil and purchased electricity, accounting for 96% of emissions

Carbon neutral by 2025

Dartmouth’s CO2 Emissions

Building Performance

Whittemore Hall, 2000 Amos Tuck School of Business AdministrationBeginning the Integrated Design Process on Campus

Enthalpy Energy Recovery Wheel

Variable Air Volume Ventilation with Variable Frequency Drives on Fans

High Performance Envelope with Triple Glazed Windows

Energy Efficient Lighting & Motors

Possible Solar Thermal Applications:

•Make-up water for steam plant

•Heating pools and hot water in the gym

•Leased equipment with positive cash flow in one to two years.

Energy and CO2 Reduction

•Energy Task Force

•Energy Conservation Technician

•Carbon Inventory – Clean Air Cool Planet

•Resource Working Group

5,000 light switch stickers

Sharing – Two in car (1/2 footprint) Caring – Through careful planning, halve

travel + Sharing (1/4 footprint) Conserving – 2 X the mpg + Sharing + Caring

(1/8 footprint)

Bike Commuter

Car Commuter

Bus Commuter

Commuting -- Ecological Footprint Comparisons

Sustainable Dining Club

Dine with no waste

DDS Provides:

•Clean Silverware to Borrow

•Washable To-Go Containers in Collis, Food Court and Homeplate

Diners Provide:

•Cloth Napkin

•Coffee Mug

•Reusable Water Bottle

Blitz: WASTEFREE

Social Marketing

Education

Garbage From Over 500 Lunches

12 hours of trash from Collis

Compost Facility in Action

Sales up 10.1%

Customer transactions up 7.3%

in Greek houses, dorms and campus offices

Training Sustainability Coordinators

El Anatsui: GAWU exhibition

The Art of Sustainability

Transformation

Disposed materials into stunning art – in Africa

Profound over-consumption to sustainability – in Hanover, NH

Student Initiatives

• ECO – Env. Conservation Org.

• The Big Green Bus• ESD – Env. Studies

Division of DOC• Dartmouth

Progressives• The Green Magazine• Biodiesel Project• Farm and Field• Green Greeks

The Chronicle of Higher Education Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Dartmouth Earns Highest Grade on Sustainability Report Card Along with

Williams College, Harvard and Stanford.Issued by The Sustainable Endowments Institute

Kinks in the Chain

Single Occupant Automobile

Swimming in Solid Waste

High Embodied Energy Materialsand Services

Computers

Food

Buildings

Communications

Insurances

Cogeneration PlantUses #6 Fuel Oil

Sustainability Asks us to Look at the World Differently.

The more rigorous the design constraints:

The more creative and useful the final system.

20 percent vs. factor 20 reduction

RefuseRethinkReduceReuseRecycle

Sustainability Must Becomethe Default Option

EasierAnd Less

Costly

The prize?

A restored planet to pass on to the next generation.

Living with-in ecological systems is

ultimately challenging.