Berkeleyan
Sharing of the green: a baker's dozen newly funded projects
| 02 May 2007
| Greenhouse-gas emissions: How low can we go? Campus sets new goal, and honors its green leaders, at Sustainability Summit |
At last week's Sustainability Summit, the Chancellor's Committee on Sustainability (CACS) announced 13 projects that will receive funding through the Chancellor's Campus Green Fund, established to create a greener, more environmentally sustainable campus. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $10,000. Here are this year's winners, named by CACS after soliciting proposals from students, faculty, and staff.
Campus energy-saving feasibility study: $5,000 to Chris Jones, staff research associate at the Berkeley Institute of the Environment, to conduct a study to identify the most effective combination of energy-incentive initiatives that can be implemented to enable the campus to meet the target set by the Cal Climate Action Partnership.
Research-space energy conservation: $4,700 to Alice Agogino, professor of mechanical engineering, to potentially cut in half the amount of electricity used in her faculty research space.
Green Campus Program: $4,000 to Desirae Early, an undergraduate student majoring in environmental economics and policy, to continue the highly successful campus energy-conservation program.
Greening Research@Berkeley Initiative: $3,500 to Justin Remais, staff assistant researcher in the environmental health sciences department, to start the Greening Research@Berkeley (GR@B) Initiative by developing a comprehensive set of tools that researchers can use to minimize the impact — or reduce the "footprint" — of their research activities on the local and global environment, starting with a set of core sustainability principles and a website with a comprehensive list of existing resources on the Berkeley campus and tips on how to "Green Your Lab" and "Offset Research Travel."
Design Students for a Sustainable Future: $2,000 to Sam Borgeson, a graduate student in architecture, working with Design Students for a Sustainable Future under the guidance of faculty advisers Cris Benton and Gail Brage, to create sustainable practices in Wurster Hall's design studios, which produce tomorrow's architects, planners, and landscape architects.
Energy-efficient electricity: $2,000 to Alex Mastrangeli, MSO staff manager of the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, to replace the existing 181 incandescent light bulbs in the lobby of Zellerbach Playhouse with low-energy-consumption compact-flourescent light bulbs.
Engaging eco-conscious alumni: $2,000 to Greg Haet, associate director, Environmental Protection, Office of Environment, Health & Safety, to work with the Berkeley Environmental Alumni Network (BEAN) in developing an ongoing support base among environmentally-minded alumni.
Rooftop plant-and-soil cover: $1,800 to Kirsten Weeks, a graduate student (double masters) in architecture (building science) and landscape architecture, to cultivate a 100- square-foot green plant/soil cover on the roof of a campus building.
Electrically efficient buildings: $1,500 to Anna Harvey, an undergraduate student with an intended major in environmental engineering science (and an events technician at International House), to pilot an electricity- efficient model at I-House for student residential settings, which can be thereafter used by the Greek housing system and other student residences.
Outdoor classrooms: $1,000 to Pepper Black, director of the Family Student Housing Program in the Residential and Student Service Programs, to be used for garden-border boxes, supplies, and tools, composting bins, and installation of an irrigation system to create an outdoor classroom with border gardens at University Village, which houses more than 820 students and their families in Albany.
Earth Week 2008 programming and publicity: $1,000 to Christina Oatfield, an undergraduate planning to major in environmental sciences, in her role as chair of the Earth Week Committee of the UC Berkeley Student Union Sustainability Team, to cover the cost of screening environmental films and printing posters, ads, and fliers to promote participation in the upcoming Earth Week 2008.
Campus farmer's market: $500 to Maren Poitras, an undergraduate majoring in conservation and resource studies (sustainable food systems), to work with the Food Systems Committee of the UC Berkeley Student Union Sustainability Team to operate cooperatively the weekly student-run produce stand at Kroeber Fountain, which provides fresh, local, organic produce from the farmers market to the campus and surrounding community.
Dorm-room recycling: $1,000 to Vivek Rao, an undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering, as part of the student-led interdisciplinary design organization Berkeley Innovation (BI), to create and produce an innovative prototype individual trash receptacle with subdivided compartments for use by students within their dorm room to separate different types of recyclables.