White Paper Final Draft
Content
The Green Team
Volume One, March 2013
Going Green
Recent efforts have begun to make the University of South Florida an ecologically friendly school.
Volume One, March 2013
USF Unstoppable
The Green Team
Cortney Schmid- Lead Editor Joesph Civello- Lead Researcher Kara Simmons- Contributing Editor Diego Bello- Contributing Editor Shelby Bourgeois- Lead Interviewer
Green and Gold
Environmentalism in America has been around since the 19th century, but gained much more momentum in the 1970’s with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and many environmental acts that followed ("Brief History of the Modern Green Movement in America"). Since then technological advancements as well as continued research, has helped in the discovery of ways to increase sustainability for the future. Universities caught on to the “green movement” and sure enough, since 1995, USF has become more then just a top research school, it has started to lead the way in sustainability efforts. These efforts include building materials, water conservation, student initiatives, lighting, academics, recycling, solar panels, and much more. These efforts haven’t just made there way to the main Tampa campus, but to the other campuses as well. This white paper will focus on the efforts made over the years, the people who have helped these efforts along, and the people these efforts will continue to effect.
Professional Writing, Spring Semester 2013 Dr. F. Tobienne
Florida High Tech
Connect with the Office of Sustainability
Website: http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/USFsustainability Mission Statement: The Office of Sustainability coordinates and builds partnerships for university-wide initiatives that advance the University of South Florida’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable campus environment.
The Green Team
March 2013
Table of Contents
3 Executive Summary 5 Groundbreaking times for USF
The history of sustainability efforts
6 Efforts moving forward
The Patel Center Honors college and graduate program LEEDing, the way in green design Recycling and water
9 Transportation
Student’s initiatives Strategic goals
11 USF We Car Car sharing
Benefits and triggers Faculty outreach
14 Interview with Mr. Aden-Buie 16 Bibliography
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Executive Summary
The University of South Florida has taken amazing strides towards sustainability within the last decade and they are not stopping by innovating students with new technologies. USF’s sustainability efforts expand from the implantation of solar panels, building materials, lighting, recycling, water conservation, transportation and academics. What keeps USF’s sustainability plan moving forward is the educating of students, faculty, staff and the community. USF is bringing people together to help change tomorrow. With the addition of the The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, USF has shown to the world that they are a global front-runner for applied research on sustainability and reduction of gas emissions. The research conducted aims to be applied worldwide. This shows that USF isn’t only worried about the environment around Tampa Bay, but all over the world. This white paper was created to spotlight the efforts put forth by USF’s going “green” and sustainability actions. Following the trend of recent history of which USF has undoubtedly displayed a total restructure of their views on sustainability and the environment, it’s safe to say this university is not slowing down. Businesses and other colleges should not only look up to USF with their sustainability efforts, but also start implementing strategies of their own. USF is trying to get faculty members and students to get together and create new ideas that can help the University of South Florida become the #1 school in the United States that is completely green. This will not happen anytime soon but information from the Patel department believe that in less than 20 years, the university will be running as green as possible. With the addition in a daily basis of less contaminant materials and the RRR (reduce, reuse, recycle) program, we are aiming to reduce as much as possible now to not be affected in the future.
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thepovertyjetset.com
The above graph shows the importance of sustainability. Without efforts like those that USF is implementing now the valuable materials and resources that we use everyday are becoming scarcer. Sustainability efforts help to slow the rate at which we consume these resources, and help to extend the overall life of the planet.
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The Green Team
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March 2013
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“Groundbreaking” Times for USF
The history of USF’s sustainability efforts
In 1995, the University of South Florida created the USF Tampa Campus Master Plan to improve sustainable goals and practices. This master plan adopted Smart Growth, which is described as an “urban and transportation theory that concentrates growth into compact urban centers to avoid sprawl” ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). In the first ten years of the plan USF made many accomplishments such as planting over two thousand trees, created an off-campus shuttle system, and created a 125 acre cross campus greenway ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). The university also serves as a community-recycling site for the campus perimeter. The master plan focuses on energy conservation which has saved the university over 10$ million in the last decade and has saved over 11 kilowatt-hours annually. The Greenlights replacement program is to thank for this savings ("Physical Plant"). This program upgraded the lighting systems in the Tampa campus academic buildings to “high efficient electronic ballasts and energy conserving fluorescent bulbs” ("Physical Plant").
USF office of sustainability
Spotlight: Garrick Aden-Buie
What has USF done to improve sustainability? USF has done quite a lot to move towards sustainability, such as installing solar panels, led lighting, motion sensors and light timers, implementing automatic hibernation for computers in the library and labs, removing trays and Styrofoam from dining halls, and much much more. The best introduction to sustainability efforts on the USF Tampa Campus is in our most recent ACUPCC Climate Action Plan Progress Report, which is located at http://rs.acupcc.org/progress/780/ under "General Statement of Progress" Is USF doing anything to involve the community in their sustainability efforts? USF works hard to engage the local, state and regional community in their sustainability efforts. To name a few, we are involved in Clean Cities Tampa Bay and Resilient Tampa Bay. You can find out more about our community engagement initiatives at http://psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/
Garrick is Graduate Research Assistant at the Patel College of Global Sustainability. [email protected]
For more of this interview turn to page 13.
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Efforts Moving Forward
USF’s current sustainability efforts have helped improve the lifecycle of the university and its carbon footprint. These efforts include transportation, academics, building and environment design, recycling, and water management.
specifically tailored environmental and sustainability research and curriculum. The College of Behavioral and Community Sciences focuses on the community-based aspect of sustainability, as does the College of Engineering, which is highly active on several green and sustainability initiatives, and also offers international experiences. The College of Business has numerous programs, including the sustainable enterprise and business sustainability programs and practical projects. Even the College of the Arts uses alternative disciplines to approach the idea of sustainability and the environment, and The Graphic Studio, the Institute for Research in Arts and the Contemporary Art Museum have demonstrated interests in the field. Honors College and Graduate Programs The USF Honors College’s annual seminar series for the 2010-2011 academic year’s theme was “Global Challenges For A Sustainable Future: Conversations with USF Scholars in Outcome Driven Sustainability Science”. The Honors College allows sustainability themed senior projects and offers seminars from a wide variety of experts and disciplines. USF Graduate programs offer up to $5000 per research team and fund yearlong research projects organized by teams of Masters and Doctoral students, and also provide annual grant funding programs to promote sustainability science research.
http://news.usf.edu/
Academics The University of South Florida academic program offers multiple opportunities for students to pursue sustainability or green efforts in a wide variety of studies. First and foremost, in January of 2010, a new School of Global Sustainability was created, managed by internationally recognized urban water issues expert Dr. Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy, who also worked with the European Union and UNESCO. This new school is an inclusive and holistic academic unit flourishing off of the collaboration, research and explorations of USF-affiliated faculty and students. The initial degree program in the School of Global Sustainability focuses on water, but also has concentrations in fields dealing with food security and health, the designed and built environments, gender and ethnicity, transportation, global citizenry, climate change, the history of sustainable communities, coastal wetlands, the role of the arts in megacities, and the functioning of civil responsibility. Other Colleges In addition to the School of Global Sustainability, several other colleges offer opportunities for students to be a part of the green and sustainability efforts in the USF community. The College of Arts and Sciences offers environmental graduate and undergraduate degrees, as well as community based service-learning and international education opportunities. The social sciences, including anthropology, geography, government and international affairs have
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Centers The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions purpose is to support and promote non-partisan, independent applied research and facilitate action and research on topics of global concern. The center also takes the research done and works to apply it worldwide. The Patel Center will be housed in USF Tampa’s first green, LEED certified building. The Center for Urban Transportation Research serves as a resource for policy and lawmakers, transportation professionals, those in the education system and the public involved in providing objective, high quality research and information. The Clean Energy Research Center’s purpose is to evaluate, develop and promote different forms of clean energy, including but not limited to hydrogen, fuel cells, solar energy, and biomass utilization. The Power Center for Utility Explorations was created to explore, comprehensively, all energy related issues in renewable energy, transmission, distribution and generation systems. “LEEDing” The Way in Green Design USF’s major contribution to sustainability has been its campus and building design. USF operates under an open network system. What this system allows for is the preservation of the Greenway, the open and natural areas of the campus. Under the USF Tampa Campus Master Plan, the university implemented a no net loss policy to ensure that during campus development the effect on natural resources are researched and a plan is incorporated to avoid any net loss ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). Areas of the campus like the Botanical Gardens sequester carbon dioxide to offset the campuses’ carbon footprint. The campus plan also has a goal of planting an additional 10,000 trees in the next five years. USF has used local flora and fauna to plant instead of choosing invasive species or species that are considered unnatural and require wasteful upkeep ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). The plants and groundcover chosen for the school is drought-resistant. Quads like the Marshall Student Center, the MLK Plaza, and the Sessums Pedestrian Plaza were created in the hopes of increasing pedestrian traffic among students and faculty and decreasing the amount of vehicle activity. The university has not only made differences with just the open areas, but the buildings too. One of the newest buildings and perhaps the most “green” is the Patel Center for Global Solutions, which was opened in 2010 (Chachere). This building is USF’s first fully sustainable building and houses the brand new School of Global Sustainability (Chachere). The building includes recycled steel countertops made of steel, resin, and glass, recycled carpeting, automatic toilets that flush with captured rainwater, automatic lights, and tons of recycling bins (Chachere). The Patel Center for Global Solutions, the Interdisciplinary Sciences, and the Science and Technology building were all recently awarded the LEED gold rating ("University of South Florida News"). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary program that provides a “third-party verification of green buildings.”
http://news.usf.edu/
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This system takes into consideration the entire lifecycle of the building inside and out. According to the LEED website, LEED-certified buildings are designed to accomplish a variety of things such as lower operating costs, reduce landfill waste, conserve energy and water, provide a safer and healthier building for occupants, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions ("LEED"). The LEED rating system consists of five main rating categories; sustainable sites credits, water efficiency credits, energy and atmosphere credits, materials and resources credits, and indoor environmental quality credits ("LEED"). USF’s gold rated buildings scored all 40 credits that were attempted ("University of South Florida News"). USF is currently working on making all of their building LEED-certified. Also, under the master plan, all new construction is required to be LEED-certified ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). During the recent renovation of the USF Sundome the construction company chose to recycle the old materials, approximately 91.4%, and refinish existing pieces like the flooring to cut out waste (Carney). On top of USF’s green buildings is the efficient roofing that is currently being installed. These roofs have a high insulation value and high Solar Reflectivity Index of 94 ("Physical Plant"). The higher the index numbers the cooler the roofing stays to provide a more energy efficient building. In the last three years, fifteen roofs have been replaced bringing the total to 411,000 square feet of green roofing ("Physical Plant"). Recycling USF has maintained an active recycling program since 1994, and currently includes; mixed paper, aluminum cans, glass, plastics, mixed metals, yard debris, tree limbs, wooden waste, fluorescent bulbs and fixture ballasts, and electronic equipment in its program. Mixed paper is defined as; office paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard (http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/addition al-information/sustainability-initiatives). The program was originally initiated in 1990 and limited only to the Tampa campus’s administrative and academic buildings but has since expanded. Close to 2,000 office-sized yellow containers have been distributed throughout the campus and employees are responsible for emptying these bins into one of the centrally located 64 gallon containers for removal. 350 mixed recycling bins for glass, plastic and aluminum cans have also been distributed in common areas and more bins are planned (USF office of Sustainability). Based on information gathered from the Patel College of Global Sustainability, USF recently completed its first waste audit, and was able to determine by review of actual receipts dated between 1996 and 2007 that 9,700 tons of mixed paper and 48 tons of aluminum have been recycled since the program began, and that nearly 500 tons of mixed paper were recycled in 2009 alone (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). Prior to 2009 it was reported that 6,500 tons of paper and 44 tons of aluminum had been recycled generating $140,000 and $35,000 in revenues respectively (USF office of Sustainability). Currently various colleges, departments, and divisions oversee their own electronic waste recycling (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). The purchasing department has received a request to make sustainability an agenda item at the inter-institutional committee on purchasing meeting and is currently reviewing a new green purchasing directive. Some of the general efforts that are underway include the purchase of energy star rated computer equipment and flex fuel vehicles for the university fleet, while maintaining a high emphasis on sustainability (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). In 2010 USF initiated a new “no Styrofoam” policy in the dining halls. This new policy eliminated the use of disposable Styrofoam take out containers, and replaced them with reusable plastic ones.
Recycling in Adelaide
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Students can “check out” these containers for a four dollar deposit, and can have as many out at one time as they would like. They simply need to return them for a refund of their original deposit. This allows food services to eliminate campus wide waste (Logan and Rogers). Food services have also implemented trayless dining to help conserve both water and energy, at an estimated 32,992 gallons of water per academic year (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). Water In 2011, USF teamed up with Southwest Florida Water Management District, they collaborated to start a campaign on conserving water on all USF campuses. USF coordinates with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; the FDEP is in charge of issuing permits and the enforcement of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). NPDES develops storm water management programs that help remove illicit discharges to MS4s, which reduces pollutants in storm water runoff. MS4’s are large municipal separate storm systems located in incorporated counties. Currently, USF is part of the Phase 2 MS4 program (Office of Sustainability). At first glance many would believe that waterless urinals would be excellent for the environment. There are several reasons why USF chose not to partake in waterless urinals, for example; waterless urinals use a lot more energy to operate than a standard urinal. Usage of more energy means these urinals have a greater impact of pollution on the environment. Also, the creation of replacement cartridges for waterless urinals uses dangerous oils and plastic, these have a bad carbon footprint on the environment causing deadly toxins in the air and pollution. The used waterless urinals cartridges are disposed of in a landfill or incinerated. Both of these actions have a negative effect on the environment (Office of Sustainability). To purchase these replacement cartridges is a higher cost than using water. After much research of the cost of well water, USF found that there is no economic benefit to using waterless urinals. If USF were to use waterless urinals they would be polluting the environment by the manufacturing and disposing of replacement cartridges, and it will take more energy to run them, causing more pollution. USF has done a great job of water metering and reduced water consumption. Motion sensing automatic flush valves and faucets have been installed in most buildings on the campuses. This is an excellent way to conserve water and prevent waste. Water efficient showerheads were donated by Tampa; these showerheads were installed in residence halls to conserve water consumption. USF ran a month long test by comparing water consumption from two identical resident halls. One hall had the water efficient showerheads, and the other did not. The hall with the new showerheads saved 7,000 fewer gallons than the regular showerheads (“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”). 7,000 less gallons a month could result in the conservation of 84,000 gallons of water saved each year (“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”). Giant patches of land, like USF Gold Course, are watered by non-potable storm water. A great way to conserve water, instead of using valuable well water, is to use non-potable storm water is used. This also cuts down on the energy needed to sanitize well water. Using well water on so much grass is impractical and wasteful. USF has also adopted a low maintenance xeriscaping landscape treatment policy for new buildings and common areas. This policy only permits plants indigenous to the community to be planted in on campuses (Office of Sustainability). These plants require less maintenance and use of chemicals, which run off and pollute water systems. Transportation USF has improved many of their campuses to be more environmental friendly. Like any other project, it has many steps to follow in order to become greener. In this case USF has a plan on reducing the emission of green house gasses by reducing the number of cars used every day on campus. In addition to that, they also are providing the students with many different options in order to get from one place to the other without having to use their cars.
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The first step to reduce the emission of gasses is to have students not to drive their cars to school. This is because when there are more people driving from one place on campus to the other, more contamination for the atmosphere is added. However, not every student of the university lives on campus or in a place where you can get to school from a walking distance. Nevertheless, those who live on campus and around it make up a big number of cars reduced in campus. The school, in order to reduce even more the amount of people driving, decided to implement roads for walking but specially for biking, therefore the students do not need to wait for a bus or drive. In addition to be environmentally friendly, the students wont have the need to look for parking driving around campus, they are not releasing gasses to the atmosphere and specially, they are helping the transportation system for the school. Also, the school has added bike racks on every building for the safety and comfort of the student. USF has added many different features on campus so that students do not feel the need to leave school in the middle of the day. They offer arcade, food services, trails with plenty of trees for shade and housing.
The Patel College of Global Sustainability reports improvements in their bus system for the comfort of the students and to be less contaminant. They have improved the routes of the busses and added a few features so the students can plan their day accordingly to the bus schedule. Lets start by talking about the (AVL) system; which stands for automated vehicle locator. This allows the student to track the bus in real-time. So the student can plan their day and never be too early or a little bit late to catch the bus. In addition of being able to see the times in real-life, the student can receive text messages with alerts on the bus route he/she desired to know about. Furthermore, the buses on campus run on biodiesel, not all of them but at some time they all will be using biodiesel. In addition to all this amazing features added to the transportation system, riding the bus is 100% free for USF students. In addition to riding free on campus, they have also the benefit to ride free on the Tampa bay and regional bus system (HART). These busses are equipped with a train in the front of the bus so the riders can transport their bicycle in a safe and comfortable way. Parking at USF has improved greatly in the past years until now. Before the wait time to find a parking spot on campus was greater than now. USF has improved their parking system in order to have more safety for the pedestrians, also to reduce the heat islands of parking. There have been a few buildings added for parking around campus so the idle time can be reduced, therefore less contamination is released. The buildings range from four to seven floors and are more effective than parking lots in front of the buildings. These structures are a great contribution to the sustainability plan that USF is trying to improve. This is because a few factors. First, the students won’t be driving around looking to park, more space is added to school so more plants and trees can be added for the pleasure of the sight and to help the environment in reduction of contaminant gasses, and lastly, students find more comfortable to park in a building centered around campus so the walking is less. However, not many people find attractive to pay more than one hundred dollars every two semesters in order to be able to park on campus. This is somehow controversial because two different points of view from a recent survey done by a student of the college of engineering. First, it is very nice that buildings for cars help the mobilization of the car flow on campus and therefore there is less idle time for the student and more safety for the pedestrian. Secondly, many students are not willing to pay that amount of money therefore they will use other forms of transportation, which can include car-pooling or riding a bicycle, which as mentioned before, helps enormously the environment and reduces the flow of cars at the school. In addition to the transportation system for students, the university together with the Patel college of Global Sustainability has also added a system for the employees. They have in one hand, a very high discount if the ride the bus everyday to school, which is only twenty-five cents for each ride. On the other hand, they have the convenience to use golf cars inside campus for transportation of different means. These golf cars are electric and gasoline powered.
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The University of South Florida is working hard on developing new golf cars that can run on solar energy in order to reduce the emissions of gasses from the fuel. The golf cars are available for USF faculty members in order to not have registered big vehicles around campus. The golf cars are different in sizes and they work very efficiently to transport employees, supplies to every building on campus and to move furniture. One day the electric cars and the gasolinepowered cars will be replaced by those that run only on solar energy in order to reduce pollution. In order to have full use of the golf cars, during nights the school hired a group of students who take those studying until late at the library to their cars, this improves security for students and helps to fully use the advantages of these cars. The University of South Florida has done and incredible job in helping students to breath a cleaner air. Not only by reducing the emissions by also becoming a campus where smokers can only smoke in designated areas.
New technologies have been added and more access to them is getting easier dayby-day. One example is the electric car charge station located at the USFSP campus. This not only helps to charge your car for free but it also encourages students who can afford it to buy cars that help the environment. The school is helping the world in very different ways to be friendlier with the environment; the next step is us, the students, who are the ones who can make a difference for us and future USF bulls that want a better place to fulfill their dreams. Student Initiatives With the opening of the Office of Sustainability came student initiatives to promote follow through of the sustainability efforts. The Office of Sustainability has four strategic goals to meet their mission. The four strategic goals are: (Strategic Goal 1) Strengthening and supporting integrated and synergistic interdisciplinary research across disciplinary, departmental, college and campus boundaries.
From public transportation to school faculty transportation, the school has improved in every single detail in order to help the campus, and the world, be a better, more environmentally friendly place to live and study. All the changes that the university has done to the school help in the process of being a greener campus.
Spotlight: USF-WeCar Car Sharing Program
Both the USF St. Petersburg campus and the USF Tampa campus have introduced the WeCar Car Sharing program. This program in collaboration with Enterprise and the Center for Urban Transportation Research has created a way for students to get out of the everyday car routine. This program is open to students and faculty 18 and over. The cars offer a solution to student who live on campus with no car, or those who are too young to rent a car from a normal car rental agency. All the cars are fuel efficient and designed to help with parking and transportation issues that arise from universities. There are currently two vehicles at the St. Petersburg campus and four cars at the Tampa campus. Online reservations can be made at www.carsharing.usf.edu
USF office of sustainability
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(Strategic Goal 2) Building a sustainable campus environment at USF. (Strategic Goal 3) Constructing an up-to-date clearinghouse of information about all the sustainability engagement activities currently occurring at USF and encouraging and rewarding faculty, staff, and student engagement in sustainability initiatives. (Strategic Goal 4) Creating a sustainable environment that supports an expanded and improved teaching and research mission, a more engaged residential community, and a universitybased global village ("Office of Sustainability"). In Fall 2010, Student Government created a new position, Chief Sustainability Officer. Also, the school has many student organizations. The Student Environmental Association is a student run organization founded in 2007 ("Office of Sustainability"). Their mission is to educate the community about the environment and work towards making USF more environmentally friendly. The group meets every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and helps with many community volunteer activities. Another group called Students In Free Enterprise or SIFE is a global 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the community ("Office of Sustainability").
www.facebook.com
www.jmu.edu
USF office of sustainability
SIFE meets every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Students in Free Enterprise is an organization that is on over 1,500 college campuses around the globe. At USF SIFE has created a project called Refill-a-Bull which started three years ago. The students decided to help with the problem of plastic water bottles being thrown away. They created an aluminum water bottle that is sold for $5.00 ("SIFE at University of South Florida"). The project didn’t stop there. The organization then teamed up with the USF Physical Plant to install over 62 water stations throughout the campus for the bottles to be refilled ("SIFE at University of South Florida In just eight months students saved over 1.2 million plastic bottles from being sent to a landfill ("SIFE at University of South Florida"). Emerging Green Builders is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to create a mutually beneficial relationship among USF students, the Tampa Bay community, and local business leaders in the area of green building and sustainability” ("Office of Sustainability"). At USF St. Petersburg campus students have created the Student Environmental Awareness Society or SEAS. This organization is open to anyone including students, faculty, affiliates, and members of the surrounding community ("University of South Florida St. Petersburg).
www.studentorgs.usf.edu
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The group promotes awareness of environmental issues and taking steps towards making a greener community, campus, and world. SEAS meets at 10 a.m. on the first Friday of every month to clean up the harbor surrounding the campus ("University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus"). In 2008, the President of USF Judy Genshaft signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment which “obligates USF Tampa to conduct an annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory and develop a long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP) to reduce and, eventually, eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the Tampa campus operations and infrastructure” ("Office of Sustainability"). When the Office of Sustainability was created in 2009, they created a Climate Action Plan and a greenhouse gas inventory ("Office of Sustainability"). The majority of greenhouse gas emissions is due to the energy consumption of the university. The CAP states that energy consumption must be reduced to lower greenhouse gas emissions. To better accomplish this goal, the Student Green Energy Fee was created ("Office of Sustainability"). The fee is a nominal student fee that is 0.58% undergraduate resident per credit hour and 0.27% graduate resident per credit hour. It is used to assist USF to promote renewable energy technologies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and reduce their energy cost ("Office of Sustainability"). Faculty Outreach The students aren’t the only ones who have become more involved, many faculty members have made contributions as well. A great example is Professor Yogi Goswami. Dr. Goswami is the co-director of USF’s Clean Energy Research Center and the Editor in Chief of Solar Energy Journal (Temple). The professor and his team at the College of Engineering are building a solar power plant at the USF Tampa campus. The State of Florida provided the project a grant and the U.S. Department of Energy provided a $3.9 million grant for a thermal storage system (Temple). "When I looked into our energy needs, especially in the future and looking at limited energy resources, I came to the conclusion solar energy would have to play a very important role on our energy needs," Goswami said. “From that point on, my research has become focused on solar energy” (Temple).
www.acad.usf.edu
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Interview with Garrick Aden-Buie Graduate Research Assistant
Office of Sustainability
Garrick Aden-Buie 1. What has USF done to improve sustainability?
USF has done quite a lot to move towards sustainability, such as installing solar panels, led lighting, motion sensors and light timers, implementing automatic hibernation for computers in the library and labs, removing trays and Styrofoam from dining halls, and much much more. The best introduction to sustainability efforts on the USF Tampa Campus is in our most recent ACUPCC Climate Action Plan Progress Report, which is located at http://rs.acupcc.org/progress/780/ under "General Statement of Progress" 2. Has/how has your department been involved in that process?
From http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability: The Office of Sustainability coordinates and builds partnerships for university-wide initiatives that advance the University of South Florida’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable campus environment. To accomplish this mission, we actively support faculty, staff, students, alumni, and neighborhood partners in their efforts to transform the University of South Florida into a ‘Green University’, where decisions structural and routine consider both individual and collective impacts to our campus, community, economy, and environment. As citizen-scholar activists, we share a sustainability ethic that promotes conserving resources, reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials, finding new sources of clean energy, increasing energy efficiency, and diminishing life-cycle impacts and our consumption of greenhouse gas producing materials. We engage in this ethic of stewardship to guide the development and implementation of programs, policies, and other courses of action in the operation and management of the University of South Florida system as well as its institutional teaching, research, and service commitments. 3. How much money do you think USF should put towards sustainability and green efforts?
I think that sustainability and green efforts are worth the investment in the long term, provided the investments allow USF and its campus users to consume less energy (and less fossil fuel based energy) and produce less waste. 4. Are there any student organizations working towards a greener campus on future?
There are several student organizations working towards a more sustainable campus, most of whom are listed here: http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/student-initiatives/
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5. Is USF doing anything to involve the community in their sustainability efforts? USF works hard to engage the local, state and regional community in their sustainability efforts. To name a few, we are involved in Clean Cities Tampa Bay and Resilient Tampa Bay. You can find out more about our community engagement initiatives at http://psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/ 6. Why do you personally believe that becoming a greener or more sustainable campus is or is not important? Personally, I believe that being more sustainable is highly important given the constraints of our planet and the current growth rates of populations and cities. I believe that innovation will rise to the challenges of the future, after all humans are highly resilient. But what we are starting to see even now is that sustainability isn't the same as austerity and that when given a choice, smart, intelligent, creative, innovative people are choosing more and more to live in cities and places that focus on sustainable ideas, like walkability, public transportation, etc. Ultimately, sustainability is a people- and placecentered design choice, and the cities that choose to make sustainability a focus are really choosing to make the people and places in and around that city the focus. As a university and a small city of sorts, we should strive to be at the forefront of this innovation, and we should work to attract as many intelligent, innovative scholars, students and thinkers to be a part of our community.
usfunplugged.wordpress.com
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Bibliography
“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green” Digital bullpen. Web. 18 March 2013. http://digitalbullpen.com/2011/12/09/office-of-sustainability-usf-is-going-green/ This first source explains the firsts steps taken by the president of the University of South Florida and other of her employees. Here we can get a broad explanation on how the university started to implement the reduction of the green house gas emissions. With the support from the students of both campuses, USF Tampa and USFSP, a bill was created where students collaborate with their tuition money to increase the budget for future green technologies for a greener campus. “LEED.” University of South Florida. Web. 18 March 2013<http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/tag/leed/> This article contains information on how the university has been acquiring new technologies regarding to reduce gas emissions. As an example, this source explains how there were two stations to charge electric cars installed on USFSP. In addition, this source provides information about how the USFSP obtained the LEED certification. It explains how the university achieved this great accomplishment and how it is on the progress on becoming even greener and more sustainable. “The Office of Sustainability.” Patel College of Global Sustainability. USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability> This website is probably the most complete and informative source that we have found as of now. Here is where they explain the steps taken to be where we are now in terms of being green. This office is where most of the planning and decision-making is done, because they fund big in the school. This source shows us how they help to get faculty and students together in order to make green decisions for the campus. In the website, they have divided into categories what they are trying to accomplish and from the different departments. In addition, it gives information on the development of becoming greener from the different areas: Recycling, water, transportation, green buildings and more. “Office of the Provost and Executive President” Sustain-a-Bull. USF. Web 19 Match 2013. <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm> This website from USF is a very good source to find out about details on the projects. Here we can find information such as the budget for the different colleges around USF. In addition, it informs the readers on what has the money been spent into. In addition to that information, it keeps reports on what happens around the Tampa bay area that can affect the University of South Florida. It has not too much articles to base a project as a whole, but has some very valuable information that can be crucial for the white paper.
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“Greenhouse Gas Inventory” Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee . USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/docs/USF-Greenhouse-Gas-Inventory.pdf> This is an article that is very informative about the greenhouse effects and how USF committed to help reduced them. In this article, it explains how the president of USF signed the climate commitment in order to start a new green era for USF. What makes this article very helpful is that it has actual information about the amount of gases emitted to the atmosphere. It also includes valuable information about the money that has been spending USF. In addition to that, it contains information of what the different structures need to be more sustainable. We can also gather information about the quantity of students and how big numbers affect the school in different areas. This source is a great cluster of information that is very valuable for the Green Team research. “Stars, a Program of AASHE” University of South Florida Score Card. Web 19 March 2013 <https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2011-01-28/1/1/8/> This website is an amazing source of detailed information about what the University of South Florida has done to be awarded with the LEED certification. This source has detailed information of what has the university incorporated in every single building. Especially the intelligent building that acquired the principal certification. It has a great amount of valuable information such as reports before and after the projects, course inventories, and the future projects the university is working on. Furthermore it informs the readers on the type of certifications the university obtained and the ones they are working on. Also, the source explains what are the steps the school is taking in order to achieve such certifications. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additional-information/sustainability-initiatives Active recycling program since 1994. Currently recycles mixed paper (office paper, newspaper, magazines and cardboard), aluminum cans, glass and plastics, mixed metals, yard debris, tree limbs and wooden waste, fluorescent bulbs and fixture ballasts, and electronic equipment. Since inception over 7100 tons of paper, 48 tons of aluminum Operates a community recycling site in conjunction with the city of Tampa on USF Sycamore Drive. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/pdf/USFPPlantRecyclingPresentation.pdf Originally initiated in 1990 and limited to the Tampa campus administrative and academic buildings. Distributed 2,000 small office size yellow containers, transferred to centrally located 64 gallon containers on most floors for removal. 350 mixed recycling bins in common areas for glass plastic and aluminum cans. Community recycling station available to individuals where no recycling pick up is available, operates at no cost to USF 6500 tons of paper recycled to generate $140,000 in revenues 44 tons of aluminum recycled to generate $35,000 in revenues.
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http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/recycling/ The purchasing department is reviewing a green purchasing directive. Requests that sustainability become an agenda item at the interinstitutional committee on purchasing meeting. General efforts underway – Energy star computer equipment, flex fuel fleet purchases, and emphasis on sustainability. USF completed its first waste audit and found 9700 tons of mixed paper and 48 tons of aluminum recycled since the program began based on actual receipts from 1996-2007. 500 tons of mixed paper in 2009 alone. Various colleges, departments, and divisions oversee their own electronic waste recycling. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/usf-is-taking-green-to-a-whole-new-level,-outwith-styrofoam,-in-with-reusable-to-go-boxes In 2010 USF initiated a ‘no Styrofoam’ policy, which was met with wide student acceptance. Styrofoam to -go containers were replaced by hard plastic containers that can be “checked out” for a $4 deposit. Students can have as many out at one time as they want and they can be returned for a refund of their deposit at any time. This allows the food services to help eliminate campus wide waste.
USF office of sustainability
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Works Cited
“The Office of Sustainability.” Patel College of Global Sustainability. USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/water/> “Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”. Haley Radeka. The Digital Bullpen. USF. Web 09 December 2011. <http://digitalbullpen.com/2011/12/09/office-of-sustainability-usf-isgoing-green/>
“LEED.” University of South Florida. Web. 18 March 2013http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/tag/leed/
“Office of the Provost and Executive President” Sustain-a-Bull. USF. Web 19 Match 2013. http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm
“Stars, a Program of AASHE” University of South Florida Score Card. Web 19 March 2013 https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2011-0128/1/1/8/
“Greenhouse Gas Inventory” Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee . USF. Web 19 March 2013. http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/docs/USF-Greenhouse-GasInventory.pdf
"Web Ecoist." A Brief History of the Modern Green Movement in America. Atomic Online, n.d. Web. 27 Mar 2013. <http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/08/17/a-brief-history-of-themodern-green-movement/>.
"2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis." . University of South Florida, 03 Mar 2011. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://usfweb2.usf.edu/facilitiesplan/Campus Planning/Data Collection & Analysis elements(new)/DCA_Appendices/DCA_Appendices/USF_DCA_Appendix-A_SustainabilityPrinciples1.pdf>.
"Physical Plant." Physical Plant Sustainability and Energy Conservation. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additionalinformation/sustainability-initiatives>. Chachere, Vickie. "University of South Florida News.""Green" Patel Center Opens at USF. University of South Florida, 21 Jan 2010. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3086>.
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"University of South Florida News." Gold Standard. University of South Florida, 27 Feb 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?z=0&a=4211>.
"LEED." LEED. U.S. Green Building Council, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://new.usgbc.org/leed>.
Carney, Ann. "USF Magazine." Sustainability: Sustainable Renovation. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://magazine.usf.edu/2011-winter/sustainability/sustainable-renovation.asp&xgt;.
"Office of Sustainability." . University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/office-ofsustainability>.
"University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus."Student Environmental Awareness Society at USF St. Petersburg. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www1.usfsp.edu/coas/espg/seas/>.
"SIFE at University of South Florida." SIFE at USF Refill-A-Bull. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://studentorgs.usf.edu/sifeusf/html/refillabull.html>.
Temple, Liisa. "University of South Florida News." Solar Power Plant Coming to USF. University of South Florida, 05 Jan 2011. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3044>.
"USF-WeCar Carsharing Program." USF-WeCar Carsharing Program. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.carsharing.usf.edu/>.
http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additional-information/sustainability-initiatives. 2009. 24 March
2013.
Logan, Bill and Jesse Rogers. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/usf-is-takinggreen-to-a-whole-new-level,-out-with-styrofoam,-in-with-reusable-to-go-boxes. 28 July 2011. news report. 24 March 2013.
Patel College of Global Sustainability USF. http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-ofsustainability/initiatives/recycling/. 2013. 24 March 2013.
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USF office of Sustainability. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/pdf/USFPPlantRecyclingPresentation.pdf. n.d. PDF Document. 24 March 2013.
Photo Citations: 2013. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <https://advrpttest.forest.usf.edu/scholarships/images/USF_Entrance.jpg>.
2011. Photograph. Florida High Tech, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.floridahightech.com/enewsletter/enews_imgs/2011-07/usf_sustainability>.
2013. Photograph. Tumblr, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2wvsiqJiG1rr5odqo1_500.jpg>. 2013. Photograph. USF Office of Sustainability, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-ofsustainability/history/>.
2010. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3086>.
2013. Photograph. USF St. Peterburg, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/2013/02/12/usf-st-petersburg-introduces-car-sharing-program/wecarpress-event/>.
2013. Photograph. Facebook, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-akash4/c5.0.170.170/s160x160/198465_194539583915047_7103839_a.jpg>.
2003. Photograph. James Madison UniversityWeb. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.jmu.edu/cob/cfe/wm_library/SIFE_Logo.jpg>.
2013. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://studentorgs.usf.edu/sifeusf/html/refillabull.html>.
2012. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://msl.cas.usf.edu/REU/images/USF_logo.jpg>.
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2007. Photograph. Community Mobilization, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://como.typepad.com/community_mobilization/images/2007/10/10/usf_game_night.jpg>.
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Andrew Baz . “Recycling in Adelaide." [Online image] 03 April 2013. <http://bookabin.blogspot.com/2012/11/recycling-in-adelaide_28.html>.
usfunplugged. "Be our Sustain-abila-buddy!!!." [Online image] 03 April 2013. <http://usfunplugged.wordpress.com/tag/sustainability/>.
N.d. Chart. n.p. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http:///wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sustainability.jpeg>.
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Msl.cas.usf.edu
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Volume One, March 2013
Going Green
Recent efforts have begun to make the University of South Florida an ecologically friendly school.
Volume One, March 2013
USF Unstoppable
The Green Team
Cortney Schmid- Lead Editor Joesph Civello- Lead Researcher Kara Simmons- Contributing Editor Diego Bello- Contributing Editor Shelby Bourgeois- Lead Interviewer
Green and Gold
Environmentalism in America has been around since the 19th century, but gained much more momentum in the 1970’s with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and many environmental acts that followed ("Brief History of the Modern Green Movement in America"). Since then technological advancements as well as continued research, has helped in the discovery of ways to increase sustainability for the future. Universities caught on to the “green movement” and sure enough, since 1995, USF has become more then just a top research school, it has started to lead the way in sustainability efforts. These efforts include building materials, water conservation, student initiatives, lighting, academics, recycling, solar panels, and much more. These efforts haven’t just made there way to the main Tampa campus, but to the other campuses as well. This white paper will focus on the efforts made over the years, the people who have helped these efforts along, and the people these efforts will continue to effect.
Professional Writing, Spring Semester 2013 Dr. F. Tobienne
Florida High Tech
Connect with the Office of Sustainability
Website: http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/USFsustainability Mission Statement: The Office of Sustainability coordinates and builds partnerships for university-wide initiatives that advance the University of South Florida’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable campus environment.
The Green Team
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Table of Contents
3 Executive Summary 5 Groundbreaking times for USF
The history of sustainability efforts
6 Efforts moving forward
The Patel Center Honors college and graduate program LEEDing, the way in green design Recycling and water
9 Transportation
Student’s initiatives Strategic goals
11 USF We Car Car sharing
Benefits and triggers Faculty outreach
14 Interview with Mr. Aden-Buie 16 Bibliography
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Executive Summary
The University of South Florida has taken amazing strides towards sustainability within the last decade and they are not stopping by innovating students with new technologies. USF’s sustainability efforts expand from the implantation of solar panels, building materials, lighting, recycling, water conservation, transportation and academics. What keeps USF’s sustainability plan moving forward is the educating of students, faculty, staff and the community. USF is bringing people together to help change tomorrow. With the addition of the The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, USF has shown to the world that they are a global front-runner for applied research on sustainability and reduction of gas emissions. The research conducted aims to be applied worldwide. This shows that USF isn’t only worried about the environment around Tampa Bay, but all over the world. This white paper was created to spotlight the efforts put forth by USF’s going “green” and sustainability actions. Following the trend of recent history of which USF has undoubtedly displayed a total restructure of their views on sustainability and the environment, it’s safe to say this university is not slowing down. Businesses and other colleges should not only look up to USF with their sustainability efforts, but also start implementing strategies of their own. USF is trying to get faculty members and students to get together and create new ideas that can help the University of South Florida become the #1 school in the United States that is completely green. This will not happen anytime soon but information from the Patel department believe that in less than 20 years, the university will be running as green as possible. With the addition in a daily basis of less contaminant materials and the RRR (reduce, reuse, recycle) program, we are aiming to reduce as much as possible now to not be affected in the future.
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thepovertyjetset.com
The above graph shows the importance of sustainability. Without efforts like those that USF is implementing now the valuable materials and resources that we use everyday are becoming scarcer. Sustainability efforts help to slow the rate at which we consume these resources, and help to extend the overall life of the planet.
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The Green Team
usflife.tumblr.com
March 2013
usflife.tumblr.com
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“Groundbreaking” Times for USF
The history of USF’s sustainability efforts
In 1995, the University of South Florida created the USF Tampa Campus Master Plan to improve sustainable goals and practices. This master plan adopted Smart Growth, which is described as an “urban and transportation theory that concentrates growth into compact urban centers to avoid sprawl” ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). In the first ten years of the plan USF made many accomplishments such as planting over two thousand trees, created an off-campus shuttle system, and created a 125 acre cross campus greenway ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). The university also serves as a community-recycling site for the campus perimeter. The master plan focuses on energy conservation which has saved the university over 10$ million in the last decade and has saved over 11 kilowatt-hours annually. The Greenlights replacement program is to thank for this savings ("Physical Plant"). This program upgraded the lighting systems in the Tampa campus academic buildings to “high efficient electronic ballasts and energy conserving fluorescent bulbs” ("Physical Plant").
USF office of sustainability
Spotlight: Garrick Aden-Buie
What has USF done to improve sustainability? USF has done quite a lot to move towards sustainability, such as installing solar panels, led lighting, motion sensors and light timers, implementing automatic hibernation for computers in the library and labs, removing trays and Styrofoam from dining halls, and much much more. The best introduction to sustainability efforts on the USF Tampa Campus is in our most recent ACUPCC Climate Action Plan Progress Report, which is located at http://rs.acupcc.org/progress/780/ under "General Statement of Progress" Is USF doing anything to involve the community in their sustainability efforts? USF works hard to engage the local, state and regional community in their sustainability efforts. To name a few, we are involved in Clean Cities Tampa Bay and Resilient Tampa Bay. You can find out more about our community engagement initiatives at http://psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/
Garrick is Graduate Research Assistant at the Patel College of Global Sustainability. [email protected]
For more of this interview turn to page 13.
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Efforts Moving Forward
USF’s current sustainability efforts have helped improve the lifecycle of the university and its carbon footprint. These efforts include transportation, academics, building and environment design, recycling, and water management.
specifically tailored environmental and sustainability research and curriculum. The College of Behavioral and Community Sciences focuses on the community-based aspect of sustainability, as does the College of Engineering, which is highly active on several green and sustainability initiatives, and also offers international experiences. The College of Business has numerous programs, including the sustainable enterprise and business sustainability programs and practical projects. Even the College of the Arts uses alternative disciplines to approach the idea of sustainability and the environment, and The Graphic Studio, the Institute for Research in Arts and the Contemporary Art Museum have demonstrated interests in the field. Honors College and Graduate Programs The USF Honors College’s annual seminar series for the 2010-2011 academic year’s theme was “Global Challenges For A Sustainable Future: Conversations with USF Scholars in Outcome Driven Sustainability Science”. The Honors College allows sustainability themed senior projects and offers seminars from a wide variety of experts and disciplines. USF Graduate programs offer up to $5000 per research team and fund yearlong research projects organized by teams of Masters and Doctoral students, and also provide annual grant funding programs to promote sustainability science research.
http://news.usf.edu/
Academics The University of South Florida academic program offers multiple opportunities for students to pursue sustainability or green efforts in a wide variety of studies. First and foremost, in January of 2010, a new School of Global Sustainability was created, managed by internationally recognized urban water issues expert Dr. Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy, who also worked with the European Union and UNESCO. This new school is an inclusive and holistic academic unit flourishing off of the collaboration, research and explorations of USF-affiliated faculty and students. The initial degree program in the School of Global Sustainability focuses on water, but also has concentrations in fields dealing with food security and health, the designed and built environments, gender and ethnicity, transportation, global citizenry, climate change, the history of sustainable communities, coastal wetlands, the role of the arts in megacities, and the functioning of civil responsibility. Other Colleges In addition to the School of Global Sustainability, several other colleges offer opportunities for students to be a part of the green and sustainability efforts in the USF community. The College of Arts and Sciences offers environmental graduate and undergraduate degrees, as well as community based service-learning and international education opportunities. The social sciences, including anthropology, geography, government and international affairs have
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Centers The Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions purpose is to support and promote non-partisan, independent applied research and facilitate action and research on topics of global concern. The center also takes the research done and works to apply it worldwide. The Patel Center will be housed in USF Tampa’s first green, LEED certified building. The Center for Urban Transportation Research serves as a resource for policy and lawmakers, transportation professionals, those in the education system and the public involved in providing objective, high quality research and information. The Clean Energy Research Center’s purpose is to evaluate, develop and promote different forms of clean energy, including but not limited to hydrogen, fuel cells, solar energy, and biomass utilization. The Power Center for Utility Explorations was created to explore, comprehensively, all energy related issues in renewable energy, transmission, distribution and generation systems. “LEEDing” The Way in Green Design USF’s major contribution to sustainability has been its campus and building design. USF operates under an open network system. What this system allows for is the preservation of the Greenway, the open and natural areas of the campus. Under the USF Tampa Campus Master Plan, the university implemented a no net loss policy to ensure that during campus development the effect on natural resources are researched and a plan is incorporated to avoid any net loss ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). Areas of the campus like the Botanical Gardens sequester carbon dioxide to offset the campuses’ carbon footprint. The campus plan also has a goal of planting an additional 10,000 trees in the next five years. USF has used local flora and fauna to plant instead of choosing invasive species or species that are considered unnatural and require wasteful upkeep ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). The plants and groundcover chosen for the school is drought-resistant. Quads like the Marshall Student Center, the MLK Plaza, and the Sessums Pedestrian Plaza were created in the hopes of increasing pedestrian traffic among students and faculty and decreasing the amount of vehicle activity. The university has not only made differences with just the open areas, but the buildings too. One of the newest buildings and perhaps the most “green” is the Patel Center for Global Solutions, which was opened in 2010 (Chachere). This building is USF’s first fully sustainable building and houses the brand new School of Global Sustainability (Chachere). The building includes recycled steel countertops made of steel, resin, and glass, recycled carpeting, automatic toilets that flush with captured rainwater, automatic lights, and tons of recycling bins (Chachere). The Patel Center for Global Solutions, the Interdisciplinary Sciences, and the Science and Technology building were all recently awarded the LEED gold rating ("University of South Florida News"). LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary program that provides a “third-party verification of green buildings.”
http://news.usf.edu/
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This system takes into consideration the entire lifecycle of the building inside and out. According to the LEED website, LEED-certified buildings are designed to accomplish a variety of things such as lower operating costs, reduce landfill waste, conserve energy and water, provide a safer and healthier building for occupants, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions ("LEED"). The LEED rating system consists of five main rating categories; sustainable sites credits, water efficiency credits, energy and atmosphere credits, materials and resources credits, and indoor environmental quality credits ("LEED"). USF’s gold rated buildings scored all 40 credits that were attempted ("University of South Florida News"). USF is currently working on making all of their building LEED-certified. Also, under the master plan, all new construction is required to be LEED-certified ("2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis"). During the recent renovation of the USF Sundome the construction company chose to recycle the old materials, approximately 91.4%, and refinish existing pieces like the flooring to cut out waste (Carney). On top of USF’s green buildings is the efficient roofing that is currently being installed. These roofs have a high insulation value and high Solar Reflectivity Index of 94 ("Physical Plant"). The higher the index numbers the cooler the roofing stays to provide a more energy efficient building. In the last three years, fifteen roofs have been replaced bringing the total to 411,000 square feet of green roofing ("Physical Plant"). Recycling USF has maintained an active recycling program since 1994, and currently includes; mixed paper, aluminum cans, glass, plastics, mixed metals, yard debris, tree limbs, wooden waste, fluorescent bulbs and fixture ballasts, and electronic equipment in its program. Mixed paper is defined as; office paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard (http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/addition al-information/sustainability-initiatives). The program was originally initiated in 1990 and limited only to the Tampa campus’s administrative and academic buildings but has since expanded. Close to 2,000 office-sized yellow containers have been distributed throughout the campus and employees are responsible for emptying these bins into one of the centrally located 64 gallon containers for removal. 350 mixed recycling bins for glass, plastic and aluminum cans have also been distributed in common areas and more bins are planned (USF office of Sustainability). Based on information gathered from the Patel College of Global Sustainability, USF recently completed its first waste audit, and was able to determine by review of actual receipts dated between 1996 and 2007 that 9,700 tons of mixed paper and 48 tons of aluminum have been recycled since the program began, and that nearly 500 tons of mixed paper were recycled in 2009 alone (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). Prior to 2009 it was reported that 6,500 tons of paper and 44 tons of aluminum had been recycled generating $140,000 and $35,000 in revenues respectively (USF office of Sustainability). Currently various colleges, departments, and divisions oversee their own electronic waste recycling (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). The purchasing department has received a request to make sustainability an agenda item at the inter-institutional committee on purchasing meeting and is currently reviewing a new green purchasing directive. Some of the general efforts that are underway include the purchase of energy star rated computer equipment and flex fuel vehicles for the university fleet, while maintaining a high emphasis on sustainability (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). In 2010 USF initiated a new “no Styrofoam” policy in the dining halls. This new policy eliminated the use of disposable Styrofoam take out containers, and replaced them with reusable plastic ones.
Recycling in Adelaide
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Students can “check out” these containers for a four dollar deposit, and can have as many out at one time as they would like. They simply need to return them for a refund of their original deposit. This allows food services to eliminate campus wide waste (Logan and Rogers). Food services have also implemented trayless dining to help conserve both water and energy, at an estimated 32,992 gallons of water per academic year (Patel College of Global Sustainability USF). Water In 2011, USF teamed up with Southwest Florida Water Management District, they collaborated to start a campaign on conserving water on all USF campuses. USF coordinates with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; the FDEP is in charge of issuing permits and the enforcement of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). NPDES develops storm water management programs that help remove illicit discharges to MS4s, which reduces pollutants in storm water runoff. MS4’s are large municipal separate storm systems located in incorporated counties. Currently, USF is part of the Phase 2 MS4 program (Office of Sustainability). At first glance many would believe that waterless urinals would be excellent for the environment. There are several reasons why USF chose not to partake in waterless urinals, for example; waterless urinals use a lot more energy to operate than a standard urinal. Usage of more energy means these urinals have a greater impact of pollution on the environment. Also, the creation of replacement cartridges for waterless urinals uses dangerous oils and plastic, these have a bad carbon footprint on the environment causing deadly toxins in the air and pollution. The used waterless urinals cartridges are disposed of in a landfill or incinerated. Both of these actions have a negative effect on the environment (Office of Sustainability). To purchase these replacement cartridges is a higher cost than using water. After much research of the cost of well water, USF found that there is no economic benefit to using waterless urinals. If USF were to use waterless urinals they would be polluting the environment by the manufacturing and disposing of replacement cartridges, and it will take more energy to run them, causing more pollution. USF has done a great job of water metering and reduced water consumption. Motion sensing automatic flush valves and faucets have been installed in most buildings on the campuses. This is an excellent way to conserve water and prevent waste. Water efficient showerheads were donated by Tampa; these showerheads were installed in residence halls to conserve water consumption. USF ran a month long test by comparing water consumption from two identical resident halls. One hall had the water efficient showerheads, and the other did not. The hall with the new showerheads saved 7,000 fewer gallons than the regular showerheads (“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”). 7,000 less gallons a month could result in the conservation of 84,000 gallons of water saved each year (“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”). Giant patches of land, like USF Gold Course, are watered by non-potable storm water. A great way to conserve water, instead of using valuable well water, is to use non-potable storm water is used. This also cuts down on the energy needed to sanitize well water. Using well water on so much grass is impractical and wasteful. USF has also adopted a low maintenance xeriscaping landscape treatment policy for new buildings and common areas. This policy only permits plants indigenous to the community to be planted in on campuses (Office of Sustainability). These plants require less maintenance and use of chemicals, which run off and pollute water systems. Transportation USF has improved many of their campuses to be more environmental friendly. Like any other project, it has many steps to follow in order to become greener. In this case USF has a plan on reducing the emission of green house gasses by reducing the number of cars used every day on campus. In addition to that, they also are providing the students with many different options in order to get from one place to the other without having to use their cars.
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March 2013
Continued
The first step to reduce the emission of gasses is to have students not to drive their cars to school. This is because when there are more people driving from one place on campus to the other, more contamination for the atmosphere is added. However, not every student of the university lives on campus or in a place where you can get to school from a walking distance. Nevertheless, those who live on campus and around it make up a big number of cars reduced in campus. The school, in order to reduce even more the amount of people driving, decided to implement roads for walking but specially for biking, therefore the students do not need to wait for a bus or drive. In addition to be environmentally friendly, the students wont have the need to look for parking driving around campus, they are not releasing gasses to the atmosphere and specially, they are helping the transportation system for the school. Also, the school has added bike racks on every building for the safety and comfort of the student. USF has added many different features on campus so that students do not feel the need to leave school in the middle of the day. They offer arcade, food services, trails with plenty of trees for shade and housing.
The Patel College of Global Sustainability reports improvements in their bus system for the comfort of the students and to be less contaminant. They have improved the routes of the busses and added a few features so the students can plan their day accordingly to the bus schedule. Lets start by talking about the (AVL) system; which stands for automated vehicle locator. This allows the student to track the bus in real-time. So the student can plan their day and never be too early or a little bit late to catch the bus. In addition of being able to see the times in real-life, the student can receive text messages with alerts on the bus route he/she desired to know about. Furthermore, the buses on campus run on biodiesel, not all of them but at some time they all will be using biodiesel. In addition to all this amazing features added to the transportation system, riding the bus is 100% free for USF students. In addition to riding free on campus, they have also the benefit to ride free on the Tampa bay and regional bus system (HART). These busses are equipped with a train in the front of the bus so the riders can transport their bicycle in a safe and comfortable way. Parking at USF has improved greatly in the past years until now. Before the wait time to find a parking spot on campus was greater than now. USF has improved their parking system in order to have more safety for the pedestrians, also to reduce the heat islands of parking. There have been a few buildings added for parking around campus so the idle time can be reduced, therefore less contamination is released. The buildings range from four to seven floors and are more effective than parking lots in front of the buildings. These structures are a great contribution to the sustainability plan that USF is trying to improve. This is because a few factors. First, the students won’t be driving around looking to park, more space is added to school so more plants and trees can be added for the pleasure of the sight and to help the environment in reduction of contaminant gasses, and lastly, students find more comfortable to park in a building centered around campus so the walking is less. However, not many people find attractive to pay more than one hundred dollars every two semesters in order to be able to park on campus. This is somehow controversial because two different points of view from a recent survey done by a student of the college of engineering. First, it is very nice that buildings for cars help the mobilization of the car flow on campus and therefore there is less idle time for the student and more safety for the pedestrian. Secondly, many students are not willing to pay that amount of money therefore they will use other forms of transportation, which can include car-pooling or riding a bicycle, which as mentioned before, helps enormously the environment and reduces the flow of cars at the school. In addition to the transportation system for students, the university together with the Patel college of Global Sustainability has also added a system for the employees. They have in one hand, a very high discount if the ride the bus everyday to school, which is only twenty-five cents for each ride. On the other hand, they have the convenience to use golf cars inside campus for transportation of different means. These golf cars are electric and gasoline powered.
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The Green Team
March 2013
Continued
The University of South Florida is working hard on developing new golf cars that can run on solar energy in order to reduce the emissions of gasses from the fuel. The golf cars are available for USF faculty members in order to not have registered big vehicles around campus. The golf cars are different in sizes and they work very efficiently to transport employees, supplies to every building on campus and to move furniture. One day the electric cars and the gasolinepowered cars will be replaced by those that run only on solar energy in order to reduce pollution. In order to have full use of the golf cars, during nights the school hired a group of students who take those studying until late at the library to their cars, this improves security for students and helps to fully use the advantages of these cars. The University of South Florida has done and incredible job in helping students to breath a cleaner air. Not only by reducing the emissions by also becoming a campus where smokers can only smoke in designated areas.
New technologies have been added and more access to them is getting easier dayby-day. One example is the electric car charge station located at the USFSP campus. This not only helps to charge your car for free but it also encourages students who can afford it to buy cars that help the environment. The school is helping the world in very different ways to be friendlier with the environment; the next step is us, the students, who are the ones who can make a difference for us and future USF bulls that want a better place to fulfill their dreams. Student Initiatives With the opening of the Office of Sustainability came student initiatives to promote follow through of the sustainability efforts. The Office of Sustainability has four strategic goals to meet their mission. The four strategic goals are: (Strategic Goal 1) Strengthening and supporting integrated and synergistic interdisciplinary research across disciplinary, departmental, college and campus boundaries.
From public transportation to school faculty transportation, the school has improved in every single detail in order to help the campus, and the world, be a better, more environmentally friendly place to live and study. All the changes that the university has done to the school help in the process of being a greener campus.
Spotlight: USF-WeCar Car Sharing Program
Both the USF St. Petersburg campus and the USF Tampa campus have introduced the WeCar Car Sharing program. This program in collaboration with Enterprise and the Center for Urban Transportation Research has created a way for students to get out of the everyday car routine. This program is open to students and faculty 18 and over. The cars offer a solution to student who live on campus with no car, or those who are too young to rent a car from a normal car rental agency. All the cars are fuel efficient and designed to help with parking and transportation issues that arise from universities. There are currently two vehicles at the St. Petersburg campus and four cars at the Tampa campus. Online reservations can be made at www.carsharing.usf.edu
USF office of sustainability
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The Green Team
March 2013
Continued
(Strategic Goal 2) Building a sustainable campus environment at USF. (Strategic Goal 3) Constructing an up-to-date clearinghouse of information about all the sustainability engagement activities currently occurring at USF and encouraging and rewarding faculty, staff, and student engagement in sustainability initiatives. (Strategic Goal 4) Creating a sustainable environment that supports an expanded and improved teaching and research mission, a more engaged residential community, and a universitybased global village ("Office of Sustainability"). In Fall 2010, Student Government created a new position, Chief Sustainability Officer. Also, the school has many student organizations. The Student Environmental Association is a student run organization founded in 2007 ("Office of Sustainability"). Their mission is to educate the community about the environment and work towards making USF more environmentally friendly. The group meets every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and helps with many community volunteer activities. Another group called Students In Free Enterprise or SIFE is a global 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the community ("Office of Sustainability").
www.facebook.com
www.jmu.edu
USF office of sustainability
SIFE meets every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Students in Free Enterprise is an organization that is on over 1,500 college campuses around the globe. At USF SIFE has created a project called Refill-a-Bull which started three years ago. The students decided to help with the problem of plastic water bottles being thrown away. They created an aluminum water bottle that is sold for $5.00 ("SIFE at University of South Florida"). The project didn’t stop there. The organization then teamed up with the USF Physical Plant to install over 62 water stations throughout the campus for the bottles to be refilled ("SIFE at University of South Florida In just eight months students saved over 1.2 million plastic bottles from being sent to a landfill ("SIFE at University of South Florida"). Emerging Green Builders is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to create a mutually beneficial relationship among USF students, the Tampa Bay community, and local business leaders in the area of green building and sustainability” ("Office of Sustainability"). At USF St. Petersburg campus students have created the Student Environmental Awareness Society or SEAS. This organization is open to anyone including students, faculty, affiliates, and members of the surrounding community ("University of South Florida St. Petersburg).
www.studentorgs.usf.edu
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The Green Team
March 2013
Continued
The group promotes awareness of environmental issues and taking steps towards making a greener community, campus, and world. SEAS meets at 10 a.m. on the first Friday of every month to clean up the harbor surrounding the campus ("University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus"). In 2008, the President of USF Judy Genshaft signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment which “obligates USF Tampa to conduct an annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory and develop a long-term Climate Action Plan (CAP) to reduce and, eventually, eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the Tampa campus operations and infrastructure” ("Office of Sustainability"). When the Office of Sustainability was created in 2009, they created a Climate Action Plan and a greenhouse gas inventory ("Office of Sustainability"). The majority of greenhouse gas emissions is due to the energy consumption of the university. The CAP states that energy consumption must be reduced to lower greenhouse gas emissions. To better accomplish this goal, the Student Green Energy Fee was created ("Office of Sustainability"). The fee is a nominal student fee that is 0.58% undergraduate resident per credit hour and 0.27% graduate resident per credit hour. It is used to assist USF to promote renewable energy technologies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and reduce their energy cost ("Office of Sustainability"). Faculty Outreach The students aren’t the only ones who have become more involved, many faculty members have made contributions as well. A great example is Professor Yogi Goswami. Dr. Goswami is the co-director of USF’s Clean Energy Research Center and the Editor in Chief of Solar Energy Journal (Temple). The professor and his team at the College of Engineering are building a solar power plant at the USF Tampa campus. The State of Florida provided the project a grant and the U.S. Department of Energy provided a $3.9 million grant for a thermal storage system (Temple). "When I looked into our energy needs, especially in the future and looking at limited energy resources, I came to the conclusion solar energy would have to play a very important role on our energy needs," Goswami said. “From that point on, my research has become focused on solar energy” (Temple).
www.acad.usf.edu
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The Green Team
March 2013
Interview with Garrick Aden-Buie Graduate Research Assistant
Office of Sustainability
Garrick Aden-Buie 1. What has USF done to improve sustainability?
USF has done quite a lot to move towards sustainability, such as installing solar panels, led lighting, motion sensors and light timers, implementing automatic hibernation for computers in the library and labs, removing trays and Styrofoam from dining halls, and much much more. The best introduction to sustainability efforts on the USF Tampa Campus is in our most recent ACUPCC Climate Action Plan Progress Report, which is located at http://rs.acupcc.org/progress/780/ under "General Statement of Progress" 2. Has/how has your department been involved in that process?
From http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability: The Office of Sustainability coordinates and builds partnerships for university-wide initiatives that advance the University of South Florida’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable campus environment. To accomplish this mission, we actively support faculty, staff, students, alumni, and neighborhood partners in their efforts to transform the University of South Florida into a ‘Green University’, where decisions structural and routine consider both individual and collective impacts to our campus, community, economy, and environment. As citizen-scholar activists, we share a sustainability ethic that promotes conserving resources, reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials, finding new sources of clean energy, increasing energy efficiency, and diminishing life-cycle impacts and our consumption of greenhouse gas producing materials. We engage in this ethic of stewardship to guide the development and implementation of programs, policies, and other courses of action in the operation and management of the University of South Florida system as well as its institutional teaching, research, and service commitments. 3. How much money do you think USF should put towards sustainability and green efforts?
I think that sustainability and green efforts are worth the investment in the long term, provided the investments allow USF and its campus users to consume less energy (and less fossil fuel based energy) and produce less waste. 4. Are there any student organizations working towards a greener campus on future?
There are several student organizations working towards a more sustainable campus, most of whom are listed here: http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/student-initiatives/
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The Green Team
March 2013
5. Is USF doing anything to involve the community in their sustainability efforts? USF works hard to engage the local, state and regional community in their sustainability efforts. To name a few, we are involved in Clean Cities Tampa Bay and Resilient Tampa Bay. You can find out more about our community engagement initiatives at http://psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/ 6. Why do you personally believe that becoming a greener or more sustainable campus is or is not important? Personally, I believe that being more sustainable is highly important given the constraints of our planet and the current growth rates of populations and cities. I believe that innovation will rise to the challenges of the future, after all humans are highly resilient. But what we are starting to see even now is that sustainability isn't the same as austerity and that when given a choice, smart, intelligent, creative, innovative people are choosing more and more to live in cities and places that focus on sustainable ideas, like walkability, public transportation, etc. Ultimately, sustainability is a people- and placecentered design choice, and the cities that choose to make sustainability a focus are really choosing to make the people and places in and around that city the focus. As a university and a small city of sorts, we should strive to be at the forefront of this innovation, and we should work to attract as many intelligent, innovative scholars, students and thinkers to be a part of our community.
usfunplugged.wordpress.com
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Bibliography
“Office of Sustainability: USF is going green” Digital bullpen. Web. 18 March 2013. http://digitalbullpen.com/2011/12/09/office-of-sustainability-usf-is-going-green/ This first source explains the firsts steps taken by the president of the University of South Florida and other of her employees. Here we can get a broad explanation on how the university started to implement the reduction of the green house gas emissions. With the support from the students of both campuses, USF Tampa and USFSP, a bill was created where students collaborate with their tuition money to increase the budget for future green technologies for a greener campus. “LEED.” University of South Florida. Web. 18 March 2013<http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/tag/leed/> This article contains information on how the university has been acquiring new technologies regarding to reduce gas emissions. As an example, this source explains how there were two stations to charge electric cars installed on USFSP. In addition, this source provides information about how the USFSP obtained the LEED certification. It explains how the university achieved this great accomplishment and how it is on the progress on becoming even greener and more sustainable. “The Office of Sustainability.” Patel College of Global Sustainability. USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/office-of-sustainability> This website is probably the most complete and informative source that we have found as of now. Here is where they explain the steps taken to be where we are now in terms of being green. This office is where most of the planning and decision-making is done, because they fund big in the school. This source shows us how they help to get faculty and students together in order to make green decisions for the campus. In the website, they have divided into categories what they are trying to accomplish and from the different departments. In addition, it gives information on the development of becoming greener from the different areas: Recycling, water, transportation, green buildings and more. “Office of the Provost and Executive President” Sustain-a-Bull. USF. Web 19 Match 2013. <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm> This website from USF is a very good source to find out about details on the projects. Here we can find information such as the budget for the different colleges around USF. In addition, it informs the readers on what has the money been spent into. In addition to that information, it keeps reports on what happens around the Tampa bay area that can affect the University of South Florida. It has not too much articles to base a project as a whole, but has some very valuable information that can be crucial for the white paper.
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“Greenhouse Gas Inventory” Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee . USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/docs/USF-Greenhouse-Gas-Inventory.pdf> This is an article that is very informative about the greenhouse effects and how USF committed to help reduced them. In this article, it explains how the president of USF signed the climate commitment in order to start a new green era for USF. What makes this article very helpful is that it has actual information about the amount of gases emitted to the atmosphere. It also includes valuable information about the money that has been spending USF. In addition to that, it contains information of what the different structures need to be more sustainable. We can also gather information about the quantity of students and how big numbers affect the school in different areas. This source is a great cluster of information that is very valuable for the Green Team research. “Stars, a Program of AASHE” University of South Florida Score Card. Web 19 March 2013 <https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2011-01-28/1/1/8/> This website is an amazing source of detailed information about what the University of South Florida has done to be awarded with the LEED certification. This source has detailed information of what has the university incorporated in every single building. Especially the intelligent building that acquired the principal certification. It has a great amount of valuable information such as reports before and after the projects, course inventories, and the future projects the university is working on. Furthermore it informs the readers on the type of certifications the university obtained and the ones they are working on. Also, the source explains what are the steps the school is taking in order to achieve such certifications. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additional-information/sustainability-initiatives Active recycling program since 1994. Currently recycles mixed paper (office paper, newspaper, magazines and cardboard), aluminum cans, glass and plastics, mixed metals, yard debris, tree limbs and wooden waste, fluorescent bulbs and fixture ballasts, and electronic equipment. Since inception over 7100 tons of paper, 48 tons of aluminum Operates a community recycling site in conjunction with the city of Tampa on USF Sycamore Drive. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/pdf/USFPPlantRecyclingPresentation.pdf Originally initiated in 1990 and limited to the Tampa campus administrative and academic buildings. Distributed 2,000 small office size yellow containers, transferred to centrally located 64 gallon containers on most floors for removal. 350 mixed recycling bins in common areas for glass plastic and aluminum cans. Community recycling station available to individuals where no recycling pick up is available, operates at no cost to USF 6500 tons of paper recycled to generate $140,000 in revenues 44 tons of aluminum recycled to generate $35,000 in revenues.
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http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/recycling/ The purchasing department is reviewing a green purchasing directive. Requests that sustainability become an agenda item at the interinstitutional committee on purchasing meeting. General efforts underway – Energy star computer equipment, flex fuel fleet purchases, and emphasis on sustainability. USF completed its first waste audit and found 9700 tons of mixed paper and 48 tons of aluminum recycled since the program began based on actual receipts from 1996-2007. 500 tons of mixed paper in 2009 alone. Various colleges, departments, and divisions oversee their own electronic waste recycling. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/usf-is-taking-green-to-a-whole-new-level,-outwith-styrofoam,-in-with-reusable-to-go-boxes In 2010 USF initiated a ‘no Styrofoam’ policy, which was met with wide student acceptance. Styrofoam to -go containers were replaced by hard plastic containers that can be “checked out” for a $4 deposit. Students can have as many out at one time as they want and they can be returned for a refund of their deposit at any time. This allows the food services to help eliminate campus wide waste.
USF office of sustainability
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Works Cited
“The Office of Sustainability.” Patel College of Global Sustainability. USF. Web 19 March 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/initiatives/water/> “Office of Sustainability: USF is going green”. Haley Radeka. The Digital Bullpen. USF. Web 09 December 2011. <http://digitalbullpen.com/2011/12/09/office-of-sustainability-usf-isgoing-green/>
“LEED.” University of South Florida. Web. 18 March 2013http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/tag/leed/
“Office of the Provost and Executive President” Sustain-a-Bull. USF. Web 19 Match 2013. http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm
“Stars, a Program of AASHE” University of South Florida Score Card. Web 19 March 2013 https://stars.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2011-0128/1/1/8/
“Greenhouse Gas Inventory” Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee . USF. Web 19 March 2013. http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/docs/USF-Greenhouse-GasInventory.pdf
"Web Ecoist." A Brief History of the Modern Green Movement in America. Atomic Online, n.d. Web. 27 Mar 2013. <http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/08/17/a-brief-history-of-themodern-green-movement/>.
"2010 Campus Master Plan At Tampa Data Collection And Analysis." . University of South Florida, 03 Mar 2011. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://usfweb2.usf.edu/facilitiesplan/Campus Planning/Data Collection & Analysis elements(new)/DCA_Appendices/DCA_Appendices/USF_DCA_Appendix-A_SustainabilityPrinciples1.pdf>.
"Physical Plant." Physical Plant Sustainability and Energy Conservation. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additionalinformation/sustainability-initiatives>. Chachere, Vickie. "University of South Florida News.""Green" Patel Center Opens at USF. University of South Florida, 21 Jan 2010. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3086>.
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"University of South Florida News." Gold Standard. University of South Florida, 27 Feb 2012. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?z=0&a=4211>.
"LEED." LEED. U.S. Green Building Council, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://new.usgbc.org/leed>.
Carney, Ann. "USF Magazine." Sustainability: Sustainable Renovation. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://magazine.usf.edu/2011-winter/sustainability/sustainable-renovation.asp&xgt;.
"Office of Sustainability." . University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/office-ofsustainability>.
"University of South Florida St. Petersburg Campus."Student Environmental Awareness Society at USF St. Petersburg. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www1.usfsp.edu/coas/espg/seas/>.
"SIFE at University of South Florida." SIFE at USF Refill-A-Bull. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://studentorgs.usf.edu/sifeusf/html/refillabull.html>.
Temple, Liisa. "University of South Florida News." Solar Power Plant Coming to USF. University of South Florida, 05 Jan 2011. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3044>.
"USF-WeCar Carsharing Program." USF-WeCar Carsharing Program. University of South Florida, n.d. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.carsharing.usf.edu/>.
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2013.
Logan, Bill and Jesse Rogers. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/usf-is-takinggreen-to-a-whole-new-level,-out-with-styrofoam,-in-with-reusable-to-go-boxes. 28 July 2011. news report. 24 March 2013.
Patel College of Global Sustainability USF. http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-ofsustainability/initiatives/recycling/. 2013. 24 March 2013.
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USF office of Sustainability. http://www.pplant.usf.edu/pdf/USFPPlantRecyclingPresentation.pdf. n.d. PDF Document. 24 March 2013.
Photo Citations: 2013. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <https://advrpttest.forest.usf.edu/scholarships/images/USF_Entrance.jpg>.
2011. Photograph. Florida High Tech, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.floridahightech.com/enewsletter/enews_imgs/2011-07/usf_sustainability>.
2013. Photograph. Tumblr, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2wvsiqJiG1rr5odqo1_500.jpg>. 2013. Photograph. USF Office of Sustainability, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-ofsustainability/history/>.
2010. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3086>.
2013. Photograph. USF St. Peterburg, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.usfsp.edu/blog/2013/02/12/usf-st-petersburg-introduces-car-sharing-program/wecarpress-event/>.
2013. Photograph. Facebook, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-akash4/c5.0.170.170/s160x160/198465_194539583915047_7103839_a.jpg>.
2003. Photograph. James Madison UniversityWeb. 3 Apr 2013. <http://www.jmu.edu/cob/cfe/wm_library/SIFE_Logo.jpg>.
2013. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://studentorgs.usf.edu/sifeusf/html/refillabull.html>.
2012. Photograph. University of South Florida, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://msl.cas.usf.edu/REU/images/USF_logo.jpg>.
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2007. Photograph. Community Mobilization, Tampa. Web. 3 Apr 2013. <http://como.typepad.com/community_mobilization/images/2007/10/10/usf_game_night.jpg>.
The Green Team
March 2013
Andrew Baz . “Recycling in Adelaide." [Online image] 03 April 2013. <http://bookabin.blogspot.com/2012/11/recycling-in-adelaide_28.html>.
usfunplugged. "Be our Sustain-abila-buddy!!!." [Online image] 03 April 2013. <http://usfunplugged.wordpress.com/tag/sustainability/>.
N.d. Chart. n.p. Web. 4 Apr 2013. <http:///wp-content/uploads/2009/05/sustainability.jpeg>.
The Green Team
Msl.cas.usf.edu
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