USF Going Green Movement: Sustainability Final Draft

1

Team GreenBulls

Melodie Austin-Lead

Researcher,

Interviewer

Secondary Compiler,

Editor

Sean Gleason-Lead

Presenter, Secondary

Researcher, Compiler

Kesla Rene– Lead

Editor, Compiler,

Secondary Researcher

Sustainability is a top priority at the University of South

Florida. We know this because USF is making many efforts

to reduce our carbon footprint by recycling, finding ways to

reduce greenhouse gases and

by getting students and the

community involved.

When it comes to recycling the

university is taking a progres-

sive stance. Transportation

options for staff and students

are in place to reduce green-

house gasses. The University

of South Florida with Sustain-

a-Bull gets students involved

and they are working with other organization to reduce en-

ergy usage within the community.

Professional Writing

Professor Francis Tobienne

University of South Florida

Department of Foreign Languages,

Literature and Writing

140 Seventh Ave South

St. Petersburg, FL 33701

What is Sustainabil- 3

Campus Sustainability

Programs 4

University Commit-

ment 7

Local and Global Sus-

tainability Programs 13

Interview Question 17

Global Current Events 18

New Ideas to Strength-

en Sustainability 21

Inside this issue:

USF’s Involvement in the Going

Green Movement

USF Going Green

Movement: Sustainability

June 24 2011

Team GreenBulls

Ph

oto

cou

rtesy

of U

SF

website

Photo courtesy of USF website

2

Table of Contents

3 Executive Summary

4 Introduction: What is Sustainability?

5 Campus Sustainability Programs

American College & University Pres-

idents’ Climate Commitment

(ACUPCC)

National Wildlife Federal – Campus

Ecology Program

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment

& Rating System (STARS)

I Have A Dream…USF earns

“GOLD” rating

2011 Report Card

Sustainable Endowments Institute –

College Sustainability Report Card

8 University Commitment

The University of South Florida’s

implemented strategic goals

The creation of the Office of Sustain-

ability

Academics - Master the Global

World

Preparing Scientists to Enhance

Global Sustainability

Transportation

The Curriculum-33 semester hours

Building Design

11 Current Efforts

Campus Design

Energy

Recycling

14 Local and Global Sustainability

The New Patel School of Global Sus-

tainability

Sustainability Champions Program

Sustainability Mentors Program

Sustainability Fellows Program

Sustainability Scholars Program

Mentors (2011)

16 Notable Faculty

EPA's Sustainable Design Compe-

tition Winner - University of

South Florida

18 Interview Questions

19 Global Current Events

Engineers Without Borders

USF: UNSTOPPABLE

Problems in Paradise

20 USF’s Future Plans to Strengthen

Sustainability

Flex House

21 Other Continuing efforts

22 New Ideas to Strengthen Sustaina-

bility

Home Sustainability Assessment

Course

Ocean Power

24 Conclusion

25 Works Cited

26 Annotated Bibliography

3

Executive Summary

USF’s Sustainability Initiative begun in January of 2007 in efforts to address how

to ―green‖ the university and to initiate manifold sustainability movement on the

USF campus. The University of South Florida created an Office of Sustainability,

focusing on reducing waste, recycling and reusing materials. The University is em-

ploying new efforts in finding new sources of clean energy, increasing energy effi-

ciency, and diminishing life-cycle impacts and consumption of greenhouse gas pro-

ducing materials. This is done through the development and implementation of

programs, policies, and other courses of action. The integration of academics with

the concern for global sustainability on the USF campus has brought a need for

the Patel School of Global Sustainability. The school is one of the main centers of

information for students, faculty, and staff for on-campus environmental activities.

These initiatives by the University of South Florida have a great impact on the en-

vironment and the community, via the Universities capacity in leading significant

global movements.

This white paper focuses on the going green and sustainability efforts of the Uni-

versity of South Florida, Tampa. Although USF has made significant progress in

the areas of recycling, energy efficiency, campus and building design, is this

enough?

We will begin our paper by providing various definitions of sustainability and by

introduction various sustainability programs. This will be followed by the Univer-

sity of South Florida’s basis for their involvement in this growing green movement,

the university’s achievements, and their current efforts of building and campus

design, energy, and recycling.

Our paper will then focus on local and global sustainability, the University’s facul-

ty involvement, and interview answers from faculty. This will lead into the final

portion of the paper showing what the University’s plans are for their part in glob-

al sustainability and future ideas.

4

When talk about green, we

talk about sustainability.

Why does the University care?

Why should we care?

Sustainability, as defined by

the EPA, is policies and strat-

egies that meet society’s pre-

sent needs without compro-

mising the ability of future

generations to meet their own

needs. Wikipedia states that

sustainability is the ca-

pacity to endure. The

University of South

Florida declares: ―Our

definition of sustainabil-

ity reflects what the UN

and the World Wildlife

Fund suggest as the

process of improving the

quality of human life

while living within the

carrying capacity of sup-

porting eco-systems. We

use the definition where hu-

man, societal, environmental,

material, and economic activi-

ties are fundamentally inte-

grated dimensions that are

mutually reinforcing." Most

proponents of sustainability

take it to mean ―the existence

of the ecological conditions

necessary to support human

life at a specified level of well-

being through future genera-

tions.‖ (Lele)

We care about sustainability

because we are scholars and

as scholars we are compelled

to better our lives, our world,

and our environment. We and

our earth are facing some of

the most challenging issues in

the history of our civilization

and yet we have no overall co-

ordinated global plan on how

to deal with them. We are

struggling to develop, agree

on a plan, or even one issue

such as climate change.

Are we humans working as

effectively as we should to ad-

dress the global challenges

that the world is facing? We

find that a plan needs to be

developed to achieve a sus-

tainable world. This plan is

merely a starting point, which

provides a basis for others to

use, grow, develop, and adapt

from. If we humans are to

succeed in building a sustain-

able world - not only for our

generation but also for all

generations to come immedi-

ate action is required.

(Chambers)

The challenges that the world

is facing include: unsustaina-

ble population growth, climate

change, energy supplies, wa-

ter and food supplies, planet

sustainability and biodiversi-

ty, extreme poverty, global

health, universal education,

conflict and peace and financ-

ing a sustainable world.

As humans, we are able

to adapt and

acknowledge that

change is urgently re-

quired. Over the last

decade there has been

an increasing recogni-

tion and understanding

of the global challenges

faced at every level.

There has also been im-

proved coordinated action to

address them. The World Eco-

nomic Forum, the Organiza-

tion for Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD),

The World Bank, The Green

Economics Institute and

many more are involved in

addressing the Global issues

faced, resulting in exciting

new initiatives and increas-

ingly coordinated global ac-

tion. (Chambers)

Introduction: What is Sustainability? ?

Photo courtesy of Google

5

As centers of change, innova-

tion and progress, universities

and colleges are well-poised to

take the lead on sustainabil-

ity. By adopting good envi-

ronmental practices, not only

can campuses reduce their

own environmental impact

but also serve as role models

for larger communities. Incor-

porating sustainability princi-

ples in their policies and prac-

tices also enable institutions

of higher learning to build

student capacity for critical

thinking and problem solving.

The recognition of these bene-

fits has led to the creation of

numerous campus sustaina-

bility initiatives in recent

years. Universities and col-

leges are choosing to partici-

pate in state and nationwide

sustainability networks. They

look for those that emphasize

knowledge sharing and collab-

oration within and among in-

stitutions. . A few of the nota-

ble campus sustainability pro-

grams in the US are described

below.

environmental leaders. Since

its inception in 1990, more

than 3000 specific ecological

conservation projects have

been completed on college

campuses around the U. S. As

part of this initiative, the Na-

The Campus Ecology Program

developed and run by Nation-

al Wildfire Federation, is a

conservation program that

aims to promote practical con-

servation projects on campus

and train a new generation of

tional Wildlife Federation pro-

vide practical training and in-

centives to college and univer-

sity communities, organize stu-

dent competitions, and sup-

ports a publicly shared

knowledge base of effective

conservation practices.

Campus Sustainability Programs

bound commitments that in-

clude a campus-wide emissions

inventory, setting up short-

term and long-term emissions

reduction actions and integrat-

ing sustainability into curricu-

lum. All submitted documents,

including action plans invento-

ries and progress reports are

made publicly available.

Developers of ACUPCC believe

the commitment will not only

decrease institutional carbon

footprints, but will also help

them generate strategic in-

vestment opportunities and

cost savings, open up new

funding opportunities and im-

prove their competitive posi-

tioning. The commitment was

conceived in 2006, and is sup-

ported by three non-profit Or-

ganizations: AASHE, ecoAm-

erica and Second Nature.

The ACUPCC is a collective

effort undertaken by a net-

work of colleges and universi-

ties to minimize their institu-

tional greenhouse gas emis-

sions and promote sustaina-

bility research and education.

The commitment provides

participating institutions a

framework to implement com-

prehensive plans in pursuit of

climate neutrality. Signato-

ries agree to five broad time-

American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment

(ACUPCC)

National Wildlife Federal – Campus Ecology Program

6

STARS, developed by the As-sociation for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), is a self-reporting framework for col-leges and universities to gauge relative progress to-wards sustainability. The pro-gram aims to enable meaning-ful comparisons over time and across institutions by estab-lishing a common standard of measurement for sustainabil-ity in higher education. Institutions earn points in three main categories: Educa-

tion & Research; Operations; and Planning, Administration and Student Engagement. There is also an innovation category to recognize pioneer-ing practices that are not cov-ered by other STARS credits Participating colleges and univer-sities are awarded one of five levels of ratings depending on the extent to which they fulfill the criteria. Ratings are based on an absolute scale of progress toward sustainability and are not relative to the

performance of other institu-tions. AASHE launched the pilot version of the reporting system in February 2008. STARS is available to any col-lege or university in the U. S. or Canada.

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS)

acknowledgement that it is

heading in the right direction.

In 2010 USF joined the rating

program and submitted their

first assessment for which the

university received its very

first ―gold‖ stars. An accom-

plishment that helps the uni-

versity recognize its strengths

and weaknesses, ―The STARS

system helps us track our sus-

tainability efforts and allows

us to find our weak spots –E.

Christian Wells

(Madduexpress.com).‖

The University of South Flori-

da earned a ―GOLD‖ rating

from the Association for the

Advancement of Sustainabil-

ity in Higher Education.

USF’s efforts to build and eco-

friendly campus and to help

advance research in sustaina-

bility has earned them an out-

standing award, which gives

the University pristine

I Have A Dream…

USF earns “GOLD” rating

“AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to

create a sustainable future. Our mission is to empower higher education to

lead the sustainability transformation. We do this by providing resources,

professional development, and a network of support to enable institutions

of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they

do, from governance and operations to education and research

(AASHE.org).”

Campus Sustainability Programs, Cont.

7

The assessment is made

across 43 indicators in 9 main

areas of policies and practices,

such as Food & Recycling,

Student Involvement, Trans-

The College Sustainability Re-

port Card is an independent

sustainability evaluation of

colleges and universities in

the U.S. and Canada. In con-

trast to the academic focus on

sustainability in research and

teaching, the Report Card fo-

cuses on institutional opera-

tions and endowment invest-

ment activities to identify in-

stitutions that are leading by

example on sustainability.

The aim is to provide accessi-

ble information for schools to

learn from each other’s expe-

riences and to help high

school students identify a sus-

tainable college.

portation, Endowment Trans-

parency and Shareholder En-

gagement.

The data is collected by sur-

veying administrators and

students at target institu-

tions as well as gathering in-

formation from publicly avail-

able sources. The annual Re-

port Cards are made availa-

ble to the public free of

charge.

Sustainable Endowments Institute – College Sustainability

Report Card

Department Grade

Administration A

Climate change & Energy B

Food& Recycling B

Green Building A

Student Involvement A

Transportation A

Shareholder Engagement D

The College of Sustainability Report

Card is the only independent assess-

ment of campus and endowment

sustainability activities at the col-

leges and Universities in the United

States and Canada. It evaluates the-

se institutions, based on their level

of sustainability. The University re-

ceived a B+, a grade higher than the

grade it received in the previous

year.

2011 Report Card


Campus Sustainability Programs, Cont.

8

University Commitment

The University of South Florida has made sustainability a priority and

has implemented strategic goals to address this issue:

The Creation of the Office of Sustainability by USF is a supplement to the

Strategic Plan resulting in:

1. Expanding world-class interdisciplinary research, creative, and scholarly en-

deavors.

2. Promoting globally competitive undergraduate, graduate and professional

programs that support interdisciplinary inquiry, intellectual development,

knowledge and skill acquisition, and student success through a diverse, fully-

engaged, learner-centered campus environment.

3. Expanding local and global engagement initiatives to strengthen and sustain

healthy communities and to improve the quality of life.

4. Enhancing all sources of revenue, and maximizing effectiveness in business

practices and financial management to establish a strong and sustainable

economic base in support of USF’s growth.

Strengthening and supporting integrated and synergistic interdisciplinary

research across disciplinary, departmental, college and campus boundaries

(Goal 1)

Building a sustainable campus environment at USF (Goal 2)

Constructing an up-to-date clearinghouse of information about all the sus-

tainability engagement activities currently occurring at USF and encourag-

ing and rewarding faculty, staff, and student engagement in sustainability

initiatives (Goal 3)

Creating a sustainable environment that supports an expanded and im-

proved teaching and research mission, a more engaged residential communi-

ty, and a university-based global village (Goal 4)

9

The University of South Florida created the Office of Sustainability to uphold the Uni-

versity’s strategic goals, contributing to the University’s green movement in a number

of ways.

Some of the initiatives of Office of Sustainability include Academics, Transportation,

Water, Energy, Recycling and Green Building

A new School of Global Sustainability was begun in January 2010. It is made up

of faculty from natural and social sciences, engineering business, the humanities,

arts and health. The initial program focuses on water. The School of Global

Sustainability shows USF’s commitment to transforming educations practices.

Academics - Master the Global World

The Master of Arts in Global Sustainability is offered by the University

of South Florida where students learn skills that they can utilize in the

advancement of sustainability both in the United States and abroad. The

program prepare students with a total of thirty-three credits, most of

those credits can be done online. The program also includes domestic and

internal internship opportunities.

Preparing Scientists to Enhance Global Sustainability


University Commitment Cont.

10

The program begins in Fall and concludes the

following Fall semester.

Core Courses

Interdisciplinary Sustainability Seminar

Public Health Topics in Global Sustainability

Special Topics in Management and

Sustainability

Focus Area Courses:

These courses focus on water and

sustainability issues

Internship (Core) and Sustainability Project (9

semester hours)

There are four core courses for the degree

program.

These courses provide students an overall

understanding of global sustainability

including environmental, historical,

humanities, culture, engineering, health and

other overarching components along with

practical experience (internship).

The Curriculum-33 semester hours

13 Transit Style

• 9 –Bluebird with Cummins

engine

• 4 –Thomas with Cummins

engine

17 Cutaway style

• 11 –Ford, 7.3 Power stroke

• 6 –Chevrolet, 6.5 Dura Max

Biodiesel Bull Runner

“Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal

fats, or recycled restaurant greases. It is safe, biodegradable, and produces less

air pollutants than petroleum-based diesel (fueleconomy.gov)”

Transportation



University Commitment Cont.

11

Current Efforts

USF looks forward to having several buildings be

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design) certified, these buildings include Dr.

Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions, Tampa

Campus, Interdisciplinary Science, Tampa

Campus, Science and Technology Building, St.

Petersburg Campus, USF Polytechnic Phase I,

Lakeland Campus ,and Wellness and Nutrition

Center, Tampa Campus.

Building Materials - The University has

achieved approval from LEED for all its building

projects. Concrete and locally produced brick and

stucco has been used as structural material on

campus, the use of renewable materials has

become a major part of the USF’s building

construction.

Material Conservation & Recycling - Stained

concrete floors have been used throughout the

campus. Unpainted materials such as brick,

concrete blocks, metal, and concrete have also

been used on the campus. The campus is also

incorporating the use of recycled materials in the

construction of new buildings and the renovation

of the old ones.

Green Roofs - Roof replacements are in order

throughout the campus. Roofs with very high

insulation values and high reflectivity SRI (Solar

Reflective Index) of 94 are being used. Over the

last three years a total of fifteen roofs have been

replaced.

Rainwater Harvesting & Dual Plumbing –

The use of cisterns to collect rainwater is part of

the new Patel Center for Global Solutions

Building. The rainwater collected by the cisterns

is used for toilet and urinal flushing; this reduces

the need to withdraw water from the aquifer for

that purpose.

Campus Design

Open Space Network – is

the implementation of land-

scape improvements, to pre-

serve open space and retention

ponds through the Greenway

preservation.

Integrated Landscape -

Over 2,000 trees have been

planted on campus in the last

15 years. The trees have been

strategically planted along

Leroy Collins Boulevard and

other pedestrian paths on cam-

pus, including Sessums Pedes-

trian Mall from the College of

Engineering to the new resi-

dence Hall at Magnolia.

Conservation – The construc-

tion of new buildings with

many levels have reduced

building footprints. Conversion

of surface parking has reduced

the increase of impervious are-

as and the heat island effect.


Building Design

12

Monitoring - The University of South

Florida has applied many standards,

such as building insulation for walls,

roofs, windows, motor and equipment

efficiencies, mechanical systems insu-

lation and controls for both HVAC and

lighting. This requires Life cycle cost

analysis and FLACOM (Florida Com-

mercial Building Energy Computation-

al Program) Building Construction

Document process.

Recovery - Energy recovery is being

applied to design when appropriate.

The Green lights Program replaces in-

efficient light fixtures across the cam-

pus. High efficiency chillers have been

installed and heat pipes have received

additional insulation. The lost energy

is being recovered through the chilled

water distribution system. The campus

is also installing a heat recovery sys-

tem in air handling units with a hun-

dred percent outdoor air.

Renewables-

In 1995 the College of Engineering

at USF established The Solar Ener-

gy Charging Station, which became

the first 20,000 watt solar charging

station in the United States.

The retrofitting of gas powered golf

carts to solar power is under evalu-

ation.

In the last ten years the University

of South Florida’s Clean Energy Re-

search Center has received $15 mil-

lion of funding for renewable energy

projects such as electric vehicles,

Dining Services - USF

Aramark currently receives local products from

Flowers Baking Company, Dressler Foods, TG

Lee Dairy, R.G.E. Distributing, and Beege

Distributing. The University is also looking into

receiving fresh produce from a company called

Fresh Point that supports local growers. All of

the dining halls offer USDA Organic Certified,

Vegan & Vegetarian options at every day at all of

its locations. Tray less dining to save water and

energy (32,992 gallons of water saved per

academic year), have been implemented in every

dining hall. The campus also provides reusable,

recyclable cups for discounted fountain beverage

purchases and reusable, recyclable bags to

transport food purchases. Dining Services

throughout the University recycles cardboard and

tin materials through Frito-Lay and Republic

Waste Services.

Recycling

photovoltaics, microturbine landfill gas, bat-

tery development and management, and hy-

drogen production/storage and conversion to

fuel cells.

$15 million has be secured by The Power Cen-

ter for Utility Explorations at USF as a pres-

tigious Smart Grid project to work with local

utilities to create, test, and develop smart

grids.

Energy

Current Efforts, Cont.


Ph

oto

cou

rtesy

of G

oogle

13

1,689 kilowatt hours per academic year is being saved through the use of Low-watt light

bulbs and the recycling of bulbs through Frontier lighting.

Grease from the restaurants is taken by Darling Restaurant Services or Filtafry, which

recycles it for biodiesel to power automobiles.

Some restaurants are now using paper napkins made from 100 percent unbleached, recycled

content and are switching to green-ware that uses a renewable corn-based resin.

Patrons are able to recycle materials in three recycling containers outside of each dining

hall. Aramark also partners with the university to recycle at other retail locations.

Waste - Since 1990 the Physical Plant has operated an extensive recycling program. The Plant

collects garbage ―solids‖ and burns it to generate electricity. Scrap metal is also recycled and

some food waste is being composted with by the USF Grounds department. The University of

South Florida also participates regularly Recyclemania, in the Waste Minimization category.

Recycling - USF completed its first waste audit, which included volumes and revenue for

paper and aluminum compiled from 1996 through 2007 has been audited by the University of

South Florida for the first time recently. Over 9,700 tons of mixed paper has been recycled by

USF’S physical plant, becoming an important step in developing a plan to increase recycling

efforts. There has been an expansion of the Physical Plant’s recycling of plastics and glass in

addition to the Sycamore Drive Community Recycling Center, which includes an additional

three hundred and fifty blue recycling containers, dispersed to academic and administrative

Tampa campus buildings. The USF Student Environmental Association is working on

establishing aluminum can recycling in residence halls, by securing a private sector partner

Tampa Bay Recycling to donate the bins. The Housing and Residential Education Recycling

Committee has directed a project in the 1,000 bed residence in the Juniper-Poplar with bins

donated from Coca-Cola Recycles.

Current Efforts, Cont.


14

Local and Global Sustainability Programs

Innovative - global satellite and campus-based

programs

Distinctive - enduring global partnerships

Visionary - emphasizing global citizenship for

sustainability

No-Walls - not a "brick and mortar" school

Faculty tenured in home departments

The reduction of intellectual "silos" created by

disciplines and departments

The integration of engineering, the humanities,

the arts, with the social and natural sciences,

business, education, and medicine

Faculty- and student-driven initiative

A response to global urgency for research and

practice to create sustainable futures

Comprised of a global network of SGS-affiliated

Scholars

The New Patel School of Global Sustainability is:

―This program highlights outstanding

faculty and staff who display a strong

commitment to making the USF cam-

pus and community a cleaner, greener

place to live and work. Sustainability

Champions are selected based on their

commitment to conserving resources,

reducing waste, recycling and reusing

materials, increasing energy efficiency,

and other behaviors that will help

make USF a more sustainable cam-

pus.‖

Sustainability:

Champions Program

Sustainability

Mentors Program

―This program highlights outstanding

faculty and staff who mentor under-

graduate or graduate students in sus-

tainability activities on campus, with

the dual goals of celebrating faculty/staff mentoring excellence and encouraging others to serve

as mentors. Sustainability Mentors are selected based on their commitment to working with

USF students on sustainability issues as well as the social, economic, and environmental im-

pact of these efforts.‖

15

―This service-learning program pro-

vides talented USF graduate students

with the opportunity to work closely

with the Office of Sustainability staff

to make USF a Green University. Sus-

tainability Fellows will serve as 0.25

FTE Graduate Research Assistants,

working 10 hours per week to help co-

ordinate sustainability activities on

campus, educational and community-

based initiatives on sustainability, and

other tasks integral to the mission of

the Office of Sustainability.‖

Sustainability:

Fellows Program

Sustainability:

Scholars Program

―This service-learning program pro-

vides talented USF undergraduate stu-

dents with the opportunity to work

closely with the Office of Sustainability

staff to make USF a Green University.

Sustainability Scholars will work col-

laboratively with stakeholder groups

on a range of sustainability projects on

campus, examining and assessing cou-

pled social, economic, and environmen-

tal practices that promote or impede

sustainability. The greater goal of the

research effort is to help the USF com-

munity become a cleaner, greener

place to live and work. Throughout the

experience, Scholars will learn how to

Mentors (2011)

Assistant Professor in the Department of

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Daniel Yeh is the Faculty Advisor for Emerging

Green Builders (EGB) and for Engineers without

Borders (EWB). He has worked closely with the Pa-

tel Center for Global Solutions and Columbia Uni-

versity to create a solution for clean water in a

neighborhood in the Dominican Republic.

Assistant Director of University Scholarships

& Financial Aid Services

Dameion Lovett is an advisor to Students in Free

Enterprise (SIFE) since its founding in 2005. He

has worked with the Refill-A-Bull program, a pro-

gram designed to reduce the use and waste of

plastic beverage bottles on campus. Lovett also

helped the organization partner with Sam's Club

to provide environmental sustainability consult-

ing to local businesses.

construct and implement a formal research

design, receive training in research ethics

and relevant methods for data collection and

analysis, and use their results to help create

and evaluate policies and programs for sus-

tainability initiatives at USF.‖ (http://

usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/about_programs.aspx)

Local and Global Sustainability Programs, Cont.

16

(Below is a copy of the audio Transcript from the interview with Dr. Trotz)

MUSIC: ―Science Works‖ theme music

LACAPRA: Welcome to EPA’s ―Science Works,‖ a podcast about how the EPA uses science to meet its mission to

protect your health and environment. From ―Science Works‖ at EPA, I’m Véronique LaCapra.

In this podcast, we’ll meet one of the winning teams from this year’s P3 student design competition. P3 stands for

people, prosperity and the planet, and students from any U.S. college or university can participate. EPA sponsors

the competition to challenge students to work together in interdisciplinary teams, to design and build sustainable

technologies that improve quality of life, promote economic development, and protect the environment.

This team from the University of South Florida in Tampa is creating an educational collaboration involving the

university, a middle school in East Tampa, and the broader East Tampa community. The goal of the project is to

increase awareness of local water quality, focusing on storm water ponds.

East Tampa is an economically disadvantaged area that is currently undergoing a number of revitalization pro-

jects. Faculty advisor Maya Trotz describes the neighborhood:

TROTZ: ―So East Tampa is a 94% African American community that is 7.5 square miles in area. They have 31

storm water ponds and 16 schools. The community itself has invested in beautifying three of the ponds, because

they’re trying to redevelop the area.‖

LACAPRA: One of the storm water ponds is located across the street from the Young Middle Magnet School for

math and science. Graduate student Erlande Omisca says the P3 team developed an environmental curriculum

for the middle school students, focusing on pollution problems in the pond:

OMISCA: ―The students got involved because they would go every week across the street to the storm water

pond, and test the water, monitor the water quality there, and get hands-on experience through that.‖

TROTZ: ―We go every Friday and work with them.‖

LACAPRA: Again, faculty advisor Maya Trotz.

TROTZ: ―Some of them got to come to university to visit the lab, so that we at least start planting the seed that

you know, that science and engineering could be something that’s interesting and accessible and fun.‖

LACAPRA: I caught up with the University of South Florida team again at the P3 awards ceremony, where EPA

Acting Science Advisor Kevin Teichman announced the winning projects:

TEICHMAN: ―We’re half way home, we have three more P3 awards to give out. The next one goes to the Univer-

sity of South Florida, for Water Awareness Research and Education in East Tampa: a pilot collaboration involv-

ing University of South Florida, Young Magnet Middle School and the East Tampa Community.‖ [APPLAUSE]

LACAPRA: The team’s reaction to winning?

OMISCA: ―WOOHOO!‖ [LAUGHTER]

TROTZ: ―Erlande is like, we’re excited.‖ [LAUGHTER]

OMISCA: ―We are excited!‖ [LAUGHTER]

LACAPRA: Erlande Omisca.

OMISCA: ―We’re just excited about it, we’re just thinking about the students that we worked with in the commu-

nity, and the other faculty members, and the other students at university, they’ll be so happy about it.‖

EPA’s Sustainable Design Competition Winner—University

of South Florida

Notable Faculty

17

LACAPRA: I asked Maya Trotz about the team’s plans for the next phase of their project.

TROTZ: ―The next phase is to expand the project to other schools in the neighborhood, including an elementary

school which is right next to the middle school that we worked with, and also to the high school, and hopefully do

events that bring other teachers and other […] schools in the neighborhood, so that they can learn and build from

it. And then also to build educational kiosks at the storm water ponds, that help to build environmental awareness,

and show the work that, you know, all the students involved have been doing, in terms of monitoring water quality

and stuff like that, associated with the ponds.‖

LACAPRA: You can learn more about the University of South Florida’s project on our website, at epa.gov/P3.

MUSIC: ―Science Works‖ theme music

LACAPRA: Thanks for listening to ―Science Works,‖ a podcast series produced by EPA’s Office of Research and De-

velopment. Please check back again soon for our next program, at epa.gov/ncer.

EPA’s Sustainable Design Competition Winner Cont.

Notable Faculty

18

Interview Answers

“In regards to Sustainability, what do you think the university should do going forward?

There are many programs in place. There is an Office of Sustainability, a Master’s in Sustainability Program, and the

Patel School of Global Sustainability. What is missing, if anything? Is the University on the right track? Can we

improve?”

The below question was posed to several faculty members with five responses received, there are shown

below. Although the answers were different, all agree that there are areas that could be improved. Ad-

ditionally, the lack of funding is a concern.

“Have a sustainable, accountable, and transparent mechanism for engaging

multiple stakeholders interested in making USF and the local communities more

sustainable.‖ Maya Trotz, PhD, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental

Engineering Department Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions University

of South Florida

"I would like to see USF work with the city of Tampa to develop some initiatives in the

water, energy and transportation areas that would build on research expertise at USF and

create a more sustainable campus and city. Transportation issues can include mixed use

development, public transportation, promoting biking and walking, telecommuting,

carpooling, etc. Water issues include water reuse, low impact development technologies for

storm water, nutrient recovery from wastewater, aquaculture, biofuel production.” Sarina

Ergas, Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator, Dept. Civil & Environmental

Engineering

“I think the university is missing a huge amount of environmental benefit (and economic

savings) by going after what I consider to be low hanging fruit, these are easy things you

can control, … versus working on larger big picture items. A few examples, sprinklers that

go on while it is raining outside, building lighting systems not engineered with motion

detectors, lack of "safe" transit infrastructure for cyclists on campus, promotion of easy

parking for students on campus that encourages them to drive single use vehicles to

campus and arrive at classes at last minute, landscaping with flowers that require water,

.. recycling all the paper and plastic generated in the food court area of marshal center

(they promote they are "trayless" and that saves water, but seems it produced more solid

waste), ..[more] use of lots of roof space to generate renewable energy”, Jim (Mihelcic)

19

Global Current Events

USF is currently working in other countries to help other cultures receive everyday

items. USF has entered into the country of Dominican Republic to help out with their

water crisis. A team of USF’s engineers has made it their goal to help out the Domini-

can Republic by providing clean water for the residents. The goal of the project is titled

Water for Miches. In this project the engineers are providing 20 liters of clean water

per day to each of the 500 residents of Miramar Republic.

USF has made it their goal to help others in need. USF Unstoppable is a campaign that

is dedicated to helping others whether they are at the university or in another country.

USF reaches others by using their public broadcasting station WUSF. The radio station

is a tool that USF uses to make a tremendous impact on the quality of life, business cli-

mate, and educational opportunities around the Tampa Bay area. USF has made a made

a difference in 120 different countries by using their public broadcasting system to reach

out to the Alumni that are making an unstoppable difference in the world.

USF has just marked a decade in Costa Rica for their health research on a changing

population. The program allows students at USF to go into the country of Costa Rica to

help the residents who are struggling with unique modern ailments. The purpose of this

program is to give students the opportunity to research and see how the unintended con-

sequences of global integration literally unfold. The program also lets the students help

make Costa Rica’s food more sustainable while being nutritious. The country of Costa

Rica’s food has caused tremendous health problems for the people that live in the coun-

try. More junk food is being imported into Costa Rica, because the country is trying to

cater to the American tourists. USF students have gone into the country to help out the

local people to demonstrate healthy eating habits, and also show the local farmers more

or new sustainable ways to grow new produce. The problems that have been raised with

local farmers growing crops on the land are the rising cost of land in Costa Rica.

Engineers Without Boarders

USF: UNSTOPPABLE

Problems in Paradise

20

USF’s Future Plans to Strengthen Sustainability

USF plans to strengthen their sustainability by

adding many new resources. USF students have

helped add to the future strength by designing a solar

FleX House

house. The solar house was built for a competition

and was named the FleX House. The FleX House won

USF a spot in the Department of Energy’s Solar

Decathlon competition for the world’s best solar-

powered house. Many colleges were involved in the

project as well as USF, but USF used their college of

Arts school of Architecture + Community Design,

Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Business. This

was a great project for USF to involve several on

campus colleges to collaborate on one project. The

team designed the house to make it more affordable

while also making the house use zero-energy. The

team also worked with the Beck Group Company. The

Beck Group was founded in 1912 and has a strong

emphasis on sustainable practices. The students were

encouraged to help as much as

they liked, but the Beck

Group took the lead on the

actual construction of the

FleX House. The Beck

Company also is LEED

certified which stands for

Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design. More

than a third of Becks

employees are LEED

accredited or are Green

Advantage professionals. USF

hopes to learn a lot from this

company and hopes that their

involvement in the project will

give them the strong edge in

the competition that is needed

to win.



21

Continued from p. 19

USF also hopes to continue strengthening their sustainability by continuing the Office of

Sustainability, the Masters of Arts in Global Sustainability program, and adding a solar

power plant to a USF campus. The Office of Sustainability informs the students at USF of

different programs and different sustainable issues that USF is accomplishing or has

accomplished. The Office of Sustainability has made it their mission to coordinate and build

partnerships for university-wide initiatives that advance the University of South Florida's

strategic goal of creating a sustainable campus environment. USF is accomplishing this goal

with the FleX House, new Master’s degree of Arts in Global Sustainability, and their new

solar plant. The solar plant was just announced on the Office of Sustainability’s website.

There is a ten minute video that explains the reasons why USF is deciding to build a solar

power plant. USF’s sustainability efforts are strong especially since they earned a GOLD star

rating and a B+ on the 2011 report card, but they will need to continue and improve on their

efforts if they want to obtain an A+ on the report card.

OTHER CONTINUING EFFORTS


22

New Ideas to Strengthen Sustainability

Adding an online general course about home sustainability would be one way to

strengthen USF’s future sustainability. A home sustainability assessment course

would give all graduates the basic knowledge of making informed decisions when it

comes to their energy and water consumption. Victoria University is one of the

first Universities to introduce a course of this kind; where there are no

prerequisites for the course. The course would be very beneficial for electricians,

plumbers, residential heating and air conditioning installers, carpenters,

landscapers, auditors, energy and water companies and small-business people

working in a green industry. A course of this degree will require the professors who

teach the class go to a professional development course. By taking a professional

development course in sustainability; professors will have the ability to

understand the principles of sustainability, and will understand how to

incorporate sustainability into their daily lectures. Skills that will be taught in a

home sustainability assessment course will be the following:

Home Sustainability Assessment Course

· Conduct home sustainability assessments.

· Evaluate options for waste management.

· Evaluate water usage for gardens.

· Determine appropriate mulching and composting options.

· Use basic energy and water rating technology and tools.

· Conduct domestic energy, water and waste assessments.

· Measure energy and water efficiency and provide

recommendations to reduce consumptions. Provide advice to customers on sustainable practice appropriate

to their situation.

23

The University of South Florida should

pursue a course in home sustainability for

many reasons. One reason would be to in-

crease profit which is USF’s strategic goal

number 4. Another great reason to pursue

the course would be the chance of receiv-

ing funding for the course from the gov-

ernment. This will help USF since the

school has had to make tremendous cut

backs from the budget. A third reason

would be to just improve students’

knowledge and quality of life another

strategic goal from the University. USF

has everything to gain and nothing to lose

if they pursue the idea of adding a course

in home sustainability assessment.

OCEAN POWER

Ocean power is an innovative way to produce

electricity; thus reducing the need or

dependence on foreign fuels. Ocean power is

an innovative way to produce electricity, thus

reducing the need or dependence on foreign

fuels. Ocean power is a new idea that has

been made popular in Japan, Europe, and

Australia. The United States of America has

proposed small scale ocean energy projects for

the following cities: New York and San

Francisco and off the coast of Massachusetts,

Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Ocean

power is currently being supported by the

Energy Policy Act of 2005, but was not

originally included until October 2008. Ocean

energy is expensive, but cost will reduce with

future technological improvement. There are

currently three sources of ocean energy that

can be pursued by the University of South

Florida. The possible choices of wave energy

include wave power, tidal power, and ocean

thermal power.

One of USF’s strategic

goals is to be

expanding local and

global engagement

initiatives to

strengthen and

sustain healthy

communities

and to improve

the quality of life. This goal fits nicely when

pursuing ocean power since ocean power will

improve the quality of life by reducing emissions

that are caused by fossil fuels which destroy the

ozone layer. As a research university, USF could

possibly be the number one research University of

the State of Florida with a project like ocean power.

This would be a big improvement from being one of

the top three research universities.

The issues that will arise with this project are the

following: cost to pursue the project, location of

ocean power facility, the government’s approval,

and competing against other companies/

Universities. Ocean power is a costly project to

pursue. The capital cost of installation is the

highest out of all other sources of renewable energy.

Getting approved for the project will be the hardest

part of the project, because in one instance it took

about five years for Verdant Power to obtain a

license so that they could start the project.

The results that USF could obtain from the project

are phenomenal. One result from obtaining the

project that was stated previously is becoming

Florida’s number one university. This would be a

big accomplishment for the University to achieve.

Another result of pursuing the project would be the

additional funding that would be provided to the

university from the state. A third result would be

the additional programs that students could learn

from this project. The school of sustainability could

pick this program as an internship or use it as a

curriculum to demonstrate how ocean power is a

sustainable source for energy.

Photo courtesy of Climateprogress.org

New Ideas to Strengthen Sustainability, Cont.

24

Conclusion

The University of South Florida has made numerous contributions and advancements toward

ecological sustainability.

The University of South Florida may or may not have some serious work to do. Far too many

people lead miserable lives because they lack the most basic necessities to deal with hunger,

thirst, shelter, disease or disability. USF has made many programs that have taken the initia-

tive to help local communities and even other countries become sustainable, but there are other

countries that still need help. In addition, the prosperity currently enjoyed by many of us may

not be taken for granted in the future. The projects that USF has won have made a tremen-

dous impact on the campus’s sustainability program. There will be some hard choices and

some lines of research will probably need to be pursued at the expense of others. Industry

should change and adopt new strategies. And we as a society should accept and foster that

change. The change that USF has made towards sustainability has played a crucial part in the

changes that USF has implemented on and off of their campuses. The evolution of technology,

industry, and society is a complex process full of feedback mechanisms and surprises. It’s vital

that we understand the most promising ways to facilitate the necessary changes of direction.

(Van Santen)

In closing, we would like to quote Dr. Yogi Goswami, Co-Director of the Clean Energy Research

Center.

―Having all of these offices in them selves will not lead to improving

Sustainability at USF. There needs to be an active plan for the following:

1. Improving the energy efficiency of the campus buildings

2. Increasing solar and renewable energy generation on campus (covering

parking lots etc, which will also provide shade to the cars)

3. Reducing waste and increasing waste recycling

4. Introducing sustainable transportation options (there are a number of

ideas on that)

5. Looking at the energy efficiency of the physical plant and improving it as

necessary.

Some of these would require investment, which may not be available to the

university. However, private capital may be available as long as we allow

the investors to take a part of the savings to provide them a return on

investment.‖

25

Works Cited

Chachere, Vickie. "Problems in Paradise." 10 June 2011. University of South Florida NEWS. 15

June 2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3492&z=158>.

Chambers, Ian, and John Humble. Developing a plan for the planet: a business plan for sustaina-

ble living. Surrey, UK: MPG Books Group: 2011. 6-7. Print.

"Sustainability Gold." 7 February 2011. University of South Florida News. 8 June 2011 <http://

news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3116>.

The University of South Florida. The Office of Sustainability. n.d. 8 June 2011 <http://

usfweb2.usf.edu/Sustainability/>.

USF: UNSTOPPABLE. n.d. 8 June 2011 <http://usfweb3.usf.edu/unstoppable/impact.aspx>.

Van Santen, Rutger, Djan Khoe, and Bran Vermeer. 2030: Technology that will change the world.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. 259-260. Print.

26

Annotated Bibliography

This Annotated Bibliography is for our team’s whitepaper concerning the issue of the Uni-

versity of South Florida’s participation in the going green movement. We needed to research

various sources of information to find what the university has done and what the university

is currently doing. We gathered information from the library, offices on campus and the in-

ternet. We also wanted to add information regarding the future of USF’s Sustainability en-

deavors and the global implications. The below sources cover most of the information which

we were seeking. However, we find that we may need to continue gathering information to

see where USF can go in the future.

"About the Patel Center." Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions. 2011: 4-8. Print.

The information packet on the Patel Center highlights the center’s achievements

and goals concerning research, businesses, and initiatives. This source is beneficial

in its display of the Center’s goals, accomplishments, and future endeavors. It is a

quick and easy access into the Center.

Marshall, Paul. "Green Energy in the US." Management Report. 2009.

This source was used to determine a way that USF could strengthen their future

sustainability. The source demonstrates many uses of sustainable energy, and we

used the ocean power section. We incorporated the information into the paper by

informing the University of South Florida of the option of installing and using this

sustainable source of energy as a research resource. If the University pursues the

idea of implementing an ocean power facility then we have listed the possible is-

sues and possible results from attaining the project.

Palmer, A. "Human Activities are Impacting the Climate System." Climate Literacy: The

Essential Principles of Climate Science. March 2009: 6-7. Print.

This article provides valuable information about the impact that man has on the

Earth’s climate globally. It provides the reader with information about green hous-

es, fossil fuels and other industrial activities that are detrimental to the earth’s

atmosphere. The goal of the article is to bring awareness about global issues that

can have long term effects on the earth.

Lele, Sharachchandra M. ―Sustainable Development: A Critical Review.‖ Green Planet

Blues: Four Decades of Global Environmental Politics. Ken Conca, Geoffrey D.

27

Dabelko. Bolder: Westview Press, 2010. 226-228. Print.

This book had a number of chapters that address sustainability and environmental

problems about climate, water, energy, food, and biodiversity. This particular arti-

cle focused on ecological sustainability and the concept of sustainable development.

This was used to compare USF with what experts say to be important in our objec-

tives of sustainability.

Stirling, Julia. "University's sustainability assessment course adds a green string to

trades people's bow." The Australian 19 March 2011: 4.

This source was used to add an additional course to USF's general education re-

quirements. The source demonstrates how a college has already successfully imple-

mented a course of this sort. We used this source in the paper to have USF imple-

ment a general requirement class that would teach everyone sustainability in their

own homes. The source also demonstrated what USF would gain if they were to

pursue the idea of adding an online course in home sustainability.

University of South Florida Office of Sustainability. 2011. 4 June 2011. <http://

usfweb2.usf.edu/sustainability>

This website is the main website for Global Sustainability for the University of

South Florida. The website gives detailed information on the university’s goals to-

wards Sustainability in the USF area and in the nation. The reader is provided

with information which includes, people associated with the green movement on

campus, what can be done towards achieving the campus’ sustainability goals, and

ways to become a part of the green movement. The website has a lot of useful infor-

mation about the university’s efforts, which makes it a valuable source.

Annotated Bibliography, Cont.

Documents

USF Going Green Movement: Sustainability Final Draft