Metropolitan State University
What is ME3?
Metro – our university
Many – made up of many individuals
Me – I am one of many; we depend on each others’ personal commitment to change
Ecology – conscious participation in maintaining the health of our environment
Education – our educational pursuits include learning to live in sustainable ways
Empowerment – comes from engaging with one another and with the environment in meaningful ways
Our ad hoc group of students, faculty and staff formed in the Fall of 2008 to discuss ways in which individuals and the campus can contribute to the development of sustianable practices. Membership is open to any from the Metro community who are interested in learning more, and contributing to discussions about, energy and resource conservation, both on campus and in their daily lives.
In the interest of sustainability, Metro State University has signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. We realize that small changes in daily habits and investments in energy efficient products can make a positive impact. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint, and serving as a model for the larger community that we serve.
Anyone with additional questions or interests may contact us at: me3@metrostate.edu
Campus Trash vs. Recycling
Working with our campus waste hauler, last year our campus began placing new, no-sort recycling bins around campus. These have intentionally been chosen to be green in color, in contrast to the tan color of our regular trash containers. To increase the campus-wide participation in our recycling program, we plan to install additional collection bins and more visible signage. We have also initiated conversations with our building and custodial services, to ask for their assistance/suggestions in assessing how much potentially recyclable materials are currently being placed in trash collection bins, and for suggestions on strategic placement of these new containers.
To educate and encourage the campus community towards better use of campus trash and recycling containers. Long term, we hope to reduce the amount of trash, and increase the volume of recyclables, collected on our St. Paul campus. Encouraging this behavioral change will help reduce the amount of materials our campus is contributing to area landfills, and allow us to model behavioral changes for the larger campus community. This change can also result in a savings to our campus budget, as it currently costs the campus twice as much for trash disposal, in comparison to recyclable materials. A 25% reduction in trash, with these additional materials instead recycled, could save the campus up to $100/month.
Bright Ideas Study
With the support of campus facilities staff, students began an extensive, fixed lighting inventory for all areas on the St. Paul campus. This included determining types of fixtures, bulb wattages, measuring light outputs, and usage patterns/behaviors. As this study continues, recommendations to lighting changes may include:
reduced wattage bulbs (with higher Kelvin temps.) in areas that are currently over-lit, installation of photo/motion sensors to reduce lighting in common areas when ambient light is sufficient or areas are unoccupied, and encouraging awareness and behavioral changes that will reduce electricity consumption via lighting.
In conjunction with a local elementary school, we also plan to install colorful light switch covers (designed by the school children) in efforts to remind students, faculty and staff to turn off lights when leaving a room.
This initial inventory effort (which has counted >3,500 bulbs and is not yet complete) has already resulted in the identification of numerous opportunities to reduce electricity consumption. A significant reduction in electricity is hoped for by simply encouraging students, faculty and staff to make sure that unoccupied areas are not remaining lit. We are also considering installation of various types of sensors (motion, photo, sound, etc.) to be installed in several areas on campus (e.g. classrooms, bathrooms, main hallways, etc.) to reduce the lighting when areas are lit naturally (daylight) or are not occupied. It is hoped that these behavioral and facilities changes will have affect a noticeable reduction in campus electricity use.
Green Chemistry in the Curriculum
With help and feedback from students, Dr. Todd Lafrenz has developed and implemented a “greener” lab curriculum for the Organic Chemistry sequence. While covering traditional lab techniques, methods and synthetic approaches, these labs have as an additional focal point content related to green chemical approaches (see http://greenchem.uoregon.edu/Pages/GreenChemGlossary.php). In addition to exploring various reactions, interpreting spectral data, and determining reaction efficiencies, many of the labs also include determination of atom economy, economic analysis of a reaction (including costs of wastes generated), employment of catalysts to improve reaction yields/selectivities, and consideration of alternative reagents and solvent systems. Many of the lab exercises have been adapted from materials available on the Greener Education Materials for Chemists (GEMs) on-line database (http://greenchem.uoregon.edu/gems.html).
Aspects of this lab curriculum involve choosing less hazardous reagents, and solvent systems that reduce or remove the necessity for fume hoods. Employment of mini-scale glassware has also resulted in the minimization of reagents used and waste materials generated. Many lab exercises in the freshman level non-majors and general chemistry sequence have adopted related approaches and lab activities.
To expose students to the important aspects of green methods as applied to chemical syntheses. In addition, these efforts will reduce the volumes of chemicals used in our curriculum, and minimize the amount of hazardous wastes that must be disposed of appropriately – so this will be a cost savings to the department.
Many of the lab activities are safe enough to allow institutions with minimal safety equipment (including hoods), to provide students the learning opportunities that result from applying important concepts in the lab environment. Metro hopes to serve as a resource for area high schools, community colleges and universities who are considering adoption of related curriculum. Please forward any additional questions to Dr. Lafrenz at: Todd.Lafrenz@metrostate.edu
National Youth Service Day 2009
This year, Metropolitan State University will work with Dayton’s Bluff Elementary School to implement a variety of youth service projects in the Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood. ME3 will work with Dayton’s Bluff Elementary Fourth Grade classes to design and post small messages around campus, with a goal of raising awareness and changing behaviors that will ultimately save electricity. Messages like “Flip the Switch” with brightly colored pictures will be posted near light switch plates at various areas on campus.
Students from kindergarden through college, their families, and community members have the opportunity to be involved with ongoing activities that will impact the evironment of the surrounding community, including:
- Storm Drain Stenciling
- Urban Community Gardening
- Environmental Literacy and Planting Projects (with younger children)
Other partnering organizations include the Community Design Center of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (Biological Control Facility), Friends of the Mississippi, and the St. Paul Public Library.
Funds to support this year’s projects were provided by an Ecolab grant awarded to Metropolitan State University’s Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL). Further questions can be forwarded to ME3 and/or the CCBL (http://www.metrostate.edu/msweb/community/ccbl/index.html )
By raising awareness for the both the campus and surrounding community, we hope to encourage responsible use of resources (e.g. electricity) and demonstrate that changing behaviors can have a measurable impact on energy consumption, with a subsequent reduction in our carbon footprint.
Minnesota Schools Cutting Carbon is a program of Clean Energy Resource Teams, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Minnesota Office of Energy Security. Funding provided by Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.
email: SchoolsCuttingCarbon@CleanEnergyResourceTeams.org
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