March 2006 Newsletter

Current State Environmental Legislation | Director's Corner | Energy and Water Programs Update | Recycling Update | Sustainable Transportation Update | Campus Environmental Update | Spotlight | What's Happening | Green Living Tip | Buy Green!

Current State Environmental Legislation  

A vast amount of environmental legislation is facing elected officials at the state capitol. The CU Environmental Center presents a background of select bills and explains arguments both for and against the measures. The CU Environmental Center does not endorse candidates, issues, or bills, and this article is for informational purposes only.

After a 2005 Colorado legislative session that some have called the most successful session for the environment since the 1980’s, the 2006 session is in full swing, and even more legislation affecting our earth is being proposed, introduced, and signed into law.

The Regular Session of the 65th General Assembly began January 11 and continues through May 10. Topics of this session’s proposed and passed environmental bills span anywhere from energy-efficiency to whitewater parks to biodiesel and ethanol.

Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency:

Proving the importance voters place on energy efficiency, the first bill signed into law during the 2006 session provides energy efficiency assistance to low-income households.  House Bill 1200 aims to reduce energy bills by 10 to 20 percent by providing funds to low-income households to implement energy efficiency projects in their homes.  The bill also provides funds from oil and gas taxes to provide financial assistance on energy bills to low-income families.  The bill moved quickly through the legislature, and was signed by Gov. Bill Owens on Feb. 3.

House Bill 1147 has also moved quickly during the legislative session. The bill would direct natural gas utilities to develop and implement cost-effective energy-efficiency programs, which in turn would decrease natural gas use and consumer gas bills.   Electric companies already have these energy-efficiency programs.  The passage of the bill will result in a 10 percent gas savings by 2020.  The bill passed through the House and was introduced to the Senate on Feb. 27.

A bill regarding Colorado’s air quality passed through the House on Monday as well.  House Bill 1309 began as House Bill 1113, and was amended and will now be introduced to the Senate.  The bill calls for Colorado’s clear air regulations to be stronger than U.S.  Currently, Colorado is only one of seven states whose laws are identical to federal regulations; most states have called for increased air quality protection.

A clean energy fund would provide $18 million over the next three years to fund research and development of clean energy technology.  House Bill 1322 will use money collected by the oil and gas severance tax fund to create new technologies and jobs.

A bill directly affecting CU and energy has also been introduced to the legislature.  House Bill 1317 calls for the Colorado Energy Research Institute and the University of Colorado School of Law’s Energy and Environmental Security Initiative to provide to the state an annual energy profile and future projections.

Alternative Fuels:

Two bills regarding alternative fuels are also circulating through the legislature.  Senate Bill 16 would require state-owned diesel vehicles to run off of 20 percent biodiesel by 2007.  The bill is seen as a boost to Colorado’s rural economy, and the requirement is contingent on supply and cost of the alternative fuel.

“This bill does many things at once – it improves the environment by increasing our use of renewable energy, it decreases our dependence on foreign oil, and it would provide an economic boost to rural Colorado, Sen. Lewis Entz, the bill sponsor, told the media.  “Everybody comes out ahead if this bill passes.”

A second Senate bill would require gasoline to contain a set amount of ethanol each year.  Senate Bill 138 is seen as an alliance between Colorado corn growers and environmental groups.  The bill, which has been amended numerous times, now would require all gasoline sold in the state to contain 10 percent ethanol.  This requirement is flexible in the sense that 10 percent of the total fuel stock during the year must contain ethanol.  In other words, at some points during the year, fuel may contain more or less ethanol.

Critics of the bill worry that the increased use of the ethanol may have a negative effect on automobiles, but proponents highlight the fact that most of the Denver-area gasoline already contains about 10 percent ethanol.  Others worry about ethanol’s still unclear effect on the ozone layer.
           
Water Issues:

One of the more hotly contested bills facing the legislature is one regarding recreational water rights and specifically whitewater parks.  Senate Bill 37 would establish water law attempting to balance water for recreation and more traditional uses, such as development and irrigation.  The bill would limit Recreational In Channel Water Diversions (RICD), or whitewater parks, to operate only during summer months, and applies only to kayaking.  Recreation businesses in the Colorado and Arkansas river valleys oppose this bill, as they worry the restrictions will negatively impact revenues.  Recreational users of Colorado’s rivers and creeks also oppose the measure, claiming priorities of large developers are being held in higher regard.

A second bill surrounding water issues would increase the penalty of water quality control violators.  The bill, House Bill 1337, would increase the penalty to $25,000 and would take into account specifics of the violation in assessing the penalties.  The bill would also create a water quality improvement fund to fix damages made by violators.

Recycling:

House Bill 1074 would modify an existing statute by extending the waste tire recycling development fee.

Environmentally Preferable Purchasing:

 A bill facing the House would require governments to award services and supply contracts to a bidder who offers environmentally-preferred products.  House Bill 1095 would require the government to use these environmentally-preferred products if the quality is equal to other products, and the price is not larger than the non-environmentally-preferred product.

The Regular Session of the 65th General Assembly began January 11 and continues through May 10.

Director's Corner Dave Newport   US speed skater Shani Davis became the first African American to win a Winter Olympics medal when he received the gold for his victory in the men’s 1000 meter event. After the medal ceremony, he was asked his thoughts and replied he was thinking about all the great athletes who had come before him. I appreciate his sense of history.

This is not to compare working at the Environmental Center to winning a gold medal (though some say it is like being in heaven) and I will never know what it’s like to be African American. However, I am keenly aware of the E-Center’s history of excellence and distinguished staff.

That history has contributed significantly to CU-Boulder’s national reputation for greatness in environmental matters and campus sustainability. That history has established an expectation of further achievement. And that history is now being leveraged by a unique set of circumstances to create a significant opportunity for the E-Center, CU-Boulder, and for sustainability itself to address the issues facing all of us.

The E-Center operates a number of programs each uniquely poised by history and circumstance to move forward to another level of success. For instance:

• CU-Recycling, already one of the nation’s finest such programs, has identified ways to nearly double the amount of recyclables diverted from the waste stream. Combined with collection method changes and market forces, the timing is perfect to move forward with an unprecedented enhancement to our collection success. As Boulder County moves toward its 2025 zero waste goal, CU-Boulder can continue to lead the way.

• The E-Center’s focus on supplying and managing CU-Boulder’s renewable energy portfolio is also in a great moment. Growth in non-renewable energy prices has already exceeded forecasts—and renewables’ role in energy security and climate change is increasingly recognized. CU-Boulder has led the way toward clean energy and continues to do so. Every day, more students sign up for clean power—and to send a signal. The world is getting the message.

• And every day, more CU students ride the bus! Again, the E-Center is a national leader on transportation issues that reduce pollution, save money, and lead to a healthier, cleaner campus and community. As college and automobile costs soar, transit lowers student expenses and thereby CU’s economic barrier to entry for lower income students.

Indeed, it is through increased social equity that the E-Center and CU-Boulder can seize the future. Our challenge is to create ways to focus our enormous inventory of environmental skills and assets onto the serious social equity issues that face this campus, the nation, and the Earth.

Sustainability practitioners point to the necessary integration of fiscal, environmental, and social affairs as requisite to success. Yet, we have identified precious few pathways that bring social progress fully into environmental and fiscal operations.

The E-Center has already begun to develop ways to channel our environmental strengths into social progress. This concept, I believe, is the key to a future of achievement consistent with the E-Center’s legacy of greatness. When I think about the great leaders who built the E-Center and CU-Boulder into the accomplished organization we see today, I think of the opportunity we have, like Shani Davis, to break a social barrier and embrace victory. Congratulations, Shani. Energy and Water Programs Update  

• Residence Hall Wind Challenge:
  The residence hall wind challenge continued through February.  For the first time in CU history, this campaign is giving students in the residence halls the opportunity to offset their electricity needs with clean, renewable wind-generated electricity. So far, the response has been great and residence hall students have purchased 28 Megawatt hours of wind!  For more information go to http://ecenter.Colorado.EDU/energy/wind/

• Second Sustainable Energy Forum
  On Feb. 7th we co-hosted the second Sustainable Energy Forum, a series designed to showcase the sustainable energy research and projects of CU faculty, staff and students.  Over 170 students, faculty, staff and community members joined us for this event.
  Interim Provost Susan Avery and the new Interim Director of CU’s Sustainable Energy Initiative Carl Koval gave an update on this initiative.  They will be holding a campus town hall meeting later this spring.   Professor Alan Weimer and graduate student Christopher Perkins gave a presentation on their groundbreaking research to produce hydrogen using solar energy.  To see a copy of their presentation go to http://www.colorado.edu/law/eesi/CU_SEF.htm.
  To see articles written about this event and go to the following links:
  http://www.thecampuspress.com/news/2006/02/sustainable%20energy.php http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2006/02/07/news/c_u_and_boulder/news3.txt

• Buff Energy Star Awards
  We are halfway through the fiscal year and seven campus buildings are on their way to winning the Buff Energy Star Award.  These buildings include: Environmental Health & Safety, Imig Music, Norlin Library, Recreation Center, Wardenburg, Willard Administrative, and IBS#6. The Buff Energy Star Award encourages campus buildings to achieve exceptional energy efficiency and energy reduction standards. Each year the Buff Energy Star Award will be given to those buildings and proctors or residence hall directors who fulfill established criteria.  Accompanying the Buff Energy Star Award is a $1000 prize that will be awarded directly to the proctor, hall director, or energy champion who facilitated the energy reduction.
  There is still time to qualify! Building occupants can make nominations, and proctors also may nominate themselves. For further information, please contact Scott Leach (scott.leach@colorado.edu), Buff Energy Star Project Coordinator.  For more info, see: http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/energystar/index.html.

Recycling Update   RecycleMania 2006

CU Buffs are participating in RecycleMania 2006, a friendly 10-week competition between top recycling programs in the United States that runs through April 8th.  More than ninety colleges and universities are competing this year to see who can collect the largest amount of recyclables, the least amount of trash, and have the highest recycling rate.

In the third week of RecycleMania, CU has moved into 15th place in the Grand Champion Diversion Rate competition.   CU’s averaged diversion rate is currently 29.42%.  By following some easy waste reduction tips and making sure that every can, bottle, newspaper, catalog and cardboard box gets into the recycling containers on campus our diversion rate should raise above 30% before the end of the competition.

As a class project on Wednesday, February 22, students in the Baker Residential Academic Program Introduction to Environmental Studies class sorted through one day's worth of dumpster trash and determined the amount of recyclables being thrown away in Baker Hall.

The results from this waste composition study show that Baker Hall can collect an additional 244 pounds of recyclables each day.   This means that each resident in Baker throws away 0.50 pounds of recyclables per day.  Estimating that each of the 5,425 residents living on campus throws away approximately the same amount of recyclables per day, CU could be collecting an additional 19,046 pounds of recyclables per week.  In the six weeks remaining of RecycleMania this would equal 114,277 pounds of commingled containers, cardboard, and paper. 

Each week of RecycleMania, CU has captured an increased amount of recyclables collected from campus.  We hope to see this trend throughout the competition – a testament to the power of increased outreach around recycling.

CU Recycling wants 10% of the campus community - that's 3,000 people - to commit to practicing the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  Sign an online pledge to follow the Three Rs:  Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  Go to http://recycling.colorado.edu/rm06/pledge.php 

For more information about RecycleMania and to find out our standings visit http://recycling.colorado.edu/rm06/  

Cell Phone Recycling on Campus

The University of Colorado Environmental Center's Recycling Program partnered with The Wireless Alliance to help establish the university's first permanent cell phone recycling program.

Campus recycling kiosks will serve as collection sites for students, faculty, and staff who want to dispose of old cell phones in an environmentally conscious manner, and the money raised in the recycling campaign will benefit various student organizations within the University of Colorado Student Union.  The first cell phone recycling kiosk is located in the UMC adjacent to the T-Mobile cell phone vendor.

The discarded phones will be sold to The Wireless Alliance and repurposed, reused or recycled. According to the Ridgewood, N.J., based market research group Student Monitor, 95 percent of college students own a cell phone and are estimated to change handsets about every 18 months. Wireless phone components contain lead, arsenic and other hazardous toxins that can leach into the environment through landfill decomposition. One discarded cell phone and its battery can contaminate as much as 40,000 gallons of groundwater or a lake covering 26 acres, according to the environmental organization Basel Action Network.

Sustainable Transportation Update   RTD Bus Pass Update
Bus pass program staff and RTD have achieved an agreement that continues the bus pass into future years – an agreement that was approved unanimously by RTD board in mid-February. The agreement maintains essential RTD services (unlimited access to local and regional routes) within the student bus pass but would discontinue SkyRide service (between Boulder and Denver International Airport). The changes to coverage resulted from large increases to the RTD pricing, partly due to an above-expected ridership over the past four years, and a 20% increase to local fares in 2006.

Campus Transportation Survey
In February 2006, the transportation program completed two surveys of the student population, proving exciting new results about their travel behaviors. The first survey was a cooperative effort with CU Parking and Transportation Services, the city of Boulder, and the downtown Boulder business district, aiming at gathering comparable data from diverse community populations. As of January 2006, 90% of students use alternatives to driving alone as their primary method of travel. These results point to an overwhelming success of campus and city “transportation demand management” programs (such as the CU bus pass) in promoting sustainable travel decisions of CU students.

Figure 1: CU Student Transportation Survey (January 2006)
Similarly, fewer CU students (proportionally) have parking permits for the Boulder campus.

Figure 2: CU Student Transportation Survey (January 2006)

Bus Pass Survey

The second survey completed the by Environmental Center is conducted approximately every three years in order to gauge student awareness and support of the student bus pass. This survey generated results that confirm that the bus pass is an important part of student life at CU. Since the creation of the program, an average of 90% of the campus population is aware of the bus pass. This academic year, 82% of students have ridden a bus at least once and over 60% of students ride the bus at least once per week. Students show a high level of satisfaction with the bus pass program, with 90% rating it “good” or “excellent”.


Figure 3: Student Satisfaction of the Bus Pass Program
(2006 Student Bus Pass Survey)
Because of our current efforts with RTD to develop next year’s agreement, and significant pricing changes in RTD’s fare structure, the 2006 Student Bus Pass Survey aimed at determining students’ support of increasing the fee or reducing service. When asked about a potential referendum and their voting decision, students were split almost evenly between an increase and reducing service.

Figure 4: Student Referendum Poll (2006 Student Bus Pass Survey)
Results from both these surveys have helped the program to assess its performance and guide further program development. Complete reports will be released in March.

Campus Environmental Update  

Piazanos: New CU Dining Grab-n-Go Features Natural & Organic Foods

CU Dining Services announces the grand opening of Piazanos, a unique, new "Grab-n-Go" outlet featuring 100 percent natural products, and organic products when available.  Piazanos opened to all CU students and staff on Monday, February 6.

Piazanos, meaning friends in Italian, is the newest addition to the Grab-n-Go family, and is located in the lobby of Cheyenne Arapaho Hall.  Piazanos features 100 percent natural pizza, pasta, hot and cold sandwiches, beverages and sides. Patrons can use their meal plans or credit cards to purchase meals, making natural and organic foods accessible to the whole CU community.
What makes a food item natural or organic? Food that has not had synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified organisms applied during production is deemed organic, while natural food is food that does not contain additives and synthetic ingredients.

University dining service operations across the country are looking for ways to offer sustainable food, and just as CU has done in the past with being the first institution to purchase wind power, CU has again taken steps to establish themselves as a leader in this trend.

*Sustainable Food - Foods that are purchased locally whenever possible, organic and fair trade. Sustainable food is when food is grown and produced using the most efficient and environmentally sound practices possible to reduce pollution, erosion, emissions, and the use of harmful chemicals.

Campus Environmental Awards

The University of Colorado Environmental Center is currently accepting nominations for outstanding individuals and departments who exceed expectations and demonstrate a sincere commitment to reducing the burden that CU-Boulder places on the environment.  The Environmental Center wishes to recognize these outstanding individuals and departments at an environmental awards ceremony to be in April.

Please give some thought to who may be deserving of such an award and submit a nomination by March 10 by logging onto http://ecenter.colorado.edu/greening_cu/awards/awards_form.php and filling out a short nomination form.

There are 11 categories under which individuals and departments may be considered for awards.  Categories for nomination include:

• Sustainable Transportation
• Energy Conservation
• Green Faculty
• Hazardous Materials Use / Hazardous Waste Reduction
• Individual Achievement
• Outstanding Alumni
• Recycling
• Environmental and Recycled Product Purchasing
• Waste Reduction
• Water Conservation
• Renewable Energy

Nominees must be a department or individual currently or formerly located on the University of Colorado-Boulder campus. 

Please contact Spencer Sator at sator@colorado.edu or (303) 492-8308 with any questions.

Spotlight   HUNTER LOVINS TO SPEAK ON NATURAL CAPITALISM

A world facing climate change and deteriorating natural systems is a challenging place to do business. World-renowned business consultant and Professor of Sustainable Management Hunter Lovins argues that attempting to achieve true competitive advantage is exactly the sort of behavior that will solve the problems facing us.

Lovins studies a new approach to business, Natural Capitalism, which enables communities, companies and universities to gain this competitive advantage, both now and far into the future, while still having a focus on the environment.

“There's the old saw, you can have either protection of the environment or you can have economic development. You can have social betterment, or you can have jobs. I think it's important, if we want to achieve a sustainable world in the time frame in which we simply must do so, to show people that these goals are not mutually exclusive, but that they actually support each other,” Lovins said.

“Behaving in sustainable ways is one of the best ways to create businesses, jobs, and economic vitality.”

Lovins is founder and President of Natural Capitalism Solutions, an organization that works with senior decision-makers in business, government and civil society to help them implement the principles of sustainability.  She is a Professor of Sustainable Management at the Presidio School of Management, co-author of the groundbreaking book “Natural Capitalism.”  She is an expert on the topics of sustainable business management, climate change, and energy policy.

Lovins may be best known for her work as co-founder and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an internationally recognized research center on energy and resource issues.

She has recently undertaken work in the international field as well.

“The work that I do around the world, particularly in developing countries, is primarily focused on showing how meeting basic human needs using the world's best practices in sustainable technology can leverage the creation of real jobs and real businesses that lead to genuine economic progress for even the most marginal of peoples,” she said.

Lovins will speak at CU-Boulder in the UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom Tuesday, March 7 at 6 p.m.  The talk is free and open to the public.

She will describe how using resources more productively, redesigning products and processes in the way nature does business, and managing institutions to be restorative can enhance every aspect of shareholder value.

Sustainable business behavior improves profitability, attracts and retains the best workers, reduces risk and makes business more fun, she said.
           
The event is sponsored by the CU Environmental Center, Natural Capitalism Solutions, and Boulder Green Building Guild.

What's Happening  

March 6:
RecycleMania Volunteer Orientation - 5:30 pm, UMC 355

March 7:
Hunter Lovins
Implementing Natural Capitalism: Finding the Competitive Edge
- 6:00pm, UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom

March 10:
The Deep Need for an Integral Ecology and
Sustainability
Free Public Presentation - 7:00 p.m., UMC 235

March 11-12:
I-WISE: Integral Weekend Intensive on Sustainability
and Ecology Training Workshop - UMC 235

March 14:
CU Bioneers Discussion Dinner Series - 7:00-8:30pm,
Humanities 160

March 15: spring bike bash

March 15:
Film Series: Film TBA - 7-9:00pm, HUMN 1B80

March 16:
Topics in Sustainability Series: The Environmental Justice
Challenge - 12-1:00 pm, UMC 384

April 4:
CU Bioneers Discussion Dinner Series - 7:00-8:30pm,
Humanities 160

April 6:
Topics in Sustainability Series - 12-1:00pm, UMC 384

April 17-21: campus earth week events

For complete calendar listings, click here

 

Contact the CU Environmental Center email: ecenter@colorado.edu phone: 303-492-8308 web: http://ecenter.colorado.edu

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  Green Living Tip

Junk mail is more than simply annoying – it also uses valuable natural resources like trees, water, and energy. Give your postman a lighter load to carry this year and eliminate your catalog clutter.