University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Student Office of Sustainability | April Newsletter

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STUDENT OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Monthly Newsletter • April 2013

EARTH DAY: A Grassroots MovementBY EMY L. MARIER

More WATER BOTTLEFILLING STATIONSBY GREGORY T. NELSON

APRIL 2013

As part of a larger campaign to reduce disposable water bottle usage on campus, the SOS recently had two more water bottling filling stations installed: one in the Old Library corridor and one in Haas Fine Arts. The purpose of the filling station is to promote the use of reusable water bottles and decrease the waste generated through single-use bottles around campus. Hopefully, by increasing the abundance and accessibility

Seymour’sSustainableLIFESTYLETIPS:

• PURCHASE REUSABLE ITEMS (i.e. grocery bags, water bottles, utensils)

• DO NOT RECYCLE PAPER UNTIL BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN USED

• REDUCE YOUR IMPACT AS A CONSUMER BY BORROWING AND SHARING ITEMS

• RECYCLE ELECTRONICS CORRECTLY (i.e. cell phones, computers, batteries)

• ONLY TAKE WHAT YOU NEED

In 1969, Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson realized the existing potential to fuse the energy of the ongoing grassroots movement with the need to address environmental conservation in U.S. politics. Senator Nelson announced in September that a grassroots demonstration pushing for environmental protection would take place the following year. The goal of the nationwide demonstrations was to show that public opinion urged for political action regarding environmental issues. Nelson made it clear that this was to be a day for communities nationwide to come together and take action locally. On April 22, 1970, over 20 million demonstrators, 1 in 10 Americans, participated in the first Earth Day. Senator Nelson’s response regarded this extremely successful turnout:“Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response

REDUCE

REUSE

RECYCLE

of these stations, students will develop the habit of always carrying their own reusable water bottle now and even after college. Facilities Management, as well as Housing and Residence Life, have been key players as well as they have independently installed many filling stations in various academic buildings and dormitories respectively. If you haven’t already, try them out! The filling stations make hydration quick, easy, and sustainable.

at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor the resources to organize the 20 million demonstrators who participated from thousands of schools and local communities. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.” The public response to Nelson’s call to action resulted in extensive media coverage and an era of environmental legislation, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Environmental legislation after Earth Day 1970 was supported by both political parties and led to the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Earth Day was made an official international holiday in 1971. Now people worldwide join together every April 22nd to address environmental concerns in their communities and increase awareness about conservation.

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Student Office of Sustainability • March 2013 • Monthly Newsletter

APRIL 2013

environment, social equity, the economy, and peoples’ health. This includes possible canoe trips, recycle craft nights, discussions focusing on contemporary environmental ethics issues, and events like the sustainability fashion show. Undoubtedly, this is a great opportunity for any student interested in sustainability and will provide amazing prospects to grow personally, as well as professionally. If you are interested in joining, more information can be found on Housing and Residence Life’s website, or you can ask the Housing Sustainability Coordinator Kate Hartsel. There is still time to sign up, even if you signed up for a different room, but act fast!

Housing and Residence Life:http://tinyurl.com/bg77eem

Kate Hartsel: [email protected]

HYPOXIA: An OverviewBY MARIAH E. DORNER

Hypoxia describes the low oxygen conditions found in some bodies of water. Specifically, hypoxic waters contain only 2-3 ppm oxygen. There are many naturally occurring hypoxic zones in the world, mostly occurring within deep basins in the ocean. However, hypoxic zones have been occurring more and more frequently in shallow coastal waters and in estuaries as a product of anthropogenic (i.e. human) events. Hypoxia can be caused by an influx of excess nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorous, and also by water body stratification due to saline and temperature gradients. One large hypoxic zone forms every summer in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of springtime snow melt and rain, which sweep nutrients from fertilized farm fields, golf courses, and lawns into the Mississippi river system. The Mississippi River watershed encompasses over 40% of the U.S. land area. Excess nutrients can also come from soil erosion, discharge from sewage treatment plants, and the deposition of atmospheric nitrogen.The abundance of nutrients promotes vigorous growth of algae and plankton in the ocean waters of the gulf. Blooms of this algal life ignite a chain reaction and promote a temporary abundance of marine life. These animals eventually die and make their way to the bottom of the ocean where they are decomposed by bacteria. This decomposition process consumes a large amount of the dissolved oxygen.

A Fresh NewGREEN LLC Next academic year (2013-2014) Housing and Residence Life will be launching a new Sustainability Living Learning Community in Sutherland Hall. In general, living learning communities enhance the student residential experience through immersion into a specific theme; social justice is another example. This includes living with other students who share your passions, in addition to highlighting the chosen theme through special events, activities, and opportunities to work with faculty/staff that also share these interests. The Sustainability Living Learning Community will specifically examine how students’ life choices affect the

The nutrient laden freshwater coming from the river is warmer and less dense than the saline waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The river water enters the gulf, but sits on top of the colder salt water. This stratification prevents the proper mixing of oxygen-rich surface water with the oxygen-poor water underneath. Many ocean animals are unable to survive at these low levels of oxygen. The fish and other more mobile animals typically leave the hypoxic zone, however mussels, crabs, and the like have more difficulty escaping the hypoxic zone and may face death. Thus, hypoxia in the gulf is known as “The Dead Zone.” The appearance of hypoxia in new waters, especially coastal waters is disruptive to the ecosystem and has negative consequences on valuable fisheries and shellfish stocks. Animals that might feed on these fish normally could also be negatively affected by their disappearance.

Images courtesy of the Mississippi River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task force:http://water.epa.gov/type/watersheds/named/msbasin/hypoxia101.cfm

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APRIL 2013

BASICS of WIND POWER andRENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITSBY EMILY A. ZUPON

A word aboutRENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS a.k.a. REC’S A REC is a tradable, non-tangible energy commodity in the U.S. that represents 1 megawatt-hour of electricity that was generated from a renewable energy resource. RECs represent the environmental attributes of the power produced from renewable energy projects and are sold separately from commodity electricity. RECs can incentivize carbon-neutral renewable energy by providing a production subsidy to electricity generated by renewable sources.

Keep the facts straight: The energy associated with a REC is sold separately and is used by another party. The consumer of the REC receives a certificate.

A green energy provider, a wind farm, is credited with one REC for every 1MWh of electricity it produces; the average residential customer used about 800 kWh/month. The energy from the green energy source is fed into the electrical grid, and the accompanying REC can then be sold on the open market. Once the renewable energy reaches the grid it cannot be deciphered from conventionally generated energy. Essentially, in purchasing RECs, the consumer can claim they used energy from a renewable portion of the energy grid.

Pros & Cons ofWIND POWER

PROSClean energy; no fuel neededTurbines pay for themselves in several yearsAbundant domestic supplyThe power is essentially free once the infrastructure is paid for

CONSWind is not consistentProduction is encouraged largely by government subsides to remain competitiveCan be considered an eyesoreFlying species fatality endangerment

KEY FEATURES OF A WIND TURBINE

Yaw Mechanism Orients upwind turbines to keep them facing the wind when the direction changes. Downwind turbines don’t require a yaw drive because the wind manually blows the rotor away from it.

Controller Starts up the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 miles per hour (mph) and shuts off the machine at about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because they may be damaged by the high winds.

Low-Speed Shaft The rotor turns the low-speed shaft at about 30 to 60 rotations per minute.

High-Speed Shaft Drives the generator

Pitch Blades are turned, or pitched, out of the wind to control the rotor speed and keep the rotor from turning in winds that are too high or too low to produce electricity.

Generator The mechanical device that produces electrical energy from wind power.

MIS

SIO

N

CO

NT

AC

TThe SOS provides funding for projects that reduce UW-Eau

Claire’s negative impact on the environment and make UW-

Eau Claire a more sustainable campus. The SOS allocates

funding to projects addressing the various sustainability

areas of transportation, energy, waste, climate change, food

systems, campus ecology, environmental ethics, and outreach.

STUDENT OFFICE OF

SUSTAINABILITY

MEETINGS:

Tuesdays, 5 PM | Council Oak Room, Davies Center 260

DIRECTOR:

Ellen [email protected]

NEWSLETTER DESIGN, SERENA S. WAGNER

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Student Office of Sustainability | April Newsletter

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