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University of South Florida One of The Nation’s Top Green Colleges

WHITE PAPER

Written by:

Tatum Freeman

Katherine McCurdy

Jeffrey Wong

Harvey Soto

Jessica Briggs

ENC 3250 PROFESSOR FRANCIS TOBIENNE,

NOVEMBER 16, 2011

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Table of Contents: Executive Summary………………………………….…………3

Introduction………………………………………………….…4

New & Implemented Technologies…………………………..…5

Cutting Cost…………………………………………………….7

Interview Process………………………………………………7

Different Campuses, Same Goal………………………..………9

Awards & Recognition………………………………...…….…10

Conclusion………………………………………………...…...11

Works Cited……………………………………………...……11

Annotated Bibliography…………………………………….....13

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ur white paper presents to you informative data regarding University of South

Florida’s mission to “Going and Staying Green.”

Our paper focuses on what we considered to be the five most pertinent topics in relation

to USF’s sustainability projects. USF has already implemented many new technologies

throughout its campuses that have already made a significant difference in conservations. In

addition, we provided additional ways USF is cutting costs and cutting resources. Robert

Brinkman and Susana Alvarado have furthermore provided us with insight on USF’s past and

current sustainability projects. Following, our research found differences within USF’s many

campuses and how these campuses are being affected by different technologies or lack thereof.

And concluding, USF is still researching and implementing new technologies as quickly as they

can. Their future plans provide some forthcoming information along with the encouragement of

the awards USF has already received on behalf of their contributions to help saving the Earth.

Research has proven that USF has been thriving from their contribution and commitment

to Going Green. This is a long term investment that USF will never regret and schools will be

looking to USF for direction in bringing their schools to the next level as well.

O

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With global warming becoming less of a myth and more of a reality, nations all around

the world have began taking their part in a global effort to conserve the Earth. Governments,

organizations, major companies, and even schools have recently taken an initiative in “going

green” or in other words using conservative methods to help cut down waste, gas emissions, and

pollution in

general. The

University of

South Florida has

followed suit,

and the Green

Bulls have

documented

ways that USF

has participated,

excelled, and

plans to further the cause of going green.

In this paper, the Green Bulls cover how USF and all of its campuses have begun to go

green. From the smaller projects like recycle bins, to campus wide renovations of older

buildings, and future plans for new buildings, USF has been pushing forward with the intention

to make a difference. With the recognition and awards to prove it, USF is among the forefront of

A graph of the Average Global Temperature, from NASA.GOV, 2006

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green universities, as is continues to further work and improve on efficiency, conservation, and

finding other methods of saving the Earth.

USF has been diligently working towards making its campuses more environmentally

friendly. It has been so successful at these new changes that The Princeton Review has placed

them on The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges (Cash). USF has already

implemented many new technologies to help with getting its college on the right track to going

and staying green.

Some of the new technologies that USF has already implemented include recycling,

energy conservation, water conservation, Adopt-a-Road Program, bio-diesel fuel transportation,

and green roofs. Several of USF’s campuses have been equipped with recycling bins for students

to have easy access to recycling trash items such as paper, aluminum cans, glass and plastic

(Physical Plant). USF Sarasota-Manatee student government has also started collecting batteries

to recycle. In addition to USF’s recycling projects, USF has also started altering its buildings to

be more efficient. For Example to conserve energy, USF has converted its 32 watt lamps in its

buildings to 28 watt lamps. They have also installed motion sensors into many of their buildings

to conserve energy when no one is in the room. As well as a motion sensing lighting and energy

control system into many of their vending machines (Office of Sustainability). USF is also

conserving water on its campuses. USF has installed automatic water faucets and flush valves in

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many of their bathrooms to help cut back on water usage (Physical Plant). And they’ve even

started rain water harvesting, which includes collecting rain water then separately plumping it for

toilet and urinal flushing, and for operating the Running of the Bulls Fountain on the USF Tampa

campus.

On top of all these conservation methods, USF has replaced many of its old roofs with,

new, Green Roofs. These roofs contain very high amounts of insulation and high reflectivity

Solar Reflective Index of 94. So far fifteen roofs have been replaced with these new Green

Roofs, covering approximately 410,865 square feet (Office of Sustainability). USF Tampa has

even gone as far as improving its fuel consumption in their student transportation buses. Their

buses, at one time, were converted to run on 100% biodiesel fuel, but are currently running on

only partial biodiesel (Office of Sustainability). USF Sarasota Manatee is also helping the

university excel in going green by participating in the Adopt-A-Road program four times per

year. For the past several years USF Sarasota’s student government has gathered students and

faculty to clean up University Parkway, a road chosen by administration to keep clean because

many current students and faculty use that road to commute to the campus (Anderson). USF has

done extraordinary work just with these few improvements to help save the Earth.

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The new technologies being used in the older and newer buildings are helping USF

tremendously. These innovative ways of Going Green are not only helping the environment, but

also saving money for the college. The buildings on campuses have been efficient by recycling,

using energy conservation, water conservation, storm water pollution prevention, and using

emails rather than printed documents (“Physical Plant Sustainability and Energy Conservation”).

For the most part, professors do not use handouts or require assignments to be turned in. Most

professors will tell the class that the assignment is online and will be turned in through email.

This cuts the cost for paper and also saves the environment for both the students and the college.

Other ways USF has begun to Go Green has been by installing new fluorescent light bulbs in

their buildings. The new light bulbs have saved about 40 percent more energy than before

installing them (Anderson). The difference with the new lighting is not the appearance, but the

economic savings. Another way of cutting costs on campuses has been the physical water plant.

This change has cut water usage by 30 to 40 percent. This change in the water system has cut

USF’s cost down immensely.

University of South Florida is consistently searching for the implementation of newer

ideas to help continue the growth of this wonderful green college. After conducting three

interviews with people who have previously and are currently working hands on with the active

sustainability issues, USF is on a great track to becoming the greenest college in the United

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States. Susana Alvarado, water conservation co-op and member of the Student Environmental

Association stated “I implemented the first compost bins as well as the first butterfly garden

outside of the botanical gardens.” The compost bins were a big hit and are extremely beneficial

to our campus and community. Not only is the sustainability team doing everything they can to

have an environment friendly campus, they are offering classes to unknowledgeable students

giving them a better understanding of the current composting bins. USF has a goal of getting the

students involved with these issues as much as possible. The Student Green Energy Fund is one

of the larger programs going on right now; this was approved by the Florida Board of Governors

on March 24th

, 2011. Every three years they will have the student body vote on this program and

give their opinions on the dollar amount that is being deducted from their tuition fees. What’s in

it for the students? By participating in the active sustainability groups and helping the green

energy projects succeed, students are looking towards a potential drops in tuition rates if the

facility management cost decrease. “Think about it, the less money it cost to run the university,

the fewer students will be charged tuition and other fees.” (Alvarado) Alvarado also gave some

insight on the new Low-Flow Showerheads that were put in Maple B this past semester. The

shower heads are a new and efficient way of conserving water which initially reduces the amount

of energy used as well. There are currently several projects the engineering department is

working on that will lead to a greener campus. The second interview process was taken with a

man named Robert Brinkmann. Brinkmann is a former professor at USF and is now the Director

of Sustainability Research at Hofstra University in New York. Before Brinkmann’s departure

from USF he co-chaired the USF Sustainability Committee with Dr. Sharon Hanna-West.

Brinkmann also helped to encourage USF to hire a sustainability director and sign the American

College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. This commitment is working towards

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eliminating the net greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus operations. They also have

a list of task that are agreed to be completed and posted for public view. (“The American College

& University Presidents’ Climate Commitment”) With people in the USF community stepping

up and giving a little, we are primarily looking at a successfully greener college. Zaida Darley,

program coordinator, completed the third interview via email on behalf of Dr. Christian Wells,

Director of Sustainability. They have given detailed insight on the upcoming and present

research projects. USF has really been focusing towards reducing the amount of cars on the road.

With this effort, USF has numerous options of getting around. We have the option to use the

Bullrunner, we can coordinate a carpool through Zimride, or we can borrow a bike through the

Rec Center. “We have just been named “Tree Campus USA” and now we are trying to raise

$50,000 to plant 1,000 trees at USF.” (Darley) Along with reducing the cars on the road and

planting the trees we have Eleanor Ayers who has recently conducted a Food Waste Audit at the

Juniper Poplar dining hall. Darley stated, “Through this audit, students were made aware of the

amount of food they were wasting.” This has to be a huge boost for USF and their going green

process, the adults who are visual need to be aware of exactly how much they are wasting before

a change is made. It all starts with one person making their own actions counts. “So I foresee a

continuation of these efforts to result in an eco-friendly and sustainable campus where everyone

is aware and involved in making USF green.” (Darley) With our community staying as involved

as Zaida Darley has, USF is only going to continue growing greener by the day.

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With each of USF’s four campuses growing each year, the expansion of going green has

grown too. Each campus has the same goal of doing their part to save the environment, but

implement different technologies, projects, and ways to cut down on waste. For example USF

Sarasota Manatee, has taken a more physical route, and decided to participate in the “Adopt-a-

Road” program. USF’s four campuses have made it more convenient for students to recycle

paper, plastic, and glass products by introducing bins in each building separate from standard

trashcans. According to Nancy Webb of USF Poly, USF receives approximately $30 dollars per

ton of paper waste collected from the bins. The money gathered is used to further the going green

initiative.

ithin the past years, USF has

been recognized as one of the

top 286 schools in going green,

by The Princeton Review, which rates

colleges on various different subjects like

most environmentally friendly Colleges and

recognizes above average contributions. In

addition to the recognition from The

Princeton Review, in 2010 USF was ranked

2nd

in Florida, and 25th

nationally in the

RecycleMania waste minimization contest,

which deals with the amount of waste

produced per student. With the awards,

recognition, and overall success that the

University of South Florida has had with

going green, it should not come as surprise

that there are future plans to further help the

conservation of the planet.

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Going green has been a huge success for

USF. Looking at all of the money saved and

rankings in colleges, this going green

movement has been positive. The research

proves that these methods of going green are

effective and outweigh the initial investment

made by the schools. This is only the

beginning for USF’s desire to help the

environment. From what the buildings are

now doing to the future plans, USF will

strive in being greatly involved with going

green. The campuses are saving large

amounts of money and helping the

environment at the same time.

.

Anderson, Alyssa. “USF-SM is Going Green.” University of South Florida News. Print. 09 Nov.

2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2361>

Cash, Jacqui “USF one of Nation’s Top Green Colleges” The Oracle-University of South

Florida. Print 09 Nov.2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>

"Engineers for a Sustainable World at USF." Engineers for a Sustainable World at the University

of South Florida. Web. 09 Nov. 2011

<http://www.eswusf.org/usfsustainabilitypartners/index.html>.

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"Going Green Expo to Take Place in October at USF Tampa | Daily Loaf." Creative Loafing

Tampa. Web. 09 Nov. 2011 <http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2009/09/23/going-

green-expo-to-take-place-in-october-at-usf-tampa>.

“GISS Surface Temperature Analysis” NASA. Web. 16 Nov.2011

<http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs>

"Physical Plant Sustainability and Energy Conservation." USF Physical Plant. Web. 15 Nov.

2011. <http://www.pplant.usf.edu/index.php/additional-information/sustainability-

initiatives>.

“Sustain-A-Bull USF, Strategic Initiatives” Office of Provost and Executive Vice President.

Web. 09 Nov. 2011 <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-

Bull-USF.htm>

"Sustain-A-Bull USF - Key Areas - Strategic Initiatives - Academic Affairs - University of South

Florida." Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President. Web. 09 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm>.

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Anderson, Alyssa. “USF-SM is Going Green.” University of South Florida News. Print. 09 Nov.

2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2361>

This article covers how not only have the Tampa and Saint Petersburg campus’ gone

green but USF Sarasota-Manatee has participated as well. The article explains several

ways that the USF-SM campus has gone green, and also some of the awards they have

won and received. There is also another link in this article that shows some of the

positive recognition USF-SM is receiving from these practices. This would be a good

source to inform about how USF’s going green initiatives are receiving positive feedback

and recognition. There are also some programs that other USF and universities can

participate in to spread the word.

Cash, Jacqui “USF one of Nation’s Top Green Colleges” The Oracle-University of South

Florida. Print 09 Nov.2011 <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>

A great source to further boost USF’s credibility in going green, this article explains exactly how

well USF is doing in going green compared to other universities. There are a number of

interesting statistics and information in the article and it even explains the rubric in which the

universities were graded on. As a source, we could use this article to back up how well USF is

doing in going green, and we can also use this article to inspire more participation around the

campus’ in going green.

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"Engineers for a Sustainable World at USF." Engineers for a Sustainable World at the University

of South Florida. Web. 09 Nov. 2011

<http://www.eswusf.org/usfsustainabilitypartners/index.html>.

This source is a website tied to USF. It shows how USF is working to go green and lists some

events that had taken place. It has links for contact, upcoming projects, and other websites

associated with the topic. This website, like others, goes to show that USF is in fact involved

with the green movement.

"Going Green Expo to Take Place in October at USF Tampa | Daily Loaf." Creative Loafing

Tampa. Web. 09 Nov. 2011 <http://cltampa.com/dailyloaf/archives/2009/09/23/going-

green-expo-to-take-place-in-october-at-usf-tampa>.

This article was about an expo at the USF Tampa campus involving going green. This source

describes how the expo invited businesses that were interested in helping out with the green

movement. The expo was a place to go and learn about ways to go green and ways USF is going

green already. This shows that USF is taking part in the movement and acting upon it.

“Sustain-A-Bull USF, Strategic Initiatives” Office of Provost and Executive Vice President.

Web. 09 Nov. 2011 <http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-

Bull-USF.htm>

A number of important documents can be found from this link, there are insightful links that also

report on USF’s sustainability and how the initiative began. The article mentions the Tampa Bay

Expo and what issues USF has to face. This is a good article to use for some background

information on how and why USF decided to participate in going green.

"Sustain-A-Bull USF - Key Areas - Strategic Initiatives - Academic Affairs - University of South

Florida." Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President. Web. 09 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.acad.usf.edu/Office/Strategic-Initiatives/Sustain-A-Bull-USF.htm>.

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This source is a USF page with all sorts of links to other sites detailing the going green

movement. It shows links to the committee team and upcoming events. It just shows everything

you need to know and serves as a guide if you want to know further information. We could use

this link as a starting point to contacting people to interview or speak to if we need more

information.

Webb, Nancy “USF Poly has a new way to Go Green” –University of South Florida Poly News

Web. 16, Nov. 2011 < http://poly.usf.edu/News/20081209-USFP-begins-recycling.html>

Short source that explains how USF Poly is doing its part in going green, it also has great

information on how USF Poly benefits financially from being part of this project. We should use

this source to explain how each campus is trying different projects that lead to the same result or

goal.