Green Love Contents
- A Little Bit of History
- Goals
- What We Have Accomplished So Far!
- For the Future…Do Your Part!
- How to Get Involved
Thank you taking an interest in the Associated Students’ Green Love initiative! We are working very hard to embrace sustainable practices in all of our facilities, and we hope that you are up to the challenge of taking these concepts home with you. Please familiarize yourself with the information below. We are very proud of our mission and progress to date, but we realize we have a great deal more work to do. If you or anyone you know would like to get involved and make a real difference, send us a message or stop by the AS Government Affairs Office on the Lower Level of the Aztec Center (below Starbucks).
A Little Bit of History
The Green Love initiative was not a decision made by one person, nor was it made on any particular day. Instead, its development was incremental and inspired by AS student leaders. That said, the AS commitment to become more sustainable was inspired by those that have taken it upon themselves to educate the world in an effort to preserve its health and beauty.
Throughout the years, AS has taken steps to go above and beyond in recognition that we need to reduce our environmental impact. For example, it has been observed that we maintain a recycling program superior to the rest of the campus. Yet that’s just one facet of what we at AS are doing. At the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, Glen Brandenburg, the Director, has been passionate about preserving the environment his entire life. He has managed to create an extraordinary example of a sustainable facility that enthusiastically practices energy, water, and waste conservation, which without a doubt has set the standard for the rest of our facilities and services.
With the recent surge in public awareness of sustainability issues over the last decade, AS has been fortunate to have some of them on board. In 2006, the executive board lead by President Matt Keipper made the decision to contract with architects Perkins+Will on the overall program and budget of our renovations and expansion of Aztec Center to ModernSpace. Why Perkins+Will? One key element is their consistent dedication to sustainable architecture, which they have literally written the book on.
When it was time for the new executive members to transition to office in 2007, Vice President of Finance, Justin Motika had toyed with the idea of offering incentives for student organizations that achieved significant strides in sustainability. He thought to dub this “Green Love” after a program he had implemented in his fraternity where an “Eco-chair” was to oversee a revamped recycling system and work to improve energy, water, and waste consumption. Without hesitation, President James Poet and the executive board expressed full support to expand the program throughout AS. and thus included it in the 2007-2008 Key Priority Goals.
With the lead of our Executive Director, Dan Cornthwaite, the values of the Green Love initiative have been effectively developed and communicated to the senior staff. Currently, Justin Motika is working to develop many of the facets included in the initiative, such as an awareness campaign to the student body, staff, and faculty. He is also creating a benchmark program for student organizations, including Greeks, which seek a higher level of environmental responsibility.
Mission Statement
To pave the way for a full scale sustainable movement by and for San Diego State University and the surrounding communities.
Goals
- Create an awareness of sustainability throughout the Associated Students Inc.
- Measurably improve operations to meet as high of standard of sustainability as feasible.
- Create an awareness of sustainability throughout the University with an ongoing educational campaign.
- Encourage student organizations and residents to adopt sustainable habits.
- Assist SDSU in becoming a model University in sustainability.
What We Have Accomplished So Far!
- Justin Motika, AS VP of Finance, has made presentations informing about and promoting our new program to the AS Council, Senate Executive Committee and the University Senate. Justin has done an outstanding job and has received very favorable comments in response to each of his presentations. Justin and the Green Love Committee are working on an information outreach campaign including installations in all AS facilities, and eventually the campus as a whole. They have set up an incentive program to encourage student organizations to get involved in doing their part.
- A contract price has been established and all AS departments are transitioning into exclusive use of 100% post consumer recycled paper.
- Vendor and volume information is being gathered regarding use of EPA-certified post consumer recycled toilet paper and paper towels in all AS facilities. We're also researching the feasibility of using electric hand dryers.
- An inventory has been completed in all AS facilities to identify all appliances which are not "Energy Star" rated, for eventual replacement.
- Energy audits have been completed for the Mission Bay Aquatic Center, Aztec Recreation Center, Aztec Aquaplex and the SDSU Children's Center. Cox Arena's audit is in progress; Aztec Center will explore a limited audit that recognizes the upcoming planned renovation.
- Each AS facility and/or department has initiated use of rechargeable batteries and now provides recycling stations for used batteries.
- Progress has been made in exploring use of convenient one-bin recycling containers in all AS facilities.
- Progress has been made to install low-flow water fixtures in facilities where they are not currently installed.
- Vending "misers" have been installed on all appropriate vending machines in AS facilities.
- Nightly shut-off instructions have been sent to all AS desktop users to ensure all computers and other office equipment are shut-off each evening and are set to best power-saving mode.
- All incandescent light bulbs in AS facilities are either being replaced or evaluated for possible replacement with fluorescent lighting.
For the Future…
Leadership within AS has lots of big ideas, and big ideas lead to big projects that can take time, so we’ll be doing our best to capture all of them and continue our commitment to improving ways of reducing our impact. Check out what we have so far:
- Install lighting occupancy sensor switches
- Enroll all AS buildings in the US Green Building Council LEED EB (existing building) programs.
- Purchase carbon sequestering credits for air and vehicle travel.
- Install solar thermal water heating for domestic hot water.
- Install solar photovoltaic electrical generation.
- Replace carpeting following the California Green Carpet Guidelines.
- Work with custodial contractor GMS to use environmental safe cleaning products, equipment and methods for cleaning.
- Develop public recycling center at AS facilities for less common recyclables i.e. batteries, printer cartridges, burnt-out fluorescent lights, cell phones, computers, monitors etc.
- Consider purchase of diesel pickup truck for Aztec Center to utilize campus “bio-fuel”.
- Collaborate with University to develop “SDSU Center for Sustainability and Energy Conservation”.
- Develop free bike rental program that encourages more use of bicycles on and near campus.
- Offer one-time reimbursement to full-time employees who purchase/lease a fuel efficient vehicle as defined by the IRS's hybrid vehicle tax credit program.
Do Your Part!
Doing your part can be fun, easy, and eventually habit forming. Not to mention it can save you tons of MONEY! First calculate your personal impact, visit:fightglobalwarming.com/carboncalculator
Now look over the list and take steps to including each suggestion in your lifestyle.
Energy
- You can drastically reduce your energy bill by simply switching to energy-saving compact florescent light bulbs (CFL’s, you know, the funny looking swirly ones).
- You can pick them up in convenient places such as Home Depot, Costco, Walmart etc. And right now they are very cheap due to subsidies from SDG&E! Don’t forget to turns lights off when you are not in the room to increase those savings.
- Save energy and money at home with Energy Star products for heating, cooling, lighting, and all of your appliances. Next time you are in market for an energy consuming product, see if there is an Energy Star alternative.
- Use less hot water. When washing clothes, do full loads each time, use only cold water, and hang dry when done. If you can’t live without the dryer, make sure to clean the lint-trap after every load!
- Use the natural sunlight during the day for light and heat. At night, make sure to close all the windows and doors to keep heat in.
Water
- Use less water. We consume an enormous amount of water, whether from showering, flushing the toilet, doing dishes, or watering plants.
- Low flow shower heads and faucets are available at home appliance stores and use significantly less water.
- If you are using a toilet with a tank, simply throwing a brick in the tank or a full quart of water can reduce water consumption each flush.
- Using a tub of warm water to wash dishes and cold water to rinse them is considered to be one of the best practices.
- Finally, make sure to water plants at night when it’s the temperature has cooled so no water is wasted from evaporation.
Recycling
- If you have not set up a recycling station in your home, you are missing out on some serious savings. Just set up multiple trash containers (e.g. boxes, trashbags, buckets etc.) in your kitchen, garage, or even backyard. Almost all aluminum cans, plastic bottles, or glass containers can be recycled and redeemed for cash. Most recycling centers will take everything regardless. Making a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly trip is easy and rewarding. Currently there is a recycling center in the Ralph’s parking lot on El Cajon and Montezuma. Don’t care about the cash? There is a recycling center at SDSU near the Living Learning Center and Cuicacalli. Drop of anything recyclable, including ink cartridges, batteries, compact florescent lights, cans, bottles etc.
- Consider reusing as much as possible. Water bottles, glass jars, and even disposable dishware can be reused a number of times (including those red cups, which there is an identical clear cup that is recyclable if disposed of properly that is an excellent alternative, FYI). Try bringing reusable bottles to campus instead of buying bottles each time, and for the Starbucks connoisseurs, purchasing a coffee mug can reduce the consumption of paper cups.
Automobile Emissions
- Reduce automobile emissions by driving less.
- Make a habit to ride a bike, skate, or walk for those short trips.
- Take advantage of public transportation, including the very accessible Trolley.
- If you must drive, make sure to properly inflate your tires, get your engine checked regularly, carpool, and consider a fuel-efficient vehicle.
- Also, air-conditioners are one of the leading causes of chlorofluorocarbons in our atmosphere. When appropriate, see if you can do with the windows rolled down. If you’ve ever watched Mythbusters, they have shown that there is no significance savings or loss in gas mileage when rolling the window down as opposed to using the AC unit.
How to Get Involved
There are many ways you can get involved in our movement. As mentioned above, we would love to receive a message from you or a visit in the Government Affairs Office. We understand that students are busy, and if that’s you, then simply making a small effort to do you part and spread the word to your peers is really a great contribution. Still, we would love to know what creative ways to conserve you have come up with, so contact us and let us in!
The Associated Students would like to give a special thanks to all those who have come forward thus far to offer their help in this endeavor. We have received an incredible amount of support from students, faculty, and staff, which makes it obvious that this is the right thing to do. We would also like to recognize those students, faculty, staff, and organizations, including Aztec Shops for taking it upon themselves to do great things for the environment.