by Sarah McNair

Renewable power is quickly becoming an important option to fuel the world’s electricity demands.  Nonrenewable sources, such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy, pollute our air and water and destroy natural habitats for plants and animals.  Renewable energy sources have less of a negative impact on the environment and include hydroelectric, solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and electricity from municipal solid waste.  In the United States, the majority of our electricity is powered by coal, followed by nuclear, natural gas, and oil.  Less than 9% of our electricity is generated from renewable sources.

In an effort to encourage organizations and businesses to utilize renewable energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has created the voluntary Green Power Partnership (GPP) for universities, non-profit, private, and public organizations.  Aside from the obvious benefit of environmental preservation, organizations in the GPP receive expert advice on green power, tools and resources, credibility, and publicity.  Green power percentage requirements are proportionate to the organization’s annual electricity use, with smaller organizations starting at a minimum of 20% and larger organizations beginning at 3%.  There are many participants whose energy comes from over 100% renewable sources.

The top 20 colleges and universities in the GPP have collectively purchased enough green energy to power over 120,000 homes for an entire year.  The majority of these higher education institutions use wind and solar energy.  Included in this list are the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Utah, Oregon State University, Drexel University, Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, the University of Phoenix, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Maryland.

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On July 21st, the APUS Sustainability Committee held the First Annual Sustainability Summit.  Attended by key stakeholders and decision makers within the community, including representatives from local institutions of higher education and local government, the Summit provided a forum for these individuals to discuss ways in which they can promote sustainability.  APUS President, Dr. Wallace E. Boston, welcomed the group.  He discussed the history of sustainability at APUS and provided a chronological examination of the university system’s renovations of several historic buildings in Charles Town, West Virginia.  Mr. Edward McMahon of Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, DC discussed the elements required to create sustainable (green, walkable, mixed-use areas) communities.  Dr. Clement Solomon, Director of the Office of Sustainability at West Virginia University (WVU) addressed the audience, sharing the successes that WVU has had in developing a holistic approach to sustainability.  Finally, Mr. Noah Mehrkam of Arcland Property Group discussed strategies for promoting and developing green building. 

To read more about the First Annual APUS Sustainability Summit, visit Dr. Boston’s blog and read his article about the event.

by Beth Gray

Recently, a coworker who is also an American Public University (APU) student (as many of our employees are) sent me a link to a YouTube video that her professor posted as part of that week’s assignment.  The video, produced by The Story of Stuff Project and narrated by Annie Leonard, is 20 minutes in length and provides a somewhat scathing look at the life cycle of our “stuff.” 

Through the use of basic yet effective animations, Leonard describes in accessible terms how all of our stuff comes to be and what happens when we are finished with it.  Through the five steps of the materials economy (extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal), our stuff requires tremendous resources, natural and human.  Along the way, the process harms many of the parties involved.  During the extraction process, for example, people living in the places where the first resources are culled often lose the lands and natural materials on which they have relied for generations.  Because their resources are lost, some 200,000 people a day (worldwide) move from environments that had previously sustained them for generations to cities in search of work, often finding it in the factories that are making stuff from the resources taken from their lands.  During the production process, workers are subjected to many harmful chemicals that are used to create the stuff.  At the same time, working conditions in many of the factories producing our stuff leave much to be desired. 

Even the consumer, who is the driving force behind the manufacturing of this stuff is harmed.  The toxins that go into making the stuff impact those who buy and use these items.  Leonard uses the phrase, “toxins in, toxics out” to make the point that many of our products are actually toxic to us.  Through all of this, the environment takes the most consistent abuse, however.  The loss of vast quantities of natural resources, toxins emitted into the environment, and the irresponsible disposal of most items leaves our planet quite vulnerable, according to Leonard.

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Commander Carol Pollio, PhD has been a member of the US Coast Guard Reserve for the last 27 years.  She is also the Program Director for the Environmental Studies Program at APUS and has worked as a biologist for the Department of Interior for the past 33 years.  Dr. Pollio was called to active duty by the US Coast Guard in July 2010 to respond to the Gulf Oil Spill.  In the November/December 2010 issue of The National Association of Environmental Professionals’ National E-News, Dr. Pollio recounts the three months she spent serving as a Liaison Officer in Santa Rosa County, Florida.  Pollio describes her day-to-day tasks in that role (everything from briefings and visits to affected beaches, to simply listening to the people living in and around the affected areas) and provides first-hand insight into many elements of the event that the media did not cover.  Dr. Pollio’s article can be found beginning on page 12 of the most recent issue of NAEP’s National E-News publication.

by Beth Gray

Jess Radlich, Media & Web Design Specialist, who helped design and create the communications posted around campus, helps hang a paper recycling poster in one of the university’s administration buildings

American Public University System (APUS) has had a recycling program on its Charles Town, West Virginia campus since September 2008.  The university has recently “upgraded” the program, however, to increase paper recycling on that campus.  While this is noteworthy in itself, what is more impressive is the way in which the university undertook the initiative.  Staff on the Charles Town campus began to express observations that there was a downfall in the paper recycling program; specifically, it was difficult to recycle large volumes of paper or large paper products like boxes and cardboard.  Additionally, staff expressed confusion about what could be recycled in which containers around campus.  The university employed the expertise of several groups to ensure not only that the campus was recycling as much as possible, but also that staff were well informed of how to help make that happen.  Facilities staff undertook the initiative to provide additional paper recycling bins in each of the campuses buildings, placing them in common areas to help make paper recycling more convenient for staff.  The Sustainability Committee worked with members of the Instructional Design team to create eye-catching posters which were posted above every recycling bin on campus to remind staff which items can be placed in each bin.  Reaching across campus to organize and execute the effort created an opportunity to increase knowledge of and participation in sustainability efforts on campus.  Communications with staff have helped inform them of the updated recycling program in order to help make the process more “user friendly” and the university expects to see an increase in participation in the recycling program as a result.