Pedal Pushers

Recycling Bikes a Hit at Saint Joseph’s University

Amy Sands and Kyle Konopka—prime movers in a Saint Joseph’s University bike-share program.

PHILADELPHIA – “We’re responding to a need,” says sophomore finance major Kyle Konopka. He and Amy Sands will be helping Saint Joseph’s University students faced with rising gas prices, a large campus, and tight parking still get to class on time: they’ll put them on bikes.

“As the campus expanded and people couldn’t get from one end to the other, we tried to find an environmentally friendly way to help. We love bike riding, so we came up with the idea of the Saint Joseph’s Bike Co-op, where we could all share the bikes.”

Konopka is the president of Saint Joseph’s GREEN COW (Get Ready for Environmental Education Now Conserve Our Wildlife) organization, which works with students and the community to increase awareness for the environment. He and fellow member Sands helped map out the bike co-op program.

Students will sign contracts in which they agree to take responsibility for the care and condition of bikes and promise to wear helmets.

The program launches March 16 with a Bike-a-Palooza celebration featuring student bands. In the meantime, GREEN COW members will continue soliciting donations for bikes.

"We love bike riding, so we came up with the idea of the Saint Joseph’s Bike Co-op, where we could all share the bikes.”

“The university has been really supportive; they sent out an e-mail to everyone on the faculty, and right away we got five or ten bikes donated,” says Bands. “We’ve also put an ad on craigslist and we’ve written letters to local bike shops, asking them to help. The response has been good.”

For Konopka and Sands, caring for the environment has been a long-time priority.

“When I was four, my parents took me to the Camden incinerator to show me what happens when people don’t recycle,” Konopka says. Sands remembers watching nature documentaries and reading Ranger Rick when everyone else was watching cartoons.

“Environmental steward-ship is part of the Jesuit ideal,” says Sands. “We have to be conscious of how we fit in with the rest of the world and be good caretakers of the environment.”

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Hortus in Urbe

Gesu Parish Garden A Growing Asset

DETROIT – It’s an oasis in the middle of a city. The Gloryland Community Garden at the Jesuits’ Gesu Parish provides food and also gives parishioners the natural beauty that an urban landscape can lack.

It’s a growth industry—Gesu Church in Detroit sponsors a neighborhood garden.

Brainchild of Gesu parishioner Jackie Fulbright, the garden occupies a quarter-acre plot behind the church. Its first harvest this fall provided hundreds of pounds of food for the members of the garden co-op, who work six hours a month, as well as for the people served by the parish’s St. Vincent De Paul chapter, which receives 10 percent of the produce.

“I took a nine-week workshop on community gardens,” says Fulbright. “I noticed the plot of land behind the church, so I prepared a proposal for a community garden that would help feed the homeless in Detroit.”

An active member of the parish’s Peace and Justice Committee, Fulbright got the help of her friends, and things snowballed. They got funding and manpower from organizations; Organic Gardening magazine funded a 1,200-gallon cistern that catches rainwater for irrigation from structures around the garden.

Hundreds of bags of fall leaves went into the garden’s compost pile rather than a landfill. They’ve even started a beehive to keep the plants pollinated and produce honey. And a makeshift greenhouse over one bed lets things grow even in winter.

“We grow tomatoes, greens, cabbage, sugar snap peas, strawberries, raspberries, zucchini, carrots, radishes,” Fulbright says. “You name it, we probably grow it.”

Fulbright, a former police officer, took up gardening to de-stress at the end of a long day. She sees it now as part of a much larger picture. “There are children here who have never seen a whole tomato,” she says, “just the slice that comes on a fast-food hamburger. Now they see it all—how a seed comes to fruition, how they help it get there. This garden beautifies the neighborhood. It brings us together.”

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Catching Rays in New Jersey

Retreat House Bets on the Sun

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Loyola House of Retreats is located in an ideal place for a quiet, spiritual getaway. It also happens to be in a great spot to harness solar power, so now the retreat house is getting ready to go green.

Loyola House of Retreats in Morristown N.J., has a solar future.

Looking at a power bill that had increased 50 percent over the past few years, Joseph Albarella, Loyola’s executive director and vice president, decided to explore the possibility of using the sun to power the retreat house. “The 33 acres of Loyola sitting on a higher elevation with good southern exposure to the sun make it a good candidate for solar,” says Albarella. A longtime Loyola benefactor found an investor, and Albarella started navigating the complicated tax credit programs available and came up with a plan.

“The entire system, including panels, would be installed on Loyola property,” he says. “The power generated from this system will provide 80 percent or more of all the electricity Loyola needs. The investor would receive the tax incentives available.”

Now that a designer and installer has been selected for the project, it’s now making its way through the labyrinth of contract approvals, city permits, and board approvals. Albarella is excited and encouraged by what he calls a win-win-win proposition.

“Where else can an investor achieve this excellent long-term return in today’s market, while eliminating almost six million pounds of CO2 pollution, and helping his favorite Jesuit retreat house—Loyola?”

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Becoming Saints & Saving the World

St. Ignatius College Prep Nature/Nexis students hear from veteran ecologist Dave Schooley, who has been protecting San Bruno Mountain outside San Francisco from development since the ’70s.

SAN FRANCISCO – St. Ignatius College Prep teacher Paul Totah and his colleague Chad Evans outline two goals for their students as they begin their Nature/Nexus class each fall: become saints and save the world.

This year-long, interdisciplinary program explores connections in English and religion through the study and experience of nature. The curriculum has included field trips to places such as a farmers’ market to learn about local produce, to Yosemite National Park to follow the water cycle as it travels to San Francisco, and to a toxic-waste site to determine the impact our throw-away society has on the environment.

The class pushes students to take a good look at their own lives and their impact on the environment, and they do this in concrete ways.

“First, we have them dig through the garbage cans after lunch,” Totah says. “They’re shocked at the waste of food and how throwing the wrong thing into a recycling bin can contaminate everything. Then, we have them keep track of their own garbage. They literally carry a garbage sack around with them for the whole day, filling it with anything they use and discard, showing them how they personally contribute to the area’s landfills.

“These students see for themselves the impact they have on their world. In the United States, we consume 25 percent of the world’s goods and services, and our population is only about 8 percent of the total. We want them to change that.

“You can’t save that which you do not love,” says Totah, “and you can’t love what you do not know. We find God in all things, and when these students come to appreciate and love their planet, they are connecting with God.”

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Old Homes Get New Life on Campus

Cork flooring—tankless hot water system—low-flow showerheads. This Seattle University student housing got an eco-friendly makeover.

Renovation at Seattle University

SEATTLE – Having an environmentally friendly house doesn’t have to mean all new construction. As Seattle University’s Kolvenbach Community proves, older homes can be renovated to save as much energy—or more—than new ones.

These two houses, built in 1918, have been updated using eco-friendly materials such as cork flooring, biodegradable linoleum, and cellulose insulation.

A tankless water heater, tubular skylights, low-flow showerheads, dual-flow toilets, clotheslines, and energy-efficient appliances are just a few of the ways these homes achieve smaller environmental footprints.

For Karen Price, the campus sustainability manager, these houses are a testing ground for eco-friendly materials’ durability. “We knew students would be hard on them, so we used materials with an eye to seeing how they would hold up under tough conditions.”

The Kolvenbach Community is home to eight Seattle U students who are committed to service, performing five hours of community service per week in addition to handling a full course load. They also participate in bi-monthly dinners with neighbors, faculty, and staff, weekly dinners with Kolvenbach residents, and community council meetings.

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Santa Clara University senior Meghan Mooney works on a solar-powered home that garnered her school a third-place award in a Department of Energy competition. Santa Clara has a full-time Sustainability Coordinator, a “green” voice on campus.

New Job on Campus

Santa Clara University’s Sustainability Coordinator Helps Keep Things Green

SANTA CLARA – Lindsey Cromwell calls herself the Gossip Queen, but she’s not passing on the latest celebrity news or pointing out someone’s bad haircut. As Santa Clara University’s sustainability coordinator, she makes sure everyone on campus and beyond knows what this cutting-edge university is doing to save the environment.

“There is a culture of sustainability on campus that encourages students to think about the decisions they make and how those decisions impact the lives of others,” says Cromwell. “There are all sorts of pockets of activity going on around this campus, and it’s my job to let everyone know what’s going on so we can help each other.”

There’s a lot to share. President Paul Locatelli, SJ, signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment last year, pledging to achieve campus climate neutrality and to reduce CO2 emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2010.

Santa Clara University’s Sustainability Coordinator Lindsey Cromwell—a “green” voice on campus.

A new facility that houses the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library brings together research with the latest information technology available in an environmentally friendly way. From water-free urinals to tons of natural light to recyclable and recycled furniture, the whole building boasts sustainable technology. The building is twice the size of the one it replaced but runs on the same amount of energy.

This year the university started the Sustainable Living Undergraduate Research Project (SLURP) this year, bringing students from different disciplines to live together on the same floor of a residence hall and work on year-long projects that examine and create sustainable living.
“Our campus is a living laboratory,” says Cromwell. “Students are constantly looking at their actions and asking how they can make a difference. How can we compost? How do we use less energy? How can we recycle better?

“For example, students were trying to reduce energy around campus. After looking at several options, they found that smart power strips, which completely shut power off to computers and other electronics when not in use, reduce energy use the most. So now those power strips are used in our business school.”

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Loyola University Chicago’s Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons catches Lake Michigan’s breezes and the Midwest’s sunshine to control climate and cut costs to boot.

Thinking Big, Thinking Green

Loyola University Chicago’s Information Commons

CHICAGO – They used to be just plain libraries, with books and studying students and stern librarians. Not anymore. Now with more and more information available electronically, the way students research has changed dramatically, and universities have changed along with them.

At Loyola University Chicago, the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons is the place where students research, study, and surf the net. It’s also one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city, having received a Silver-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating.

From its mechanical design to its recycled-content carpeting, the building saves the university an estimated 50 percent of its energy costs while cutting down significantly on its CO2 output.

Sensors monitor everything from heat and light to air quality, and they cool or heat rooms based on the number of people using them. Coatings on windows, shades, and blinds moderate heat intake.

Unlike buildings that are heated and cooled with forced-air systems, this place uses a combination of under-floor air distribution and radiant concrete ceilings that cool in the summer and heat in the winter. The building also takes advantage of natural ventilation, eliminating the need for any climate control during at least two months out of the year.

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Barging In

Pier 48, Hudson River—the address of a self-sustaining science experiment on a barge. Fordham University’s Professor Colin Cathcart and students construct a kitchen for the food grown on site.

Fordham University Classroom on the Hudson River

NEW YORK – Urban, gritty . . . green? Generally, “New York” and “eco-friendly” don’t come to mind at the same time. But Fordham University is changing that.

One of the first of the city’s institutions to answer Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s call to cut greenhouse gases by 30 percent by 2017, Fordham is leading the way with initiatives that reach across every part of the university’s realm—from the classroom to the janitor’s closet.

In the first offering of Sustainable New York, his summer session course this year, Professor Colin Cathcart spent a month taking students outside and showing them how accessible sustainability is in an urban culture. For example, students were challenged with constructing a green kitchen on the Science Barge, a completely off-the-grid urban farm floating in the Hudson River, to teach students where food comes from and where garbage goes. Materials used for the kitchen came from a nonprofit that sells salvaged and surplus materials. Power for cooking comes from the sun and wind, and water comes from filtered rainwater.

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Free Pass Out of Detention

Brophy Prep Students Encouraged to Car Pool

PHOENIX – “No one’s better than a teenage boy at spotting inconsistencies in an adult,” says James Bopp, dean of students at Brophy Prep. “If we’re going to talk about saving the environment, we’re going to have to put our words into action.”

Brophy’s actions include the usual things such as sponsoring an Environmental Club, spreading recycling bins around campus, and holding a week-long, cross-curricular program on the environment.

“Here on campus, students aren’t allowed to park unless they’re in a car pool,” says Bopp. This year there are 325 registered car pool participants.

“We also offer bus passes here in the office for a 25 percent discount. If a student buys a bus pass, he gets a Get Out of JUG Free pass. The same goes for anyone who’s a confirmed walker or bike rider.”

Showers are provided for students who need them after traveling through Phoenix’s sometimes toasty weather.

The Phoenix area has grown, and the city is reporting more and more high pollution days due to increased traffic. The school is encouraging the city to increase the accessibility of public transportation and is doing its best to roll out the welcome mat for the area’s first light rail system, which will run directly in front of the school.

Brophy’s own bus service serves students in some of the more far-flung regions of the metro area. Bopp knows that these efforts decrease the school’s carbon footprint, and he hopes the students are paying attention.

“We talk a lot about caring for the environment,” he says. “Now we’re modeling it for them as well.”

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Just Plug It In

CINCINNATI – Xavier University recently purchased this electric car for use by the university’s post office. The car, which plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet and recharges in six to eight hours, can hit 25 miles per hour and travel up to 30 miles.

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Recycling for 30 Years

Creighton Prep Students On the Job

Paul Sobczyk and Jeffmin Lin have inherited a 30-year-old Creighton Prep tradition of turning Omaha’s recyclables into Science Club cash.

OMAHA – It started out as a fundraising scheme.

“We needed funds for the Science Club,” Creighton Prep science teacher Dave Dow says simply. So in 1977, he organized what is now a three-decades-long mission of gathering Omaha’s recyclables.

“Before the City of Omaha started their recycling program, we collected materials from the metro area five and a half days a week,” Dow says. “We’ve collected over 1.3 million pounds of recyclables since we began.”

Science Club students collect all sorts of things not accepted by the city—computers, cell phones, inkjet cartridges, batteries among them—items we all look at and say, “What do I do with this?” They are whisked away to the proper recycling center where they are put to good use. Newspapers, for example, are taken to a company that makes cellulose insulation.

The club has developed a loyal following. One plumbing company has been recycling cardboard boxes that hot water heaters and other large appliances come in through Creighton Prep for over twenty years. Former Science Club members, alumni, and parents continue to bring their materials for recycling, as do residents of apartment buildings who don’t have access to the city’s recycling program.

Ten percent of proceeds goes to local charities, but after that, the money funds Science Club field trips (last year it was to New York; this year it’s Vancouver), science competition entry fees, and refreshments for club meetings. Students’ financial obligation for field trips is related to the number of points they receive for participating in club activities; some students have paid as little as a dollar for a cross-country trip.

For Dow, however, recycling is more than just a way to pay for trips and munchies. “We’re teaching students firsthand about the environmental benefits of recycling,” Dow says. “It’s important to realize that the world isn’t ours to overuse or abuse. Everything comes from God. We’re developing a philosophy of caring for the earth and caring for others.”

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Shooting the Breeze

Jesuit Laundry Goes On Line

BELIZE CITY, Belize – Fr. Jeffrey Harrison, SJ, superior of the Jesuit community in Belize, has been called a cheater, and he’s proud of it.
During a recent discussion about what steps Jesuit ministries were taking to lessen their impact on the environment, Harrison simply outlined his community’s daily life for everyone there.

Fr. Steve Mitten, SJ, handles laundry at the Jesuit residence in Belize the old-fashioned way.

“I was considered a cheater,” he says, referring to his fellow Missouri Province Jesuits back in the States. “In Belize, we have very little choice. Most of our green options are not options at all, but simple necessities.”

Harrison points out simple things about his community that make it the envy of all the eco-warriors back in the States. The main building has a flat roof, where rainwater collects and runs down to a cistern for cooking, drinking, flushing, etc. The building’s design takes advantage of its seaside location to catch cross breezes. Landscaping incorporates grasses that tolerate the salt water that accompanies high tides. The community’s washing machines are modern, but clothes dry outside. In the kitchen, all utensils are reusable, and the majority of food is locally grown.

“The poor have something to teach us about living simply,” says Harrison. When he comes home to the States, he sees many ways that we can reduce our impact on the environment. “Take air conditioning, for instance . . . I know places that turn on the AC in April and don’t turn it off until October. I think if buildings were designed with opening windows, awnings, and deep porches, we could cut down at least.”

Jesuits must be at the forefront of the environmental movement in the world, Harrison thinks. “We believe that God’s creation was given to us to further the kingdom, not dissipate and waste it.”

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In Medias Res

Fairfield Jesuit Community in the Thick of Things

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – When the Fairfield University Jesuit Community Center opens later this year, Jesuits will be right in the center of campus life.

Built on the side of a hill at the heart of Fairfield’s campus, the Jesuit Community Center will be environmentally friendly. The roof will play host to grass and wild flowers, which will help insulate the building and absorb up to 95 percent of the rainwater while keeping the sun’s harmful rays off the roof and extending its life. State-of-the-art heating and cooling systems will greatly reduce carbon emissions as well as costs.

The building is oriented to capture and retain the sun’s rays in winter and take advantage of the cooling breezes of Long Island Sound in the summer. It’s situated so as not to disturb a grove of centennial beech trees that were planted by the original occupants of the land. Little went to waste; a diseased tree from the construction site was cut down and made into an altar, an ambo, and a celebrant’s chair for the chapel.

The building will also have room for retreats, spiritual direction, concerts, meals, areas for faculty and staff program development, and a chapel.

“We selected a committee to look at relocating the residence—we reviewed all the possibilities,” says Fr. Walter Conlan, SJ, rector. “The men understood that this was, as we put it, ‘our proud moment.’ We finally got a residence in the center of the university.”

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If It’s Friday, We’re Cleaning

Jesuit novices Peter Gadalla and Caleb Bernaccio on recycle duty.

New Orleans Novices

GRAND COTEAU, La. – They’re doing it all in one fell swoop—cleaning up their community, saving the environment, and helping the poor, all at the very same time.

The novices of the Jesuits’ New Orleans Province spend their Apostolic Fridays (as they’re called) gathering up and sorting all of the recyclables in their sprawling community that includes the novitiate, a busy retreat center, and a parish. They then cart the materials down to the local recycling center, where the money they receive is given to the Thensted Outreach Center, a local charity (named for the late Jesuit Fr. Cornelius Thensted) that provides job training, elderly care, a day care center, and a food pantry.

“This is part of showing the novices how important caring for the world is,” says novice director Fr. Mark Thibodeaux, SJ. “We’re caring for the world itself by recycling, along with caring for people by sharing whatever money we make.”

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Campus Cafeteria Goes Trayless

John Carroll University Students Carry On

All hands on deck—When John Carroll University’s cafeteria, like those at many schools nationwide, went trayless, food waste went way down.

CLEVELAND – Walk into a student cafeteria at John Carroll University, and you might think you’re in the wrong place. There are no big bins of steaming food being dished out by bored, hair-netted cafeteria workers. And where are the trays?

John Carroll is part of a growing trend of college cafeterias working to reduce waste. According to Xavier Flores, director of dining services, the whole idea of a college cafeteria is changing.

“Our philosophy is eat what you want, and eat what you take,” he says. “We use the three-three-three system. Three orders prepared for three customers in three minutes. You select what you want, and it’s made right there.”

This has eliminated waste on many levels. Because food isn’t prepared in bulk, there’s less chance of something going uneaten. Portions are controlled, and since there aren’t trays to load up, students eat what they’ve been served and go back for seconds if they’re still hungry.

“It’s more of a residential restaurant than a regular cafeteria,” Flores says.

Since instituting Trayless Tuesdays (students can use trays other days, but they’re in a hard-to-find spot in the cafeteria), Flores reports a 21 percent decrease in the amount of food waste. Students seem to be adjusting just fine.

“We started this program at the beginning of school, when the football players were the only ones here,” he says. “I thought we were going to get a lot of negative response, but after we explained it to them, they really seemed to get the concept.”

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Up On the Roof

Former Gang Members Go Solar

“Nothing stops a bullet like a job” is one of the principles that Fr. Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries proves. A training program certifies former gang members in solar panel installation.

LOS ANGELES – Solar energy. Employing former gang members. Put them together and you have the latest initiative from Homeboy Industries, which helps at-risk and former gang members become contributing members of society through job training, counseling, and education.

Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, who has been running Homeboy Industries since 1988, decided to capitalize on a recent Los Angeles school district decision to put solar panels on every school in the city. Partnering with the East Los Angeles Skills Center, he started a program to offer the training that installers would need.

“You don’t just go up on a roof and put panels on,” says Boyle. “It involves math, blueprint reading—the training is 160 days for six hours a day, so it’s like a full-time job.”

Homeboy pays trainees to go through the program and become certified solar-panel installers.

This couldn’t come at a better time. “There’s not a lot of hope on the horizon,” says Boyle, who’s been through economic downturns before, but doesn’t remember one as dire as this. “No one’s hiring, foundations are shrinking their support. But these green-collar jobs are a whole new opportunity.” Boyle describes the program as a three-fer: building infrastructure, greening the city, and employing those who are hard to employ.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t obstacles to overcome. Boyle says it costs $500,000 a year to run the program, and in this economy that amount is almost unattainable.

But that doesn’t deter Homeboy Industries or its founder. “Leap, and a net will appear—that’s always been our motto,” says Boyle.

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Small Computers Think Big at Rockhurst University

Powering down—thin-client computers require much less energy and space.

KANSAS CITY – It’s like going from a Hummer to a Prius and not noticing there’s less leg room.

At Rockhurst University, 230 traditional desktop computers in computer labs were replaced by compact units, about the size of a book, that rely on central servers for processing and memory. This move reduces computer-related energy costs by up to 90 percent, and students won’t experience any difference.

These new machines, called thin-client computers, run on about a tenth of the power of normal terminals. Because processing is done in another location, less heat is generated, and that cuts down on air conditioning needs in the labs.

In addition, less material goes into the manufacture of these thinner computers, and there are no moving parts to break. There is no need for cooling fans, so that means that the computer labs are quieter.

These computers have no memory, so some users are a little fearful of this new system. But administrators are quick to point out that because information resides in central servers, it stays secure. If any one computer goes down, the user just logs back on at any other work station and goes back to work.

In the spirit of being good stewards, Rockhurst donated the old computers to nonprofit groups.

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Jesuit High Is Green Leader

Sustainability Issues Raised During a Weeklong Workshop

Oregon Secretary of State Ray Bradbury addresses students at Jesuit High School, Portland.

PORTLAND, Ore. – There is a Jesuit high school that has been quietly working toward a greener campus for quite a while now. Home to one of the only LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Buildings at a Catholic high school, Jesuit High School’s buildings and grounds are treated and cleaned with eco-friendly materials, bathrooms are stocked with towels instead of paper, and drinking fountains sport water-bottle fillers.

The administration took it a step further last November by spending a week focusing on sustainability issues. During Green Week, students at Jesuit listened to the dangers of global warming and what they can do to reverse it, discovered sustainable and green alternatives, and took a look at their own carbon footprints.

To Paul Hogan, Jesuit High’s academic VP, the week was a success. “On Monday, we had an opportunity to bring in Bill Bradbury, Oregon secretary of state, who was trained by Al Gore about the effects of global warming, so we decided to build a whole week around it. In his presentation, there’s a lot of ‘freak you out’ material, with natural disasters and dire predictions and not a whole lot of solutions. So the rest of the week was spent teaching the students about how they can change the environment.”

During the week, students were encouraged to car pool or find other environmentally friendly ways to get to school, and they conducted a trash audit, checking the waste in the school’s cafeteria. The school hosted business leaders who talked to the students about sustainable energy alternatives and the career opportunities they presented. Everyone took a survey to determine personal carbon footprints. The week ended with a Mass celebrated by Seattle University’s Fr. Paul Janowiak, SJ, who focused on the faithful stewardship of creation.

“It was a good week,” Hogan says. “Our objective was to raise awareness of climate change, and I know we did that. Our students are learning that they are called to live out their Gospel values.”

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