From Miller-McCune.com:

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at Michigan State University have calculated the carbon sequestration benefits extensive green roofs can provide. Findings from horticulturalists Kristen Getter and Brad Rowe in October’s Environmental Science & Technology revealed green roofs’ potential as carbon sinks.
… Two experiments were run to measure the potential of storing carbon in green roofs…

All the green roofs were planted with Sedum, a genus of leafy succulent known for its hardiness and often used as ground cover. “We planted what we knew would grow,” said Getter.

Over a two-year period, the plants on the East Lansing campus were periodically harvested. Leafy parts stored on average 168 grams of carbon per square meter, the roots and the soil respectively stored 160 and 300 grams on average. Combined, each plot had the capacity to store 375 grams of C0₂ per square meter.

http://www.miller-mccune.com/science_environment/cooling-the-asphalt-jungle-1671

The researchers estimated the city of Detroit has 219 acres of roof space available for conversion. If black tar roofs were retrofitted, 55,000 tons of CO₂ could be removed from the air — enough CO₂ to offset the carbon emissions of 10,000 mid-sized SUVs or trucks for an entire year, they calculated.

And some straight-up economic benefits:

Inside his office, Mumford has noticed a marked difference. White noise has been reduced. He’s saved 23 percent on his electric bills. And rather than redoing his roof every 10 to 20 years, he believes his green roof can last up to 60 years if maintained properly.

A study by the Berkeley Lawrence Lab found that if 15 percent of the buildings in Los Angeles installed reflective or green roofs, daytime temperatures would be reduced by 3 degrees Celsius — saving Los Angeles half to 1 gigawatt of power during peak-use hours.

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The CCURB Project HeatSave was highlighted, and our own dashing Adam Yarnell ‘10 is holding down page 22.

Plenty of the work done by students at the 165 colleges and universities in 46 states, represented in this report, has counterparts at Brown, through initiatives like the Real Food Challenge, the Beyond the Bottle campaign, Eco-Reps and individual projects like trayless dining, the revolving loan anticipated for the EEAC on-campus project dollars, and many more.

As emPOWER contemplates the coming semester and how to shape priorities and projects in spring of 2010, it’s worth a look at what other student groups are pulling off across the US.

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[Edit: HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE list of CCURB ideas follow after the jump! - Ryan]

Possible Carbon-Reducing Techniques

• Water conservation – low flow showerheads, faucet aerators
• Green energy source – solar panels, PV, small scale wind turbine
• Transportation alternatives – bicycles, RIPTA campaign, rideshare, electric cars
• Weatherization – caulk, weatherstripping, insulation, roofing, windows
• Appliance Replacements – or heating/cooling improvements
• Big Polluters – changing practices at power plants, train stations, sewage treatment facilities
• Behavioral Changes – power strips, conservation, tire inflation
• Waste Reduction – double-sided printing, composting
• Education – better use of existing resources through appliance rebates and free home energy audits

Possible Sites

• Providence public/private schools
• Providence Housing Authority buildings
• Municipal Government buildings
• gas stations
• residences
• power plants
• water treatment facilities
• businesses
• hospitals/healthcare facilities
• catering businesses
• nursing homes
• daycare facilities

Possible Beneficiaries

• Rhode Island drivers
• small businesses
• low/medium/high income residents
• ex-offenders
• ESL adult learners
• veterans
• high school Providence youth
• National Grid customers
• Heating Oil Customers
• gym users
• renters
• homeless
• group home residents

Possible Community Partners

• George Wiley Center
• Apeiron Institute
• People’s Power and Light
• Interfaith Power and Light
• Sophia Academy
• Environmental Justice League
• Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
• FarmFreshRI
• Family Life Center
• Clean Water Action
• Sierra Club RI
• Ocean State Action
• Audubon Society of Rhode Island
• English For Action
• Save The Bay
• The Genesis Center
• Progreso Latino
• Jobs With Justice
• Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition
• National Grid
• RI GreenStart
• Student Veterans of America
• Amos House
• Americorps Bridges 4 Learning
• Serve Rhode Island
• RI Community Food Bank
• Hope High School
• Providence Community Action Program
• East Bay Community Action Program
• Neighborworks Blackstone River Valley
• John Hope Settlement Home
• The Met School
• Swearer Center
• Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE)
• Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM)
• YouthBuild
• Nickerson Community Center
• Federal Hill House
• AS220
• The Steelyard
• City Of Providence
• State of Rhode Island
• City Year RI
• The Energy Council – RI (TEC-RI)
• Office of Energy Resources
• Community Works RI

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Work for social and environmental good. Paychecks included.

UPDATE: Thanks for all who acted fast – we got nine letters of interest in this round! Funding decisions will be announced by the end of the semester.

..with CCURB dollars.

First step – submit a letter of interest to ccurb@brown.edu by 11:59 pm on Monday, November 2nd.

This should state what you anticipate for the proposed project – broad estimates of budget, supplies needed, community partners, and faculty and student sponsors.

How does your community-based project address the following goals?

• Provide vibrant opportunities for learning for all those involved
• Engage non-university groups in thinking about how to increase the sustainability of the greater Providence area and its neighborhoods in a way that is responsive to the needs of the community
• Lead to a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions

We’ll get back to you with feedback, suggestions and additional resources. The full application for grant funds is due by November 30, 2009 at 11:59 pm.

I’d love to hear your questions/concerns. More information at www.brown.edu/ccurb

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The Old-Fashioned Barnraising. Now available with caulk guns.

In the Amish tradition, when one family needs help building their barn, the community gets together to lend a hand and then celebrates after the work is done. Energy efficiency barn-raisings will bring neighbors in Providence together to help individual families weatherize their house, and then we’ll have a big party.

At the barn-raising, volunteers will break off into teams to learn and work on different tasks, such as sealing air leaks, installing insulation, and changing light bulbs to energy-efficient CFL bulbs. Through hands-on work, all participants will learn new skills to take back to their own homes in order to save energy and money.

Do I need to know anything about weatherization to participate?

No, people of all skill levels are welcome. Professional weatherization contractors will lead basic trainings for volunteers.

How can I get my house weatherized?

Let us know! We’ll be keeping a list of people who want their houses weatherized. Everyone whose house is chosen will be expected to participate on the day of their barn-raising and help weatherize at least two other people’s houses. They will be responsible for purchasing the weatherization materials needed for the barn-raising, if they can afford to do so. We are collecting donations to create a fund for those who need assistance to purchase materials.

Where do I sign up?

Email me (libby_kimzey @ brown.edu) if you need a ride over to 92 Holden St, Providence this Saturday morning. Stay for all or part of the 9 am to 2 pm festivities.

Contact Amelia at 383-7441 or amelia.rose@ejlri.org if you want to volunteer, put your house on the list to get weatherized, and/or  make a donation to help keep these barn-raisings going

Event Organized and Sponsored by Environmental Justice League, the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living, English For Action, and Community Carbon Use Reduction @ Brown

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Boo bad tire inflation!

Danielle Dahan reports at tonight’s meeting of the CCURB Action Team that emPower-born, CCURB-funded, student-run Pump It Up! worked at the first gas station of the fall last Friday.

The team of four returned to the Exxon on Smith St, right across from the State House in Providence. They plan to station there every Sunday afternoon from 12 pm to 2 pm.

Sporting the brand-new official project T-shirts, Dahan said they were taken more seriously than in trial runs last spring. Drivers were willing to have them approach their vehicles and pump tires, ensuring proper inflation.

She observed, also, that a lot of people came to re-inflate tires with a slow leak. Pump It Up! will brainstorm ways to address this issue. If you have suggestions, or want to get involved, please email her (danielle_dahan@brown.edu).

For more information, please visit the project website.

Photo: Clemson via flickr under a Creative Commons License

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Brown University seniors and Project 20/20 volunteers Yasmine Yu, left, and Libby Kimzey, middle, and homeowner Sabina Asante got a kick out of something Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said during his visit Friday to Asante’s Providence home. (Frank Carini/ecoRI staff)

The students invited U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse to join them, and took the opportunity to voice support for climate-change legislation before Congress. Whitehouse said he’s already on board, but encouraged people to lobby other senators who don’t support efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

Also speaking at the event were members of Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light, a religious coalition working to deal with climate change.

“We all share the same principles,” said Rabbi Amy Levin. “We are here on earth to protect it and to help care for each other.”

The Rev. Donald C. Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, added that climate change is a “deeply moral issue.”

He said: “From a theological standpoint, we share this planet with over 6 billion people and what we do here affects everybody on the planet.”

Karina Lutz of People’s Power & Light said that electric- and gas-efficiency programs operated by local utilities cost $19.4 million annually and save more than three times as much for consumers in energy costs.

As someone who has been heavily invested in the project for the past year and a half, it was a thrill to revisit the Asante home, meet with Senator Whitehouse, and discuss with People’s Power and Light and Interfaith Power and Light the potential huge benefits for all Rhode Islanders with successful climate change legislation at the national level. And thanks to all who have pitched in to make Project 20/20 such a success!

All past media coverage of our efforts is available here.

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CCURB ThinkTank Minutes – Sunday night
(sorry for the delay…)

Dates of Fall Application Round
(available at brown.edu/ccurb)
Letters of Interest must be received by November 2, 2009 at 11:59 pm.
The next CCURB workshop will be on October 20, 2009.
Proposals for CCURB funding are due by November 30, 2009 at 11:59 pm.

RI Polluters –
Miya did her homework – found an EPA list of top 10 polluters in 2002 – Brown is on the list at # 9
a lot of train stations, landfill, power plants
Frank will research within URI for similar info – they might have specialize in water pollutants
Providence is installing five big containers to catch stormwater run-off
Daniel points out that any list like this will need a good methodology
maybe highlight the surprise pollutants – get all campuses in RI to commit to a university cap & trade? how much you can cut per capita, as a percentage of use, first inventory current use
Questions for getting on the phone with someone at EPA:
Got any data for most recent Big Polluters?
Is Brown still on the list?
What is your methodology? based on lbs/year of emissions? CO2 only or a variety?
Does the train station account for train fuel?
Miya and Andrew are interested in looking further – look more on the EPA website and call them
Daniel suggests calling
Paul – let’s target the biggest polluter
Shane – we care about CO2

Public Housing -
Frank brings up community gardens, designate roof or some area right outside. Compare these with solar panels for potential savings
Daniel is interested in middle schools and environmental curriculum.
There’s a school in Middletown with kids involved in gardening
Andrew mentions Deepwater Wind and that offshore wind farm
Mona – don’t know status
Paul – hasn’t made progress
Paul will email Mona and Michelle to meet up
Look at rebates and then potential sites, and a list of people served through Proj2020
Frank – how sweet to power the CFLs with solar

Small Businesses –
recap: appliances, kitchens, lo-flow showerheads, faucet aerators
for any office, there are ten things you can do, this is a pamphlet these are the steps. these are the dollars you save.
CFLs in business settings? well, they have the full-sized fluorescent lamps
prototype – we’ll do the calculations for you
Shane will get in touch with Helen Mou of SCIP to see where we can collaborate
Daniel, Jen – common appliances + rebates. will do a Google search

Transit -
didn’t even have a chance to tackle

Homework!
Everyone bring in two fresh new ideas for next week. Let’s spend some dollars!

Sincerely,

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Along with Kurt Teichert, Manager of Environmental Stewardship Initiatives at the Center for Environmental Studies, I was lucky enough to travel to New Orleans to visit our friends at Dillard University. Out of the Clinton Global Initiative University commitment that Brown and Dillard entered in fall 2008, emerges the new program at Dillard. In step with our Brown Is Green, they have Bleu Can Be Green.

On Thursday, Kurt and I spoke to efforts at Brown towards a sustainable campus and community, highlighting academic work, student activism, and CCURB. Our visit coincided with the launch of their mini-grants program.

More information about their Mini-Grants available for download here.

Thanks to Dr. Chambliss for a wonderful tour of the city, and all her hard work in launching the mini-grants, Carmelita Foster and Maime Butler for their work organizing and hosting the event, and President Hughes for championing this initiative and visiting with us in her office.

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