Campus Gets New Lessons in Going Green at Earth Week Celebrations
Ioana Patringenaru | April 27, 2009
They found out how to get a green job. They sampled locally grown, organic food and met local farmers. They explored alternative transportation, such as biodiesel-powered shuttles, hybrid cars and ride-sharing.
Student Kristina Bland takes a look at a basket of fresh, organic spinach during an organic food tasting Tuesday at the Great Hall at Eleanor Roosevelt College.
Members of the UC San Diego community got a crash course last week on greening their lifestyle during a multitude of Earth Week events on campus. The theme of this year’s celebration was “Extreme Green,” and activities included a green jobs fair, a talk on organic food and a clean car show. The university’s environmental research also was featured. Other events included a sustainability awards ceremony and green film festival put on by students.
“This year’s theme ‘extreme green’ illustrates how UC San Diego, a world leader in climate change research, is aggressively committed to sustainability through the development of alternative fuels, renewable energy sources, waste diversion, water conservation and green building strategies and others,” said Maggie Souder, the university’s sustainability coordinator.
The university is trying to apply all the campus’ knowledge to find solutions to climate change, said Lisa Shaffer, executive director of the UCSD Sustainability Solutions Institute.
“We’re building ivory bridges instead of an ivory tower,” she said.
Green jobs
Green jobs were one of Earth Week’s big focuses this year, with a job fair and a panel discussion at the Career Services Center in the heart of campus. Students have expressed strong interest in careers in sustainability and the environment and the university has responded, said Craig Schmidt, associate director of the Career Services Center.
Abigail Reyes, a recruiter for the California Center for Sustainable Energy, talks to a student during a green jobs fair Wednesday in front of the Career Services Center.
At Wednesday’s job fair, more than 250 students visited with a dozen employers, from businesses, to nonprofit organizations to government agencies. Employers offered internships, as well as full-time and part-time positions. Abigail Reyes, the director of human resources for the nonprofit California Center for Sustainable Energy, was recruiting interns.
“It’s extremely helpful,” she said of the event. “It gives you an on-the-street assessment of what’s out there.”
Reyes, a Revelle alumna, said she wants to hear what students are looking for, to make sure internships are both rewarding for students and useful for her organization. She always finds strong candidates on the UCSD campus, she said. “We wouldn’t have been able to contact them otherwise,” she added.
Wednesday, many students had opted for formal business attire and carried piles of resumes. Chris Svolopoulos was one of them. The job fair was definitely helpful, he said. But the environmental systems majors said he got even more support from his department. He gets to go to professional meetings free of charge—and even gets a free ride to get there.
Career advice
UCSD Fleet Manager Jim Ruby poses with graduate students Melanie Zauscher and Meagan Moore in front of the campus’ new Greenline biodiesel shuttle.
Networking is key to landing that green job, four panelists agreed during a discussion Thursday at the Career Services Center. Job seekers also need the ability to think across disciplines and speak truth to power, said Jon Warren Lentz, an environmental entrepreneur and consultant. Critical skills also are a must, said Mindy Fogg, a UCSD alumna who now works as an environmental biologist and planner for the County of San Diego. Green jobs require a wide range of abilities, said Shaffer, the executive director of the campuswide Sustainability Solutions Institute.
“You can have a green job no matter what your job is,” Shaffer said. “You can be an artist, you can be a journalist;,you can be a teacher.”
Job candidates who can design products that can be reused and recycled also are going to be in demand, Shaffer said. The wind industry also will be booming, Lentz predicted. Many companies also are interested in employees who can master social networking tools, said Jeremy Handler, an engineer and the former president of Engineers Without Borders in San Diego. Find what you’re really good at and learn how to communicate, Shaffer said. “Pursue your passion,” she said.
Finding a green ride
Allen Rutherford, a UCSD elevator technician, explains how he converted his car to run on used cooking oil.
Meanwhile, members of the UCSD community also learned about green options to commute to their new green jobs. Hillcrest residents who work or study on campus can now take the Greenline shuttle, a bus that will be powered with 100 percent biodiesel by the beginning of next year. The shuttle will serve as a laboratory for a team of graduate students to evaluate engine durability and other issues.
“We’re very, very excited,” said Meagan Moore, one of the graduate students.
More than 75 people now ride the shuttle every half hour, for 32 trips a day, said Melanie Zauscher, another graduate student who has been a driving force behind the project. The engine, fed by a 100-gallon tank, was donated by Caterpillar, said Jim Ruby, UCSD’s fleet manager.
If you prefer riding in your own car, you can always convert it to run on used cooking oil, as Allen Rutherford, a UCSD elevator technician, did. The conversion of a $2000 Mercedes Benz cost him a grand total of $350 and took three hours. He gets his fuel from a Chinese restaurant and filters it at home. He gets about 24 to 25 miles per gallon and has already put about 35,000 miles on the car in the past three years, without running into any big technical difficulties.
“I couldn’t afford a Prius,” he explains, when asked about his motivation.
Organic food
Members of the UCSD community sampled organic, locally grown food during the Think Global, Eat Local event at the Great Hall at Eleanor Roosevelt College.
Members of the UCSD community also learned about how to green their meals at a Think Global, Eat Local event Tuesday afternoon. Fresh cut strawberries, arugula, blood oranges, carrots and beets were on the menu. Steven Casad, director of Dining Services started off the event with a special presentation on UCSD’s efforts to provide more organic and vegetarian food in the campus’ dining halls.
Following Casad’s talk, students took part in roundtable discussions with local farmers and tasted fresh crop samples. Junior William Renauld said he enjoyed learning about the benefits of eating organic food from local famers. “I wanted to come to this event because it combined my two passions of food and the environment,” he said. “I shop at Trader Joe’s regularly, but the food I’ve had tonight was better.”
“This is the direction our students are taking,” Casad said. “So we’re here to provide them with what they want and with produce that is good for their health and the environment.”
Christine Clark contributed to this report.
A Lesson in Recycling
By Christine Clark
Nick Kennedy, a student intern for Facilities Management, shows rye crackers found during the trash sort that will go into the compost pile.
It was a dirty job, but UC San Diego students and staff were up to the challenge. Several volunteers kicked off Earth Week by sifting through more than 1,000 lbs of trash Monday to demonstrate how many recyclable and compostable items are taken to landfills everyday.
Students suited up in the midday sun to sort out recyclable cans, bottles and reusable items, such as pants and gloves. “I think this event has been a huge success,” said Maureen McManus, waste diversion coordinator. “These students have been really excited and dedicated about this event. And we’ve also got the attention of a lot of students walking by.”
Green Campus intern Michelle Kizner said she hopes the event helps people see how they can make a difference. “This should be an eye opener,” she said. “Students need to know how something small like throwing away a recyclable water bottle can easily be avoided.”
By the end of the trash sort, the recyclable and compostable piles outweighed the garbage pile. “This event should help students and staff learn that if everyone puts in the effort, we can reach our goal of having zero waste diverted to land fills by 2010,” said Maggie Souder, the campus’ sustainability coordinator.
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