Righteously Angry Swamp Monsters ENC3250.796S15 Stephen Page – Editor Instructor: Dr. Tobienne Anthony Quach – Lead Interviewer University of South Florida Gregory Pecori – Back Up 140 Seventh Avenue South Sarah Obeso – Lead Researcher St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Sabrina Garay – Organizer/ Designer April 10th, 2015

Table of Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………….3

Executive Summary………………………………………......3

Going Green…………………………………………………...4

USF - A Green University…………………………………….4

Patel School……………………………………………………6

Patel School - Background……………………….……….....7

Patel School - M.A. Program……………………………...…8

Patel School - Research Division……………………………8

Patel School - Office of Sustainability……………………....8

Patel School - Student Green Energy Fund………………..9

Projects - USF Tampa……………………………………....10

Projects - USF St. Petersburg………………………….…..11

Projects - Future Projects…….……………………….........12

Conclusion……………………………………………….......12

Interviews……………………………………............………14

Annotated Bibliography……………………………………..20

Works Cited…………………………………………………..23

Glossary………………………………………………….......26

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Introduction

This intent of this paper is to document the efforts that the University of South Florida has made in order to become green and the results of its participation in the going green movement. The information included is directed towards members of the University of South Florida, members of the County Government, and local citizens who may benefit from the services that the university already offers and can potentially offer. A series of interviews and collection of research provided the foundation for the information contained in this white paper. Executive Summary

The University of South Florida has made some of the strongest efforts of any university or college in the nation to “go green”. Efforts to promote sustainability on campus and in the community have included the support of programs like RecycleMania and STARS as well as the funding of projects; such as the introduction of a bike-sharing program and the installation of electric car charging stations.

The main vehicles for USF’s contributions to sustainability are the

Patel College for Global Sustainability and the Student Green Energy Funds supported on each campus. Through the Patel College, USF provides education about sustainability and supports research that will improve the lives of many in the future. The Student

Green Energy Fund finances many large-scale projects that have made the university’s campuses some of the

most sustainable in the country, resulting in USF being awarded

multiple times for its efforts.

In many ways the

results of these efforts are striking. USF Tampa cut its greenhouse gas emissions by over 80% from 2011 to 2014 and maintained its water consumption over this period even though the university nearly doubled in size by number of students. Furthermore, USF Tampa alone had 774 faculty members engaged in sustainability research and offered nearly 250 courses focused on sustainability. These results have earned USF a gold rating in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s STARS report and a place on the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll.

The University of South Florida has committed itself to continuing these efforts to become more sustainable. The 2013-2018 Strategic Plan for USF

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commits the University to fostering sustainable development and helping to create a sustainable future for Florida. Kebreab Ghebremichael, Director of the Office of Sustainability, stated, “USF has a policy that all new buildings should be LEED Gold certified” (Ghebremichael). Going Green

Historically, the population of our planet has not lived according to sustainable methods and this has created environmental problems that threaten the future. People did necessarily know from the start that the decisions of each and every person have a direct and/or indirect impact on our planet’s environment. After scientists and researchers began to look into why our planet reacted in certain ways, research has proven that our actions actually do have consequences and that our planet is paying the price. Our planet’s natural resources will not last forever and this realization has spurred the voices of those that wish to protect the environment. By spreading awareness about our impact on the environment, they hope to encourage people to help in the efforts of trying to heal the environment and to create a sustainable way of life for the future.

The going green movement is a sustainability movement based on making changes to one’s everyday life that will result in generating less waste and pollution. The more people that jump on board with the going green movement, the greater the impact the

going green movement will have on the environment. Adopting green habits will create a cleaner environment for all to live in, which will reduce the harmful impact that current practices have had on people’s health. Green habits are

also financially sustainable, going green entails reducing waste and conserving resources and by doing so less is spent on resources and waste management. USF – A Green University

The University of South Florida continues to commit itself to the advancement of sustainability and to promote participation in the going green movement. The 2013-2018 Strategic Plan for USF lists among its priorities that “USF will, through its high-impact research and innovation, change lives for the better, improve health, and foster sustainable development and positive societal change” and “USF will, as a highly effective major economic engine, create new partnerships to build a strong and sustainable future for Florida in the global economy” (01). This double reference to sustainability in the primary goals the university hopes to achieve

“USF has a policy that all new

buildings should be LEED

Gold certified.”

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indicates the seriousness of its commitment to creating a green campus and promoting sustainable practices. This commitment entails a continuation of the efforts and practices that have led USF to be recognized several times as one of the top green universities in the nation.

In 2010, USF was recognized for its actions by being listed in The Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Colleges, acknowledging that university had shown a high degree of commitment to “going green” (Cash).

In 2012, USF received the 2012 Second Nature Climate Leadership Award for “showing the top innovation and climate leadership at the doctoral level” (“USF to Receive Sustainability Award Today”).

In 2013, USF was listed on the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, a ranking that is achieved by earning a perfect score of 99 on the company’s scoring scale of environmental friendliness. This achievement was shared with only 21 other universities out of 832 colleges that were examined by the Princeton Review, highlighting USF’s position as one of the

greenest universities in the country (“Top Score for Sustainability”).

More recently, USF has earned the designation of Tree Campus USA. The university qualified for this distinction in 2014 by meeting “standards for sustainable campus forestry required by Tree Campus USA . . .” (“USF Designated as 2014 Tree Campus USA”). USF was also recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), being among the

31 institutions to receive the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment &

Rating System’s (STARS) gold rating, the highest rating earned by any university (Urbanski 9, 89).

USF has also shown its

commitment to promoting sustainable living by, for example, hosting green events such as the annual Campus and Community Sustainability Conference and a Green Jobs Fair where students

successfully lobbied for a

$0.75 per credit hour fee for purchasing renewable

energy. USF has also been ranked 2nd in the region and 25th nationally in RecycleMania (Cash). RecycleMania is a national competition for colleges

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designed to promote waste reduction activities. Its primary goals include motivating students to increase recycling efforts and to “generate attention and support for campus recycling programs” (“About”). USF President Judy Genshaft has also signed the historic American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (Cash). In 2010 USF created the nation’s first School of Global Sustainability, “an innovative effort aimed at preparing students for a new generation of “green collar” careers and finding solutions for a world challenged with the protection of its fragile environment and limited resources” (Cash). This shows that the University is fully committed to not only going green but to innovate and educate so as to create a sustainable future for all.

The USF movement to create sustainable campuses has been tremendous to start with and will continue to get better and better. In an email interview that was conducted with Kebreab Ghebremichael, Director of the Office of sustainability, he answered some questions about USF’s participation in the green movement and mentioned some of the ways the university has become more sustainable. For example, the university is converting cooking oil into biodiesel fuel that will be used for the university’s Bull-Runner bus system to reduce the use of fossil fuels. There is also a bike share program that is in the works that will come in the summer of 2015 that will

help promote the use of bikes on and around campus instead of cars thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Ghebremichael).

Furthermore, the Office of Sustainability is included in campus master plan development and works with other entities on campus to improve water and energy efficiency. USF also has a policy that all new construction should meet LEED Gold certification criteria (Ghebremichael). Through the Student Green Energy Fund, the Office of Sustainability has financed sustainability projects proposed by students (“The Student Green Energy Fund”). The university also works closely with the student government and organizations such as the Student Environment Association in order to ensure the inclusion of students in its efforts to be greener (Ghebremichael). Patel School

“The Patel College of Global Sustainability (PCGS) is the component of USF dedicated to environmental education. The Patel College of Global Sustainability fosters sustainable urban communities and environments through collaborative research, education

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and community involvement. Its research generates innovations and new knowledge that will help cities around the world, including those in developing countries, reduce their ecological footprint while improving their form and function to make them healthier, more livable and resilient” ("Patel College of Global Sustainability | USF |"). Patel School - Background

In 2010 the Patel College was created as the USF School of Global Sustainability thanks to the contributions of Drs. Kiran C. and Pallavi Patel, and state matching funds. The Patels

wanted to take the USF School of Global Sustainability to another level. After a series of contributions and the help of the state, USF was able to accumulate $25,798,329 (Chachere “Patels Create $12M Endowment . . .”). As of January 2011, the Pate College was the first eco-building ever constructed on campus. The 75,000 square-foot building was constructed very efficiently and in keeping with the green initiative as their top priority.

Recycled and composite

materials were used throughout the building (Chachere ““Green” Patel Center . . .”). According to the article ““Green” Patel Center Opens at USF,” the wood paneling and detail are either wood-composite materials or from managed forests. The doors throughout the building are made from bamboo, and the countertops were made from recycled steel, resin, and glass. A 30,000-gallon recyclable water tank is housed underneath the building below the lighting system. The lighting system is on automatic shut off when no one is around, and turns back on when there is someone present. The energy used by the solar panels on the roof of the building is to heat the water used throughout the building. Another way the building is more sustainable and efficient is that when someone flushes the toilet, it uses captured rainwater rather than drawing from the municipal system (Chachere ““Green” Patel Center . . .”).. The Patels said that their goal was to create a “do tank, not a think tank.” Now the PSGS gives students the opportunities to work on projects focused on improving urban systems, water and transportation (Chachere “Patels Create $12M Endowment . . .”).

The Patel College is the main

arm through which USF takes action to promote sustainability in three areas: research, education and projects. The college is made up of three departments

The Patels said that their

goal was to create a “do

tank, not a think tank.”

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each of which focuses on one of three areas, they are the Patel Center for Global Solutions, the M.A. College in Global Sustainability and the Office of Sustainability ("Patel College of Global Sustainability | USF |"). Patel School - M.A. Program

The M.A. College in Global Sustainability is the forum for environmental education provided by the Patel College. It is a masters level program on global sustainability with concentrations in water, energy, tourism and entrepreneurship ("Master's in Global Sustainability . . .”). As stated by the Patels, they did not want the PCGS to be just a think tank but a “do tank”. As such, towards the end of the Master program each student is required to participate in an internship in their respective degree to have hands on experience in sustainability. With an emphasis on “global,” according to Dr. Dorsey, Internship Director of the PCGS, students have been sent all the way to Australia and even as far as Nepal. The PCGS has created many opportunities for students in their curriculum to make a change in this world. The M.A. college also offers a career center of sorts by providing students help on how to construct a LinkedIn account and how to prepare for an interview.

Patel School - Research Division

The Patel Center for Global Solutions is the research center for USF’s sustainability program. Research is done on several areas in order to address both existing problems and future issues that global society will face. The center focuses particularly on the challenges that cities will have to meet in order to be sustainable in the future. The primary research areas for the center are “global change and the associated uncertainties, urban form and its influence and impact on resource management, urban metabolism – modeling resources flows, and urban water” ("Patel Center for Global Solutions"). Patel School - Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability supports projects that promote the sustainability of USF campuses and other student initiatives. It was formed in 2009 as a result of the signing of the ACUPCC (Ghebremichael). The ACUPCC is the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment that was signed by University President, Judy Genshaft. The office of Sustainability was formed in order to monitor

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and report USF’s climate impact, and to act as the central hub for all sustainability programs and activities for USF (“History”). The office offers several programs involving sustainability, but the main vehicle for green projects is the Student Green Energy Fund. According to the PCGS website, initiatives that the Office of Sustainability has implemented have been: LEED Gold certified buildings, eco-friendly residence halls, electric vehicle charging stations, water bottle filling stations, volunteer efforts, recycling efforts, a solar powered mail truck, a solar powered utility truck, a community recycling center, and using reusable dining boxes (“Office of Sustainability”).

According to Dr. Ghebremichael, Director of the Office of Sustainability, “USF has a policy that all new buildings should be LEED Gold certified.” He also states “the Office of Sustainability (under the college of Global Sustainability) participates in campus master plan development and encourages for more LEED certified buildings.” The Office of Sustainability works very closely with Student Government and various other groups like the Student Environment Association, the US Green Building Council and the Green Living Community (Ghebremichael). Their mission is not only to improve USF

sustainability ratings, but also collaborating with the Student Green Energy Fund to make USF a cleaner, greener institution. Patel School - Student Green Energy Fund

Started in 2011 after approval from the Florida Board of Governors, the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) is a student and faculty managed fund

used to finance green projects with the goal of creating a more

environmentally friendly campus. There is an SGEF for each

campus in the USF System that is financed by a fee

decided on by student vote, taken from a

percentage of what is paid per credit hour for classes students take currently it is a dollar per credit hour (“The Student Green Energy Fund”). Each year, the SGEF accepts

proposals for projects submitted by

students and decides which ones to fund. Major SGEF

projects have made large contributions to USF’s goals of sustainability as the SGEF is the main vehicle for students to implement their ideas to go green. The SGEF, every year, attempts to target three major issues that work against a sustainable environment: conserve

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energy/ reduce energy costs, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting new technologies that produce renewable energy to be used on campus and reduce the amount of unsustainable energy consumed. This fund was made possible and created by the Patel College of Global Sustainability on the Tampa campus (“The Student Green Energy Fund”). Projects - USF Tampa

USF Tampa has absolutely been awarded the most money from the SGEF system. A reporting system, now implemented throughout all USF campuses, was created in Tampa through SGEF funding and it has an enormous impact on the way USF plans future projects for their green efforts. This system monitors how much cold and hot water as well as general electricity are being used throughout the buildings on campus and tracks this amount daily, and is accessible for all members of USF to see. The project has gone so far as to add in interfaces clearly visible on building walls that directly display what energy and resources are being used by the people occupying the building real-time, at any given time.

Knowing how much of a resource

is being consumed can educate one on the issue of whether or not that resource consumption should be reduced or is on level with USF’s green efforts. SGEF initially awarded $280,000 dollars to the

first stage of this project (“SGEF Funded Projects Updates”). Among many other projects implemented in all aspects of USF’s general efforts to go green, was the smart bike sharing project, awarded $320,620 in 2012 that provided one hundred GPS enabled bikes and parking stations around campus facilitating the use of alternative transportation ("SGEF Funded Projects Updates"). Another major project, awarded $133,366 over four phases, was the installation of water fountains designed to refill reusable water bottles

("SGEF Funded Projects Updates"). One other notable project was a solar ray project financed by the SGEF that, though it only contributes to 1% of power in the USF grid, is a proven technology that can be implemented over and over to make more of a difference (Dorsey).

Incorporating sustainability

into a healthy lifestyle has

become a trend demonstrated

at USFSP and now recently

USF.

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Projects - USF St. Petersburg

USF’s newer installed campus, USFSP is taking strides in the green USF initiative. With access to its own SGEF funding, there have been changes made all around the campus, in large part due to student proposals. Incorporating sustainability into a healthy lifestyle has become a trend demonstrated at USFSP and now recently USF. USFSP has a cardio loft in its gym dedicated to energy generation through sheer manpower. Containing treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines, and elliptical that do not use any form of electricity to operate, besides whatever the person using it puts into it, not only creates an incentive to work hard in the gym, but also saves energy on highly popular machines. The energy created is also capable of entering directly into USFSP’s power grid (“Facilities”). Outside of the gym, the St. Pete campus began another project that is now being implemented in other USF campuses, filtered water refill stations. Connected to the standard

water fountains around campus, that may be considered a hassle for refilling bottles, are now fountains sitting overhead perfectly shaped to fit a plastic water bottle and refill it with cold filtered water. These stations have cut down on plastic waste significantly by providing a convenient way to refill bottles that has encouraged the use of reusable water bottles.

A project similar to this on the

USFSP campus that promotes convenience in going green was the installation of side-by-side trash and recycling bins around campus that were made with 100% recycled materials and are hurricane resistant. The trash portion of the bins are labeled with the word “landfill” in large, green capital letters to provide a bit of a moral compass with those that may need a reminder of just where their waste ends up, and that it does not just disappear once disposed of. If one decides that they do not want their items to end up in a landfill and are able to recycle them, the recycling bin is right next to the trash. This project removes the excuse of inconvenience in finding a recycling bin and encourages students to recycle as much as possible while on campus (“SGEF Funded Projects”).

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Projects - Future Projects

USFSP is installing a new fast-charging station for electric vehicles on campus for use by students and the public. The station has been donated by Nissan and Duke Energy and facilitates students’ use of electric vehicles in order to cut down on emissions (Shaik). As for USF Tampa, there is a new project described by Dr. Dorsey from the Patel College called the Fields of Green project. This is an effort aimed at USF sporting events to help get them on board with the greater, “greener” attitude that has been increasingly held by the school as a whole. To be able to get into pace with the rest of USF, the project suggests making changes, such as, organic cotton athletic shirts; as well as collecting trash to recycle during tailgates that normally create a high amount of waste; as well as cleanup efforts by students from the Patel College and elsewhere in USF (Dorsey). Under this Fields of Green umbrella is also an effort at USF Tampa, already implemented at USFSP, to replace standard machines in the gym with energy-generating machines that put a focus on sustainability through health and body efforts (Dorsey, “Facilities”).

Conclusion

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS) is a program created by AASHE that measures colleges and universities on their sustainability performance. The USF Tampa Campus participates in this program and reports on several different areas that are used to compare it to other institutions. These reports can be looked at to see the combined effect the projects and programs offered through

the school have had on campus sustainability. STARS reports for

2011 and 2014 are available and looking at each shows

areas of improvement and decline in USF’s sustainability metrics. Overall the university has improved; it earned a score of 67.01 in 2011 and a score of 75.37 in 2014 (University of

South Florida 2011, University of South Florida

2014). Included in the chart below are the main areas

measured with numerical metrics. It is apparent that the USF

Tampa has almost doubled in size in terms of students and faculty, therefore areas that do not change significantly, such as water consumption, should be counted as a significant improvement. Following the data presented in the STARS reports, there have been marked changes in several key areas. There is a much larger amount of LEED

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certified building space especially space that is LEED Gold certified. The number of faculty members engaged in sustainability research has increased almost tenfold over the period between reports. Greenhouse gas emissions fell to about one-sixth of 2011 levels, indicating a significant change. The main negative area for the university

was in waste reduction, recycling fell by about six hundred tons of material, while material disposed as garbage increased by approximately two thousand tons. As such, the university received no points in this category on the STARS report, the lowest score in any major category (University of South Florida 2014).

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Interviews Transcript of a personal interview conducted with Dr. Joseph Dorsey, Internship Director and Adjunct Professor of Global Sustainability at the Patel College of Global Sustainability. (Start of interview) Interviewer: How long have you been with USF? Dr. Dorsey: Beginning of 2005, I’ve been with USF 8 years in the St. Pete Campus and 2 years in Tampa. Interviewer: What were you doing at the St. Pete Campus? Dr. Dorsey: I was an assistant professor that taught Environment Policy. Interviewer: At the time you were in St. Pete, was there any kind of green movement? Dr. Dorsey: As I said it has been a couple years, so I’m not aware what was current, but I remember there was SEAS, an environmental association that brought up environmental issues. We also had a Garden Club there for a while; I believe it is still there. There were various activities at the time. I’m trying to remember, but since I’m over

here in Tampa sometimes it’s hard for me to envision some of the names of the clubs at the time. I know that they just added a solar ray to put on top of the parking garage. I was part of it initially when I was there, but since I’m here I’m sort of out of it. Interviewer: That comes to my next question, Tampa has a lot of projects with the green movement, how come these projects are not implemented at the St. Pete or even at the Sarasota campus; that seems odd? Dr. Dorsey: It is odd, it could be geographic distance. We are one system but that doesn’t seem to function as one system. At the highest level it might seem it does, but it comes down to the people who work on the specific campus, their emphasis would be what happens on campus. I think physical distance could be the reason why it keeps people from connecting to campuses; and the size of the campuses as well. This campus (Tampa) is very large compared to St. Pete campus which is much smaller. The St. Pete campus is connected to the city. That’s the one thing I like about the St. Pete campus, is that you walk right off of campus and you are in downtown St. Petersburg. It wasn’t like a college town, but there, it’s very urban, there’s a lot of activities, stores, and parks. It is an extension of the campus

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and it seamlessly blends in with the city. Here in Tampa it is much more of just the campus itself. Once you leave the campus, there are a lot of highways, hospitals, etc. The campus (Tampa) is much more insular, disconnected from the rest of the surrounding. We are much more of a microcosm here. To go beyond the Tampa campus to the other campuses, it doesn’t resonate that much that they exist. Of course, Sarasota campus is so much further, and I think it’s pretty small. I don’t think I have ever been there. The irony of being here a the Patel College, is that early on was being exposed to when it was first started with Dr. Patel putting together the Patel Center for Global Solution. Dr. Patel is known for saying that he didn’t want a think tank but a do tank. So he wanted something that was practical for application and problem solving. For me to be here almost 10 years, is almost like full circle, I remember its beginnings and now be a part of the movement. For me it is a good feeling to be part of campuses from the beginning. Interviewer: At the Tampa campus, what kind of projects are they trying to implement here? Dr. Dorsey: I’m not very aware of every initiative that’s taken place on campus, not just here, but in public health, engineering. In architecture, just a few weeks ago I was a reviewer for

midterms. There is a professor that comes down from MIT every spring and teach. The students are working on a project for Ecuador, looking at how create alternative communities for the people to move to somewhere more sustainable. The architecture students were designing these communities, what they didn’t quite understand a lot of the times was how to implement sustainability aspects to what they were modeling. Such as what kind of energy source, water flows, a lot of things were more ecological. They can design it but they didn’t quite understand how it operates. One of the things I’m considering is to talk to this professor to allow our students to evaluate their projects and take it further; that way we can start integrating the student’s ideas. One of the things we’ve been asked to do here at the Patel College is to become more integrated with the rest of the university. One obvious way is to have faculty to go and guest speak. Another way I’m thinking is to get our students integrated with other departments as in coursework and projects. As far as other things, I tried to do what we worked on last semester which is what I call Fields of Green. This is a collaboration between Athletics, Global Sustainability, and Recreation. The one thing about sustainability is that we don’t think about health and fitness. So we

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think about the environment, then we talk about people and health and how to treat their bodies and how to treat the planet. To me it’s all interconnecting. There is a guy from a non-profit organization that comes here to promote sustainability through soccer. So we have soccer matches and he makes sure that recycling has taken place, and that the jerseys were made out of recycled materials. So last year we talked to the guys in Athletics about having tee-shirts made out of organic cotton. With sports you would have a larger audience. It may be some of this already, but students can go around collecting trash around tailgates; it promotes a presence. Fields of green is a spinoff idea of the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams; “if you build it they will come.” In Fields of Green, you have several ways of looking at green. You have green in money, grass, energy, and environment. So the idea of green takes on a larger dimension. So he emailed us about doing something else this spring, so this is an initiative that is just starting, but it may grow more. Over time this relationship will make this campus more sustainable and it creates a mind in the fans to start thinking about sustainability and the environment. This campus, according to the STARS report, received gold the first year and just recently received gold again. The

Princeton review has us ranked high as a sustainable campus, and we are ranked in CoolSchool. So there are several ways to evaluate campuses on their sustainability. That part comes out of our Office of Sustainability. The college is focused on academics. The Office of Sustainability is more focused on sustainability initiatives. I know St. Pete has a student green energy fund, we also have one here too. That’s one way that students and scientist, researchers can come up with projects that can be funded for. Interviewer: A lot of people (staff, students) are not very aware of any initiatives. I had an interview with an Industrial Engineer Professor. The only initiatives he knew about was a bike sharing program that wasn’t implemented yet, and the water filtration systems in the buildings. Have you ever thought of collaborating with the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Communications or any of the business school to collaborate with Patel College for ways to push the initiative across the campus? Dr. Dorsey: Not yet, we are hoping to at some point. Again, going back to the Fields of Green, the collaboration with the Athletics department they would announce us during games. Recreation, our collaboration with them is the bike sharing program. We are trying to set

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bikes up that when someone is working out, it creates kinetic energy to run other machines. I try to think how to get people more integrated into the system. How do we deal with the human aspect as well? How do we make our own conditions more livable and more sustainable? If we disappear tomorrow the planet wouldn’t care. But since we are here we have to think of something to serve our needs as well. There are people who think of this Earth as this beautiful creation, but not everybody sees it that way. So you have to tell people that if they want clean air they have to work on it and protect it. (End of interview) Email interview conducted with Kebreab Ghebremichael, Director of the Office of Sustainability at the Patel College of Global Sustainability. (Start of interview) Interviewer: Does the College of Global Sustainability (or related programs) play a significant role in any of the following topics: new buildings, landscaping projects, managing water use in a building or installing new heating systems?

Kebreab Ghebremichael: USF has a policy that all new buildings should be LEED Gold certified. The office of sustainability (under the College of Global Sustainability) participates in campus master plan development and encourages for more LEED certified buildings. In order to improve USF’s sustainability rating by several organizations, the Office of Sustainability partners with the Physical Plant and other entities on campus to improve water and energy use efficiency. Through the Student Green Energy Fund the Office of Sustainability has implemented several energy efficient and renewable energy projects. Interviewer: Has the University of South Florida (or related programs) ever considered forming an Environmental Sustainability Committee to advance sustainable practices in the following topics: new buildings, landscaping projects, managing water use in a building or installing new heating systems? Kebreab Ghebremichael: USF has a Sustainability Steering Committee that steers sustainability initiatives on campus. USF is a signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) that was signed by President Genshaft. The Office of Sustainability was established as a result of the

17

signing the ACUPCC. Later on USF established the School of Global Sustainability and finally the College of Global Sustainability. USF also has a Tree Campus Advisory Committee that advises on greening the campus. Interviewer: Is the College of Global Sustainability (or related programs) currently making any efforts to advocate for local, organic, or more sustainable food, campus gardening, food purchasing and ingredient guidelines? Kebreab Ghebremichael: The Office of Sustainability works closely with dining to promote local and organic purchasing. Check USF dining website to see at some of their effort in making sustainable food supply and habits. This is also an important category we use in sustainability rating (similar to water and energy). Interviewer: Is the College of Global Sustainability (or related programs) currently making any efforts to make the switch to use green landscaping and non- toxic cleaners? Kebreab Ghebremichael: This is already practiced (Check Physical Plant website). The Office of Sustainability, through its steering committee, recently developed green purchasing guidelines. Interviewer: Is the College of Global Sustainability (or related programs)

currently making any efforts to have a consistent stream of communication with students and/ or the community to promote/ inform/ educate about what the university currently does and what the students can do to be greener? The Office of Sustainability works very closely with the Student Government and some student groups such as the Student Environment Association, the US Green Building Council and the Green Living Community. Interviewer: Does the school currently promote sustainable transportation? How? Kebreab Ghebremichael: Through the Student Green Energy fund, the smart Bike Share program is now going to be implemented (Summer 2015). The student green energy fund also funded a biodiesel generating project to convert waste cooking oil from dining to bio-diesel that will be used by Bull Runners. The Office of Sustainability also partners with CUTR to promote car sharing program. Interviewer: Is the College of Global Sustainability (or related programs) currently making any efforts to promote water conservation and reducing campus pollution? Kebreab Ghebremichael: The office of sustainability in partnership with student affairs replaced standard shower heads

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with water saving ones in the student housing. Interviewer: Does the school currently participate in any sustainability competitions? Which ones? Kebreab Ghebremichael: In partnership with Student Environment Association we participated in the EPA game day challenge.

Interviewer: How do sustainability competitions help the university’s efforts to be greener? Kebreab Ghebremichael: This was helpful in terms of increasing awareness of students about recycling and waste reduction. (End of interview)

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Annotated Bibliography Cash, Jacqui. "USF One of Nation's Top Green Colleges." USF News. University of South Florida, 5 May 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>. The author provides an overview of USF’s accomplishments of the University’s going green initiative. The article explains to us the projects that USF had initiated in 2010. As a result of their efforts and commitment to going green, USF was recognized by the Princeton Review as one of the top sustainable Universities. This article pertains with this project because it lists what projects USF had implemented in their green initiative, and had been recognized for their commit to a cleaner, sustainable university. Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost." The Oracle 25 Feb. 2015. University of South Florida. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>. The article “USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost” is a short piece published by USF’s student newspaper The Oracle, which announces the planned installation of a new electric vehicle charging station at the St. Petersburg campus. The station is one of the newer types of fast charging stations and is being donated to the school by Nissan and Duke Energy. The article also discusses the future installation of more charging stations, funded by the student green energy fund, at the Tampa campus and mentions how the existing stations have been fully utilized. This article provides a useful example for our paper of something that the university is currently doing and an example of the actions of the student green energy fund. “The Student Green Energy Fund” USF Office of Sustainability. University of South Florida Patel College of Global Sustainability. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/green-energy-fund/> This website was created provide information of all aspects of our very own USF Tampa college dedicated to going green. These students are not only interested in making USF

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a greener, more environmentally conscious campus, but to continue with this initiative past USF. Of course, with this motivation, our undergraduate as well as graduate students make an effort to start right in their own backyard with efforts of changing the landscape for the betterment of our environment. This is why the college began the Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF), in order to be able to allot money to those that have ideas beneficial to transform our campus into one more environmentally efficient. University of South Florida. Rep. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <https://stars.AASHE.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2014-01-14/>. The 2014 STARS report for USF contains detailed information on many areas in which the university participates in or promotes the green movement. These areas are divided into several groups including education and research, operations and planning, administration and engagement. Each area receives a score and includes an analysis of performance. This source provided a large amount of information on how the USF Tampa Campus has participated in the going green movement and is compared to its 2011 report. This information is used in our paper to show how successful the university’s efforts to become sustainable have been over time and where it needs improvement. “USF Designated as 2014 Tree Campus USA." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/news/article/usf-designated-as-2014-tree-campus-usa>. USF has been recognized again for their commitment to providing a cleaner, and sustainable University. This article was published by the Patel College of Sustainability. The article talks about how just recently USF was awarded with the 2014 Tree Campus USA recognition. The article fits in our research because it relates to how USF is going green from having 0 trees to over 500 trees today in their efforts for a cleaner, sustainable University Urbanski, Monika. STARS Annual Review 2014: Campus Sustainability Ratings, Innovations & Best Practices. Rep. Ed. Meghan F. Zahniser. Denver: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2014. STARS Annual Review 2014.

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Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <https://stars.AASHE.org/pages/about/stars-annual-review-2014.html>. The stars program, which stands for Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, is operated by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and provides a self-reporting based measure of sustainability performance for colleges and universities. The 2014 Annual review contains information on participating institutions, which is used to benchmark USF against other schools. In the report USF is shown to have earned a gold rating making it one of the top green universities in the country Wilma. "Going Green and Saving Green: University of South Florida Celebrates One-Year All Ecos Anniversary." Web log post. Sustainable Trends in Food Service. G.E.T. Enterprises, Inc., 08 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://ecotakeouts.com/reusable-to-go-blog/?p=136>. This blog post cites a specific instance in USF going green campus wide: the switch from Styrofoam take-home food containers to plastic reusable ones in dining halls. Appropriately named “eco-takeouts” these bring down 30% of the university’s total waste... eliminating a whopping 25,000 boxes thrown out a year. These boxes also go on to save the university 6,000 dollars a year in purchasing new boxes for students that can be disposable. The Styrofoam containers were completely removed in 2010.

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Works Cited 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. Strategic Business Plan. Strategic Planning. University of South Florida. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.ods.usf.edu/Plans/Strategic/download-plans.htm>. "About." RecycleMania Tournament. RecycleMania, Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://recyclemaniacs.org/about>. Cash, Jacqui. "USF One of Nation's Top Green Colleges." USF News. University of South Florida, 5 May 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=2295>. Chachere, Vickie. "Green" Patel Center Opens at USF." USF News. University of South Florida, 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=3086>. Chachere, Vickie. "Patels Create $12M Endowment for Patel College of Global Sustainability." USF News. University of South Florida, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=4807>. "Climate Leadership Awards." SecondNature.org. Second Nature, Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.secondnature.org/climate-leadership-awards>. Dorsey, Joseph. "USF Green Initiative." Personal interview. 29 Mar. 2015. “Facilities." Campus Recreation. USFSP Student Affairs, Web. 28 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/campusrec/about/facilities/>.

"FAQ." Greenhouse Gas Protocol. World Resources Institute, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/faq>. Ghebremichael, Kebreab. "USF Green Initiative." E-mail interview. 26 Mar. 2015. "Green Initiatives." Undergraduate Admissions. University of South Florida. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usfsp.edu/undergrad/green/>. “History." Office of Sustainability. Patel College of Global Sustainabilty, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/history>.

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Kennedy, Christopher. "Urban Metabolism." The Encyclopedia of Earth. Environmental Information Coalition, 15 Apr. 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/156804/>. “Master's in Global Sustainability (Online & On-Campus)." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/m-a-program>.

"Mission and History." Presidents' Climate Commitment. American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/mission-history>.

“Office of Sustainability." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability>. “Patel Center for Global Solutions." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/patel-center/>. “Patel College of Global Sustainability | USF |." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/about_patel_school_of_global_sustainability/>. “SGEF Funded Projects Updates." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/green-energy-fund/sgef-funded-projects/>. Shaik, Brandon. "USF Electric Car Owners Get a Boost." The Oracle 25 Feb. 2015. University of South Florida. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/861720/USF-electric-car-owners-get-a-boost>. “The Student Green Energy Fund” USF Office of Sustainability. University of South Florida Patel College of Global Sustainability. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/usf-office-of-sustainability/green-energy-fund/> “Top Score for Sustainability." USF News. University of South Florida, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=5609&z=210>. University of South Florida. Rep. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <https://stars.AASHE.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2011-01-28/>.

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University of South Florida. Rep. The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <https://stars.AASHE.org/institutions/university-of-south-florida-fl/report/2014-01-14/>. Urbanski, Monika. STARS Annual Review 2014: Campus Sustainability Ratings, Innovations & Best Practices. Rep. Ed. Meghan F. Zahniser. Denver: Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2014. STARS Annual Review 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <https://stars.AASHE.org/pages/about/stars-annual-review-2014.html>. “USF Designated as 2014 Tree Campus USA." Patel School of Global Sustainability. University of South Florida, 18 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://psgs.usf.edu/news/article/usf-designated-as-2014-tree-campus-usa>. “USF to Receive Sustainability Award Today." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 21 June 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <http://www.usforacle.com/news/view.php/688558/USF-to-receive-sustainability-award-today>. Wilma. "Going Green and Saving Green: University of South Florida Celebrates One-Year All Ecos Anniversary." Web log post. Sustainable Trends in Food Service. G.E.T. Enterprises, Inc., 08 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http://ecotakeouts.com/reusable-to-go-blog/?p=136>. “Your Guide to Recycling at USF”. University of South Florida Student Environmental Association. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. <http://myweb.usf.edu/~lscofiel/recycling>.

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Glossary

American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) - an institutional commitment to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions and to promote the research of and education in sustainability (“Mission and History”). Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) - An association that wants to inspire and catalyze higher education to lead the global sustainability transformation. AASHE is helping to create a brighter future of opportunity for all by advancing sustainability in higher education. By creating a diverse community engaged in sharing ideas and promising practices, AASHE provides administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as the businesses that serve them, with: thought leadership and essential knowledge resources; outstanding opportunities for professional development; and a unique framework for demonstrating the value and competitive edge created by sustainability initiatives. Campus -The grounds and buildings of a university or college. Ecological Footprints (EFs) - An assessment of humanities dependence on natural resources. For a certain population or activity, EFs measure the amount of productive land and water required for the production of goods and the assimilation of waste required to support that population or activity. Endowment - a large amount of money that has been given to a school, hospital, etc., and that is used to pay for its creation and continuing support. Environment - The aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu. Initiative - An introductory act or step; leading action. Landfill - a place to dispose of waste material by burying it and covering it with soil; a way to fill in unusable land. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) - a rating system that measures the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings,

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homes and neighborhoods. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to guide the building industry and provide standards for sustainability for a variety of building projects. LEED Certified - In LEED certification scoring, there are 136 possible base points distributed across five major credit categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, plus an additional 6 points for Innovation in Design and an additional 4 points for Regional Priority. Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification:

Certified: 40–49 points

Silver: 50–59 points

Gold: 60–79 points

Platinum: 80 points and above Organic - grown or made using non-artificial additions or chemicals. Patel Center of Global Solutions (PCGS) - the environmental school on the USF campus. Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll - recognizes schools that received a green rating of 99. The rating measures a school's performance as an environmentally aware and responsible institution and primarily considers sustainable campus living, academic coursework in sustainability and sustainable school policies to determine the score. Recycle -To treat or process (used or waste materials) so as to make suitable for reuse. RecycleMania - a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. Resource - a supply of something that provides something useful. Reuse - the action of being able to use again after reclaiming or reprocessing. Scope 1 Emissions - All direct greenhouse gas emissions (“FAQ”).

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Scope 2 Emissions - All indirect greenhouse gas emissions from consumption of purchased electricity or heat (“FAQ”). Second Nature Climate Leadership Award - an annual award that recognizes innovation and advanced leadership in sustainability and climate change issues at campuses that have committed to the ACUPCC (“Climate Leadership Awards”). Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) - a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. Student Green Energy Fund - A USF fund to raise money to help the people on campus become more aware of sustainable forms of energy. Sustainable - ability to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources; able to last or continue for a long time. Urban Metabolism - a means of understanding the flow of materials and energy through a city (Kennedy).

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