then email sustainability@lsc.edu to enter the drawing to win a t-shirt or bag and live herbs!
Click the image above
for the Earth Day 2012Mocumentary ” The Majestic Plastic Bag”.
Not working for you? Try this Earthday 2012 Plastic Bag !
LSC’s new Health and Science Building was designed LEED Silver, which means the design is responsible for incorporating at least 50 points related to environmental sustainability. Here’s just a few of the key points we’re going for:
Construction Activity Pollution Prevention
Sitework for the building was designed and constructed in a way to:
Construction Waste Management
Public Transportation Access
LSC’s Student Life funds a free bus pass for students through the UPASS Program, reducing our reliance on single passenger vehicle travel to and from campus.
Preferred Parking for Carpool
LSC will designate two preferential parking spaces specifically reserved for carpools, increasing awareness of the need for reduced single passenger vehicles.
Undeveloped Outdoor Space
A space equal to the building footprint will be left vegetated and undeveloped on the northeast of the building, maximizing open spaces adjacent to the building.
Stormwater Management
Bio-swales, consisting of a biofiltration soil mix and tolerant native plants, promote infiltration of at least 90% of roof and pavement runoff from an average rainfall event.
Water Efficient Landscaping
The landscaping installed for the project does not require permanent irrigation systems. Native plants, sod & seed mixes were selected for their drought tolerance and will obtain adequate moisture from normal rainfall events.
Water Use Reduction
Water fixtures throughout the building reduce water usage by 20%.
Fundamental Refrigerant Management
No HVAC&R system equipment in the building uses CFC-based refrigerants. Refrigerants and HVAC&R equipment for the project were specifically selected to minimize or eliminate the emission of compounds that contribute to ozone depletion and global warming.
Storage & Collection of Recyclables
LSC has an extensive recycling program, and a recycling room is provided in the new building to ensure proper handling of recyclable materials.
Indoor Air Quality
The building meets and exceeds the LEED Standard Minimum Indoor Air Quality standards by 30%.
Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring
Permanent monitoring systems are installed to provide feedback on ventilation system performance and ensure that ventilation systems maintain design minimum ventilation requirements.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control
LSC prohibits smoking in buildings and on campus, improving overall air quality in and around buildings.
Low-Emitting Materials
Low-emitting adhesives and sealants were used on the interior of the building.
Primers, paints and coatings used on the interior of the building were required to meet specific VOC requirements established for buildings by Green Seal Standards.
All carpet installed in the building was required to meet the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus program.
Composite wood, and agrifiber products, used on the interior of the building could not contain added urea-formaldehyde resins. Laminating adhesives used for casework also contain no added urea-formaldehyde resins.
LSC has specifically purchased low-emitting furniture which will not negatively impact the indoor air quality in this new building. Furniture has been manufactured, refurbished or refinished within one year prior to occupancy and must be either Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified, or been tested by a third-party testing laboratory following procedures defined by the EPA.
Lighting and Thermal Comfort
A high level of lighting system and thermal control by individual occupants is installed to promote the productivity, comfort and well-being of building occupants.
Daylighting and Views
This building provides daylight to 85% of the occupied space.
Green Housekeeping
LSC has adopted green housekeeping policies and procedures intended to minimize negative affects to indoor air quality campus wide.
LSC has recently submitted its bi-annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report to the ACUPCC (American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment) reporting site. 
Here’s a quick summary:
| Reporting Year | 2008 | 2011 |
| Building gsf | 362,241 sq ft | 362,241.0 sq ft |
| Student FTE | 3,415 | 3,854 |
| Type of Emission | metric tons CO2e | metric tons CO2e |
| Stationary Combustion* | 965.0 | 1,121.0 |
| Mobile Combustion** | 111.0 | 120.0 |
| Purchased Electricity | 2,683.0 | 2,521.0 |
| Commuting | 5,906.0 | 6,348.0 |
| Air Travel*** | 494.0 | 256.0 |
| Solid Waste | 141.0 | 153.0 |
| Wastewater | 2.1 | 1.3 |
| Paper | 67.5 | 74.8 |
| *burning of fuels to produce electricity, steam, heat, or power using equipment in a fixed location | ||
| **burning of fuels by institution-owned transportation devices | ||
| ***all air travel paid for by or through the institution | ||
Want more info? Find it on the official ACUPCC Reporting site.
In an effort to save energy here at LSC, we have been installing Vending Misers and Snack misers on the vending machines located around the LSC campus. They are sensors that shut off the machines and conserve energy when nobody is around to use them. The misers fit onto the back of the machines and the sensor activates it when someone is right in front of it. The Vending Misers cycle the refrigeration units every 2 hours to keep the drinks cold, and still conserve energy.
For the first part of our study we placed kilowatt meters on several random machines around the campus and monitored them for a week. One machine used 36.10 kilowatts of energy in one week without the Vending Miser on it. After the Vending miser was installed the energy consumption was down to 21.51 kilowatts in one week. If they all had vending misers on them that’s 14.59 kilowatts per machine per week of energy saved. It’s worth noting that our study was done during spring semester. The potential energy savings over summer semester could be much greater.
In total we have 23 pop machines and 5 snack machines. We would also save a lot of money if we removed a few of the pop machines. There are several locations where there are two or more machines very close to one another. If we got rid of one or two of them, it would save us almost $100 a year per machine in operating costs.
Currently we have installed Vending Misers on 7 different vending machines around the school. We do have more of them, and will be installing them in the near future. If you have any questions about them please ask someone on the Environmental Council.
| Without miser | With miser | |
| Energy use in 1 week | 36.10kW | 21.51kW |
| Cost to run machine 1 week(@ 5¢/kWh) | $1.81 | $1.08 |
| Operating cost in a year | $93.86 | $55.93 |
Written by Lance Lindquist
Environmental Council Work Study
Lake Superior College Shreds Landfill Load
Lake Superior College has been a member of Minnesota Waste Wise since 2008. In 2008 and 2011, Waste Wise conducted site visits and made many valuable suggestions including strategies to reduce our solid waste. This has prompted LSC to evaluate waste hauler contracts, establish a waste tracking system, and examine our overall solid waste system handling from purchasing to disposal. Also, as a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and as a signatory of the American Colleges and Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), LSC will submit its Sustainability Plan of Action in May 2011 which outlines the campus’s goal to reduce solid waste, purchasing and food waste by 50% by 2030. In conjunction with this Sustainability Plan, LSC is in the process of creating a campus-wide sustainable purchasing policy which will include tips on helping campus purchasing agents make product choices with less overall environmental impact, and at the same time, reduce the amount of single-life packing material that reaches our campus.
What do you do with large chunks of unavoidable styrofoam that ships along with fragile equipment as packaging? It can’t be recycled, it isn’t biodegradable, its combusted bi-product is toxic to respiratory systems and the atmosphere, and it stays in landfills for centuries taking up almost 30% of landfill space in the United States. LSC’s Integrated Manufacturing Program has created a solution that that will make this product reusable to community members and businesses alike.
This year’s Integrated Manufacturing Team, including students Nathan Zobel, Pete Alms and David Hauff, took their styrofoam shredder to the two-day SkillsUSA competition in Bloomington, Minnesota. The project competed in the Community Service category and won a gold medal, advancing them to the National SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Missouri this June. The machine, designed as a prototype for a new and improved machine already in production, has been in service at LSC for four years. Designing and building the shredder, though, is only half the story. The machine has shredded over 8,000 cubic feet of large styrofoam packing material over its life and the team has spent over 160 hours shredding campus styro and also material dropped off by the public.
But they didn’t stop there! Throughout the four years of service, the Integrated Manufacturing team has been taking notes on design shortfalls of the current machine. The team is utilizing their CAD/CAM design knowledge, machine skills, previous experience, and is also adapting and developing trouble-shooting skills to produce a machine that will give them a more usable end-product with consistent-sized pieces, and, “with the new design the shredded pieces will be more uniform and have less static…” says team member Zobel. This will make the material more appealing to commercial businesses and the more efficient machine design will mean they can take in more from the community; thereby diverting even more of this nuisance material from the landfill. Besides the shredded material’s obvious use as packing material, individuals have found use for it as filler for bean bag chairs, dog beds and outdoor planters.
This project not only serves to promote our Integrated Manufacturing program through college publications, but when the new machine is completed, it will also serve as a tangible community outreach project for the college with on-line advertising of shredded styrofoam. “At the same time, the project will help us to reach our college’s sustainability goals by keeping styrofoam out of landfills,” says Deanne Roquet, LSC’s Environmental Council Chairperson.
This project is an excellent example of hands-on classroom learning and fills a very necessary niche within the campus and ultimately the community, as no place else in the region has the capacity to manage the product after its initial purpose has been exhausted.
For more information on this or any of Lake Superior College’s Sustainability initiatives, email Kristi Heintz at sustainability@lsc.edu.
As a 2008 signatory to the American Colleges & Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment, LSC is required to complete and submit a plan outlining our goals and intentions to reduce carbon emissions through various energy emission mitigation strategies and educational and community outreach efforts.
Over the course of one year, the Lake Superior College Sustainability Plan of Action was completed by students and staff within the college’s Environmental Council with input and support from administration, knowledge of many individuals on campus, and collaborative efforts with other colleges in our region.
View the full Plan here: Lake Superior College Sustainability Plan of Action
This document is a plan for LSC to achieve at least a 50% reduction in eCO2 emissions by 2030. Recognizing the fluctuating nature of environmental technology and social change, this Plan will focus on the next few years followed by five-year interim goals until 2030; bi-annual reviews of this document will address the years to follow. This review process will address LSC’s goal to achieve climate neutrality by 2060. To achieve this goal thoughtful planning and direction are necessary. This goal and Plan will prompt meaningful discussion and development of policies and procedures needed to get us there.
As of May 6th, 2011, the final Plan has been submitted to ACUPCC! This document will utilized in annual planning for campus sustainability projects and will be updated every two years and re-submitted to ACUPCC. If you have comments or suggestions for future drafts, feel free to leave there here!
LSC’s Environmental Council has developed a Campus Sustainability Map. Check it out by clicking the image below, and let us know what you think!
April 27th, 2012
8:00-9:30
Location: Student Life Conference Room
Attendance
Governing Council Members present: Carol Johnson, Deanne Roquet, Kristi Heintz, Mike Francisco, Theresa Hornstein
General Members present: Dick Haney, Kevin Lindgren, Heather Grillo
Guest Present: Beth Johnson
Announcements
Waste Wise Annual Meeting will be held Tuesday, October 2nd at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. Anyone interested in going can contact Kristi.
YMCA Camp Miller is hiring a counselor position for summer. Dick will forward the posting to Kristi to be distributed to the EC mail list.
Work-Study & Work-Group Reports
New Business
Accessibility Survey With the re-design of the East parking lot occurring now and work beginning soon, Dick suggested we put together a survey of individual’s satisfaction with the non-motorized accessibility of our campus. Dick, Deanne, Heather, and Kristi will work on survey questions. Kristi will put the questions into a survey monkey format and attach it to the blog and send a Newsplash request to Mat. Kristi and Lance will have the survey available next Tuesday and Wednesday. Heather suggested we raffle remaining Earth Day items, including t-shirts and herbs, for those that take the survey. Great idea!
Legacy Project Update Beth reported that the project has been approved and Brian is just waiting on Jeff at Boreal to begin the work.
Hosting Sustainability Folks meeting Since the first meeting time didn’t work for most, we are now getting down to the wire to schedule during spring semester. This meeting may have to be put off until fall.
Re-Use Room Kristi has had several requests from faculty to open another re-use room this summer. With so many office moves taking place, it would be a great idea to continue it all summer. Kristi spoke with Mark M. about this option, he asked that she work with Rody and Gary to find a space. The room will be open from 11:00-1:00 Mondays and Wednesdays.
Strategizing FY2013 Kristi would like to lay out goals for the next school year. It was decided that the June 18th meeting would be a good time for this.
Ongoing Business
Smoking on the Interpretive Trail was again brought up as an ongoing problem. Kristi will check with facilities to see if they have any more No Smoking Signs that can be posted at the trail head(s).
Adopt-A-Parking Lot sign design has been completed by Jean and Kristi brought an example to show to the EC. Kristi will set up a PO for the signs which will cost about $150.
Old Business
Earth Day Re-Cap The general feeling was that Earth Day this year went very well. Students really loved the water bottle give-away. Heather did an amazing job, as always, organizing everything for the MONTH! The shirts were a big success, there are some remaining that will be used as prizes throughout the year. The Council decided we should re-order the same shirts next year. Ideas were generated on how to involve more faculty in the planning of Earth Day activities, possibly sending an early reminder, similar to SS day, so instructors can put “extra credit” opportunities on their syllabuses.
Budget
PO encumbrances since last meeting:
Balance as of 4/23/2012: $1,859.96
Next meeting
Next meeting is June 18th at noon in the Student Life Conference Room
Summer meetings will be July 16th and August 13th at noon in Student Life
Notes Submitted by Kristi Heintz
8:00-9:00
Student Life Conference Room
Announcements
Waste Wise Annual Meeting: Tues, October 2nd at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska
Work-Study & Work Group Reports
New Business
Accessibility Survey
Arbor Day/Legacy Project update
Hosting Sustainability Folks meeting, date change
Re-Use Room
Ongoing Business
Food Service Director begins April 23rd, extend an invite
Adopt-A-Parking Lot design
Old Business
Earth Day re-cap
Budget
PO Encumbrances since last meeting:
Balance as of 4/23/2012: $1859.96
Potential forthcoming encumbrances:
Next meeting
?
9:00-11:00
Location: Student Life Conference Room
Attendance
Governing Council Members present: Carol Johnson, Deanne Roquet, Kevin Futhey, Kristi Heintz, Mike Francisco, Theresa Hornstein
General Members present: Glenn Merrick, Kevin Lindgren, Heather Grillo
Guest Present: Neldon Herron
Announcements
Sigrud Oldon Lecture Series is at UMD, Wednesday April 18th at 12 noon in the library rotunda
Campus Climate Idols Mindy Granley at UMD contacted Kristi about LSC being a part of the GreenCorps member facilitated Campus Climate Idols project. The project includes UMD, CSS, and Duluth Sister Cities. Kristi didn’t have many details, and nobody had any recollection of this being discussed. Kristi will follow-up with Mindy for more details.
Greenhouse Gas Report for 2011 has been submitted. Cliff and a work-study gathered and compiled the data and submitted to ACUPCC. Kristi will send the information to Mat for the weekly Newsplash and will post on the blog. Deanne suggested a certificate be created for the work-study that completed the data collection.
Work-Study & Work-Group Reports
Vending Misers: Lance was not present to report, but Kristi posted the miser story on the blog and shared it with the Council. Kristi will send this to Mat for the Newsplash.
Earth Day & 5R Update Heather updated everyone on the upcoming Earth Day activities and Kristi gave an update on 5R. Volunteers for 5R are needed for all time slots.
Arbor Day/Legacy Project update The Student Senate is still moving forward with the planned Legacy Landscaping Project. Cliff worked with the Senate Involvement Committee to draw up a plan. After meeting with President Johns and Jeff West from Boreal Natives, the plan has been altered a bit to include a lower spot on the front lawn. This location will serve more of a stormwater mitigation purpose and will enable more incorporation of diverse moisture tolerant plants and grasses. The group still hopes to begin work in late April.
“Local Sustainability Folks” meeting: The proposed April 19th meeting did not work for most individuals. May 3rd was suggested as a new date. Kristi will send an email to gauge interest in this date.
The future of the styrofoam shredder is in question. The second machine is now built, and there is plenty of material to shred. Max would like to give up the responsibility of shredding and getting rid of materials, as there is no longer a club willing to put time into doing the shredding. Deanne suggested contacting Demolicious or Bemidji State to see if either of them would be interested in the machine. Kristi has contacted WLSSD for the same reason. Heather mentioned Student Life will no longer give money to clubs for shredding because of safety concerns. Kristi will ask Bill to take the advertisement for collecting styro off of the monitors and will inform Lolly to direct the public away from LSC for drop-offs.
H-Building LEED Signage Kristi is working with Mat on the mandatory LEED educational signage. If anyone has suggestions on type of signage or content, please contact Kristi.
Ongoing Business
Old Business
Budget
PO encumbrances since last meeting:
Balance as of 4/23/2012: $1,859.96
Next meeting
Next meeting is April 27th at 8:00 in the Student Life Conference Room
Notes Submitted by Kristi Heintz
9:00-11:00
Location: Workforce Development Conference Room (E2028)
Announcements
Sigurd Olson Lecture Series at UMD, Wed. April 18th 12 noon
Campus Climate Idols through UMD
GHG Report Submitted-PI?
Work-Study & Work Group Reports
Lance: Vending Misers, Recycling Signage
New Business
Earth Day planning, 5R update
Arbor Day/Legacy Project update
Hosting Sustainability Folks meeting, date change
Future of the Styro Shredder
H-Building LEED signage
Ongoing Business
Food Service Director begins April 23rd, extend an invite
Old Business
Budget
PO Encumbrances since last meeting:
Balance as of 4/11/12: $1,871.19
Potential forthcoming encumbrances:
Next meeting
April 20th, 2012 is a duty day, change?
