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Volume 3, Issue 1

September 2010

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Introducing the UGA Office of Sustainability

Welcome! I hope you’re enjoying life at UGA. Fall semester on our campus is hard to beat. The air is abuzz with stu-dent life and the excitement of a new academic year. This year, students are helping to cre-ate a “greener,” more sustainable UGA through direct actions and healthy liv-ing choices. From the $3 green fee to personal habits that save water and energy, generate less waste and mini-mize our carbon footprint, UGA stu-dents are acting as leaders on campus and in the community. The Office of Sustainability is a new initiative devel-oped and funded in large part by you, the students of UGA, through the new student green fee. We are here to help you—and all members of the University community—to conserve resources and establish a model for healthy living on campus and beyond, so that genera-tions to come will enjoy a preserved and in deed enhanced University of Georgia. Your UGA Housing staff is also commit-ted to developing a culture of sustain-ability on campus. Check out LEED-proposed Building 1516; take the Living Green at UGA pledge; participate in Green Cup; enjoy the environmental

film series; conduct a waste audit. There are plenty of ways to get in-volved. Your time here at UGA should be char-acterized by positive growth. Live. Learn. Serve. Give back to your com-munity, and do your part to sustain this campus and the natural systems on which we all depend. Many simple indi-vidual actions collectively make UGA a better place. Check out our website www.sustainability.uga.edu or visit us on Facebook to learn more about What We’re Doing at UGA and to find great tips for What You Can Do to lessen your environmental impact and improve campus sustainability—in your resi-dence hall and throughout campus in the choices you make every day. Prac-tice the Seven Simple Steps. Take the Daily Challenge. Join the Go Green Alli-ance. Encourage your friends and cre-ate positive change together! What we do—each of us at UGA—has an impact on the quality of life on cam-pus, in the Athens community, and be-yond. Thanks for doing your part! Kevin Kirsche Director, UGA Office of Sustainability

Film Series Fall Life-Up Tuesday; October 12, 2010 Food, Inc.

You’ll never look at dinner the same way 

Tuesday; November 9, 2010 Flow

How did a handful of corporations steal our water? 

Films begin at 7 p.m. in the Rooker Hall Fireside Lounge and are Blue Card events 

 Sponsored by the Department of University Housing

Hill Community Green Cup 2010

Residents can also attend a variety of programs to earn bonus points i nc lud ing a k i cko f f even t (September 13), ice cream/pool party with ecotrivia (September 21), Tate Theater movie screening (September 29), outdoor movie screening (October 5) and a closing celebration (October 11). Although Green Cup is geared towards Hill Community residents, all residents are invited to the events.

P l e a s e v i s i t h t t p : / /sustainability.uga.edu/index.php?/s i t e / w h a t w e r e d o i n g /green_cup_competition/ for more information on the Green Cup com-petition and programs. Good luck to the Hill Community!

It’s time again for the annual Green Cup contest. The Green Cup competition, held among Hill Com-munity residence halls, is a part-nership between the Office of Sus-tainability, University Housing, and EcoFocus Film Festival and is spon-sored by a grant from the UGA Parents and Families Association.

To compete in Green Cup, halls are asked to reduce their electricity and water consumption. Last year, Mell Hall received the honor of be-ing named the first Green Cup Champion. This year, not only is Oglethorpe House joining the com-petition, but Green Cup will also include a recycling component.

Page 2 L iv ing Green

Housing Fresh Air Initiative

University Housing is systemati-cally installing equipment into resi-dence halls to improve indoor air quality. The concept is to take out-side air, condition it to approxi-mately 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% relative humidity, and supply portions of the conditioned “fresh air” to living spaces throughout the residence hall in an environmen-tally responsible way.

Modern fresh air equipment uses air from inside the building, known as “exhaust air,” to temper outside air. The exhaust air is very similar in temperature and relative humid-ity to the desired fresh air except contaminated with carbon dioxide, odors and other undesired parti-

cles. Therefore, exhaust air is used to heat up cool air, cool down hot air, dry humid air and moisten very dry air. But through heat recovery technology, this is possible without contaminating the fresh air.

This summer, an enthalpy wheel was installed in Boggs, Church, Hill, Lipscomb and Mell Halls. An en-thalpy wheel consists of two major components, heat exchanging coils and desiccant material. The coils transfers heat from warm air to cool air. The desiccant material is per-manently applied to the coils and transfers moisture from humid air to dry air. The wheel is placed be-tween two air ducts. One duct con-tains exhaust air from inside the

building and the other contains outside air. The wheel rotates slowly transferring heat and mois-ture from one duct to the other reducing the need to cool, heat and/or otherwise condition the outside air into “fresh air.”

University Housing is taking a leading role in improving your home away from home in an envi-ronmentally responsible manner. Questions about this project and others can be directed to Matthew Deason at mdeason@uga.edu. If you live in one of these improved buildings, enjoy your environmen-tally friendly fresh air.

Cardboard Recycling Efforts During Move-in

This past August, University Housing created corrals desig-nated as cardboard recycling areas during residence hall move-in.

Because of your efforts, 23,200 pounds of cardboard (that’s 11.6 tons!) have been recycled and diverted from the local landfills. Although this was a good effort, there was still a lot of cardboard that was not recycled by residents during move-in.

Thank you to all who partici-pated and encourage your friends to “think green.”

Did you know . . .

Every time you open the refrigerator door, up to 30% of the cold air can escape.

Volume 3, Issue 1 Page 3

University Housing’s Commitment to Sustainability

Sustainability is "meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." In general, this means that sustainable technolo-gies do not deplete natural re-sources, use less energy and fewer resources, can be reused in some way when their useful life has ended, and do not directly or indi-rectly emit any poisonous sub-stances. It is a lifestyle.

University Housing has incorpo-rated the principles of sustainabil-ity into the department's operation and strives to increase environ-mental awareness and promote a sustainable community by example and through the education of resi-dents. During the 2009-2010 aca-demic year, sustainability initia-tives centered on four primary themes—educational programs and campaigns, water and energy con-servation efforts, recycling and other conservation efforts and maintain a healthy environment.

The purpose of educational pro-

grams and campaigns on sustain-ability issues is to inform students on the importance of sustainability concepts and provide them with tools and opportunities to be active participants in their environment. Past examples include: (1) a sus-tainability film series; (2) Living Green at UGA pledge campaign; (3) a collaboration project with UGA Hillel to collect student belongings no longer wanted at the end of the academic year; and (4) the distri-bution of Living Green.

In terms of water and energy con-servation efforts, University Hous-ing is actively upgrading systems and facilities to conserve natural resources. This includes incorporat-ing LEED and other principles into day-to-day maintenance, facility retrofits and furniture construction. In addition, the department made a conversion to more energy efficient products, installed water conserving devices and purchased ENERGY STAR products.

University Housing, in collaboration with the UGA Physical Plant Division

has developed a recycling program to divert as much waste material as possible away from the munici-pal landfill. In addition, as Univer-sity Housing conducts facility up-grades, repairs and moderniza-tions, the department works dili-gently to recycle as much material waste as possible within state pro-curement guidelines.

Finally, because University Housing recognizes that sustainability ini-tiatives can also lead to a healthier living and working environment, new and continued initiatives in-clude: (1) fully incorporating green cleaning practices by our custodial staff members; (2) purchasing healthy, eco-friendly materials that improve indoor air quality; (3) pro-viding bicycle racks to promote alternative transportation; and (4) incorporating green design fea-tures into Building 1516.

For the coming year, University Housing plans to continue many of these initiatives as well as create new programs to engage students in sustainability efforts.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) is dedicated to all aspects of sustainability. We encourage you to GO GREEN this year as you make UGA your home away from home.

SAVE THE DATE:

RHA Sustainability Program

March 8, 2011

If you would like more information about the RHA Sustain-ability Committee, please contact Barrett Beck at babb89@uga.edu.

Living in a residence hall does not mean you have unlimited resources. We owe it to our community to be responsible resource consumers! Try to implement just a few of the follow-ing tips, if not all, into your daily rou-tine to make a difference!

Water

• Only wash full loads of laundry or adjust the water level for the ap-propriate amount of clothing

• Reuse towels and other items to limit the amount of items to laun-der

• Turn off faucets tightly

• Don’t turn on the faucet at full blast when just a trickle of water will do

• Report leaks and drips immedi-ately to (706) 542-3999

• Designate one glass for drinking water each day or use a water bottle to limit the amount of dishes to wash

• Do not let the water run while washing dishes—fill the sink only as much as you need it

• Keep your shower time to a mini-mum; aim for five minutes or less

• Turn off water in the shower when you are not rinsing

• Turn off water at the sink while brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face, etc.

Paper and Plastics

• Buy used books

• Purchase recycled notebooks, pa-per and binders

• Invest in reusable shopping bags

• Reuse paper, envelopes and boxes whenever possible

• Use both sides of paper—when printing, taking notes, etc.

• Limit how many paper napkins and paper towels you use

• Drink out of reusable water bot-tles to save plastic

Energy and Electricity

• Utilize natural light when you can

• Turn off and unplug items when you are not using them

• Use compact fluorescent bulbs

• Do not prop doors open

• Air dry your clothing

Recycle

• Recycle materials in the appropri-ate bins located inside and out-side of your residence hall

Other Tips

• Bike, ride the bus or carpool with your friends

• Get involved in an organization that supports recycling and sus-tainability efforts

Page 4

Ways to Live Green in the Residence Halls

L iv ing Green

Russell Hall Athens, GA 30602

The Un ivers i ty of Georg ia Div is ion of Student Af fa i rs

Univers i ty Housing

Phone: 706-542-1421 Fax: 706-542-8595

E-mail: housing@uga.edu

Living Green is a quarterly news-letter distributed to University Housing residents and staff mem-bers and is written and published by the Department of University Housing at The University of Georgia.

For information about this issue of Living Green or to submit arti-cles for future publication, please contact:

Carla Dennis, Editor cadennis@uga.edu

Contributors for this issue:

Barrett Beck

Matthew Deason

Carla Dennis

Joel Eizenstat

Kevin Kirsche

www.uga.edu/housing

America Recycles Day is November 15!

America Recycles Day is a nationally recognized day aimed at promoting the so-cial, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encouraging more peo-ple to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment. Think about what you can do to renew your recycling efforts in the residence halls and across our University and local communities.

Housing Website Addition

The University Housing website now has a link showcasing department ini-tiatives with regards to sus-tainability. This link in-cludes resources, recycling locations and a list of up-coming programs and events. See for yourself at h t t p : / / w w w . u g a . e d u /hous ing/susta inabi l i ty/index.html.