Clean Vehicle Program gives rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles

Good news for those interested in purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle. The Monterey Bay Air Resource District (MBARD, formerly MBUAPCD) will soon be offering individuals an additional $2,500 rebate for residents of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties for the purchase or lease of an all electric vehicle. Applications will be on their website soon at www.mbard.org. This is in addition to a $7,500 federal tax credit and a $2,500 state rebate.

Read the press release here.

Nissan also offers staff and faculty, and now graduate students, an additional discount as well.  Read more here.

November 2015 Green Tip: Have a Green Thanksgiving

Shop local and organic when it comes to groceries for Thanksgiving. This includes selecting a certified organic, pasture-raised turkey! Localharvest.org is an amazing resource to find places near you where food is grown and raised using sustainable practices! Also, avoid unnecessary food packaging by placing bulk-bin items such as rice or beans in your own reusable bags!

Avoid the use of beef in your Thanksgiving dishes. Not only does it require 1847 gallons of water per lb to produce, but also beef production releases five times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as the average of other animal products and meats.

On Thanksgiving Day, carpool with friends or through zimride.com,  use public transportation, or ride your bike! Not only will this cut your overall gas consumption and carbon emissions, but you'll feel better about eating that last slice of pumpkin pie! During Thanksgiving dinner, remember to use cloth napkins, and if you don’t have enough dishes, go for the most eco-friendly option, like biodegradable plastic dishes!

Avoid wasting food by starting with small portions and taking as you need. If you’re hosting, ask your guests to bring their own Tupperware containers for leftovers to avoid using single plastics such as Ziploc bags or saran wrap. Start a composting bin and compost your food scraps!

City of Santa Cruz & UC Santa Cruz Install Solar Streetlamp Research Pilot at Wharf

As part of the award-winning GreenWharf partnership, the City of Santa Cruz and UC Santa Cruz have installed an innovative solar streetlamp at the end of the Wharf as a research pilot project.

Provided by Mira Bella Energy of Peoria, Arizona, the solar streetlamp mirrors the gooseneck style of the existing streetlamps at the Wharf, which were upgraded to LED technology over the past two years. This design is intended to outperform other conventional panel technologies through a bifacial solar cell capturing scattered light on both sides of the cell array, even in overcast sunlight conditions. The vertically oriented panel design also reduces the potential for seagull excrement fouling which has limited the effectiveness of previously installed solar technologies at the Wharf. The solar streetlamp is outfitted with a battery pack inside the lamp pole, yet is also tied to the electrical grid for backup to the solar-battery system. The solar streetlamp’s performance will be monitored and timing and intensity can be adjusted via an online dashboard. Research will focus on the impact of an overwater installation on energy production and performance in a harsh marine environment.

“In addition to the vertical axis wind turbine in operation since 2011, the solar streetlamp is an innovative technology being piloted at the Wharf. Its real-time, web-based performance monitoring creates many research opportunities for students and faculty” said Dr. Michael Isaacson, Director of UCSC’s Center for Sustainable Energy Power Systems and principal investigator on the project.

It is a goal of the project to provide the public and other researchers access to the solar streetlamp’s performance data. UCSC researchers currently collect data on wind speed, solar irradiance and energy generation from the wind turbine and solar panel at the Wharf Headquarters. Access to the data sets and more information on the GreenWharf partnership is at www.greenwharf.org.

Wharf Supervisor Jon Bombaci adds “The solar streetlamp research pilot is another successful public-private project launched through the City-UCSC partnership, providing valuable research opportunities, educational experiences and helping to make the Wharf green.”

For more information on the GreenWharf partnership, please contact Ross Clark at (831) 420-5113 or rclark [at] cityofsantacruz [dot] com.

March 2015 Green Tip: Go Green For Your Spring Clean

It's just about time to open your windows and let in the fresh spring air. These green spring cleaning tips will help you shoo off cobwebs and sweep up dust bunnies without the guilt of using harsh chemicals contributing to the landfill.

Green Cleaning Products: According to the EPA, the air inside of a home is two to five times more polluted than the air outside, mainly because of household cleaners and pesticides. Many common cleaning products can be made from nontoxic ingredients that you already have in your home and work just as well. Making your own cleaning solutions will also help reduce the amount of plastic packaging you buy. Check out this nontoxic solutions site for ideas and recipes.

Trash to treasure: When going through your old notes, don't just toss them in the closest trash bin, save the unused paper and use them for scratch paper and recycle the others.

If you have unwanted and slightly worn clothes, you can donate or sell them. Santa Cruz GOODWILL and the Homeless Service Center are always accepting donations. Also, UCSC has several Facebook groups where you can sell your unwanted items. Check out and join the Free & For Sell and Clothing and Accessories Exchange Facebook groups.

End the Cycle: You can save water and energy by washing full loads of laundry with cold water.

Innovative Approaches to Sustainability at Other Campuses

Here are a few selections of the innovative approaches to sustainability taking place on other college campuses. Each of these examples was chosen because they represent ideas that UCSC could potentially implement in some form, or in some cases, already has begun to. If you see something here that you want to make a reality at UCSC, contact the Sustainability Office susted [at] ucsc [dot] edu and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

U Saskatchewan Student Helps Deal With Costly Research Byproduct 
A Sustainability Living Lab project, a biological engineering student is investigating a system to process manure from the campus' Dairy Research and Teaching Farm into a product that can be kept on campus or one that is cheaper to have discarded. Currently the university spends $65,000 annually for the manure to be hauled away. Here at UCSC, we have many places on campus that serve to create a living laboratory where students can become involved in hands-on work like this.

Colorado Mountain College Holds Art Exhibit
In an effort to raise awareness for sustainability, an inaugural college-wide art exhibit at Colorado Mountain College showcased work that was either created with sustainable materials or with content reflecting the theme of sustainability. How can the UCSC Art and Environmental Studies Departments collaborate on projects like this here?

Southern Oregon U Partners to Reduce Student Mileage
Part of a statewide "Drive Less. Save More." campaign, the university is working with the Oregon Department of Transportation and a district authority to reduce the number of miles driven by university students by providing information to students about the benefits of traveling by foot, bike, skateboard, bus and shared car. The program's goals are to to reduce traffic, increase parking availability on campus, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Wesleyan U Students to Build Living Wall 
The university’s Wild Walls student group recently announced its plans to build a vertical plant wall on campus this semester focusing on redesigning conventional campus landscaping while promoting self-sustaining ecosystems.

Stanford Recycle-Mania Tournament
Students at Stanford University created a parody video of All About the Bass called All About No Waste as part of a nationwide Recycle Mania Tournament. It's catchy and educational about zero waste efforts!

December 2014 Green Tip: Have a Sustainable Holiday

Looking for a way to give back to Mother Earth while you're in the holiday giving mood? We can all enjoy these sustainable treats and tips no matter what we are celebrating this season.

Sustainable Holiday Meals:

Want to enjoy delicious wintertime foods without as many greenhouse gas emissions as usual? Whip up these yummy recipes for friends and family—they won’t even know the difference!

Traditional Style Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Featuring vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, and vegan cream cheese in place of chicken   and cow products, this recipe for shepherd’s pie will convince you that you really do live in a cozy farmhouse with a flock of sheep! But really, this sounds delicious, and it’s a warm dish to serve on a chilly day!

Visit AllRecipes.com for the recipe!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Apple Cider Reduction 

The title of this recipe is 100% wintertime deliciousness, and it’s completely vegan! Using vegan cream cheese, tofu, and soy milk in place of cow milk products, it can be sweetened with agave nectar and it’s spiced with cinnamon, arrowroot, nutmeg, agar, and pumpkin.

Learn how to make it on the Sierra Club website  here.

Seeking more sustainable holiday meals? Visit the Huffington Post’s “5 Sustainable Courses for a Healthy Holiday Meal” here.

Green Party Planning:

Hosting a party over the break? Integrate sustainable choices into your planning to reduce waste and educate friends and family about environmental conservation.

• Send e-cards or look for greetings made with recycled content (the more post-consumer content, the better)
• Set the table with cloth napkins, reusable plates and reusable utensils to reduce waste going to landfills. Compostable options are second best—but only if you live somewhere that collects compost!
• Turn down the heat and bundle up. As your guests arrive, turn down the thermostat and let your guests’ body heat naturally warm the room.

• If your party features gift opening, try to salvage reusable materials and then recycle the rest (unless your gift wrap is shiny and non-recyclable). Remove tape, ribbons and other decorations before tossing in the recycle bin.
• If possible, compost food scraps. If not, toss them in the trash instead of washing them down the disposal to save water. 
• Since you’re using reusable dishes and utensils, be sure you aren’t wasting water (after all, we’re in a drought!) Use just a little water to get your sponge soapy and wet and then turn off the faucet while scrubbing. Put them in the dishwasher, or fill the sink or a tub with water to rinse instead of running the faucet.

Find more green party tips online at Mother Nature Network and GraceLinks.org.

Thanks for reading! Now it’s your turn: How do you make your annual wintertime traditions more kind to the planet?

Virtual Green Room to Guide Your Sustainable Living!

Are you looking to become a more sustainable and environmentally-conscious individual but are just not sure where to start? Look no further than the new, interactive page on the UC Santa Cruz Housing website. This tool is easy to access, easy to use, and has valuable information about living sustainably. By simply clicking on the green circles, explore the many ways to be more environmentally conscious. For example, by clicking on the desk lamp, you are given access to information about electricity and how to select lightbulbs that use less energy. Share with a student you know, or consider how these tips apply to your own life!

Explore the page here.