April 2013: Sustainability Profile - Carley Corrado

Each month, our newsletter features a person or group on campus that is working toward a more sustainable world. This month's profile features Carley Corrado, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics who is working on developing electricity-generating greenhouses that can produce solar energy while simultaneously producing agricultural crops. Read a detailed interview about this project here.

We asked Carley what she thinks about sustainability and how it relates to her work at UCSC.

Name: Carley Corrado
Title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics
Education: PhD in Chemistry (UC Santa Cruz), 2006-2011
Favorite Food: Thai food

Favorite Green Tips: Know that you will work toward a more sustainable world and hold that in your intentions. It will come to fruition, no matter what your passion is and what piece of the puzzle you hold.

What does "sustainability" mean to you? Not using this world up, but instead living holistically with it. Or should I say wholistically. Looking at the whole picture, how everything affects everything, and how we can find harmony living within it.

How does sustainability relate to your role at UCSC? My current project is in the development of electricity-generating greenhouses that can produce solar energy while simultaneously producing agricultural crops. The electricity will be the second-harvest. Our semi-transparent solar panel windows use concentration of light to enhance the power out of the solar cells, thus reducing the cost per Watt of the system, while absorbing predominantly in the green spectrum (where plants do not absorb) and emitting in the red (giving the plants the red light special which stimulates earlier flowering and more fruiting).

How do you practice sustainability in your daily life?

• Turning things off when not in use
• Reusing bags
• Buying in Bulk
• Believing that this world will become more sustainable and being ready to jump on any opportunity I have to encourage this shift

Have you had a favorite sustainability moment at UCSC? Attending the University Forum for Sustainability Education and learning the awesome work that the ESLP is undertaking to make this campus more sustainable. The event was so fun, and inspiring!

Get Free Drinks with GVING App at Perk Bars

UCSC Dining has implemented a new system that utilizes a FREE mobile phone application to track drink purchases with reusable mugs at Perk Coffee Bars. It is called GVING and it's really simple to use.

Started in San Francisco by a couple of students, most of the businesses utilizing the appliaction are in that area, but they are adding more and more Santa Cruz locations.

It is a loyalty program and offers a more sustainable way to earn free drinks! No need to print punch cards and no need to carry a card!

Go to gving.com/dowload to get the app. While you're at it, take this Bring Your Own Mug survey created by the Zero Waste Team in the Sustainability Office!

Put a Lid on It: Protecting Wildlife and Rainwater on Campus

Did you know? Every time a dumpster or garbage bin is left open outside, it affects wildlife and the quality of water in our tributaries and streams. Animals such as squirrels, raccoons, and various little critters climb into dumpsters looking for food only to find themselves trapped inside. When waste management comes to take the trash to the dump, they unknowingly take these trapped creatures as well. Noticed only at the dumping site, these animals are often severely injured or injured past the point of survival.

Also, rainwater collects in these dumpsters. The collected rainwater mixes with the garbage in the dumpster and leaks out into our environment in the form of runoff.

Because much of this runoff is only treated through the interaction with vegetation and soil media it is important for us to make sure the runoff is free of contaminants before it is discharged to the environment.

What can you do about it? You can help to preserve wildlife and increase rainwater quality on campus by remembering to Put A Lid On It! Always double check when throwing your waste away that the receptacle is properly closed. And do your part to close those that others have left open. 

Get Involved! Volunteer or intern with Storm Water Management Program. Questions or Comments? Contact UCSC Storm Water Manger at (831) 459 – 4520 or visit cleanwater.ucsc.edu

Enterprise Financial Systems Green Office Certified

Congratulations to the entire office of Enterprise Financial Systems for their successful completion of the Green Office Certification Program! They earned a Sprout rating for their sustainable office practices and have created a commitment plan to continue improving their sustainable behaviors and become a tree!

Here is what Frankie Brouwer, Senior Analyst at EFS, has to say about their certification:

"The EFS office recently went through Green Office Certification process and earned a sprout rating!  Our office is one of the offices in Financial Affairs, the goal is to have all of Financial Affairs certified.  Of course we will not stop with our certification, but will continue to think about ways to practice sustainability in our office.  Some of the ideas include using reusable containers for lunch items, reusing scrap paper and bring our own towels to work instead of using paper towels.  We encourage other offices to adopt these green practices as well."

If you work in an office and would like to see it Green Certified like EFS, check out the website for more information.

April 2013: Classes & Community

Join the Kresge Natural Foods Co-op
The Kresge Community Natural Foods Co-op is a non-profit student-run food store located on the south side of Kresge College. It has been a Kresge College tradition for over twenty years, supporting small farmers, the UCSC Farm Project, and the Kresge Organic Garden. While anyone can buy food at the Food Co-op, members receive a discount. The Co-op operates as a collective and a variety of membership options are available. Special pricing is available on bulk orders. Come in for groceries, lunch, snacks, hot coffee, tea, or just to spend time with your friends. Hours: Weekdays 9 AM - 6 PM To contact the Food Co-op, call 426-1506, or attend the bi-weekly meetings every other Sunday at 11 am in the Student Lounge.

Enroll in ESLP for Spring Quarter 
Ready for a new experience? Enroll in the Education for Sustainable Living Program’s (ESLP) class for Spring quarter! The Spring class incorporates both a Monday Night lecture series and student led sections. Some section topics include; restoration, ecopsychology, land and habitat conservation, sustainable urban design, indigenous cultures, and other topics in the Blueprint for a Sustainable Campus. Sections are small and project based. Creativity, experiential learning, and active discussion is encouraged. Sign up through College 8 for CLEI 61 or 161 for Spring Quarter (2-unit and 5 unit options available).

Registration for Recreation Department Classes & Trips Begins April 9
The UCSC Recreation Department offers a wealth of classes, trainings, outdoor trips, and other kinds of adventures, many of which relate to sustainability, engagement with nature, and food systems. Visit the website to register for classes, beginning April 9 at 9 AM.

Bay Area Seed Interchange Library Hosts Vegetable Breeding Short Course
On Saturday, April 27th, from 11AM-5PM, Bay Area Seed Interchange Library ("BASIL") will be hosting a vegetable breeding short course. The course, taught by organic farmer and plant breeder, Fred Hempel, will be set at Baia Nicchia Farm in Sunol. You can register for the class by emailing BASIL. The cost is $50, with worktrade and student discounts available.

Take the 100 Greywater System Challenge and Help Save Over A Half-million Gallons of Water Annually!
Central Coast Greywater is currently holding a "Greywater System Challenge" to help encourage greywater usage in the Santa Cruz Community. Through this program, they offer greywater system registration, free installation workshops, and trainings for those that are interested in teaching greywater workshops on the organization's behalf. Learn more about their group, and how you can help them reach their goal of 100 installed greywater systems by September on their website.

FoCAN invites you to the 3rd Annual Youth Exchange, April 8th-16th
Join FoCAN for the 3rd Annual Youth Exchange happening April 8th-April 16th. The Youth Exchange will host international youth for a week long dissection of our current food system. Centered around food security and food sovereignty movements at the family and community level, the Youth Exchange will foster an environment with different perspectives and experiences with a focus on gender equity and will be a place to share, reflect, and learn together. The Youth Exchange aims to create an international network of youth and students who want to continue working to promote food sovereignty and security and agricultural food systems.

Heard about other sustainability related classes, trainings, or community opportunities around Santa Cruz or the campus? Post in the comments or send us an email! 

April 2013: 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 and we will help you direct your ideas toward fruition!

UC Davis Police hand out free bike lights
UC Davis are teaming to hand out bike lights - instead of citations - to students riding their bikes in the dark. Through this, they hope to educate students about bicycle safety law, and promote responsible cycling habits.

Wake Tech Community College Unveils Rooftop Solar Array
More than 1,300 solar panels have been installed on the roof of Wake Tech's Public Safety Education Campus, based in Raleigh, NC. Progress Energy will purchase the energy produced at a fixed price over the next 20 years as part of its SunSense program. The project is expected to generate more than $300,000 over the next two decades for student scholarships through the Wake Tech Foundation.

Knox College Theatre Students Promote Sustainability
Theatre students at Knox College (in Galesburg, IL) have raised an emphasis on reducing waste and promoting sustainability for its latest stage production. All items were reused from past shows, purchased from second hand/vintage shops, or created with the intention of being used again. The students also created a Sustainability Crew which included initiatives like sewing tote bags from old t-shirts, posting student videos promoting sustainability on YouTube, and encouraging others to be more sustainable in their everyday lives.

UC Berkeley Student Government Votes to Divest from Fossil Fuels
The Associated Students of the University California (ASUC) Senate has approved a bill ordering the divestment of its funds from fossil fuel companies while encouraging other institutions of higher education to follow suit. The bill binds the ASUC to complete the withdrawal of any of its $3 million in total investments from fossil fuel companies

University of Maryland Greek Community Launches Composting Initiative
Eleven Greek fraternities and sororities at the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) have launched composting initiatives since 2010. Compost collected from each participating house is taken to a compactor at one of the dining halls. The university has seen a significant increase in composting across the campus since the initiatives launched. In 2012, the university composted 566.18 tons, up from 138 tons in 2010.

Research Focuses on "Redhouses" and Solar Electricity

Sure, you've heard of greenhouses, but what about redhouses? We interviewed Carley Corrado this month about her postdoctoral fellowship work in Sue Carter's lab on Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC) windows, to be used to construct electricity-generating greenhouses. The greenhouses are very noticeable, being that they glow bright red.

Carley Corrado and Sue Carter 

Carley explains how the "redhouses" work: "The dye absorbs green light (a section of the solar spectrum where plants do not absorb) and emit red light. The red light serves two functions: 1) It is concentrated onto the solar cell, thus increasing the power generated from the cell by 40%; and 2) It increases the amount of red light onto the plant, thus stimulating earlier flowering and fruiting, and other interesting effects. We have built two test greenhouses, one red and one control, so that we may monitor the plant's growth under the altered spectrum of light compared to the control. We are also doing a trial at a greenhouse in Watsonville. The results have been very promising, so we are preparing to do a larger trial at a commercial vegetable growers' greenhouse beginning in April."

According to Corrado, redhouses reduce electricity costs at "a much faster payback time than typical solar panels because of the enhanced power generated from the concentrated light onto the cell as well as the absence of additional structural costs since the panels are built directly into the greenhouse. It also allows solar energy harvesting from land simultaneously being used for crop production, thus allowing for a second harvest."

Why solar? "The coolest thing about solar energy is that once you install it, electricity flows free like the river," Carley said. "The price of solar has dropped dramatically in recent years, making it an investment that will lead to substantial savings over time. It also changes the dynamic of a centralized power producer (perhaps owned by "the 1%") that profits significantly from every single home being connected to a grid, with no other choice but to pay the piper. When a business or home converts to being a power producer, they become free from that constraint. Thus solar is also a step away from concentration of wealth, and toward power to the people.

They are currently conducting experiments with redhouses in Watsonville and on campus. To learn more about their work, please email Carley.