FGCU is Environmentally Friendly.

How FGCU is environmentally friendly?  I'll tell you :)

One of the main energy saving mechanisms that we have on campus is for our air conditioning. FGCU has one of the largest ice thermal storage plants in the state of the Florida. This device converts cold water to a holding tank to the cooling capacity. The storage unit operates at night to allow the chilly water to make the ice. The ice is then used during the peak electric utility period to power the fluid to move to the heat exchangers. The storage plant sends cold water through tunnels which are located underground. These tunnels go to cool buildings according to each building’s cooling needs. During the night, the plant produces ice when the electricity is low, which helps save on the electric bill, and it also reduces the need for other generating utilities.

Our campus has many different buildings that are designed for a friendly environment. Each building is specifically designed to conserve energy in some way. For instance, each building reflects Florida’s climate by providing shade near buildings and walkways. It also includes tinted exterior building windows so the heat coming in is not as abrupt as is would be with a normal window. The campus has openings that allow the air to ventilate through the air conditioning units to conserve energy. The buildings are designed to endure the suns strong winds, the strength of a hurricane winds and rainfall during the intense rainy seasons. In the freshman dorms, Biscayne and Everglades, the windows are permanently closed shut. They designed the buildings this way so people would not take advantage of the air conditioning if the windows were left open. Many people are care less about turning off the air conditioning while the windows are open. This way, we are saving on electricity which saves the school tons of money.

On our campus, located in a huge field near the entrance of the university, are over 10,000 or so solar panels. These panels transport the energy from the sun and save it up to be used in the buildings. Along with this enormous field, solar panels will also be located on top of buildings and parking garages. On average, the university will save $875,000 every year and $22 million in a thirty year period. The solar panels will generate more than one-fourth of the power each year.

Eagles love tap water :) we even have reusable bottles!

 FGCU is among one of the only universities that uses an ice plant to generate ice at night when electricity is not used as much and sends cold water through tubing systems to each of the individual buildings for air conditioning. Additionally, tinted windows on all university windows reduce the solar heat gain decreasing cooling expenses.

http://www.fgcu.edu/EHS/Conservation.html

Three Dozen Ways FGCU strives to leave a smaller footprint on Earth

DESIGN
1.  FGCU’s 15-acre solar field produces roughly 85 percent of the energy needed to operate
Holmes and Lutgert halls as well as Academic Building 7, reducing the University’s reliance
on Florida Power & Light Co. by 18 percent.
2. The University operates one of the state’s largest ice thermal storage plants, generating ice at night when demand for electricity is low and sending chilled water through an underground loop that cools buildings. It reduces FGCU’s need for electricity from FPL and saves roughly $250,000 annually.
3.  The Biscayne and Everglades residence halls get hot water from rooftop solar tanks.
4. Campus swimming pools use geothermal energy to heat and cool the water by pumping
it into the earth, cooling it in the summer and heating it in the winter.
5. Academic 7, the University’s new building for science laboratories and research, is built to
platinum level, the highest certification in the green building rating system devised by the
U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
6. All future buildings on campus are expected to achieve LEED certification.
7. Campus architecture is geared to the region’s subtropical climate, providing shade
in and around buildings via covered walkways, broad roof overhangs, light-colored
exterior walls, tinted windows and wellinsulated hip roofs.
EDUCATION
8.  The Wings of Hope program introduces Lee and Collier county students in first through
fifth grades to native animals, their habitats, water conservation and green ways to help
the earth. To date, roughly 120,000 children have participated.

9.  All undergraduates complete the University
Colloquium, a for-credit course with an environmental focus that involves faculty from all
five colleges. Students explore issues pertaining to the environment, sustainability and sense of place, learning about native species, wetlands, green initiatives and sustainability.
10.  The University offers 31 for-credit courses, two undergraduate and two graduate degrees dealing with sustainability and the environment.
11. The University sponsors Sustainability Week each fall, providing seminars and activities
designed to heighten awareness of FGCU initiatives in improving water quality, transportation and habitat.
12. FGCU hosts clean-up days to improve access to campus nature trails, reinforcing ecological awareness in students and increasing their understanding of Florida’s unique habitat.

PRACTICE
13. Thirteen solar-powered trash compactors process refuse from food service operations.
14.  Student residence halls use fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescent ones.
15. The Eagles ♥ Tap Water campaign provides refill spigots in high-use areas to
encourage reuse of drinking containers and reduction of plastic bottle waste.
16.  Dual-flush toilets help conserve water.
17. University dining facilities use cage-free eggs, local products when possible and offer vegetarian fare at all meals.
18. Dining halls use a tray-less system, which reduces food, water and energy waste.
19. The University uses no chlorofluorocarbonbased refrigerants in classroom building air
conditioning or fire suppression systems.
20. FGCU recycles office paper, aluminum cans, plastic containers, aerosol cans, fiberboard,
glass, construction debris, waste oil, newsprint, toner and ink cartridges, batteries, mercury-containing devices, electronic equipment and cellular telephones.

21.  FGCU’s care of campus trees and commitment to environmental sustainability
practices earned the Tree Campus USA designation for 2009, awarded by the National
Arbor Day Foundation.
22. University personnel clear exotic trees and shrubs by hand to preserve the ecosystem. Melaleuca trees are ground into mulch, which is used around campus.
23. Campus landscaped areas are primarily xeriscaped, using native trees and plants, which require minimal to no irrigation.
24.  Faculty, staff and administrators primarily use electrical carts, rather than combustionpowered vehicles, on campus.
25. Newly constructed buildings use motionsensor lighting, which turns off when there’s no movement detected for a specified period.
26. During non-office hours, air conditioning and heating are reduced.

27.  Offices use central printers and copiers whenever possible because they are more efficient than individual desktop printers.
28. Sediment and erosion control is part of all construction projects, preventing soil loss caused by stormwater runoff or wind erosion.
29. The Student Government and Office of Environmental Health and Safety run www.Ride2FGCU.com, an online rideshare matching system that helps those headed
to campus find commuting partners, reducing the number of cars and subsequent emissions from them.
RESEARCH
30.  FGCU’s Coastal Watershed Institute, its partners and community volunteers restore oyster reefs in local waterways.
31. The Coastal Watershed Institute explores regional marine science and coastal watershed issues and the conservation of natural resources, conducting research and educating the public about the health of area waters.
32. The Harvey Kapnick Education and Research Center, at the Naples Botanical
Garden, serves as a living laboratory of conservation, education and research into bio-energy, global warming, medicinal plant biology, native plant species and plant ecology.
33. Biotech researchers are exploring green ways to destroy bacteria and toxins such as nerve
gas on the battlefield as well as germs in swimming pools, airplanes and hospitals.
34. The Bernese B. and Sidney R. Davis Chair for Environmental Design and/or Management and Horticulture focuses on leadership, knowledge and cutting-edge research in native flora.
35. The recently established Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management will be filled by an eminent scholar in the field of tropical systems and ecology.
36. The recently established Backe Chair in Renewable Energy Endowed Fund will be filled by an expert in green technology who will play a leading role in cutting-edge research.

Collier pays $1.9 million for Panther Habitat

http://www.news-press.com/article/20110525/NEWS0105/110524045/Collier-pays-1-9-million-panther-habitat

ECHO

ECHO is an amazing organization to say the least. I never really knew about ECHO before Colloquium. To know that SWFL and ECHO allows farmers to come in and learn how to efficiently and sustainably farm even with little or no money is so wonderful. Attending ECHO was very educational and they have a lot to offer those that take advantage of it. Although I must say, I was not ready to get mosquito bites all over my body. Our last field trip I did not get bit at all but unfortunately I was so busy getting bit by mosquitoes I couldn’t give my full attention to our tour guide. I would definitely stress to students that you need to wear bug spray for this field trip in particular. I believe if I wasn’t so busy getting eaten up I would have paid a lot more attention and learned a lot more than I did that day.

5 reasons not to drink bottled water

Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.

In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn't stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.

Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It's costly, wasteful and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems.

1) Bottled water isn't a good value

Take, for instance, Pepsi's Aquafina or Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than 1 cent per gallon.

Now consider another widely sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.

In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at a fraction over 2 cents an ounce.

And that's why there's no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.

2) No healthier than tap water

In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.

On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group'sNational Tap Water Database.

While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there's very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.

3) Bottled water means garbage

Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.

That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world's major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fishwhich mistake our garbage for food.

Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist — somewhere.

4) Bottled water means less attention to public systems

Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety.

This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.

There's plenty of need. In California, for example, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the requirement of $17.5 billion in improvements to the state's drinking water infrastructure as recently as 2005. In the same year, the state lost 222 million gallons of drinkable water to leaky pipes.

5) The corporatization of water

In the documentary film Thirst, authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies.

Water is being called the "Blue Gold" of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource.

Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.

What can you do?

There's a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don't like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water's cost.

Consider taking Food and Water Watch's No Bottled Water Pledge. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues. Want to know more? Start with the Sierra Club's fact sheet on bottled water.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

 It wasn’t my first time at Corkscrew and most likely won’t be my last. I really do enjoy nature and being outdoors. I like to spend time in natural parks and take advantage of the Florida outdoors. I had attended Corkscrew when I was in environmental biology of SWFL. I think this Sanctuary is amazing and has a lot to offer to the residents and tourists of SWFL. It is a beautiful place and sometimes when you are lucky you even get to see something cool, like an alligator!

On our field trip to Corkscrew we were lucky enough to see two alligators very close to us. We also saw a turtle and my favorite a Swalled Tailed Kite. This became my favorite bird while taking environmental biology of SWFL and every time I see it, I tell myself it is going to be a great day! It is really neat that they have baby alligators on display and their gift shop is totally cool. I found it interesting that their prices were very reasonable for items in the bookstore and if I were there leisurely I probably would have bought an item or two.

Overall, I really think it was a great field trip and the fact that they have a very sustainably restroom facility is awesome. They are helping out the environment in SWFL everyday. Colloquium should definitely keep this as a field trip and get students more involved at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

My Ecological Footprint

I am not proud to say that the way I live we would need 5.58 Earths. Many people in my generation are just as bad, or even worse than I am. It is a wake up call to see how one person can ruin a lot of the earth. 

I found it interesting to how my food footprint was equal to the country average, which made me not feel as bad. I was proud to see that my goods and services was below the country average. 

ADHD and Nature Deficit Disorder

Richard Louv and Last Child in the Woods brings up such an interesting topic that many people still do not understand. It is such a problem today that some don't think is a problem at all. Children today are spending so much time inside on the computer or playing video games. Todays' children are taking the outdoors for granted and instead rather sit inside and enjoy some television. 

I remember growing up, I spent as much time as I could outside. It wasn't till the street lights came on that my parents made me come inside. All the neighborhood kids were so close, and would always play after we got out of school. Today, the neighborhoods are empty and hardly no kids are outside enjoying nature.

ADHD is a huge misdiagnosis in this generation. Hundreds of kids and parents are claiming their child has ADHD but really, the child needs to get their energy out outside instead of constantly being inside protected from any little danger. I do believe Louv, and many other people should too with aspect to Nature Deficit Disorder. Humans today are inside way to much and this is causing so many issues such as obesity, depression, anxiety, etc. 

Tons of young children and adult are being treated with drugs for a disorder they really do not have. It is getting worse and people need to start taking charge and changing the world around them. Today, you can tell millions of doctors that you have ADHD and they will write you a prescription just like that. It is not fair, unethical and should be put to a stop.

Pre Conceptions of Colloquium

After signing up for this class and telling my family I was taking "Colloquium" they instantly asked "What is Colloquium?" So of course I tried to explain it, "its a class required to graduate from FGCU about the environment, sustainability, and going green". Of course, they didn't understand what is was, or why we it was mandatory. 

Many of my friends have already taken this class, and most of them didn't have a nice thing to say about it. They always said it was dreadful and they couldn't wait for it to be over. That scared me, I didn't want to hate the class and dread going every week. Some didn't like it because they didn't like the professor and what negative things they would say about our generation. Others didn't like it because they don't care about the environment and didn't care to go green.

This isn't the first "nature" class I have taken, so I thought I would be ready for it. I enjoyed taking environmental biology of SWFL with Neil Wilkinson. Although his class was not easy and you had to try, he was very knowledgable and passionate about the course and his profession. He taught me a lot I didn't know and a lot of it I still know today. Who would have thought a city girl would have a favorite bird?

Overall, I am excited about Colloquium and to learn more about what is going on around the world to be able to live more sustainably and help the world we live in. 

I hope to have a knowledgable and passionate professor for Colloquium just like I did with Mr. Wilkinson in Environmental Biology. It is sad that if this class wasn't mandatory we wouldn't know a lot of the great things we are going to learn throughout this 6 weeks. 

I am excited about the field trips and hope to see different animals and of couse my favorite bird the swallow tail kite!

Campus Hike

On the first day of Colloquium we went on a campus hike. We spent the second half of class walking around FGCU and our nature trails. I had been on a campus hike my first day of class in environmental biology of SWFL so I was already pretty educated on what FGCU has to offer. Our campus is very eco friendly and is “home” for so many plants and animals.

Many students at FGCU don’t even know that the campus nature trails exist. This is a great feature that many Florida Universities don’t have. Our campus is so beautiful and has the amenities of a country club for a University. The students at FGCU should feel privileged to have everything we have and take advantage of all the resources FGCU has to offer its students.

 Now that FGCU is building the food forest, and ultimately it is coming out of our tuition we as students should go and pick some of the food grown there. We are known for having the best of the best so I am sure that the products used for the food forest are great.

I do believe that FGCU should make the nature trails more public to the students. Maybe an ad in the eagle news, of flyers on campus would help more people know about the trails and use them. All in All, the campus hike was a great ending to the first day of Colloquium and I had learned something new, like I do everyday. :)