Climate Action Planning At CSUN: A Participatory Incrementalist Approach Helen Cox

1. Climate Action Planning At CSUN: A Participatory Incrementalist Approach Helen Cox helen.m.cox@csun.edu Associate Professor California State University, Northridge AASHE 2009, Indianapolis, IN

2. CSUN’s Greening Plan • Sustainably Manage Resources • Energy use/Carbon dioxide emissions • Transportation/Commuting • Waste & Recycling • Water • Food services

3. Greening Plan • Energy use/Carbon dioxide emissions • Classical GHG inventory includes: • Direct emissions • mobile combustion sources (cars, trucks, etc.) owned by CSUN and used to move product or people • combustion sources used to produce electricity, steam, heating or cooling • Indirect emissions resulting from: • purchased and consumed electricity • purchased and consumed heating and cooling

4. Carbon footprint for entire CSU Total CSU emissions for 2006 were 402,019 tonnes of CO2 = 1.06 tonnes/full-time equivalent student.

5. GHG Inventory – CSU Northridge 1994 Northridge Earthquake Total CSUN emissions for 2006 were 22,641 tonnes, 4,021 tonnes less than in 1990.

6. CSUN’s Carbon Footprint CO2 emissions (tonnes) / FTE

7. CSU CO2 Emissions, 2006

8. GHG Inventory – CSU Northridge Total CSUN emissions for 2006 were 15% less than in 1990. Why? CSUN physical plant management has been extremely innovative in finding ways to reduce energy costs for a number of years….

9. CSUN’s Fuel Cell Plant Generates 8,333,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, annually (18% of the total campus demand load). Has a combined heat and power efficiency of 83%. Produces no NOx, CO, SOx, volatile organic compounds or particulate emissions. Conventional generation produces 25 lbs of emissions per megawatt hour whereas the CSUN Fuel Cell produces only 0.1 lbs of these emissions. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/fuel-cell.html

10. CSUN’s Fuel Cell Plant The first institution in the world to have a grid connected fuel cell plant. The first institution in the world to self install a 1 megawatt fuel cell plant. The only fuel cell plant in the world which recycles the satellite central plant emissions for the purpose of research and academic operations of a greenhouse. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/fuel-cell.html

11. CSUN’s Subtropical Rainforest Rain forest has 8 cooling towers placed strategically throughout the forest. The 6.3 Gal per/hour (9,000 + Gal per/day) of waste water from the Fuel Cell is collected in a 12,000 gal storage tank and used to irrigate the rain forest through a Gravity Flow System. Utilizing nearly 100% of the waste stream from the fuel cell and satellite chiller plant as its only support. Unifies technology and nature to maximize the sustainable aspect of an already cutting edge technological power and heating/cooling plant. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/rainforest.html

12. CSUN’s Subtropical Rainforest The warm, humid air is drawn down through the towers and pumped out during the day (during photosynthesis) to help the plants grow bigger and faster. BioChar is added to the soil to promote growth of the tropical plants. The BioChar also assists in the natural collection of CO2 from the atmosphere into the soil as well as promoting plant growth and the natural consumption of the CO2 by the foliage. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/rainforest.html

13. CSUN’s Photovoltaic Project One of the largest solar electric installations at a public university in California, the $1.8 million photovoltaic project was developed through a partnership with the university's Physical Plant Management, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Southern California Gas Company and Shell Solar Industries. The installation of more than 3,000 solar panels at Cal State Northridge in 2003, is expected to save the university more than $50,000 annually in energy costs while at the same time contributing to a cleaner environment. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/photovoltaic.htm

14. CSUN’s Photovoltaic Project The Photovoltaic Project represents an excellent example of the collaborative work between academic and administrative divisions of the University, namely the College of Engineering and Computer Science and Physical Plant Management, as well as a model partnership between LADWP, Southern California Gas Company, Shell Solar Industries and CSUN. The 3,024 Shell solar modules, which are doubling as shading in student parking can generate 75 watts of power each, producing a peak generating capacity of 225 kilowatts. Much of this power will be generated exactly when it is needed most between 1 and 5 p.m. during summer months. http://www-admn.csun.edu/ppm/photovoltaic.htm

15. Greening Plan • Carbon dioxide emissions • Classical GHG inventory does not include: • Indirect emissions resulting from: • employee and student commuting • production and waste cycles of products consumed on campus, including food and water • Carbon sequestration from vegetation on campus • Quantifying and reducing these emissions is one of the primary projects being carried out by CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability

16. Transportation –Commuting A GIS is used to geocode (map) student addresses from a database and distances to CSUN are calculated. Enrollment data is used to find the # of days per week each student commutes and survey data is used to estimate average vehicle mpg and # of passengers.

17. Offsetting CO2 emissions - trees • Carbon dioxide is sequestered from the atmosphere and stored in biomass by trees. • The amount sequestered depends on the tree growth rate, which is determined by the climate, amount of water, age and species. • Trees provide shading over buildings which reduces the energy needed for AC. • A tree inventory is being carried out to quantify these amounts using a GIS and USFS software.

18. Tree Inventory CSUN students have tagged, mapped, measured and identified approx. 3600 trees on campus between May and July, 2009.

19. Trees – a sample of mapping on campus

20. Trees – mapping

21. Trees – tagging

22. Trees – tagging

23. Trees – measuring

24. Trees – CUFR Tree Carbon Calculator

25. Trees – CUFR Tree Carbon Calculator Input to this calculator is provided through a macro, and output from the cells (above) is extracted by a macro and stored in fields in the tree features. (The program takes several hours to loop through all 3600 trees.)

26. Trees – in Google Earth

27. Developing a Campus GIS • All surfaces and buildings are mapped, and data is stored in a geodatabase. • This allows for storage of information about: • green space • trees • water use • locations of hardscape and paths • hot spots (thermal imagery) • recycling locations • buildings • energy use • and planning of • vegetable garden • bicycle paths • van/car pools

28. GIS Building data CAD data were obtained from the campus architect and spatially referenced in ArcGIS.

29. GIS Building data Buildings are classified by type.

30. Energy/Electricity • There is currently no metering on individual buildings – but a grant proposal has been submitted to facilitate this next year. • Need for energy audits of existing buildings

31. Water • Water Audits • Rainwater/Stormwater capture • cisterns, bioswales, porous pavement • Gray water recycling • retrofitting of facilities • Water conservation • signage, education, outreach • competitions

32. Recycling and Waste • Waste audits • Expand recycling program • Material use audits • Conservation programs • Green Purchasing

33. Recycling and Waste CSUN Waste Sort, 2009

34. Food Support a local food movement • Establish a weekly Farmers Market (awaiting approval from President) • Create campus community gardens • Shift toward seasonal menus in dining halls and on campus restaurants • Offer research opportunities related to food • Research sources and distribution of food served on campus

37. Thank You! Ashwani Vasishth vasishth@ramapo.edu Consultant, Core Greening Team Erica Wohldmann erica.wohldmann@csun.edu Assistant Professor Helen Cox helen.m.cox@csun.edu Associate Professor California State University, Northridge Presented at: AASHE 2009, Indianapolis, IN