3. Student Activism: Feature Story | Specific Initiatives | Sustainability in Action
Feature Story: Turning ideas into actions
It’s not exactly turning iron into gold or water into wine, but in a shed tucked away on a corner of campus, a student environmental group is conducting its own 21st-century alchemy: turning kitchen grease into diesel fuel.
The genesis of the idea for Furman’s biodiesel project
came to Travis Perry, biology professor and Environmental Action
Group (EAG) advisor, during a visit to New Mexico.
“A friend was making biodiesel for his own use, and I
was impressed with the ease, cost effectiveness and environmental
aspects of the process,” he says. Perry saw an opportunity to turn classroom
learning into a real success for Furman.
“One aspect of biodiesel that’s interesting from
EAG’s point of view is that we’re taking a waste product from the
Dining Hall and basically recycling it,” says EAG co-president Colin Hagan
’07, political science major from Tyler, Texas. Hagan has been invited
to address a class from Wofford, a committee from the South Carolina Correctional
Facilities and a student group from Clemson about biodiesel. Furthermore, he
has been invited to biodiesel conventions around the area.
A small biodiesel facility, located on campus near Facilities Services and Pepsi
Softball Stadium, is operated by EAG members. Inside the facility they convert
waste vegetable oil from the dining hall into biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel source that can be used in any conventional diesel engine. “We wanted to demonstrate that there is an alternative to petroleum usage, and we wanted to show that an environmentally responsible action was also economically viable,” says Adrienne DuBois, a senior biology major and former EAG president from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
EAG’s short-term goal is to produce 50 percent of the diesel fuel needs of the university’s physical plant and to sell the fuel to Facilities Services for use in heavy machinery. This fuel will not only run the lawn mowers, tractors and backhoes used on campus but also fuel the Facilities Services trucks. The plant is capable of producing fuel at a cost of approximately 60 cents per gallon.
EAG is hoping to produce an estimated 2,500 gallons of biodiesel
each year that will be sold to Facilities Services at a reduced price. The group
will use the proceeds to further its environmental projects. “We are really
excited about its success, and it’s also a way to help Furman become more
environmentally sustainable,” says DuBois.
According to Hagan, “EAG has two main goals: to encourage environmental
awareness among students, faculty and staff and to try to get students involved
in environmentally sustainable activities.” Some of the smaller projects
EAG members are involved with are monthly volunteer work such as picking up
litter, distributing recycling bins to the North Village apartments and planning
Earth Month events and speakers. In addition, EAG provided cardboard recycling
during move-in week and collected six tons of cardboard. EAG has also taken
on such projects as an annual plant sale, film series, and public displays to
encourage conservation and recycling.
Specific Initiatives: How we're making a difference
Plant Sale
The annual plant sale begins in February. Volunteers from EAG begin cultivating
plants that will be sold as a fundraiser for the organization. They use greenhouses
on campus and supply a mixture of compost and potting soil to nurture the plants.
EAG grows a variety of organic vegetables, herbs and flowers in terra cotta
pots. Plants—such as tomatoes, kale, peppers or squash—are specially
grown in order to qualify as organic. In addition, EAG grows plant varieties
that are rare or heirloom in nature. Each spring the group sells these plants
to Furman students and staff. The proceeds from this annual plant sale help
fund other EAG projects. According to Christopher Jones, co-president of EAG,
“On average, we sell 500 plants for $3 each, raising a total of $1,500.”
EAG also gives each consumer a pamphlet (on recycled paper) containing information
about organic gardening.
Wind Energy
The promotion of wind energy is one of EAG’s projects with a larger scope.
The group is trying to build support and raise awareness among the student body,
faculty and administration about wind energy options for campus. One method
of doing this is for Furman to purchase renewable energy certificates that offset
the expense for power companies to purchase wind energy—a more expensive
but cleaner energy. Each certificate that is purchased represents a certain
amount of clean energy that will be placed onto the national grid instead of
energy from non-renewable sources.
EAG drafted a resolution that was recently passed by the Association of Furman Students acknowledging that Furman students support renewable sources of energy. The next step will be for EAG to present a final resolution to the administration. If passed, Furman will join the ranks of more than 60 schools, including Duke, Harvard and Penn State, that buy renewable energy certificates.
Recycling on Campus
In an effort with much more immediate results, EAG secured grant
funding to provide recycling containers in all residence halls. Students were
asked to manage the residence hall recycling programs in coordination with the
custodial staff. Staff transports the recycling bins from residence halls to
outside carts for pick-up. In the North Village apartments, students collect
recyclables in a box and take the materials to the trash/recycle center every
week for pick-up.
Acting Locally
“It may sound trite, but the idea of ‘Think Globally,
Act Locally’ is what we are trying to accomplish,” says Christopher
Jones, EAG co-president. EAG is able to “act as a voice for students and
allow students from different backgrounds, varying majors, and diverse interests
to unite and make an impact on Furman’s campus.”
See how biodiesel processing is done >
Preserving an endangered species
Bunched arrowhead is one of the most endangered plant species
in North America. One of its few remaining populations is located on the Furman
campus. To protect this federally listed endangered species, EAG constructed
an observation deck at the plant’s site at the northwestern end of the
lake.
Find out more about bunched arrowhead >
| Sustainability in Action: Images of Campus Involvement: Student Activism | ||||
Students Promoting
Environmental Sustainability
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