Chill Out Campus Solutions to Global Warming

Chill Out 2009 Winners

Congratulations to all schools that participated in Chill Out 2009!

Grand Prize Winner

Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, MA
The prestigious award was given to Massachusetts Maritime Academy for its efforts to recognize the necessity to introduce sustainability issues into the college curriculum. The Academy emphasizes practical, hands-on education that reinforces the use of emerging technologies on the campus and outside the classroom. Current Academy initiatives include expanded coursework that implements new sustainable energy modules, production of 20 percent of campus electricity with wind energy, and the phasing in of campus hybrid vehicles.

Chill Out Winners

California State University, Long Beach, CA
The state of California has partnered with energy provider SunEdison to bring affordable solar power to the California State University system. These installations will create a zero-emission, 8 MW solar photovoltaic power system, estimated to cut 9,485 metric tons of carbon dioxide. This amount is equivalent to removing 48,937 cars from the road over the life of the energy contract. The California State University system also purchases up to 20 percent of its electricity from green sources.

California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA
CSU-Northridge has a 1 MW fuel cell power plant that is the largest installation at any university in the world. The ultra-clean plant produces 18 percent of the campus's electricity, and simultaneously eliminates costs associated heating, cooling, and maintenance. Fuel cells produce electricity with nearly zero particulate emissions since no combustion takes place. The energy performance gains made possible by the fuel cell installation will save operational expenses and reduce the campus's environment impact for the next quarter decade.

Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Humboldt State has made alternative transportation a viable option. One of the university's most helpful and innovative projects is the "Jack Pass", an unlimited ride bus pass for all Humboldt students. The proposal was first drafted by the Green Wheels student group to devise and implement an innovative transportation initiative. Since implementing Jack Pass, the Redwood Transit Service announced a 30 percent increase in ridership, which translates to huge reductions in the county's carbon footprint. After the introduction of the Jack Pass, 526 fewer parking permits were sold on the campus which eliminates the need to construct a new multilevel parking structure.

Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
As a result of student activism, the Board of Trustees set an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2016. Middlebury chose to reduce its carbon footprint by building a biomass gasification plant fueled by local woodchips, and projections show that the new plant will pay for itself about halfway through its 25 year life expectancy. The biomass plant is a giant, complex version of a household woodstove that will help the campus cut its carbon dioxide output by 40 percent, and reduce fuel oil use by 50 percent.

Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Oberlin, Ohio has used its climate neutral mandate to forge novel alliances between students, college activists and local citizens. The campus has worked to offset 13 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions and save community members $715,000 in utility bills. Oberlin spearheaded a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) exchange called the Light Bulb Brigade. With the help of a donation of 10,000 CFLs, and project preparation in an environmental studies course, the campus worked with local organizations and churches to exchange bulbs with 650 homes. The Light Bulb Brigade achieved an estimated total reduction of 6,400 tons of carbon dioxide over the life of the bulbs.

Video Award Winners

This year's video contest was hosted by GoGreenTube.com, a new online video site that is focused solely on environmental and green videos. GoGreenTube.com partners with Carbon Fund and for each video that is watched by a logged-in user, one pound of CO2 is offset by a carbon credit. The video winners were selected by the online community through a voting process on GoGreenTube.com.

Longwood University, Farmville, VA
This public institution uses a steam plant that burns sawdust from local saw mills, providing 80 percent of its heat and hot water. The trayless dining hall reduces food waste by 2 tons per month, and the school's health and fitness center is LEED gold certified. Among Longwood's most innovative solution to reduce waste includes the athletic field press boxes that are made from recycled shipping containers.

Watch "Longwood...Creating A Sustainable Future"

University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA
The video details how the campus saves $12 million dollars a year on energy efficiency and savings. The campus presents many innovative solutions like how it houses computers and servers in climate controlled boxes instead of buildings, collects data with student-built weather stations to increase climate control efficiency, and the school is currently researching pond scum as a biofuel source.

Watch "UC San Diego: A Living Laboratory for Real-World Solutions"

Watch all of the Chill Out 2009 Video Entries on Go Green Tube!