Styrofoam, along with diapers and batteries, has long been on the list of maligned household objects that a socially conscious person does not throw away. For years, those of an environmentally friendly disposition have villified the foam cup, calling for the use of easier-to-recycle plastic or paper cups. Even global companies like Starbucks have fallen in line, using recyled paper cups and sleeves. Last quarter, eight students took action to make UCSD better for the environment during a fall quarter senior seminar and defied convention by finding styrofoam cups to be better for the environment than paper or plastic cups.
The seminar, taught by Lisa Shaffer, executive director of UCSD’s Environment and Sustainability Initiative, and Charles Kennel, director of ESI, had students work on two group projects focused on campus recycling facilities and dining hall disposables like cups. The seminar was one of many new actions UCSD students, faculty and staff are taking to pursue greater sustainability.
According to the ESI Web site, sustainability is the preservation of the natural systems that sustain society while still fulfilling society’s needs. Members of the initiative consider sustainability the most challenging issue society will face in this century.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox asked Charles Kennel, then head of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to found ESI in June 2005 in order to begin research and model solutions for a more sustainable environment. Since then, ESI has developed several research projects, San Diego-based studies and educational programs such as the senior seminar. In the spring, Sixth College Provost Gabriele Wienhausen and John Muir College Provost Susan Smith will lead a training program designed to help faculty incorporate sustainability ideas into their existing curriculum.
“”Part of what ESI is trying to do is go beyond the ivory tower, and take what we know in academia and apply it to real-world problems,”” Shaffer said.
Alan Moloney, associate director of Housing and Dining Services, became directly involved in the senior seminar because of its potential impact on people’s day-to-day decisions. When Shaffer asked Moloney to help with project ideas, Moloney excitedly asked to be a part of the seminar. He even threw a party for the students and rewarded them with bookstore gift cards for their research.
Five of the eight students in the seminar formed a group that found foam cups, like the ones currently used by Housing and Dining Services, to be more environmentally friendly than other alternatives. This may seem counterintuitive, as foam takes 20,000 years to degrade, but after considering factors such as waste during production, life cycle costs and reusability, foam cups emerged as the best eco-friendly alternative. Although foam takes a long time to degrade, it does not release toxic substances into the air like other materials do, and the waste associated with producing paper cups is much higher than that of foam cups. Foam cups are also cheaper than paper.
Such findings shed light on a truth Shaffer says is not so new – UCSD is relatively eco-friendly. “”We do a pretty good job already,”” Shaffer said. “”We’re really proud of what we’ve already done.””
Twenty percent of UCSD’s energy comes from natural gas emissions. The shuttles run on 20 percent bio-diesel, and a project to determine the feasibility of a shuttle that runs on 100 percent is underway. In fact, people like Assistant Vice Chancellor of Plant Services Gary Matthews and Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs Steven W. Relyea have been working toward a greener campus for a long time.
“”They were afraid to be too conspicuous because they didn’t want people to think they were wackos,”” Shaffer said. “”They were really helpful for students … they really, sincerely want the campus to be a leader [in sustainability].””
Facilities Superintendent Alonso Noble was also interested in the recycling groups’ findings, which called for more and better-labeled recycling bins in more strategic locations. When Shaffer saw that there were no recycling bins next to Cups, the coffee bar near ESI’s office in Atkinson Hall, she called Noble, who quickly placed a bin there.
Although this class had a clear effect on the campus community, Shaffer said more needs to be done to effect global change. “”The students really hold all the power on this campus, and the campus will become as green and sustainable as the students demand it becomes,”” Shaffer said.
Some of the initiative’s goals, according to its progress report for May to November 2006, are to press UCSD to become carbon-neutral, meaning that the campus’ total carbon emissions would be counteracted by the purchase of carbon offsets; to create environmentally friendly industrial processes; and to develop a system of wireless sensor networks to help in decisionmaking.
“”I would love to see the students tell [Fox that carbon-neutrality is] important to them,”” Shaffer said. “”The campus ought to be modeling the behavior that future society needs to achieve … we ought to be producing the citizens who are going to have a more sustainable future, and if we don’t, you guys are the ones who are going to live with the consequences … so you ought to be demanding that this campus change.””
Several other student groups on campus are trying to effect change, such as the Green Campus Program, which works with housing facilities. Students can take small steps, such as using less water, recycling more products, turning off computers when not in use and now reaching for a styrofoam cup. “”There are a number of things that can be done,”” Shaffer said. “”Everything matters.””
