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February 8, 2008 > News > Rice participates in sustainability fair

Rice participates in sustainability fair

Leebron, Houston Mayor White among panelists at Focus the Nation forum

By Yan Digilov | For the Thresher

Rice joined over a thousand universities across America last Thursday in Focus The Nation, a campaign to create a national discussion on global warming solutions. The event featured a student-run sustainability exhibition followed by a forum that included President David Leebron and Houston Mayor Bill White.

Among the exhibitions at the sustainability fair in the Ley Student Center was an example of an energy efficient dorm room. The room featured LED and compact fluorescent lights, which last longer and use less energy than regular light bulbs, and decorations made of recyclable material.

Sid Richardson College senior Lauren Laustsen also stressed the huge role laundry could play in a sustainable lifestyle, because it uses so much energy and water. She said she recommends using ecological laundry detergent and drying clothes on a dry rack.

Community Garden, Engineers Without Borders and the Biodiesel Initiative also set up booths at the fair. The Biodiesel Intitative, which has been converting cafeteria grease into biodiesel with the 70-gallon reactor behind Sid, attracted a large crowd. The initiative currently powers all the lawnmowers on campus and hopes to expand to powering vehicles driven by the facilities staff and even an inner loop shuttle.

“The whole premise is that it is renewable and sustainable,” Lovett College sophomore Natalia Salies, who is involved in the project, said.

Rice’s — and the state of Texas’s — only participant in this year’s Solar Decathlon was also represented at the fair. The Solar Decathlon is a competition sponsored by the Department of Energy in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design a solar-powered house.

Wiess College junior Roque Sanchez, a member of the Solar Decathlon team, said the project was a joint venture between the architecture and engineering school, with the team consisting of both undergraduates and graduates. Sanchez said they were shooting for a house that cost $120,000. The entire budget for the project was about $300,000, including $100,000 from the Department of Energy. Sanchez said it was important to keep costs low to make the houses affordable.

The home is going to be designed not just for the contest, but as a part of Project Row Houses, an art and cultural organization based out of Houston’s Third Ward. The Rice team hopes to have its final design for the house by the end of February, and they will be ready by the fall of 2009 to ship the entire building to Washington D.C. There, it will be judged with 19 other models from across the country.

Students were not the only ones who set up booths at the fair. Custodial and Grounds Director Eusebio Franco was also present, discussing the new initiatives taken by the facilities team to reduce Rice’s carbon footprint. For ten years, Frances said it has held itself to high standards to reduce the number of chemicals they use, minimize the use of water and paper towels, and clean during the day to keep the lights off at night. Franco said he hopes that the Housing and Dining department will follow their lead as soon as possible.

After the fair, students, faculty and members of the community flocked to the student center for the forum on carbon emissions. The forum included Neal Lane, Science Advisor to Former President Clinton, President of Shell Oil Company John Hofmeister, Mayor White and Leebron.

Leebron began the night by reaffirming the university’s dedication to environmental education and awareness. He noted that the new Duncan College will be certified under the gold certification of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

White called attention to the urgent national issue of sustainability.

“If we do not alter our course, there is no doubt that there will be consequences to pay,” White said.

White also said Houston could be a leader in sustainability and climate change prevention. Although Houston is one of the hydrocarbon capitals of the world, White said the city uses the highest percentage of wind power in the nation and will continue to push itself ahead of the sustainability curve.

Hofmeister stressed the importance of active involvement in addressing climate change.

“The stone age did not end for the lack of rocks,” he said. “The oil age will not end for the lack of oil.”

Brown College senior Jeremy Tullis said he was impressed with the quality of the speakers, but felt that some of the conversation was too limited.

“I felt like some of the main themes were personal responsibility and reliance on technology. At times, these messages even felt somewhat exclusive,” he said.

End of article

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