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Module 3 Activity 5

Please grade the following example of Assignment 3 using the rubric at the bottom of the document. Provide detailed comments to justify your assessment.

 

Sustainable Campus

Context:

       When applying to colleges, what criteria do you take into consideration when making that final decision? One usually looks at cost, academic integrity, sports programs, and the overall appeal of the campus. These are a few of the many factors I used to pick where I was going to study.  I was fortunate enough to be accepted into all the schools I applied to, but what sold me on attending the University of Maryland, was the overall aesthetic appeal of the campus.  The architectural elements, such as the colonial brick buildings with the large pillars, as well as the grounds itself further cemented my choice in selecting University of Maryland.

       In order to maintain such a large campus requires a lot of time, effort, and money.  To put this in perspective, the large floral "M" located in the roundabout, off the main entrance, costs a in state student's (a student who grew up in the state) annual tuition.  According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at University of Maryland, the projected tuition for an in state student is $22,433 annually (admissions.umd.edu).  Not only is it costly to maintain the grounds of the University, but the electric bill must be through the roof.

       In a day and age where gas prices are rising exponentially, the University should look into alternative energy sources and sustainability.  Sustainability is defined as a method using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged. Though there is still much room to improve sustainability on campus, Maryland has already been recognized as leader in the advancement of creating a sustainable campus.  Furthermore, the university already has a department dedicated to improving and enforcing sustainability on campus. That department is the Office of Sustainability at the University of Maryland. The University has been noted by Princeton Review as one of only 18 schools to make Princeton Review's Green College Honor Roll (Princeton Review).  Maryland also has been awarded other awards pertaining to sustainability, such as the Second Nature Climate Leadership Award and the Maryland Green Registry Leadership Award (sustainability.umd.edu).  Even though the University of Maryland has many awards and recognitions as self sustaining campus, there is room to build upon this and further exhibit the idea of sustainability to reduce our carbon footprint.

Audiences

       The primary audience for this proposal would be the directors of Facilities Management as well as the office of sustainability.  The director of the office of sustainability is Scott Lupin, who has been with the university for more than 12 years.  His insight will be crucial in developing a well written and informative manual.  After speaking with him about many of the aspects of sustainability that the university already exhibits, it will be easier to research new methods and actions pertaining to improvements in sustainability.  Scott can also point me to what topics should be further researched to further advance Maryland's development in becoming an even more sustainably campus. The manual will discuss the methods  the University of Maryland already takes in sustainability. The main focus will be on describing methods to further develop sustainable living on campus.  With Scott's history with sustainability and the new opportunities presented in the manual, our campus can only benefit.

       The secondary audience would be managers and other faculty members working for Facilities Management and the Office of Sustainability.  An example of one of these audience members would be Mark Stewart who is the manager for the Office of Sustainability.  Mark would be a secondary audience member because he would be the one overseeing all future development dealing with sustainable living.  After seeing what could potentially be done to further develop Maryland, he could take his background knowledge as a manager to figure out the steps and regulations that need to be followed. Yet another person who would be a secondary audience member would be Professor of Practice Steven Cohan, from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture here at Maryland.  Dr. Cohan has many years practice within the green industry as well as is the school's representative of PLANET Professional Landcare Network.  This gives him great incite how to approach projects (including cost of projects) dealing with further developing sustainable structures on campus.  His area of expertise is green roof establishment and sustainability.  He is also coordinator of the Landscape Management program.  Dr. Cohan told me that though we have a few green roofs on campus, we are having issues maintaining them.  He also stated that he wants to further develop our campus's green roof research and implementation. Green roofing is one of the areas I look to further explore in my final project for sustainability on campus.  To reiterate, The manager must understand what the projects are to allow for the development of such projects to be successful, as well as know the safety precautions that need to be followed.

       Tertiary Audience would be those interning for both Facilities Management and The office of Sustainability as well as those performing the implementation of new sustainable facilities or products.  These interning students are the future in sustainability.  They should be kept up to date with what the University of Maryland is doing to be more green and environmental friendly.  All of these student interns attend the University of Maryland. As interns they will probably oversee and work on certain jobs when they are developed.  One of my friends and colleague, Anna Delos Angeles, is an intern for the Office of Sustainability.  When speaking with her she said upon starting the internship, she did not really have a good understanding of the department actually accomplished. Anna stressed the main improvement would be the "overall awareness of what the sustainability office does." It would be important for the student interns to read the manual on sustainability at the University of Maryland. This is due to the fact that interns working for the office of sustainability "have a sustainability grant that students can use to fund their own projects" (Anna Delos Angeles). The tertiary audience would learn what Maryland actually does to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.  With a in depth understanding of what Maryland already practices to be sustainable, the students will have insight in how to further develop a sustainable campus.  Thought the manual will state what the University already does to do so, the main focus is on new methods and steps to become an even more self sustainable campus.

       These new methods and steps in further developing our campus' self sustainability must also be understood by those actually completing the manual labor and instillation.  These faculty members of the university are the workforce in completing the necessary tasks in order to complete the goals set by the manual.  In order to meet these goals, those performing the work must have an understanding beforehand in order to sufficient at the tasks.

The Project

       The media for the information will be relayed will be in manual form.  The manual will give an overview of what Maryland already does to be a sustainable campus.  The main focus will be on the further development that could be done to become an even more self sustainable campus.  One of the main focuses in the manual will be Maryland using renewable alternative energies.  With the cost in gas rising and the never ending development and renovations of campus, it is important to look into other means of powering the campus.  Yet another reason to veer away from the use of fossil fuels is their negative impact on the environment.  The burning of fossil fuels create green house gasses that "threaten basic biosphere functions" (Heinburg).

       The alternative energy that will be the focus of the manual will be solar energy.Upon review of multiple renewable energy sources, solar energy seems to be the most sufficient and feasible for campus.  Though it will cost you to put the solar panels in, "your utility bills will be much lower" and because it "requires no fuel, you will save money on gasoline" (earth911.com). Solar powered energy systems pricing has dropped in the past 5 years "as the world is turning to alternative renewable solar energy sources and green sustainable energy" (renewablesolarenergy.com). Other renewable energy sources I looked at included, wind power, hydro power, and geothermal energy. Using renewable energy sources also reduces our carbon footprint as well as saves money on fossil fuels.  Some communities, such as the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) community use 100% renewable resources and are carbon neutral.  This means the community does not use any fossil fuels (Edwards).  Even our government has been involved in conventions that deal with reducing carbon emissions into the environment.  Though we never signed the Kyoto Protocol, which as an agreement by the United Nations to decrease developed countries emissions of carbon dioxide, many countries to the initiative to preserve the planet and promote sustainability (Dresner).  The development of alternative energies on campus could save a lot of money in the long run.

       Another area that I wish to explore is using runoff water on campus for irrigation.  I know there are already two water vats that hold runoff to be used for irrigation. These vats are located at Knight Hall and the Washington Quad.  At a glance, the Washington Quad "captures 10,000 gallons of storm water from nearby roofs [that] is used to water plant beds in the area, eliminating the need to irrigate" (sustainability.umd.edu). For a campus this size, there should be more than just two.  Run off from the large parking lots could be used to water the arboretum on campus (the campus is a registered national arboretum) rather than pollute the Paint Branch water system.  Maryland has many daily commuters, resulting in the need for large parking lots.  Two of the larger parking lots are Lot 1, which is located behind Knight Hall and the tennis courts, and the other is the one by Comcast.  The manual would give a detailed analysis of the amount of runoff from these two parking lots and possible way to prevent this issue. The manual would give ways to save money on the use of energy as well as reusing runoff water.

       The water that is now deemed "runoff" could be used to water our campuses fields and green roofs.   Dr. Cohan stated that with lack of water this year along with lack of maintenance has led to the campuses green roofs to left in dismal conditions.  This fact is depressing, as these green roofs have great potential to further our campus' sustainable living.  For one green roofs use "recycled materials in the growing medium," thus reducing plastic materials that would be put into a landfill (greenroofs.org).  Furthermore, green roofs retain rain water while moderating the water temperature and filter out pollutants that usually runoff into local water systems (greenroofs.org). As stated by Miambo Malesu, in State of the World, "it is crucial...to create awareness and confidence among...communities that water harvesting really works," so no water is wasted or adds pollutants to our water systems.

Research

       As for further research I have prepared a survey of questions to ask staff/faculty members of both Facilities Management and The Office of Sustainability.  These questions would allow me to see what the workers already know and get their input on what they would want to see as an area for future research in sustainability.  The questions will help me further develop a more defined project and build to my research.  The survey would include questions such as:

       -What does the University of Maryland do to be a more sustainable campus?

       -What are the main areas of focus for sustainability on campus?

       -Does the University use any renewable energy resources? If so do you know how much and for what?

       -What is volume of runoff water on the lot 1 parking lot? How much over by Comcast?

       -Do newly constructed and renovated buildings have to be LEED Certified?

       -What methods of sustainability has Maryland looked into for the future?

       -Does the department have any opportunities that involve the campus body in sustainability?  Recycling? Water bottle refill stations?  etc. (possibly speak with Dining Services Department)

       -Is there a personal goal as to how the university of Maryland can become a more sustainable campus?

       Certain issues I may encounter upon future research include understanding terminology within the field of sustainability as well as finding specific examples that can relate to sustainability on a large scale such as the University of Maryland.  The university has over 30,000 students who are attending it and have an impact on Maryland's sustainable living aspect.

Conclusion

       Sustainable living is not an option, it is the future.  It is better to get an understanding and embrace it sooner rather than later.  The University of Maryland is one of most renowned and respected public universities in the world.  It is only fitting that such a university further develop and incorporate sustainable living habits.  This will reduce the University's carbon footprint and could potentially save millions of dollars that was once used to pay the electric bill.  Alternative energy sources would save that money and also reduce the campuses carbon footprint.

 

Works Cited

Bocchine, Sheila. "Pros & Cons of Solar Power/Panels." Find Recycling Centers and Learn How         To Recycle. 05 Oct. 2007. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.         

<http://earth911.com/news/2007/10/15/pros-and-cons-of-solar-power/>

Dresner, Simon. The Principles of Sustainability. London: Earthscan, 2008. Print.

Edwards, Andres R. Thriving beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society. Gabriola         Island, B.C.: New Society, 2010. Print.

Heinberg, R. and D. Lerch (eds.) 2010. The Post-Carbon Reader. Watershed Media, Healdsburg,         CA.Print.

"Green Honor Roll." The Princeton Review. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.         

<http://www.princetonreview.com/green-honor-roll.aspx>.

"Green Roof Benefits." Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.         

<http://www.greenroofs.org/index.php/about-green-roofs/2577-aboutgrnroofs>.

Nierenberg, Danielle, Brian Halweil, Royce Gloria. Androa, and Linda Starke. Innovations That         Nourish the Planet: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress toward a Sustainable         Society. New York et.: Norton, 2011. Print

"Renewable Solar Energy." Renewable Solar Energy. 27 July 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.         

<http://renewable-solar-energy.com/>.

"UMD Sustainability Snapshot." About Sustainability at Maryland. University of Maryland,         2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.         

<http://www.sustainability.umd.edu/content/about/sustainability_snapshot.php>.

"Undergraduate Admissions." University of Maryland. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.admissions.umd.edu/finaid/tuition.cfm>

 

Rubric, Assignment 3:  Final Project Proposal

Context (/20):

 
The context section effectively introduces the problem or opportunity at hand, beginning more broadly but quickly moving to the specific context. The discussion moves beyond the author's personal concern, providing evidence and specific examples to establish need.
 
Project Description (/20):
 
The project description identifies the most logical document type to address the problem or opportunity established in the context section, providing a brief summary of what will be contained in the final project. For recommendation reports, the potential options under consideration are presented. For other reports and manuals, a rationale for the proposed organization of the document is provided.
 
Audiences (/20):
 
Specific and accessible gatekeeper, primary, secondary and tertiary audience are identified, providing as many specific details as possible, including names, titles and relationship to the problem or opportunity.
 
Research (/20):
 
A detailed discussion of both primary and secondary research efforts is provided. For secondary research, the author discusses specific resources already identified as well as items still needed. The outlined primary research appears feasible and relevant.
 
General (/10):
 
The final submission represents a polished document free of punctuation, grammatical or diction/phrasing issues, meeting length and other formatting requirements mentioned on the assignment sheet.