It’s no secret that Furman’s internet can be a bit sketchy at times.  One can check out the “Tech Talk” forum on First Class and read the infinite amount of ranting and raging from Furman students who are fed up with unreliable internet.  Here’s one comment that was posted during last night’s campus-wide internet outage:  “This is ridiculous.  Period.  I am fairly confident through talking with my friends at other schools that this is just our problem.  Can we please pause the sustainability program to get some working internet?”

Many of my classmates and hallmates are not aware that I work in the Shi Center as the Sustainability Fellow.  Oftentimes, when I hear people around me talking about sustainability at Furman, I choose to sit back and listen to their thoughts instead of jumping into the conversation.  I find it interesting to hear the reflections of other Furman students regarding this aspect of the university.  With this said, reading the above post on “Tech Talk” was not the first time that I have heard complaints about sustainability versus internet spending allocations.  We recently had a discussion in my public speaking course about possible topics for our upcoming persuasive speeches, during which somebody made a comment that was almost identical to the above post.  Students wonder why Furman is spending so much of their tuition money on a sustainability program from which they feel they have no personal gain, especially when there is such a pressing need for technological advances on campus.

Yes, internet is important, especially in a university setting.  However, the steps that Furman is taking to reach carbon neutrality have a direct impact on all students, also, whether they realize it or not.  The significance of improving the quality of the environment in which we live is vastly undervalued by many Furman students.  Furman is making great strides as a model of how to conserve resources for current and future generations. 

Here is what every student needs to know:  The money that pays for sustainability efforts at Furman is NOT the same money that pays for technology expenses.  To clear up another common misconception, sustainability funding does not come from tuition increases, either.  In fact, sustainability at Furman is funded externally through grants and gifts.  Over the last two years, funding organizations such as Duke Energy, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the South Carolina Department of Energy, and Bank of America have provided over $3 million to Furman’s sustainability efforts. 

Furman students need to understand that there is no need to “pause the sustainability program to get some working internet,” as funding for the two are completely unrelated.  More reliable internet may, indeed, be a need in the Furman community, but there is no rationale for ceasing or limiting our sustainability efforts in order to attain it.

Exciting news!  Furman University has been chosen to receive a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).  This grant is part of the Recovery Act, which will use $338 million in funding to support the “exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies.”  Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that Furman was one of only 123 institutions nationwide that was chosen to receive this grant, of which 28 are colleges and universities.  On top of that, Furman, which is the only liberal arts college out of the 28 schools, is the only grant-receiving institution from South Carolina.

This grant will be used to create a new geothermal system in Furman’s North Village housing, in which over 1,000 students reside each year.  The construction of this geothermal system, which is projected to be complete by the summer of 2013, will be instrumental in Furman’s efforts to reach climate neutrality by the university’s bicentennial year, 2026.

After reading an article which describes the grant (Furman gets stimulus money for geothermal energy) that was posted on the website of The Greenville News, I was both shocked and disappointed to read the negative reactions of several other online readers from the Greenville community.   In my opinion, this comment, posted anonymously, was the most “colorful”:

“This is a great example of how our government wastes our money.  First they steal it from us with impunity.  Then they take it and give it to other people (in this case Furman) to invest in money-losing, unprofitable ideas.  The reason no one does this sort of thing (geothermal for housing) is because it is too expensive to justify its limited benefit.  No private company (including Furman) would be so stupid and so reckless as to invest in this type of project, so why is it that people are willing to accept our government’s irresponsible conduct?  Furthermore, I see no justification for redistributing my income to entities such as Furman who demonstrate no evidence of needing it (i.e. I need my money far more than the wealthy Furman elitists need it).  I’m tired of my income being taken by force and used to enrich the wealthy.”

I will resist the strong urge to rant about how this argument is incredibly ignorant and extraordinarily offensive to the Furman community.  Instead, I will explain how every human, including the author of the above post, can benefit from the environmental and financial advantages of geothermal energy systems.  Furman’s system is expected to reduce energy consumption by approximately 1,041,520 kWh each year, meaning that Furman’s carbon footprint will be significantly lowered by this single project.  This reduction in energy consumption will also result in approximately $55,000 in energy savings every year, and, as electricity rates in South Carolina continue to increase, so will these savings figures. 

Sure, the upfront cost of this geothermal energy system will be fairly hefty.  However, with projected lifetime savings of up to $2.6 million and an annual carbon reduction of 676 MT CO₂ equivalent, it is clear that there will be immense long-term benefits.  Our society needs to be willing to make a few sacrifices for the greater good of our environment and of humanity.  If we can each learn to settle for a little bit less right now, we can each do our part to make this world a better place. 

Here at Furman, we are very proud that our commitment to sustainability has framed us as a leading institution in the field.  Receiving this generous grant to install the geothermal energy system in North Village is not only a great honor, but it will also help fuel Furman’s dedication to creating a more sustainable learning environment.  We hope to influence members of the Greenville community along the way, encouraging every citizen to do his or her part to live more sustainably for the sake of future generations.

My life at Furman is now in full swing!  In the last week, I have experienced the excitement of homecoming and the stress of midterms, and I feel like a real college student.  Fall Break starts on Thursday, and, although I am enjoying the college life, I must admit that this break could not be coming at a more perfect time! 

In the Center for Sustainability, the Sustainability Master Plan is in its final stages of crafting.  Months of composing, editing, and revising are finally drawing to a close.  I’m relieved, and I haven’t spent even a fraction of the time working on the plan as everybody else in the office has.  I have been able to contribute in a few ways, though, from proofreading drafts of the plan to preparing “comment boxes” for this afternoon’s open forum discussion about it.

Another project in the works is revamping the Shi Center’s website.  Keep an eye out for the completely new site, as it will be unveiled in the next few weeks.  We are hoping that the new design will be able to provide students, faculty, and community members with information about sustainability both on- and off-campus in a more comprehensive, organized fashion.  There will also be a Sustainability Student Help Desk/FAQ page, which I am currently drafting.  This page will address a few frequently asked questions about sustainability, and it will also provide contact information for anyone who is seeking further information.  As the Bank of America Sustainability Fellows, Caitlin and I will be the ones responding to these inquiries.  I am anticipating a vast assortment of questions of varying difficulty and subject matter, and, although I lack the specific scientific knowledge about environmental processes and how they relate to sustainability, I am looking forward to helping others learn how they can live more sustainably.

Caitlin Kelliher, the 2008 Bank of America Sustainability Fellow, is currently completing a Study Away program in China.  Due to Chinese laws and restrictions pertaining to the internet, Caitlin is not able to post directly to the blog.  For this reason, Caitlin’s posts will be posted through the “furmangreenscene” username until she is back in the United States.  This first post contains Caitlin’s first four entries.  Enjoy!

March 9, 2009

As today marked the one month anniversary, I would like to take a moment to remember someone very dear to me; someone I loved like a brother and someone I will miss all the days of my life. To my cousin, Pfc Jonathan Richard Roberge, who was killed in action in Mosul, Iraq on February 9, 2009, just months before his 23^rd birthday; words cannot describe how much you mean to me and how much I love you. Rest in peace always.

Because this is my first entry, I’d like to begin by expressing my extreme appreciation and gratitude to a number of people for giving me this fantastic opportunity. Through their efforts and support, I was chosen to become Bank of America’s very first Sustainability Fellow. To Bank of America, for its generosity in donating this wonderful gift and partnering with Furman University, and especially Kim Wilkerson and Ann Robinson; to Dr. David Shi, for his efforts to make this opportunity possible; to the Furman Admissions Staff, who elected me to receive this honor, and especially Libby Weith; and finally, to the Center for Sustainability, the members of which have helped and supported me in my role throughout this whole year and who have acted as my mentors, and especially Dr. Angela Halfacre and Dr. Frank Powell; I will be forever grateful.

My name is Caitlin Kelliher, I’m from Ashby, Massachusetts, and I’m a freshman here at Furman. I grew up on a mini-farm, and my family had a small agricultural business, Garden Solutions, that I worked for for 8 years growing up. We grew a variety of vegetables and herbs and sold them to local-area restaurants, and the surplus of our crop was donated to three local-area homeless shelters. Garden Solutions lasted until my older brother and I were in high school, and then we went to boarding school and could not continue running the business.  

 It’s definitely been quite the transition coming to live in South Carolina from being in the North all my life.  I’d never even heard of okra, had never had grits or sweet potatoes, and I definitely still get made fun of for the fact I call “water fountains” bubblers. Anyway, I’ve had a fantastic first year; I’ve learned so much in my time here and have had the privilege of becoming involved with many different organizations. I’m part of the ECOS (Environmental Community of Students) Engaged Living program where I work in large part with the organic garden, am an active member of EAG (Environmental Action Group), the Bartram Society, Africa Rising, Furman in the Garden, am an officer of Sustainable Connections, and will be a resident of the Greenbelt community during my sophomore year.

Through my involvement with these organizations and as the Bank of America Sustainability Fellow, I hope to not only be a leader of sustainability on Furman’s campus, but I hope to promote new and interesting ideas for sustainability-oriented efforts and initiatives and be able to work with others to make them successful.  

 

September 12, 2009 

It’s been quite a while since my last post I realized; freshman year seemed to end in a rush, summer passed in a blur, and now it’s already mid-September. How did that even happen?

I’m studying in China this fall, and our group arrived here around August 19^th. We immediately departed for our first national tour lasting 10 days where we traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an and Yan’an. We visited a number of places, among them the Temple of Heaven, the Xi’an City Wall, the Forbidden City, and of course, the Great Wall. The Temple of Heaven is amazing; it’s so beautiful, and it’s definitely been one of my favorite places here.  Though I visited the Great Wall last year on the Summer China Experience, I particularly enjoyed my visit this time because I climbed to the top, and the view was absolutely incredible. When it was time to descend the mountain, we rode toboggans down this metal slide the whole way which was so much fun, and we were able to go at whatever speed we wanted which was definitely an added bonus.

At the end of our national tour, we traveled to Soochow University in Suzhou, which is located just outside of Shanghai and is where the majority of our study program will take place. Each of the 10 of us from Furman has a Chinese roommate who attends Soochow and who majors in English, so the arrangement is fairly symbiotic. My roommate’s name is Zhang Jing (her English name is Jennifer), and she lives about 3 hours by bus from Suzhou. We’ve begun adopting this method (borrowed from my friend Andreina and her Chinese roommate) of having English/Chinese days. One day we’ll speak only English as to challenge her, and then the following day, we’ll speak only Chinese in order to challenge me. Which it does. A lot.

We just completed our second week of classes, and I’m taking Chinese language, Chinese Film and Culture, Contemporary Chinese Society, and an optional class, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy. In October, the Film and Culture class will be replaced by an environmental course which I’m extremely excited about. We’ll be traveling for part of this class, which will include passing through the jungles of Xishuangbanna along the border of Myanmar, where we’ll have a tour and briefing at the Sanchahe Nature Reserve, and a visit to a Rubber Tree Plantation and traditional tea plantation. Throughout the trip, we’ll be exploring how tourism, environmental concerns, and ethnic policy intersect.

Before we came to China, we were asked to submit a paper discussing what we believed to be the primary challenge facing the Chinese government in improving its environment, and I identified the largest problem to be institutional, so it’ll be interesting to see how my perspective changes as we study China’s environmental challenges more in depth. 

The 10 of us have also been assigned an internship taking place a few afternoons a week. My internship is at the Dushuhu Grand Hotel working as an English Instructor for Staff Training. Because my internship only begins in mid-October, however, I’ve asked if it may be possible for me to volunteer or intern at one of the Suzhou gardens in the interim because I really would like to spend time doing something related to China’s sustainability efforts and environmental awareness.

The trip so far has been truly fantastic, and I’m so grateful to have been given such an amazing opportunity. The only downside is that I wasn’t able to welcome Landri as my fellow Fellow when she arrived at Furman in August. I’m really looking forward to working with her and the Office of Sustainability upon my return, though, and I look forward to everything we’ll accomplish!

 

September 23, 2009

Since my last entry, I found out some extremely disappointing news. Our group will not be able to explore the area of Xishuangbanna on our national tour because it lies on the border of Myanmar in Yunnan province, and many Myanmar refugees have fled to this part of southern China to escape the fighting that has erupted in areas of Myanmar. The region in and around Yunnan Province has become somewhat hostile as of late, so for safety’s sake, our journey will be re-routed instead to include a tour of Guizhou Province and a cruise through the Three Gorges to see the Three Gorges Dam. In Guizhou province, we’ll hike through the mountains and visit the various Miao populations where we’ll be able to study the effects of tourism and then the environmental projects based in Guiyang. When we travel through the Three Gorges, we’ll discuss the Dam project, the relocation of approximately a million people, and the conservation efforts implemented to help protect the sturgeon and other endangered species affected by the Dam. I’m really excited for our tour, though, and it’ll be really cool to see the Dam project in person especially since we discussed it briefly in Dr. Dripps’ Watershed Hydrology class last year.

The 10 of us also began our internships recently. Two intern at an orphanage, three at the Suzhou Museum, two at the Suzhou Daily, three at the Holiday Inn, and two at the Dushuhu Grand Hotel. I intern at both the Holiday Inn and the Dushuhu Grand Hotel where my partner and I teach English to the hotel staff members. It’s been really fun actually; I’ve enjoyed it a lot.

China’s national holiday is coming up on the 1^st, and 3 others on the group and I are planning to go to Hong Kong and Macau for the holiday week, so I’m really pumped for that! It should be a great time; I’m really looking forward to it.   

 

October 10, 2009

I got back to Suzhou from Hong Kong two days ago, and it was fantastic! The four of us were able to see and visit a lot of neat places. We stayed in a hostel for the duration of our trip which was really interesting; I’d never stayed in one before, and though our room was extremely small, it was in a nice part of the hostel so it wasn’t bad at all. We rode the Duk Ling which is the last authentic Chinese fishing junk and sails all around Kowloon Pier, which was a really good time. We visited Stanley Market which is definitely a place for tourists, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and we were able to find a lot of souvenirs. (:  The dragon parades and lantern sightings we visited naturally were packed, but it was cool to be around as the natives celebrated the national holiday anyway. We visited the art and space museums which were really cool, and we saw a kungfu demonstration the same day which was awesome. We traveled to Victoria Peak which overlooks Hong Kong, and is accessed by tram, and took a few ferry rides that were a lot of fun, too.

My favorite parts of the trip, though, were the Monday and Tuesday of our week. Monday was spent in Hong Kong, and Tuesday in Macau. We decided to go to Lantau Island on Monday to see the Big Buddha, which is the largest outdoor Buddha in the world. We rode a cable car to the top which was incredible in and of itself, but then visited the Buddha. The area directly around the Buddha is definitely touristy, but we hiked down a side trail and climbed these rocks, and it was absolutely incredible. The Buddha was in the distance to our right, and the sun was setting over the mountains overlooking the water, and I just remember thinking I didn’t ever want to leave. It was truly beautiful. We travelled to Macau the next day where we bungee jumped 233 meters from the highest bungee site in the world. It was definitely nerve-wracking, but I had so much fun. The jump itself didn’t last long at all, but the fall made an impression for sure. We visited the Venetian afterwards which is a really popular casino and had dinner there, and then saw an amazing Dragon Treasure show at The Bubble, which is this dome-shaped theatre located in the City of Dreams. It was fantastic.  

Our time in Hong Kong was so fun, and it’s definitely been one of the most memorable parts of our China trip for me so far.

As a first-year student here at Furman University, I feel like I have introduced myself a hundred times over the past few weeks.  So, here it goes again!  My name is Landri Tripp, and I grew up on a cattle farm in Shelbyville, Kentucky.  As of right now, I hope to major in Spanish, with aspirations of becoming an interpreter or a teacher.  And, of course, I must not forget to address the most popular question among students and faculty:  Why did I choose Furman?  I could go into detail about the gorgeous campus, the comforting southern hospitality, or even the fact that I can yell “FU!” without receiving a single second-glance.  However, the main drawing point for me was Furman’s emphasis and dedication to “engaged” learning through small and interactive classes, internship and study away opportunities, and campus involvement.

I have been fortunate to have already been afforded the opportunity to experience “engaged” learning in my first few weeks at Furman through the Center for Sustainability.  This past spring, following an application and interview process, I was awarded the Bank of America Sustainability Fellows Scholarship.  The description of the scholarship explains that it is “available to enrolling freshmen who plan to become leaders in sustainability in their communities.”  So, once I received the scholarship, I also inherited a major responsibility.  How was I, the lowly freshman, going to become a leader in one of Furman’s most emphasized institutional goals?

Last year, a “sustainability perception survey” was used to measure students’ interest and participation in Furman’s commitment to sustainability.  The results showed that there was a “lack of awareness about various opportunities and activities.”  On top of that, the survey also identified that many students are reluctant to participate in campus sustainability efforts because of “skepticism about climate change and philosophical disagreements with the ‘liberal image’ of sustainability.”  This, my friends, is where I step into the scene.  Over the next four years, I plan to use my interest in communications to focus on reaching out to the student body in creative ways.  My goal will be not only to convince my fellow classmates that climate change is, indeed, a pressing issue, but also to encourage them to contribute to sustainability efforts themselves.

The typical Furman student (forgive the generalization) is conservative in his or her political views, and his or her dedication to academics and extracurricular activities leaves little time for any additional commitments.  Do these factors exempt the student from living sustainably?  Of course not!  I want to use my position as a Sustainability Fellow to demonstrate to my fellow classmates that not only “liberal hippies” and “science nerds” are environmentalists.  I am far from these “tree-hugger” or “science geek” stereotypes, but I’m still concerned about how we humans are impacting the earth and abusing our resources.  And, as far as time commitment goes, how much longer does it take to toss an empty bottle into the recycling bin instead of the trash can?  Leading a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle is not out of reach for the average Joe.

In order to help reach the Center for Sustainability’s goal of student awareness and participation, my first project will be to help establish the nation’s first “Sustainability Student Help Desk” in a campus setting.  The Sustainability Student Help Desk will be committed to connecting the Furman and Greenville communities to sustainability by providing answers to questions pertaining to sustainability both on- and off-campus.  These questions may range from “How can I recycle glass at Furman?” to “What are the benefits of purchasing a hybrid vehicle?”.  When the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability relocates to Furman University’s Cliffs Cottage in January 2010, the LEED Platinum-Registered building will also house the Sustainability Student Help Desk.  Students, faculty, and the Greenville community will be welcomed to contact the Help Desk through email, phone, or even a personal visit!

Although my participation in Furman’s sustainability efforts is rooted in my obligation as a scholarship recipient, I can already see that my motivation is evolving into one of sincere interest and passion.  The next four years as a Bank of America Sustainability Fellow will undoubtedly be challenging yet inspiring, and I hope to “become a leader in sustainability in my community” in a way that reflects my own interests and natural abilities.  What can YOU do to contribute to the cause?