In hopes of reducing carbon emissions from the New Brunswick campus to zero by 2030, the Rutgers Energy Institute is sponsoring a contest to get undergraduate students involved in devising a plan.
Considering that Rutgers-New Brunswick is such a large campus that uses buses to transport students, and has laboratories and facilities that are very energy intensive, it is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions, said REI Director Paul Falkowski, a Board of Governors professor of geological sciences.
"It is very difficult to reduce carbon emissions to zero, but we should make that our goal," Falkowski said.
The institute is offering four awards per year of up to $2,500 to students whose submissions are judged by a panel of faculty and students, who are chosen by the institute advisory board. Individual or teams of undergraduate students in any program on the New Brunswick campus can participate.
Based on how much oil and gas the University purchased last year and the number of vehicles driven around campus, it is estimated that approximately 300,000 tons of carbon emissions are from the New Brunswick campus, said REI Assistant Director Clinton Andrews, an associate professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
The institute would like to see carbon emissions of the campus reduced by 10 percent each year. One way to do that would be for the University to produce its own power using alternative, environmentally safe means, Falkowski said.
"It is important to lower carbon emissions because humans have put the carbon cycle of the earth out of balance, which has helped create global warming," Andrews said.
Falkowski would like to see at least 20 to 30 contest entries, if not more. Faculty can participate as well and should assist students, but the original ideas must be conceived and written by the students, he said. Contestants are not limited to students studying the sciences. Any Rutgers student with an idea is welcome. Business majors would be helpful, he said.
The contest was proposed over the summer by Michael Pazzani, the vice president for research and graduate and professional education.
Students are required to submit plans that are approximately 10 pages in length, which should contain an analysis of costs and energy savings, as well as a timeline and suggestions on how to carry out the proposal.
The New Jersey Public Interest Research Group Student Chapters worked with REI last semester to adopt a policy to reduce the University's pollution up to 90 percent by the year 2050. NJPIRG members are working with REI on the carbon emissions project, said Board Chair Sarah Clader, a Rutgers College senior.
"Rutgers has to lead the way and set the bar for what the rest of the country should be doing about global warming," Clader said.
Falkowski said in addition to contests involving undergraduate students, the University community could lower carbon emissions by running fewer buses. Also, fewer students commuting in private cars would help cut down on air pollution, he said.
"Every time one gallon of gasoline is used, 23 pounds of carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere," Falkowski said.
If the University purchased around 3,000 bicycles, and there was a bicycle center on each campus, that would be much better for the environment, he said. Students idling their car engines in parking lots on campus are contributing to environmental problems as well.
Contest entries should be submitted on or before March 31. For more information, see the Rutgers Energy Institute Web site at http://ruei.rutgers.edu.
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