Green Up

Plymouth State University is a regional comprehensive university with a strong record of teaching, research, and service focusing on the environment and sustainable development. This document highlights some of the many exciting initiatives specifically pertaining to mitigating and adapting to climate change. These activities represent every aspect of the University, and it is particularly relevant to note key PSU programs that have strong impacts in this area, namely: The President’s Commission on Environmental Sustainability, The Center for the Environment, The Environmental Science and Policy Department, the University Environmental Committee, and the Center for Rural Partnerships. (more…)

Related items

• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative
• ‘Help Us Save!’ Energy Conservation Plea for PSU
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes

PCES Meeting Minutes
22 February 2008

Present: Don Perrin, Ellen Shippee, Danielle Dustin, Trevor Chandler, Bill Crangle, Linda Dauer, Nancy Pettengill, Peter Laufenberg, Brad Allen, Bill Bayard, Thad Guldbrandsen, Danielle Ross.

Updates: (more…)

Related items

• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• PSU Moves to Reduce Paper and Ink Waste
• ‘Help Us Save!’ Energy Conservation Plea for PSU
• PSU Students Start New Recycling Competition

Plymouth State University students saved nearly 12,000 kilowatts of electricity in a very successful energy-saving competition.

Danielle Dustin, Samuel Read Hall residence director who organized the ‘Do It in the Dark’ contest, reports students saved 11,764 kilowatt hours of energy during the one-month competition that ran during the month of November. Dustin reports the combined energy savings from all residence halls are the equivalent of 196,067 60-watt light bulbs burning for 16 hours each. (more…)

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• ‘Help Us Save!’ Energy Conservation Plea for PSU
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Start New Recycling Competition
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark

There’s nothing like a little competition to get students engaged in saving energy. Plymouth State’s residence halls are doing their best to use less energy with a new campaign, ‘Do It in the Dark.’ The month-long competition kicked off Nov. 1 with Pizza and Sustainability Trivia in the residence halls. Danielle Dustin, Residence Director of Samuel Read Hall, says students are being asked to be more energy efficient by turning off and unplugging computers, printers and other electronics and appliances when not in use, in addition to turning off lights in unoccupied rooms and in common areas. (more…)

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative
• ‘Help Us Save!’ Energy Conservation Plea for PSU
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes

PSU’s Vice President for Finance Affairs Bill Crangle has announced his retirement as the University’s chief financial officer after 13 years, effective next June. However, Crangle won’t be going far; in fact, he’ll stay on half-time as Special Assistant to the President for Environmental Sustainability to lead the University’s efforts in environmental sustainability. (more…)

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• ‘Help Us Save!’ Energy Conservation Plea for PSU
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes

Public Radio's Here and Now today looked at the nationwide interest in greening up college campuses, spotlighting our efforts at Plymouth. NPR's Anthony Brooks hosted PSU VP Finance Bill Crangle and Student Body President Peter Laufenberg speaking about our newest residence hall, the LEED Gold-certified Langdon Woods.

When students return to Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, some will move into its new environmentally-friendly dorm. The school is among a growing number across the country that are introducing green standards on campus.

Listen to the full program online.

[tags]radio, news, Here and Now, green dorms, Langdon Woods[/tags]

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative

The following article about PSU's LEED gold-certified residence hall Langdon Woods appeared in Green Building News, Vol. 1, No 6.

Issue Date: GBN August 2007, Posted On: 8/1/2007
Residence Hall Receives LEED Gold Certification, Sparks Green Philosophy at Campus

By Amy Perry

In the fall of 2004, Plymouth State University faced a difficult challenge: There was not have enough on-campus housing to accommodate upperclassmen seeking affordable rent and available housing.

Located in Plymouth, N.H. , a town-and-gown community about 45 minutes north of Concord, the 6,800-student university is nearly the same size as the town. Students were putting pressure on the off-campus community to provide affordable housing, and community officials in turn pressured the university to increase the number of juniors and seniors housed on campus.

The university decided the best solution was to provide on-campus housing for up to 60 percent of its student body. In order to accomplish that, they had to build a new residence hall that would be attractive to older students, while improving the relationship between the university and the community and increasing the percentage of on-campus beds.

“It was important to the university to have a stronger sense of community by bringing a broader range of students on campus -- more than just first-year students,” says Bill Crangle, vice president for financial affairs at the university. “We wanted to encourage more upperclassmen to be here.”

Click here to check out the complete story on the Green Building News Web site.

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative

Word of Langdon Woods Residence Hall receiving LEED GoldCertification is spreading. The news was posted on the following sites:

• The "On the Record" feature in the business section of the Buffalo News
• e-Oculus, the American Institute of Architects, New York chapter newsletter.
• Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable and Greening Schools-News on July 9 via the Green Building News.
• Diverse Issues in Higher Education on June 30 reported that the University System of New Hampshire has joined the American College and University President Climate Commitment with nearly 300 other colleges and universities nationwide.
• Foster's Daily Democrat also ran the USNH climate commitment story on June 30.
• As did the Concord Monitor on June 20.

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative

Now that we are a week beyond the announcement that PSU's Langdon Woods residence hall has received LEED gold certification by the USGBC word is starting to spread. If you check out the blogroll you'll see that the news has landed on a diverse array of sites including the:

1. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. This was the lead story for that day.
2. Mass Effect Rating, 22 May 2007 This is a video gamer news blog. Personally I can see the connection here...
3. New Green Dorm 19 May 2007 by Bob 'Greenscaper' Hyland This blog assesses how well plants will grow in the Langdon Woods suites. It measures up pretty well.
4. University Eco-Dorm, 16 May 2007 by erin This blog is dedicated to promoting eco-friendly products and people.
5. Environmentally Friendly Dorm Opens At PSU ~ VIDEO 5 Sep 2006. C2NN is "news, video, and more for a conscious world" this blog features a video story from fall 2006 when Langdon Woods opened.
6. NHC3UA- Plymouth State University Receives LEED Gold-Level Certification The New Hampshire College and University Compliance Assistance Cooperative--the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Dartmouth College (DC) have joined together to assist one another in the development of their occupational and environmental health and safety programs.
7. SmartGrowth in N.H. - PSU dorm achieves gold-level LEED certification This Web site is from the NH Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) which is part of the Executive Department within the Office of the Governor.

So having the Langdon Woods story land on so many different blogs is one of the exciting components of this viral means of communication. But like living in a small New Hampshire town, news travels fast and to anyone who will listen...

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17 May 2007

New Green Dorm 19 May 2007 by Bob 'Greenscaper' Hyland

University Eco-Dorm, 16 May 2007 by erin

Environmentally Friendly Dorm Opens At PSU ~ VIDEO 5 Sep 2006

NHC3UA- Plymouth State University Receives LEED Gold-Level Certification

Boston Society of Architects

SmartGrowth in N.H. - PSU dorm achieves gold-level LEED certification

Related items

• PSU Summary: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change
• 2/22/08 PCES Meeting Minutes
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark, Save Big On Energy
• PSU Students Do It in the Dark
• Bill Crangle to Lead PSU’s Environmental Sustainability Initiative