WECAN at West Virginia University

In today's world it is important to ensure that our environment is preserved for future generations through the green movement. The green movement provides people with stepping stones towards living a more environmentally responsible life. WVU WECAN is a program that is committed to ensuring a sustainable future for the community at West Virginia University. The program promotes its cause through practices, teaching, research and facilities management from both an educational and operational perspective. The aspects of the program encompass diverse fields such as academics and recycling with an aim towards achieving sustainability.
Education
Academics
In an effort to contribute towards the WECAN goal of achieving sustainability, WVU offers numerous courses related to sustainability. Some of these courses include Introduction to Wildlife Management, Introduction to Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Design just to name a few. There are also new courses being formed such as the new Sustainable Living course. This course will explore the personal, social, and environmental aspects of making sustainable choices in your day to day life. The university offers several undergraduate and graduate degrees to students taking these sustainability courses.
Research
WVU prides itself in its enery research department. The university is committed to finding cleaner fossil fuel energy as well as renewable energy. Some of the energy research at WVU includes enhanced fuel cell production, wind energy, and biofuels production just to name a few. There are also several departments at the university dedicated toward sustainability research. Some of these departments include the Civil and Environmental Engineering department as well as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering department.
Public Services
Parking and Transportation
WVU's sustainability initiatives are also supported by the Department of Parking and Transportation. One major focus is the public Personal Rapid Transit, PRT, system on campus. This is the only PRT system in the world. The Personal Rapid Transit has been used for more than 30 years and consists of around 8 miles of track. Since its start, approximately 60 million people have ridden on PRT, and around 15,000 people ride it daily during the school year.
Another form of alternative transportation is offered by the WE GO! campaign. The campaign strives to reach the goals of increasing air quality by reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Even though these efforts are still just beginning, they aspire to reach their goals which would ultimately result in reduce utility costs for students and staff of the university and decrease dependence on finite natural resources.
Planning and Construction
When constructing new buildings, WVU uses sustainable building practices to minimize pollution and other risks to human health and the environment. Some of this sustainable design can already be seen at WVU. On the top of one of the academic buildings known as Brooks Hall, there is a vegetated roof (green roof) which shows WVU's commitment towards going green.
Custodial and Maintenance
The program's goals in this area are to buy environmentally friendly products, mediate green options into contracts with vendors, create standards for maintenance and interior design that are sustainable, and to promote instructions for purchasing on campus.
In 2007, WVU bought 12 Cushman vehicles to use for transport between campuses. The vehicles get an average of 40 mpg and are smaller than normal vehicles. WVU also uses 5 out of 10 Green Seal products to lower detrimental chemical exposure. Building emissions are also lowered by upgrading old buildings, using temperature setbacks at night, and implementing weatherization efforts. Finally, landfill waste is reduced by composting around 35% of waste from landscaping and either recycling or reusing 10% of the waste from demolition and construction.
Recycling
Recycling is a useful way to reduce the amount of wasteful product on the planet. In the year of 2007, West Virginia University shifted from a contract service to an in-house service. Presently, WVU is focusing on recycling paper, aluminum, plastic and cardboard on the school campus. For example, all of West Virginia University's paper is made into a pulp and re-manufactured at the SFK Pate Paper Mill in Fairmont, WV. The cardboard, plastic and aluminum are donated to the Monongalia County Recycling Center in Westover.

However, a contract service continues to recycle fluorescent bulb, scrap metal, electronics, and toner cartridges. Also one can take charge of recycling these materials through pick up or drop off at certain locations. For instance re-chargeable batteries in the Monogalia County can be recycled by dropping them off at Morgantown Phone Center and Premier Computers. Car batteries on the other hand must be taken to either Walmart or Napa to be recycled properly. To recycle unbroken fluorescent bulbs/CFLs one can either drop them off at PC Renewal or with a small fee they will pick up the bulbs from your home or office. Also, spent CFLs can be dropped off at Home Depot to be recycled.

Recycling of electronics can either be done at PC Renewal or during the Annual MCSWA E-Ecycling event. The E-Ecylcing event usually takes place in the month of April to celebrate Earth Day. There is a small recycling fee and all materials must be dropped off. Lastly, ink and toner cartridges can be recycled through facilities like The Cartridge Depot, Office Depot and PC Renewal. The Cartridge Depot is known to purchase your used toner and ink cartridges which is beneficial for us as a customer.

Types of Recycling
Energy
Human energy use has dramatically risen over the past years. This rise in energy consumption has led to increasing cost and depletion of non-renewable sources. Studies have shown that about 85% of energy used in the United States is lost due to inefficient use. Today the government is trying to promote economical uses of energy through laws such as the Clean Air Act.

With the recent push towards a "Green" future, West Virginia University is committed to reducing the amount of energy consumption on campus through strong conservation efforts and an energy performance contract with with Siemens Building Solutions. Already, the university has observed significant drops in energy usage and substantial savings.
Furthermore, WVU reduces its energy expenditure through the use of "Green Steam" for heating and cooling purposes. The steam is acquired from a steam extraction point from the Morgantown Energy Associates (MEA) power plant, a co-generation facility located near campus. WVU further lowers its energy use with the purchase of Energy Star products and installing energy-saving technologies in numerous buildings.

Lastly to further the cause for a "Green" future, new research in alternative and renewable energy sources are presently conducted at West Virginia University as it is a leading research institution for energy.
Water
Eighty percent of all sickness around the world is due to unclean water and more than 1.4 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. Water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

So to protect the students/people of Morgantown, West Virginia University and the Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) help monitor proper wastewater discharge into sanitary sewage systems. The program provides information on the nature of WVU's wastewater and calls to attention any processes or procedures that require adjustments to decrease the amount of harmful contaminants released into the Morgantown's wastewater system and environment.

EH&S oversees activities like solid waste handling, garbage storage, and waste grease handling on campus to ensure that stormwater discharges from WVU do not contaminate the environment as well as the stormwater systems. Furthermore, EH&S work with Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) program to avoid accidental release of oils and petroleum products stored and used on campus.

Two of the latest highlights of stormwater sustainability at WVU involve the construction of the rain garden and the suncrest retention ponds. The retention ponds were built by WVU combined with a comprehensive plan developed by Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) to solve the long-time flooding issues on Pompono Run.
Other Sustainability Programs
Dining
WVU Wecan actively has a dining branch of the sustainability program. The roles that the dining section of Wecan undertakes include removing the use of trays from two dining halls, as well as completely renovating another dining hall that is scheduled to be complete by 2010. The program also donates food to other organizations such as charities, and biodiesel.
The program has also incorporated instruments such as the Ecotainer hot cup, taterware plates, greenware cold cups and Genpak deli containers in an effort to maximize the use of more biodegradable or recyclable material.
Community and Civic Engagement
There are many opportunities at WVU for students to get involved with environmental awareness, student service projects, and conservation projects. One of these opportunities is the Mountaineers Recycle program. The students involved with this program assist with the recycling of the many cans and bottles that are disposed of at the university's football games. In the past two football seasons which consisted of 13 home games with an attendance of more than 700,000 people, the program collected more than 18 tons recyclables. Some of these recyclables consisted of more than 300,000 bottles and cans. Some of the overall benefits of the program are 132 trees saved, more than 9,000 gallons of oil saved, more than 7,800 gallons of gasoline saved, and a donation of more than $5,000 to the WVU Children's Hospital. WVU also has 10 student organizations that partake in environmental conservation, as well as conservation initiatives. These organizations do many different things such as energy audits, animal surveys, and re-population different tree species.

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