by Myles Collier
 This oceanside commuter campus is at the crest of a total energy revolution.
There are projects underway that would greatly impact our energy usage here on campus and set the bar for the greater New York and national audiences.
New recycling and waste management programs, as well as various renewable energy projects, are hopefully in the minds that would set this plan to motion.
Well, perhaps that is me trying to image a process that is not curtailed by closed bids and bureaucrats acting bureaucratically. But there is noticeable change already happening.
I sat down with Joanne Sagherian, of the office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration, just before Eco-Fest to understand the progress that has occurred since the “Green Movement” brainstorming session last October. I was also going to inquire about any new ideas that might have come forth.
Joanne was eager to tell me that the school cafeteria is finally doing away with Styrofoam products. KCC will now feature recycled paper cups as a way to shift our habits with excessive waste.
The addition of recycled paper cups is also an economical choice, with an increase of a mere six cents that would be absorbed by the cost of the commodities sold.
KCC will also offer students a chance to purchase plastic reusable mugs as a way to provide students with an ecological solution to their beverage needs and once again to try and slow the excess refuse that we are contributing to.
The mugs will come in various colors and all will have the KCC logo.
With a change having been made in the products we use, the manner in which we dispose of those products has changed as well.
Throughout the Academic Village and spanning past the MAC are new recyclable containers designed specifically for glass and plastic (green) and with a paper only receptacle (blue) right next to it.
For once, there really is no excuse while you’re walking to causally throw your trash to the ground; the proper accommodations are being made.
Not knowing that he was in fact a very well known and proven advocate, one of his responsibilities other than directing the Maritime Office is overseeing the Maritime Fisheries for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
I was told, before I went to his office that he just wanted to fix a boat.
Actually he wanted to convert the existing boat’s diesel engine to run on bio-fuels.
You may have heard of a few experimental fuels such as hydrogen or ethanol.
Tony’s focus was vegetable oil. Through filtration and chemical processes it is possible to take used vegetable oil and produce fuel.
For this to occur two things must happen.
First develop a facility to convert the vegetable oil to fuel on site (on campus). This is the closest to happening. The materials are readily available and we would initially not be producing a great deal.
I was told that the number in mind is a constant 500 gallon supply produced and stored. This is where the most effort would need to be concentrated and where most of the cost would come from.
Keep in mind that once the vegetable oil is broken down, the remaining substance is a liquid fuel. Proper storage is a necessity to prevent contamination and to avoid a serous safety hazard.
This might seem as a waste or bit excessive, considering the limited persons that would actually have access to the boat.
However, consider all the equipment at Kingsborough alone that uses diesel engines.
The first thing that comes to mind should be the shuttle buses.
Imagine, due to the no cost of fuel the free service of chauffeuring students could now be expanded to include more busses and bring students from even further away.
The maintenance equipment could also be a possibility.
Further down the road, we could then be selling this fuel to the surrounding community. But most of all it will cost nothing to get this fuel, restaurants are giving it away for free.
Having an opportunity to be a catalyst in this environ-MENTAL reprogramming, it is imperative to gather the resources required, in an expeditious manner, as to allow the implementation of these “Green” technologies in the near future.
“People think we inherit our environment from our parents, instead we are currently borrowing it from our children.”-Tony DiLernia
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