In 2007 a “green” initiative was born at TAMIU. The university was one of two selected among all A&M campuses in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, or the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Texas A&M sent researchers from their Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) in order to do a “sustainability analysis in 2007,” said Richard Gentry, Director of the Physical Plant at TAMIU
Since TAMIU, when compared to other A&M campuses, was in its infancy, it was chosen by the system for a “green” make over.
With a grant provided through the ESL, TAMIU began “fine tuning” their existing buildings to make them more energy efficient, said Gentry.
One of the many steps the university has taken to “go green” included the conservation of condensation produced by the air conditioning systems throughout the campus.
The physical plant started capturing air conditioning condensate, which previously had been flowing down the drain and thus being wasted, said Gentry.
The collected water is then piped back to the central plant and used in the cooling tanks, he added.
Other “green” steps include the usage of foam soap as opposed to liquid, and classroom light sensors used to reduce energy levels when the room is unoccupied, thus saving the university tremendous amounts of money, according to Gentry.
The university also plans to continue to follow green standards while constructing the new Student Success building, which is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010.
The new building is following the standards as set by ” LEEDS ,” an organization created by the US Green Building Council focused on providing design techniques and strategies aimed at improving the overall performance of a building or community, according to their Web site.
The organization’s main focuses are “energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts,” the Web site continued.
The university signed an agreement to follow these standards.
“We’re building to green standards,” said Gentry.
“Once the university made a commitment to become a sustainable campus, our focus has been that any kind of construction (would follow those) standards.”
The university is committed to follow LEEDS “silver standards,” meaning “the building (would have to meet) a certain amount of features so that building will have a lower environmental impact throughout its existence,” said Gentry.
This also includes a minimum impact from the standpoint of construction materials, which must be environmentally friendly and from within 500 miles of the university as to reduce the amount of gas while transporting said materials, thus further reducing the overall carbon footprint, Gentry added.
The green initiative had a warm welcome from both students and faculty, and the continued support of alumni, a gesture that is greatly appreciated.
“Everybody is completely behind it, and one of the interesting issues is that these buildings are all almost at the optimum level at efficiency of green standards,” said Dr. Ray Keck, President of TAMIU.
“This is science not tall tales,” added Keck, “could any serious, intelligent person oppose the green initiate?”
With this conservation, and lowered energy bills, Keck said the money saved would be used for scholarships in the future, and Keck expressed his high hopes for the continued support.
“This generation of Americans, they understand the importance of using our knowledge of the world and using it in the right way; we are pleased with the excitement to follow in line with the green movement,” said Keck.
The university will continue to strive for a completely sustainable campus, and as new conservation technologies present themselves, Gentry hopes the campus will adapt.
“We will continue to upgrade and expand recycling efforts of the university and we will continue to look for opportunities as they present themselves,” said Gentry.