How it started:
Over the years, there have been multiple groups at Cornell that have dealt with environmental stewardship on campus.

Kyoto Now! started as a campaign of the Cornell Greens in the Spring of 2001, with the goal of having Cornell commit to make greenhouse gas reductions to the standards of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty to address climate change from which the U.S. had just withdrawn.

The University's Commitment:
Members of Kyoto Now! worked hard to educate the campus about these issues while working closely with the utilities department and the administration to reach a University commitment. After three months, Cornell released a statement of position. In short, it said "we think this is an important issue but cannot make any commitments at this time." In response to this statement seven members of Kyoto Now! and its many supporters conducted a sit-in within the administrative building on campus to urge the administration to take action and make acommitment on this critical issue. The members of the sit-in were joined by hundreds of supporters outside the building, and were eventually charged and dragged outside. To maintain pressure, Kyoto Now! built an encampment outside the administrative building, called Kyoto Village where students camped out for a full week while holding negotiations with the administration. At the end of the week, the administration and Kyoto Now! negotiators came to an agreement in which Cornell University committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus to the standards of the Kyoto Protocol.

Working Together:
Since Cornell's agreement to the standards of the Kyoto Protocol, students, staff, and faculty have worked to meet the goals via the Kyoto Task Team, which will help in deciding where to allocate the Solar Fund. Energy conservation projects, many of which have come out of the Kyoto Task Team, now account for approximately $7 million in annual energy savings.

Solar Visions:
In 2002 a group of students from Kyoto Now! organized an independent study in which a dozen students did an extensive study of the feasibility of installing solar panels on the new West Campus buildings. Numerous groups of students have made proposals since then, but until this fund was set up the payback period of the investment was too long for the administration to be comfortable.

Other Positive Steps Taken:
This is not to say that Cornell does not have any renewable energy. In fact, it is already an unsung hero. It has a small hydro power facility under the suspenion bridge that produces about two percent of the campus electric load, but the facility is showing signs of its age. It was part of the hydropower research facility that pioneered modern hydroelectric techniques. Cornell is also home to Lake Source Cooling, a geothermal cooling project that uses the cold water in the depths of Cayuga Lake to cool central campus, almost eliminating the need for polluting and energy intensive air conditioning chillers.

In January, 2006 Cornell announced a combined heat and power project to update their central heating plant. The project will entail switching the majority of their fuel from coal to natural gas and installing equipment that will allow them to use the energy more efficiently by producing both heat and electricity at the same time. This project is expected to reduce campus emissions to Kyoto Protocol levels.

The Solar Fund:
The University has made great strides to reduce its emissions, yet virtually all of that effort is unseen by the Cornell and Ithaca community. The solar demonstration projects made possible by this solar fund will serve as a visible landmark representing the efforts Cornell has made in all areas of energy and the environment as well as an educational display to encourage people to think about these important issues.

This is just the beginning of a sustainable Cornell, and your donation to the solar fund is much appreciated.

OPINION May 04, 2004
A Graduation of Solar Proportions
It's Easy Being Green
by Abigail Krich

Last year I bought a car -- and as of yesterday, it runs on waste vegetable oil from restaurant fryers. No more two-dollar gasoline for me! I just bought a computer and an iPod -- I've got my e-mail and tunes wherever I go. I've sort of got a job lined up for after graduation, I have people who love me, and I've got my health. What more could a graduating senior want?

I want Cornell to have a solar electric system.

For three years now I've been working every angle I could think of to try to get the University to install some photovoltaics (PV) -- solar electric panels in lay-speak -- on one of its buildings. Shouldn't be such a big deal, right? After all, if MIT, UVM, SUNY-Albany and dozens of other American universities in equally northern locations can manage it, why can't we? A few thousand dollars to make a public statement about the country's energy future is cheap.

Students have done independent study designs of solar arrays for the West Campus buildings. Milstein Hall at one point considered PV before costs were cut.

The Environmental Compliance office had students do a design of a system for their newly renovated building. And after years of talking, lobbying, and cajoling -- nothing.

Well, I love this University and I can't just watch it ignore the reality of the energy crisis the world is facing and the potential role it has in encouraging a sane energy future.

If Cornell is never going to go through with one of these plans until a donor comes along with the money, then I guess I'm just going to have to create that donor.

So that's what I've asked my family to give me for my graduation present. I've asked them to underwrite a PV system for Cornell University instead of buying me something I don't really need. I had originally thought of asking them to buy me a solar system, but I have no plans to buy a house soon enough for that to be worthwhile. Why not let Cornell take it instead? I just want to support the PV industry and see some clean energy fed onto the electric grid.

It'll have a much higher public impact atop a University building than on my future house. Compare the thousands of visitors every year to each Cornell building versus the dozen or two to my home. I've got my eye set on a few buildings in particular, but I haven't had a chance to speak with their managers yet, so I don't want to list them here. My hope is that if I can find a suitable University building whose managers are excited for this opportunity, we can work out a deal. If they are willing to put up an amount of capital equivalent to the cost of electricity the solar array will produce in seven years, my graduation present would provide the rest.

Seven years is about the payback horizon that current Cornell energy conservation projects are looking at, so it is right in line with current financial policy.

The PV couldn't care less about the seven years, though; it'll be pumping out electricity for its 25-year warranty and beyond. The first silicon solar cell created at Bell Labs in 1954 is still out in the sunlight creating juice. No one knows how long these things will last, but it's likely to be at least as long as the building they're put on.

Why am I telling you all of this? It's not to showcase my martyrdom to the world, as my roommate put it (thanks, Court!). It's because I'd like your help.

The size of PV system that my graduation present alone could fund is significant, but not as big as I'd like to see. I don't come from a family of venture capitalists or lotto winners.

If there was someone out there who would consider contributing five dollars, twenty dollars, or even making a matching donation, it would be truly spectacular.

The project isn't finalized, so I don't have a Cornell account number to give you yet. But if you'd like to see the University take this step, send me an e-mail.

* * *

So now, as I close on the last column of my super-senior year, it's time for a couple of quick thank-yous. First, my advisor, Lou Albright, for planting the seed in my mind of writing for The Sun. Second, Lanny Joyce of the Cornell Utilities Department for always going above and beyond to talk with students and save this University energy. Third, Meg, for inspiring me to pursue renewable energy without Cornell having an energy studies program. And of course, Jacob, Mom, and Dad, for helping me make it to this point.

So long, thanks for the B.S., and don't forget to turn your computer off at night.

Abigail Krich is a senior in the College of Engineering. She can be reached at ajk28@cornell.edu. It's Easy Being Green appeared alternate Tuesdays.