The Northern Light

Media Credit: Allison Butler Hannah Willard, a graduate of UAA and now assistant director of Renewable Energy Alaska Project, and Steve Rubinstein, an APU professor in the outdoor and envrionmental education program, work together on the MET tower at Spring Creek Farm in Palmer. UAA [Click to enlarge]

Alaskans and visitors alike are witness to the state's vast array of natural wonders: sweeping expanses of undeveloped land, lofty mountain ranges, and jewel-hued sunsets. UAA, with assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency, is working to preserve Alaska's natural assets.

UAA was recently awarded its fourth Pollution Prevention Incentives for States grant also known as a P2 grant from the EPA. The money from this grant will be funneled into projects that provide opportunities for students, faculty and the state. The first P2 grant, gifted to UAA in 2003, has already expired. The second and third grants are set to expire at the end of this year and in spring of next year, respectively. While grants two, three and four are running concurrently, UAA will have more than $600,000 from a combination of federal dollars and matching funds to allocate to projects under the grant.

One important facet of P2 grants is paid student internships. The student internship program is a collaboration among UAA, UAF and APU, offering students on all three campuses opportunities to work with the UAA sustainability council, Green Star and other organizations in the state. Students are also able to conduct research projects pertaining to sustainability and pollution prevention.

Allison Butler, co-principal investigator on grants two and three and a professor in the biological sciences department at UAA, said student efforts have been instrumental in accomplishing goals set under P2. Larry Foster, co-principal investigator on the three most recent grants and a professor of mathematics at UAA, also said students have made important contributions to projects under the grants.

"Without students' energy, we'd be lost," Foster said.

Taylor Fortner, a senior at UAF, conducted a research project under the P2 grant looking at ways automotive businesses in the Fairbanks area dispose of toxic waste. Fortner said he thought his study would prove interesting because companies in rural Alaska have few options for safely disposing of hazardous materials. Fortner visited local businesses with boxes of doughnuts and a stack of surveys, asking for cooperation with his project. After the results have been compiled, the completed study will be sent to state automotive businesses, the Fairbanks mayor's office and the local Department of Environmental Conservation office.

"It was great experience, getting to work in the field," Fortner said. "Getting paid and having my work count for credit was also nice."

Students at UAA have also performed studies under the P2 grants. One intern assessed ways in which the university could reduce energy consumption by campus vending machines. Due to the students' efforts, the new vending machine contract stipulates the installation of Vending Misers, which cut energy use through the use of motion sensors, allowing the machines to operate on a lower level of electricity when a customer is not in front of a machine.

Another important P2-sponsored project is UAA' s collaboration with Green Star, a non-profit agency, to provide assistance to small businesses in Anchorage. Green Star employees provide site assessments of local businesses on a voluntary basis, after which a report is compiled evaluating the waste-disposal practices and general efficiency of the business. Sean Skaling, executive director of Green Star, said the P2 grants have assisted the organization in performing business-site assessments. As one example, Skaling said that through Green Star's recommendations for waste disposal and recycling changes, Providence Alaska Medical Center was able to revise their practices and save more than $50,000 annually.

"Many businesses don't have the staff or other resources to investigate all of the ways they could or would or should prevent pollution," Skaling said. "That's what we're here for."

Other projects under the P2 grant include the creation of a sustainability resource room on the second floor of the Consortium Library, which contains books and other research materials on sustainability for public use.

The P2 grants have also improved UAA' s ability to host conferences by various environmental organizations, including the U.S. Green Building Council and Bioneers of Alaska, which have a three-day conference at UAA in October. In May of this year, UAA hosted a National Pollution Prevention Roundtable council meeting. According to the NPPR website, it is the largest membership organization in the United States dedicated to pollution prevention.

Larry Foster said UAA will take advantage of opportunities to apply for EPA grants in the future.

"We will continue to apply for these grants because they are so integral to UAA' s mission, they are beneficial for the university and the state," Foster said.

Renee Carter-Chapman, vice chancellor for community partnerships, said the benefits of the P2 grants to students are immense.

"I think it's good for students because it's active, engaged learning," Carter-Chapman said. "It's a way for students to apply what they're learning in the classroom."

The strength of community partnerships is integral in applying the grants, Carter-Chapman said.

Foster said the university will continue to form alliances with other organizations to move the sustainability mission forward.

"Sustainability is not just something that affects UAA; sustainability affects the entire state," Foster said. "We are trying to spread the message of sustainability off our campus."

Students interested in becoming an intern or doing other work under the P2 grants can contact Allison Butler at 786-4793 or Larry Foster at 786-4868.

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