SUSTAINABILITY

2020
Brewster Academy
By: Kyzer Gardiola, Jerry Zhu, and Domingo DIaz

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Introduction
As we look ahead into the future generations, it worries us. With the growing populations and a declining amount of resources, let alone the amount of toxic waste that we produce, we must act now to ensure that the future generations here at Brewster will be able to enjoy many of the things we learned to enjoy today. We pay the bill at the end of the month but the people that are really going to pay the bill are future students here in Brewster. We have to teach the community that the world is not indestructible. With the rising prices of energy as well as the growing amount of pollution, we must give back to the community and work towards the goal of a sustainable tomorrow. It is the right time to reshape the image of Brewster Academy to become a leader in environmental sustainability. This proposal will go over a detailed seven-year strategic plan that we have developed for Brewster Academy to undertake in order to progress towards a sustainable tomorrow.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

What is GREEN?
In todays world, the term green has been often used since the world began to grow a concern on the environment. Its a concept of improving the human activity to generate a positive impact on our environment and resources. Green is not a label or a certification. Its a state of mind that ensures us that products and actions are sustainably produced by using environmentally and socially conscious means. Green is being able to meet the needs of the present without undermining the needs of future generations. One of our hopes for Brewster is to have to word GREEN part of our daily lives.

Goals of Sustainability 2020

Minimize consumption and waste production o Cut down utility use by 20% Save $60,000 on electric bills Save $4,000 on water/sewage bills

Develop aggressive education and outreach programs to raise environmental awareness and increase personal responsibility for sustainable living among students, faculty, and staff. Provide administrative and financial resources to support sustainability programs.

Build Infrastructures in Brewster that promote sustainability in the future o Geothermal Systems, Solar Panels, Recycling Bins, Biomass heating/power generation

Provide for 50% of our consumption, if not more o o o o Grow own food Produce our own electricity Use filtered rain water Provide for our heating

Pave a path for a sustainable future for Brewster Academy o o Future generations continue to live and act with environmental responsibility Systems continue to grow towards a goal of %100 sustainable

Maintain and enhance operations at Brewster while reducing environmental impact

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Our Current Ecological Footprint

Living in the fast paced life in the Brewster community, many of us are negligent about our ecological footprint. We have grown to enjoy consuming the common commodities of life such as electricity, water, heat, and food, but we constantly fail to conserve. Even though we do not make up a significant part of the worlds population, our actions most certainly have an impact on this planet. After an analysis of our energy consumption, it is obvious that action towards sustainability is imperative.

Brewster Academys population:

450

1,560,000 kWh Electric costs per kWh: 16usd Average electric costs per year: $300,000 usd
Average electric use per year: Average heating use per year: Heating Average

155,000 gallons Oil Cost per gallon: $3.55 usd heating yearly costs: $519,000 usd

4,734,680 gallons Water cost per gallon: 3usd Average water yearly costs: $142,040 usd
Average water use per year:

1120 tons Waste management yearly costs: $84,000 usd Recycling waste cost: $0,00 usd
Average waste consumption:

Green Policies and Strategies

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Green policies and practices set standards and establish guidelines by which all members of the campus community, faculty, staff, and students, should operate. Green policies raise consciousness about energy and resource conservation, help streamline decision-making about purchasing and daily operations, and hopefully influence individual lifestyle choices with the ultimate goal of evolving into a sustainable campus so that we can maintain our beautiful natural environment here at Brewster Academy.

Pt. 1 Challenging the Brewster Culture

A Greener Bobcat
While infrastructure projects, facility renovations, and equipment upgrades are essential in a movement towards sustainability, these things alone are not the only ones we should undertake to reduce our ecological footprint. It is vitally important that everyone on campus becomes actively involved in efforts to reduce the about of consumption and waste that we produce. Getting students, faculty, and staff, individually and collectively, to conserve resources and embrace the goal of a sustainable campus is fundamental to our goal of campus wide environmental sustainability. A greener bobcat must 1. Incorporate the ideology of environmental sustainability into their lifestyle 2. Conserve Energy 3. Become environmentally Aware and Educated 4. Promote an environmentally friendly lifestyle 5. Participate in school wide activities towards sustainability This will not only make an impact on our Brewster campus but also an impact on the future lives of our Brewster students. If they begin living a green life in Brewster, chances are they will also demand the same thing the rest of their lives. A greener bobcat can also stand as a role model for other communities to take charge and change to be more environmentally sustainable.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Adding onto the Brewster Principle

In addition to what is written in the current Brewster principle, we should add items that emphasize the communitys responsibility to sustain their natural. We must add the idea of Environmental Responsibility as part of the Brewster Mission. We want this idea to shape Brewsters vision of the future. We must seek to lead by example to foster morally responsible environmental stewardship through education, conservation, and conscientious policies and procedures. It is necessary for Brewster to push its students and faculty to also think and live green. A possible Environmental Mission for the school to take: Teach and Practice sustainability .

Educate the Brewster Faculty

One of the biggest driving forces needed to accomplish our goal of sustainability for the year 2020 would come from the Brewster Academy Faculty members. They are ones who nurture us with knowledge and the students look up to them as mentors. Much like the movement with the Emotional Literacy Programs, the Brewster Faculty must be taught how to be environmentally literate in order to lead this movement towards sustainability. We must get the teachers excited to do things like recycling and conserving energy.

A Greener Orientation
At the beginning of each year, Brewster holds a day dedicated to orienting the new kids about the new environment that they are in. We could take this as an opportunity for us to stir the new students as well as the student leaders to viewing Brewster as a school that has a sense of environmental responsibility. This is an opportunity for Brewster to stir passion towards conserving energy and sustaining the environment.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Along with the usual fun games that we play during orientation, it wouldnt be hard to have a presentation about Brewsters environmental concerns. We could also do tours that provide an extra emphasis towards our goal of sustainability by 2020. Another idea would be to play a game that teaches kids more about environmental sustainability, or maybe even do a game that teaches kids how to recycle properly. Even by replacing each students non-efficient light bulb that they brought with more efficient ones will get across the idea that Brewster cares about the environment. Its this whole idea of changing the atmosphere early on in the year that would make the big changes in behavior towards environmental sustainability possible.

The Freshman Guinea Pig

The new upcoming freshman classes will spend the longest time in Brewster Academy. It only makes sense to focus our attentions towards them when it comes to making cultural changes. It is the freshman class that stands as the future generations of Brewster Academy. They will be the new faces of Sustainability 2020. We must encourage the freshman class to be the advocates for environmental responsibility. It is up to use to immediately infuse in them the values we need to achieve a sustainable campus. We must set up incentives for them that would motivate them to care about the environment and the community.

The Environmental Club

We must support the environmental club in their attempts to raise environmental awareness. The administration must work with the environmental club to analyze the progress in our environmental missions. Continued coordination and support of the environmental club will speed up the process of a sustainable campus. Along with the environmental club, Brewster Academy could also incorporate an Environmental Studies program into the curriculum, which would spark a greater education towards environmental issues and solutions to them.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Systems that provide incentive

People are driven by incentives. Manipulating human incentive in a proper way is able to immensely improve the efficiency of our campaign. We are going to come up with ideas and install facilities that will remind people of their responsibility and, at the same time, make it fun to conserve energy. 1. Food waste meters Measure the amount of food that every table wastes after every meal Update the numbers on every table daily to show students how much food they waste Give prices to tables that waste the least amount of food

2. Water Meters Should be installed in every dorm Measure the amount of water used everyday and show the numbers on an electronic board Launch a school wide campaign in which dorms compete for the least amount of water usage to earn donuts and food from DD 3. Electricity Meters Same as water meters Measure the amount of electricity used everyday A school wide competition

4. Energy efficient light bulbs Replacing the regular bulbs from new boarding students with energy efficient ones for free Save tons of electricity A movement that will take years to eventually eliminate all the non-energy efficient bulbs from the school 5. Recycling bins There should be recycling bins in every major facility and every team area

Payback
If we ever get to a point where we are able to consume less than 20% of our current energy consumption, we are able to save 312,000 kWh of electricity, 31,000 gallons of heating oil, and 234,195 gallons of water, which is nearly $200,000 usd of savings. This money could be then used for infrastructure improvement that would make our campus more sustainable.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

Pt. 2 Installations of Green Machines

Rebuilding of The Older and Inefficient Buildings
Its obvious that many of the buildings that stand within Brewster Academy are old in age and no longer meet the standards of efficiency needed for a sustainable tomorrow. Luckily, there are new ways and technologies that can be used to make a home nearly 95% efficient with its electric, heating, and water use. Passive Solar Design: A way of designing a home so that its orientation captures the suns heat during the winter times and deflects it at the summer times. If designed properly, it is in tune with the nuances of climate and temperature, resulting with fewer fluctuations in temperature. This would reduce heating costs and incorporate more natural light into homes. Cost: $0 Straw bale structure and insulation: Straw is a renewable resource that could be used to build and insulate homes. It is a dense material that is able to help maintain the indoor temperature constant. Not only is it reliable and renewable, but also cheap in comparison to synthetic foam insulations. Cost: $2,000 for a home Natural Clay Interior Walls: The use of plaster made with ingredients that are less highly processed and less synthetic than conventional wall coverings. Clay and Lime are the typical mixture used. It is non-toxic, low-impact, vapor-permeable, and can be quite beautiful. It also helps insulate the home. Cost: $2000 Rainwater Collecting Systems: NH has an average 40 inches of waterfall each year. By installing a low-cost Rainwater collection system, we are able to help reduce our dependency on the local water distributor and take advantage of this free resource. This also promotes selfsufficiency and helps conserve water. Cost: $900 Centralized Waste Collection Systems: By having our waste sorted out and centralized, we are able to collect waste efficiently so that they can be transported to a biomass waste site rather than ending up to the landfills. Right now, Brewster spends $7,000 usd for waste management. A biomass site asks for a $50 fee for every ton of waste.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020 Cost: $2,300 initially and $500 to transport monthly Return of Investment: 19 months
1

10

A rough estimate of the cost of building a more sustainable dormitory to replace the old buildings to be built by a company called Build It Green NE 2would cost roughly $130,000 usd. This particular number is how much this school could save if it cuts its energy consumption by 20%. Then, by the implementation of these new efficient buildings, we would be able to further reduce our energy consumption, leaving room for more improvements within the Brewster community.

Installation of Geothermal Wells for Heating and Cooling

One of the biggest expenditures for Brewster Academy is our energy consumption for heating. Today, we are using an out of date boiler system that is probably less than 65% efficient. To make things worse, these boilers run on oil, which is a very costly non-renewable resource. One way to save this problem is to install a Geothermal heating and cooling system in the Brewster Community. A Geothermal heating and cooling system uses the renewable heat resource inside the Earth to heat or cool our buildings. These systems have a lower operating cost than conventional heating systems, lower air emissions, and it has higher energy efficiency.

How It Works: Water or a refrigerant moves through a loop of pipes buried within the Earths crust When the weather is cold, the water or refrigerant heats up as it travels through the buried pipes. Once it gets back above the ground, the warmed water or refrigerant transfers heat into the building. The water or refrigerant cools down after the heat is transferred. It is pumped back underground where it heats up once more, starting the process again. This is a very popular alternative to heating and cooling systems to most homes and buildings. Our next-door neighbor, Kingswood Regional High School uses Geothermal-heating systems and has over 300 underground wells, generating enough heat to keep their students warm within their newly expanded buildings. Not only would we be able to reduce our carbon footprint but wed also be able to save money as it has a relatively fast and reasonable return of investment rate.
1

This rough estimate was given by Wheelabrator Concord Inc, a company involved in Biomass Energy

Production - http://www.wheelabratortechnologies.com/
2

A company in New England built by Scott Morgan, a Brewster Academy Alumni -

http://builditgreenne.com/index.html

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

11

Cost Analysis3: 1 Geothermal Well: $8,000 usd Number of Geothermal Wells needed for Brewster Academy: 300 Heat Pump System: $3,000 usd Number of Heat Pumps needed for Brewster: 34 Rough Estimate: $2,500,000 usd Current Heating Costs for Brewster: $519,000 usd Geothermal System average yearly operating costs and maintenance: $60,000 usd Return of Investment: 6 years

Installation of Wind Turbines

If Brewster Academy truly wanted to go above and beyond the road towards sustainability, the installation of a few windmills on our campus could relieve some of our reliance from the energy grid. The electricity that Brewster currently uses comes from non-renewable resources 94% of the time. Wind in NH is often found 27% of the time and is blowing at an average speed of 25.4 miles per hour. Although this may seem like a relatively small number, it is enough for Wind power to be beneficial for Brewster Academy and our environment in the long run. For Brewster Academy, most dorms are used within the nighttime as students settle in and study throughout the night. Simultaneously, the wind picks up at night, which causes the windmill to generate more electricity to power our electric needs. The Aeoronautica Norwin 29-225 turbine can generate up to 550,000 kWh of electricity every year. However, due to limited wind availability in NE, this number drops to 143,000 kWh as its rated wind speed is 34 mi/h and NE on aveage only has 25.4 mi/h winds which only available 27% of the time.

This estimate was given by Yeaton Associates Company- http://www.yeatonassociates.com/

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sustainability 2020

12

Brewsters current electric use is about 1,560,000 kWh yearly, however, if we cut our consumption by 20%, our electric use would only be 1,248,000 kWh yearly. Now, by implementing 4 wind turbines within our campus, each generating an average of 143,000 kWh, we are able to cut our energy reliance on the national grid to 819,000 kWh yearly. Cost Analysis: 225 kW wind turbine: $425,000 incl. installation Number of turbines needed: 4 Total Cost: $1,700,000 usd Brewsters current yearly electric usage: 1,560,000 kWh Yearly Costs: $300,000 usd Remaining electric needs on National Grid after installation of Turbine: 819,000 kWh Speculated Costs: $131,000 usd (60% less) Return of Investment: 10-11 years

A COOL IDEA: With the new momentum going towards the renovations of the Art Departments Rogers Building, we can take this as an opportunity to take a monumental step towards an environmentally responsible campus by designing the Rogers Building to be self-sustaining. This could be the driving factor for the students and the rest of the community to move towards the goal of sustainability. It could represent the new era of Brewster Academy; the one that has a passion to care for the environment to help prolong the existence of this institution.

Student

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 1:56:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

40:6c:8f:4d:66:f7