Coloring MIT Green

Continued from page 3

By Sally Atwood

01/01/2001

Green Initiatives

Along with recycling, the Institute has committed to designing green buildings that reduce energy consumption and green labs that use fewer hazardous chemicals in research. One way to reduce a new building's energy consumption, says John Rivers, senior project manager for MIT sustainable-campus initiatives, is to give it a high-quality "envelope": an exterior that keeps cold winter air and summer heat from seeping in, which results in smaller heating and cooling systems and less energy waste. Another technique is to install a heat recovery system that warms new air as it comes into the building. New buildings are designed with higher ceilings and larger windows that bring in abundant light and allow it to bounce deeper into rooms, reducing the need for electric light. Controls automatically dim and then shut off overhead fixtures as daylight permeates a room.

Energy conservation, however, is going on throughout campus, not just in new buildings. Through a grant from the state, the utilities department installed solar panels on several buildings, to compare mounting methods and study the effect of climate on energy collection. Although the installations are small, they do reduce the amount of power that MIT has to generate or purchase. And seemingly small changes can add up to big savings. About 30 vending machines have been fitted with test sensors that shut down their compressors when their surrounding areas are unoccupied, which reduces energy consumption by as much as 46 percent on each machine.

MIT is also flushing out new ways to save water. The Institute has decreased its water consumption by 70 percent since 1990, largely by using water-conserving toilets, but it's still looking for ways to conserve. Around 2,000 steam traps have been replaced in radiators to reduce wasted steam, and a system for the reuse of storm water is already in place in the Stata Center. A similar system will also be part of the new brain and cognitive science center.

Greening is going on within individual labs as well. The chemistry department, for example, "has a very good hygiene program, but it's focused on protecting yourself and the people next to you on the bench," says Steinfeld. "There's almost no training on the hazard rating of what you use." So Steinfeld is building an expert system that will recommend less toxic chemicals for use in lab experiments within the department, which generates nearly half of the hazardous waste on campus. The online system, designed to be part of the department's purchasing process, identifies a chemical's hazard rating, the regulations and restrictions that govern it, and the disposal method it requires. It then searches for alternative chemicals that are less hazardous but will still do the job effectively.

Along with developing specific compliance and conservation programs, the Institute is looking for ways to connect people on campus who are doing environmental research or are involved in environmental programs. In 2001 the Energy Lab and the Center for Environmental Initiatives merged to create the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. The new lab brings together faculty, students, and staff from 13 departments to explore interdisciplinary research on alternative energy and a host of other environmental issues. For faculty and staff who simply want to meet and talk with like-minded people on campus, the new EnviroForum offers another venue. Forum events consist of short talks on environmental efforts and then plenty of time for people to network and socialize.

Campus environmental initiatives are doing so much these days that it's difficult to keep up with it all, says DiBerardinis. Given that MIT got started later than many schools, there remains much ground to be covered. Still, the Institute's enthusiasm for the job has not gone unnoticed. "We were thrilled that the inspection launched other things beyond compliance," says the EPA's Smith. "Everything has exceeded our expectations." With its broad-based efforts, MIT is well on its way to becoming the model the EPA hoped it would be.