The Energy Team: Renewable is Sustainable

Travelling to Costa Rica this past January was a unique and transforming experience for our class.  Some had signed up because it involved going to Costa Rica and others were using it towards their major, but none of us had a full grasp of what it meant to be sustainable in our everyday lives until this trip.  A common question asked is “What is sustainability?” A common answer usually has something to do with going green, saving power, and something about a ‘carbon footprint’ or ‘greenhouse gasses’.  In Costa Rica, we learned that being sustainable is much more than that, and it is much easier than we think, as long as we put some time into it. 

 

During our visits to various hotels, coffee farms, and other sites, our group focused on learning all about the energy used to power life where we were.  We started off in the HiltonDouble Tree Cariari hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica, where we had our first look into the Costa Rican reality.  One of the first things that our group noticed was the open air that the restaurant had, as the front lobby was always open to the parking lot and there were no walls or doors between the ‘indoor’ areas, such as the dining area, lobby, and lounge, and the ‘outdoor’ area, which consisted of a patio and pool.  This eliminates the need for the hotel to have temperature controls in its public areas as the temperature is simply controlled by the weather outside.  Another thing that we had noticed right away was that our lights didn’t go on by simply turning on the switch.  In order for power to go to the lights, the room key had to be stuck in the slot on top of the light switch so that the hotel wasn’t wasting electricity on lights being on when no one was in the room.  Lastly, we also noticed that none of the rooms had a refrigerator in them, which was common in every hotel.  While it is normal for a hotel in the US to include a mini-fridge, in Costa Rica it is seen as a waste of energy, as it is running all of the time, whether there is someone staying in the room or not and whether that person is using the appliance or not.  Even though some of us viewed this as a slight inconvenience, we quickly forgot about it and a refrigerator wasn’t even on our minds by the end of the trip.

 

Another notable hotel that we stayed in was the Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero, a town that can only be accessed by boat.  This town is interesting, as it is small, there are no automobiles, and it relies on the mainland, about a two hour boat ride, for many resources, such as gasoline, electricity, and waste disposal.  However, they are very efficient in using what they have.  First, there are not many things that

are powered by gasoline.  There are several four-stroke boats that are used for transportation to and from the mainland for hotel guests and employees as well as boats to carry waste from the town and bring other resources to the town.  Tortuguero is very self-sufficient, despite being an island.  The hotel that we stayed at was very open, having no temperature control in any of its buildings, including the bedrooms.  Instead, there were screen windows in the front and back that were could be closed with wooden shutters at night.  In addition, the top of the building, the last foot before the ceiling, was also an open screen, ensuring airflow even if the windows were closed.  The only sort of temperature control available was a small rotating fan on the ceiling to circulate the air.  In addition, the entire town of Tortuguero receives its energy from a power plant on the main land that provides electricity via hydro and geothermal power.  The cool part is that the electricity is transported to Tortuguero using the same kind of electricity wires that we use in the United States to run power from our non-renewable energy plants.

 

The last hotel that we stayed in was La Quinta Sarapiqui, which has a five leave certification, the highest rating of sustainability in Costa Rica given by the CST.  This comes at an expensive cost, but it is all worth it when their environmental impact is considered.  One of the things that this hotel has done is replace every light bulb that they have from the regular, inefficient bulbs, which cost about USD$0.50 per bulb, to low voltage, energy saving, more sustainable bulbs, which cost about USD$10.00 per bulb.  While this is an expensive cost, it is traded with the ability to use less energy and have less of an impact on the environment.  In addition, La Quinta Sarapiqui also has an open-air concept, with a walk-in lobby, pool, dining area, and even outdoor private patios for each room.  One of the things that the owners were very proud of is their new biodigestor, which costs about USD$30,000.  It had taken them a long time to acquire, but they are now able to use this to further their sustainability even more.  They are looking to invest in more sustainable energy in the form of solar panels in the future, but due to the expense they are unable to fund the project for a couple of years.

 

In addition to the hotels, we visited restaurants, coffee farms, and other places to see their sustainability efforts as well.  One of the favorite sites that we visited were the Tabacon Hot Springs, a popular tourist attraction that uses solely geothermic energy from the volcano that is sits on, with the exception of a gas generator to power the buildings in the rare case of a power outage.  Nuestra Tierra, a restaurant that we ate at on our first day, had an interesting energy saving technique; the meals were served on banana leaves instead of plates.  This genius idea not only helped save the company money on plates and dishwashing, but it is very sustainable as well.  Not only are the banana leaves reused as fertilizer when they are done, but they also eliminate washing dishes, not  
only saving water, but also saving electricity that would be used to run the dishwasher.  Finally, we also noticed that many of the coffee farms roasted only a portion of their coffee, as it takes a lot of energy to do so.  However, the coffee that they did roast wasn’t done unsustainably; most farms use the unused shells to help fuel the roasters, as to not use a lot of other resources to roast the beans.  This not only helps preserve energy, but also makes for better tasting coffee.

 

Using what we learned in Costa research, and by doing some outside research, our group has come up with ideas to help Bryant University become more sustainable.  There are some simple suggestions that we have which include turning off all lights, TVs, computers, and other appliances and electronic equipment when they are not in use.  This will greatly reduce the amount of energy the university uses, thereby also saving money on utility expenses.  In addition, if Bryant students switched from using disposable plastic bottles to reusable water bottles, not only will it reduce waste, but the energy that it takes to produce a disposable bottle is 10 times more than the energy it costs to produce a recycled reusable bottle; changing this habit would not only be cheaper but it would also help reduce the footprint, not just from Bryant, but from all over.  Bryant students, faculty, and staff can help by spreading this information, asking their friends to start using reusable bottles, and we will be able to see the production of disposable bottles decrease and save energy.  This is a small change that Bryant can promote into become a large change in the community.  Some other large changes for Bryant can include solar, wind, or another feasible type of renewable energy to power the campus as well as investing in renewable energy for the entire community of Smithfield.

 

We also did some research on Aramark, Bryant’s dining services provider.  While Aramark has many green initiatives, there are ways for the company to become more sustainable on campus.  First, new equipment in Nick’s Place will help reduce the energy used in cooking and preparing food throughout the day.  In addition, we have suggested that Aramark split Salmanson Dining Hall into different lighting zones so that lights can be turned off in sections that are not being used during slow periods, such as long weekends.  Finally, we came up with a big suggestion for Aramark to make a long-term impact on the school; we suggested that Aramark can start the process of putting renewable energy on campus by investing in a solar panel system or other feasible renewable energy source to power the food service areas.  This will really showcase Aramark’s commitment not only to Bryant, but also to being a responsible and sustainable company. 

 

--Energy Team: Daniel DiNicola, Ethan Agnello, Krysia Syska, and Eaindra Aung