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Bronx Clean Car Fair Attracts Earth Day Crowd

More than 300 people gathered over the course of a beautiful spring day for the “Bronx Clean Car Fair” held by the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22. An assortment of 20 different “alternative fuel vehicles” was on display, including those powered by CNG (compressed natural gas), electricity (from batteries), and biodiesel, a fuel derived from agricultural products. The display also included an electric motorcycle, a fuel-cell powered go-kart from SUNY Farmingdale, and four “hybrids,” vehicles which run on gasoline but use it more efficiently by generating electricity to power the wheels.

High school students who came to the event were challenged to determine fuel economy and avoided emissions calculations from selected vehicles. Prizes consisting of “Fuel Cell Car and Experiment Kits” were given to schools whose students submitted correct answers to the challenge. Prize winners included Gateway, Christopher Columbus and University Heights High. The prizes and some of the other funds supporting the event were provided by the NOAA-CREST Program at City College (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Remote Sensing Science & Technology). The Center was particularly grateful to NOAA-CREST for its co-sponsorship. Other expressions of gratitude were also offered to Bronx Community College’s Tech Prep Program, Office of College Relations, Office of Events Planning and Department of Physical Plant Services.

Other sponsors and participants in the event included: the New York Power Authority; Bronx Community College; News 12 The Bronx; Vogelbilt Company; TriState Biodiesel; SUNY Farmingdale; Manhattan Beer; New York Transit Authority; NYC Dept. of Sanitation; NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection; NYS Dept. of Transportation; Toyota of North America; Consolidated Edison; NYSERDA; New York City Sierra Club; Bronx Initiative on Energy and the Environment; Global Electric Motors; and the American Lung Association. The Center was especially grateful to all of the parties who brought vehicles to the event for display.

Among the speakers at the noontime assembly were Carin Savage, the College’s Dean of Institutional Development; Dr. Reza Khanbilvardi, NOAA-CREST Director; Dr. Hazem Tawfik of Farmingdale’s Institute for Research and Technology Transfer; the Center’s Director Jim Quigley; and Paul Lipson, Chief of Staff to Congressman Jose Serrano. The message was that alternatives are here, they can reduce pollution while reducing our dependency on oil and strengthening our economy. The Center has been working to connect the development of alternative fuel vehicle technologies with the College’s Automotive Technology Program, the only degree-granting automotive training program in New York City.

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Photovoltaic (sunlight to electricity) Installation Training Adds Ten More Students

A three-day, 21-hour, training workshop on photovoltaic installation sponsored by the Center for Sustainable Energy was held at Bronx Community College April 22, 23 and 24. Jonathan Lane of Quad State Solar <http://www.quad-state-solar.com>, certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners <http://www.nabcep.org/> was the instructor. The workshop was part of a continuing series of solar technology training programs offered by the Center in cooperation with BCC's Office of Continuing and Professional Studies. This most recent offering enrolled ten students whose backgrounds crossed a variety of skilled trades and professional fields. An outline of what was featured in the course can be viewed at:http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/Annoucements/Course_Outline.pdf

In a related matter there is currently under development a project for enabling CUNY to expand its solar training capacity and its potential to gain certification of this. Further announcements will be forthcoming.

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CUNY Designated as Million Solar Roofs Partner

The City University of New York was recently designated by the U.S. Department of Energy as a partner in the DOE’s Million Solar Roofs Program, a federal initiative with a goal of facilitating the installation of solar technologies on a million roofs across the nation by 2010 (see: http://millionsolarroofs.org/about_initiative/). The Center for Sustainable Energy has been designated to coordinate this effort on behalf of CUNY.

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Workshop Introduces 30 NYC School Teachers to Hydrogen Curriculum

Thirty area teachers attended a full-day “Hydrogen Education in Middle School” workshop May 13 at Bronx Community College sponsored by the New York Power Authority, the Long Island Power Authority, and the New York State Energy Research Development Authority. The teachers were all provided with a hydrogen science curriculum and a set of electrolyzer and model fuel cell car kits to take back to their classrooms.

According to BCC Professor and Center Senior Associate Dr. Reid Strieby, “many of the teachers who attended told me it was one of the best workshops they had ever participated in.” Prof. Strieby attributed this to the fact that Todd Rogers, who coordinates the New York State Energy Smart Schools Program and was the leader of the workshop “is a great teacher and presenter, and that the workshop included both a clear and understandable explanation of hydrogen science and technology and a series of hands-on laboratory activities that the teachers really liked.”

Todd Rogers noted that the curriculum development was funded in part by the Dept. of Energy and NYSERDA. “The workshop elicited a lot of enthusiasm,” said Todd. “The teachers were really excited about having this new area to explore with their students.” The workshop was part of the NEED (National Energy Education Development) Program. Please see http://www.need.org/ or contact Todd Rodgers by email at trogers@need.org or by phone at (800) 658-5753.

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Center Launches New Web Feature: Photo Gallery

The Center for Sustainable Energy is pleased to announce its new Photo Gallery page featuring photographs of various activities in which the Center has participated or events the Center has organized. We will regularly add to this page and invite you share any photos that you may have of your participation in Center events.
See: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/photo_gallery.cfm

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Commentary: “Monuments to Unsustainability”

CSE Director Jim Quigley and his son were dazzled by the recent New York City Car Show but wondered how the vast fleets of gas guzzlers represented there would be fueled in an age of declining petroleum reserves and higher prices at the pump. http://www.enn.com/comment.html?id=384

Jim’s commentaries have appeared on ENN (Environmental News Network http://www.enn.com). Also see: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/WhoWeAre.cfm

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Recommended Reading:

According to a report just released by the Sierra Club, "American pickup truck drivers would have saved over $16.6 billion at the gas pump, conserved 9.3 billion gallons of gasoline, and eliminated more than 130 million tons of CO2 pollution last year if U.S. automakers had used existing automotive technology to improve the fuel economy of pickups." The report, Shifting Out Of Reverse: Making Pickup Trucks Go Farther on a Gallon of Gas, is available at: http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/downloads/200505_truckreport.pdf

See additional readings recommended by the Center at: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/News_Publications.cfm

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Kudos:

Recently, the New York City Council passed, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed, a series of local laws that will have a sweeping impact on the City’s vast fleets of motor vehicles. The laws require further use of low sulfur fuel and low emissions technologies on public transit and school buses, sanitation trucks, and the purchase of more hybrid vehicles. See: http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/050509a.asp

Mayor Bloomberg also joined a list of 132 U.S. mayors representing some 29 million Americans in 35 states who endorsed the Kyoto Protocol calling for a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, from the baseline levels of 1990. See: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0514-02.htm

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EVENTS OF INTEREST IN THE AREA:

Wednesday, June 8 & Thursday, June 9, 2005, New York, NY
Conference: GLOBAL WARMING SOLUTIONS 2005 sponsored by Clean Air Cool Planet. http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/conference_GWS05/index.php

Thursday, June 16, 2005, New York, NY
NorthEast Regional Electronics Recycling Conference sponsored by the Environmental Business Association, New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling and the CUNY Grad Center. Email: robyn@eba-nys.org or phone 518.432.6400 x221 http://store.mountainmedia.com/eba-nys/calendar.cfm?do=detail&d=3191&c=4943&p=30604

Thursday, June 16, 2005, Bordentown, NJ
New Jersey Biofuels Workshop sponsored by the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection and the NJ Board of Public Utilities. Email Ellen Bourbon at ellen.bourbon@bpu.state.nj.us or call the NJBPU 609-984-3058. See also: http://ecocomplex.rutgers.edu/news_events.php

Saturday, June 18 to Sunday, June 19, 2005, 10 AM - 8:30 PM, Croton-On-Hudson, NY
Clearwater Festival, “The Great Hudson River Revival” music and environmental summer festival. See: http://www.clearwater.org/festival.html

Thursday, June 23 to Friday, June 24, 2005, 9 AM - 5 PM, Brooklyn, NY
Solar Domestic Hot Water & Space Heating Workshop, New York City College of Technology http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/Annoucements/Solarthermal62205.pdf or call 212-367-9161.

See also the Center’s events listings at: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/events.cfm

Have a related event scheduled that you would like to see publicized in this newsletter or on our website? Send us an email at: mail@csebcc.org

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The Center for Sustainable Energy, established in 2003 at Bronx Community College, City University of New York, was funded with a Congressional appropriation sponsored by Representative Jose E. Serrano, and administered through the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Mission of the Center is to promote a stronger economy and a healthier environment through education, training and community involvement.

Tax deductible contributions to the Center may be sent to the address below. Checks should be made payable to “Bronx Community College Foundation/Center for Sustainable Energy.”

Center for Sustainable Energy
Bronx Community College, CUNY
Hall of Fame Terrace
Bronx, NY10453

Call the Center at: 718-289-5332
Email the Center at: mail@csebcc.org
Visit the Center website at: http://www.csebcc.org

For links to the latest news, check out the Center’s news page at: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/InstitutionalDevelopment/CSE/News_Publications.cfm

West 181st. Street & University Ave., GML-104 Bronx, New York 10453