Students Learn Practical Side of Research at Annual Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair

News from the Keweenaw Peninsula, July 27, 2006
By Julia Kalloz and Ezekiel Fugate

HOUGHTON -- Custer, a small town not much more than a cluster of homes, sits just outside of Stevens Point, Wis. Approximately 2,000 people normally call this expansive meadowland home; but from June 23-25, 2006, nearly 19,000 inquisitive people flocked to a large farm owned and operated by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s (MREA) ReNew the Earth Institute.

The cause for the massive congregation was the MREA’s 18th annual Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair. The Fair offered 160 workshops on renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable living and showcased products and information from over 200 exhibitors.

A welcome addition to this year’s Fair was the Clean Energy Car Show, which
featured workshops and demonstrations on sustainable transportation options.

As students participating in the MTU Research Experience for Undergraduates in Sustainability this summer, we saw the Fair as an opportunity to explore the practical, applied side of our work.* Our research interests and geographic backgrounds are as diverse as the numerous vendors and experts we encountered at the Fair.

Robert Horner of North Carolina State University was impressed by the various businesses and individuals that dedicate their lives to building energy efficient homes.

Nick Ravenna of Gonzaga University echoed this sentiment and admiringly noted all of the companies at the fair dedicated to sustainable building materials. One such group was the Midwest Earth Builders, an innovative construction company that utilizes Compressed Earth Blocks and other green building materials to produce energy efficient buildings. Dan Johnson, the owner and operator, explained how these blocks are hydraulically molded from a wide range of soils, often the soil excavated directly from the construction site. The result is an eco-friendly, load-bearing element that requires essentially no transport.

In conjunction with effective home construction practices, Alan Berger of Penn State was impressed with the many workshop presenters at the fair who went the extra mile and installed solar panels or other sustainable energy technologies on their own property. The presenters boasted that the systems have paid for themselves in only 5-20 years.

“I originally thought that the expense would be a major hang-up to sustainable home technologies," Alan said, "so it was nice to hear that there are different rebates and funding incentives that the federal government and the states provide to help reduce the cost.”

An example is Wisconsin's statewide program entitled Focus on Energy, which provides resources and information on available energy technologies for home and business.**

While construction and home-energy products occupied the majority of the booths, one big, green apparition caught the attention of Julia Kalloz of Villanova University. The “Big Green Bus” is a rolling alternative energy exhibit initiated and maintained by a group of 13 inspired students from Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth students talk to Energy Fair participants about the Big Green Bus that is run on vegetable oil. (Photo © 2006 Julia Kalloz)

Julia said, “I was impressed by the students’ initiative in fitting the bus to run on vegetable oil and their dedication in spreading awareness about alternative energy.”

Michael Saladik, a senior at Dartmouth and a passenger on the bus, said that the group was “saving the world one bus at a time.”

Dartmouth students Vivian Savath and Mike Saladik chat with visitors to their Big Green Bus. (Photo © 2006 Julia Kalloz)

The innovative, yet simple, technologies being promoted and sold at the Fair were intriguing and surprising. Laura Smith of Trinity University was especially drawn to the composting toilets display.

"I have an interest in public toilets and their role in urban infrastructure," Laura explained, "and I had the privilege of meeting a man referred to as the 'Composting Toilet God.' He explained to me how composting toilets work and their potential sanitary benefits in cities vulnerable to natural disasters. It was very interesting to learn how a simple, natural concept could contribute to sustained public health by mitigating the environmental effects of human waste."

However, what was most surprising to Laura was learning the emphasis of composting toilets was less about generating compost and more about saving water, a benefit she hadn't previously considered.

On the more appetizing side of the fair, all of our stomachs were captivated by the cookies and bread that had been baking all day in the Solar Sun Oven, a clever device presented by Paul Munsen. These ovens directly harness the sun's energy and thus avoid the need for any external energy sources. They are now manufactured in 130 countries.

Mr. Munsen has hopes that the solar ovens will eventually be readily accessible in developing countries where charcoal can be expensive and environmentally harmful. In this regard, Solar Sun Ovens could accomplish an attractive goal: contributing to the environmental, social and economic well-being of impoverished people by providing sustainable employment.

Emily Kunen of Brown University mentioned that, above all, the Fair demonstrated that sustainability could be practiced on a day-to-day basis. Emily interviewed members of Sustain Dane, a non-profit organization based in Madison, Wis., "committed to creating a community that deeply enjoys, cares for and is sustained by its unique environment." In addition to their publications, speaker events, workshops and tours, Sustain Dane makes rain barrels and sells them to fund efforts to reduce pollution from runoff.

Ezekiel Fugate of the University of Virginia found the bicycle knowledge of Karl Schwingel to be practical and useful. Schwingel taught a workshop about hauling things on a bicycle, with design ideas ranging from the conversion of a kitty litter bucket into a pannier to the construction of an extendable home-built trailer.

Unfortunately our enlightening experience was cut short due to a large thunderstorm, but the overwhelming breadth of knowledge and sense of enthusiasm left us with one message: sustainability is happening now and we are an integral part of implementing it.

Editor's Notes: Co-author Julia Kalloz of Gettysburg, Pa., who studies political science at Villanova University, also took most of the photos for this article. Co-author Ezekiel Fugate of Gate City, Va., studies math and environmental engineering at the University of Virginia.

* Contributors to the article include the following: Robert Horner of Raleigh, N.C., a student of industrial engineering and science, technology and society at North Carolina State University; Nick Ravenna, from all over, studying civil engineering at Gonzaga University; Laura Smith of Stevens Point, Wis., studying economics and urban studies at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas; Alan Berger of Allentown, Pa., studying engineering science and physics at Penn State University; and Emily Kunen of Portland, Ore., studying environmental engineering and development studies at Brown University.

These students have been spending the summer doing research in sustainability through Michigan Tech University's Sustainable Futures Institute program, Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU).