Environmental Sustainability atMilitary Installations –

The Realm of Possibility

Overview

• How we advance• What can change• The realm of possibility

How We Advance

• We dream• We create• We adapt

We Dream

We have had visionaries who see the future,take Jules Verne for example. His 1863 book “The Earth to the Moon”, predicted:• The shape and size of the Apollo command

module• The number of crew (3)• Launch from Florida near KSC• A competition between TX and FL to be the

launch center• Weightlessness in space• Splashdown in the Pacific

We Create

When inspired, we are an industrious species – we create by:

• Inventing new technologies and approaches

• Using models from nature• Refining our own models and

systems

We Adapt

As important, if not more important, is our ability to recognize the benefits of inventions and understand how they will make our life and world better.

What Can Change

• Technologies• Procedures (like purchasing,

contracting, design)• Approaches (like reduction, reuse,

recycling, treatment, and disposal)• Habits (resource use,

transportation patterns, product selection)

The Trick is Knowing

Which environmental impacts is it possible to prevent or decrease cost-effectively?

How to accomplish the end-state?

When is a technology ready?

The Realm of Possibility

• Energy Conservation• Renewable Energy• Water Supply and Use• Stormwater Protection• Transportation• Material Use

The Realm of Possibility –Energy Conservation

What if….we built “green” buildings?

Rocky Mountain Institute Super insulated Solar heated Passively cooled Heat exchangers Daylit Water efficiency Efficient lighting,

equipment PV arraysSavings: 90% electrical 99% space/water

heating 10 month payback Power bill

$5/month Market-average

cost when built in 1984

Grow bananas withno furnace at -40°F

State-of-the-shelfCurrently available technologies can:

• Make old buildings 3X to 4X more efficient • New buildings 10X more efficient

The Power of Conservation

If every person in California would retire one light – there would be no energy crisis in California

Even the most minor changes can result in huge reductions in energy consumption and emission of air pollutants

“Pond Scum may be a synonym for primitive, but the tiny organisms that compose it easily beat the human state of the art to capturing energy from the sun. Some purple bacteria…use (solar) light with almost 95% efficiency – more than four times that of our best man-made solar cells…” USC new release 22 AUG 94

The Realm of Possibility –Renewable Energy

Fort Lewis Buys Green Power

Three percent of the power purchased by Fort Lewis comes from renewable sources like wind…

This unit examined a photovoltaic power station in a field and simulated field environment. The bottom line is this system with some modifications can be used to provide the primary power source for a Battalion sized Airborne Infantry Tactical Operation Center.

From Analysis of Deployable Applications of PV in Theater (ADAPT): Steve Siegel, Dec 00

New Fuels

Scott Air Force Base is scheduled to use bio-based diesel fuel blends in 270 vehicles. Bio-based diesel fuel is:

• Composed of soy and other oils and can be blended with petroleum diesel.

• Reduces carcinogenic releases by 75-90%.

• Requires no vehicle modifications.• Is bio-degradable and sulfur free.

The Realm of Possibility – Water Supply and Use

“Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting for…” Our ancestors understood the importance of water. Maybe, we need to rethink our use of water as well.

Implement Efficient End-use Technologies and Practices

Greywater.com

Wastewater Technology is available to cascade water from

higher to lower quality needs

Seven Principles of Xeriscaping

• Water conserving design • Low water use/drought tolerant

plants • Reduction in turf • Water harvesting techniques • Appropriate irrigation method • Use of mulches • Proper maintenance practices

How would you design a sewage plant if you had to live downwind?

Living Machines™ turn sewage into clean water

and flowers.

Living Machines™ turn sewage into clean water

and flowers.

Dr. John ToddDr. John Todd

Realm of Possibility – Stormwater Protection

What if…we took advantage of natural systems to keep storm water clean?

Maybe we’d have less

Sewer overflows

Polluted runoff

Inconsistent flow

Fishkills

Fort Lewis Reduces Erosion

Hardened river crossings reduce impact on the surface water and stream banks

Village Homes, Davis CaliforniaLeveraging natural storm water

management

Swales, infiltration basins, vegetated filter strips

Savings: $800/lot plus more green space, crop sales, coolth, quality of life, market value.

Porous Paving / Infiltration Islands

Berlin, Leipzig

Ford Dearborne Plant

Is investing an additional $8M in a green roof, porous pavement for parking lot (reduced cost), and a constructed wetland for landscaping.

Savings will include elimination of a $40M stormwater management system and $6M budgeted for landscaping.

• Courtesy of Zürich Sewerage Dept.

• Courtesy of DeKalb County, GA Parks Dept.

Stream Day Lighting

The Realm of Possibility - Transportation

What if…we had less-polluting vehicles?

Hybrid VehiclesGasoline-electric hybrid vehicles get

double the gas mileage and reduce air emissions by 40% - on sale now at dealers in Japan, Europe, and America

Alternative-fueled Vehicles

• Natural gas, propane, electric, hybrid gas-electric

• GSA provides some AFVs• Major automakers predict mass

production of fuel-cell powered cars by 2005

• Fuel cells turn hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and hot water - no harmful emissions and 50% more efficient

than traditional power production

The Hypercar• Concept design put in public domain by

Rocky Mountain Institute in early 90s• 70-80% fuel savings - and reduced air

emissions• Conventional fuel or fuel cells• Major automakers have spent roughly

$5B to develop prototypes• The race is on!

Photo courtesy of The Hypercar Center/Rocky Mountain Institute

Working with the Region

Fort Lewis has joined with its regional partners to work for cleaner air…

The Realm of Possibility –

Material UseWhat if….we used less of the

world’s material resources?

Life Cycle of a Can of Coke

Warning, the following life cycle is disturbing. If you are bothered by senselessly wasteful behavior, you may want to avert your eyes, cover your ears, and think about something else.

Step 6 - metal ingotcured and shipped toGermany to be rolled

Step 7 - ingot is heated to 900F androlled into coil

Step 8 - coil is stored and coldrolled into sheet

Step 9 - sheet metalis shipped to Englandpunched and formedinto cans

Step 10 - can is washed, dried,primed and painted

Step 4 - oxide sits atsmelter site for up to2 months

Step 5 - 2-hour smelting reduces 1/2of oxide into 1/4 tonof metal

Step 1 - bauxite ismined in Australia

Step 2 - bauxite istrucked to plant forchemical processing1 ton ore yields 1/2 of Aluminum Oxide

Step 3 - shipped to Norway forprocessing

Step 11 - can islacquered andcoated inside

Step 12 - cans arepalletized, stored, and shipped

Step 14 - bottler cleans and fills withproduct

Step 15 - cans arepacked in promotional boxespalletized andshipped to retailer

Step 16 - Can is purchased, contentsconsumed within a few minutes and

is thrown away

Product Leasing

• Interface Carpet• Automobiles• Furniture• Red rags• Paper?

Fort Chaffee Building Deconstruction

  

• Partnership between Army and Habitat for Humanity

• Negotiated with Fort Chaffee Local Redevelopment Authority

• Over 600 large buildings (2 story WWII barracks)

• Large amount of salvageable siding, windows, doors

• Over 10 million board feet of old-growth yellow pine

• Value $20-40M

Aggressive Waste Contracts

Rutgers Camden Campus recycles 20+ items through its contracted waste services. Accomplished by:

• Writing gradually more comprehensive contracts

• Obtaining input from service providers

• Off-setting costs (recycling makes a profit!)

Can the Government Push the Development of New

Technology?Obviously yes - we do it all the time in system development:•Global Position Satellite Systems•Fuel cells•Solar and wind technologies•Battery technologies

Harnessing Market Forces

Our success will rest, in part, in our ability to harness the desire of companies to do business with us.

Further, we need to articulate our needs to industry, evaluate what they suggest, and determine when technologies are ready for our use and can be provided in sufficient volume to meet our needs.

What does Sustainability Cost?

The question should be – what does non-sustainability really cost?

How much more advanced could we be if we used improved technologies?

Obligatory Quote

“The face of the Earth is a graveyard – and so it has always been…each living thing restores when it dies that which has been borrowed to give form and substance to its brief day in the sun. What is lent by the Earth has been used by countless generations of plants and animals long dead and will be required by countless future generations in the future…”

Paul B. Sears, naturalist

Obligatory GuiltHow long will humankind’s legacy of

environmental damage or stewardship last…

How long will it take for our planet, our home to heal what we do to it…

How long will we be here to see and enjoy our home…

Leaving with a ChallengeThe time is now to:• Use what we know and take advantage

of innovations• Help the government, the world’s

largest purchaser, drive change• Look for opportunities to encourage new

innovations• Take responsibility for what we do

personally and professionally to make our society sustainable