Clean Coal Energy
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WE’RE THERE WHEN YOU CAN’T BE TheTHURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 9,Baylor 2010 Lariatwww.baylorlariat.com Vol. 111 No. 7 DASH: Getting downtown has never been easier By TJ Jones campus to downtown Waco, including ac- Reporter cess to the new Baylor School of Social Work and the Heritage Quarters apartment com- The Downtown Area Shuttle allows rid- plex. ers to get around town, avoid traffic and stay The Wells Fargo Tower stop on the route green. allows Baylor students and faculty to get The DASH has increased its ridership by downtown for class without the hassle of more than 200 percent since April, increas- parking. With the Heritage Quarters stop, ing from an average of 73 passengers a day students can also take the bus to and from to 236 passengers in August, said Matt Pen- their apartments. ney, director of parking and transportation The route also allows riders to travel services for Baylor. downtown for food and entertainment. However, the DASH isn’t just another “If you’re ever wanting to get off campus Baylor shuttle bus. and visit some of the restaurants downtown, HER “[The DASH] is a model for a private- the DASH is great,” said Penney. “It picks up P public partnership,” said Brandon Thomas, right outside of Penland, no cost to ride, and marketing director for Waco Transit System. when you’re done the bus comes around ev- HOTOGRA P AT Baylor and the Waco Transit System have ery 20 minutes, so you can hop on and come I AR partnered, along with other businesses, to back to campus.” L | solve transportation issues not just on cam- AN The DASH also provides a way for stu- M pus but also throughout the Waco area. ELL H SEE page 6 The DASH provides easy access from DASH, ATT M pointed to create a sustainability committee and policy, and bring- ing Zipcar to Baylor was on her Turbine farms in Waco? agenda from the beginning. “We started talking about it three years ago with the sustain- ability committee and also worked The answer is directly with the transportation committee that was established,” Orr said. “There were other companies blowin’ in the wind that were considered, but everyone that uses Zipcar just loves it. It is By Meghan Hendrickson for faculty development and research in just so fun and cool and works re- Staff Writer the mechanical engineering department, ally well.” about his idea for research. Van Treuren Richard Paisner, senior account Wind speeds in Waco are some of the then created an independent study course manager for the university sec- lowest in the state, but that doesn’t keep for Gregg and his classmates to research tor of Zipcar, said the company is Baylor engineering students and their pro- wind energy. fessors from researching whether utilizing “Current technology doesn’t work here wind energy in Central Texas is feasible because we don’t have enough wind in and cost-effective. Waco,” Gregg said. “But hey, can we make from Page 1 Austin graduate student Jason Gregg it work here?” COAL first thought of the idea when he was a ju- The team members recognize that po- nior in the newly formed Energy and So- tential wind energy in Waco is not going logic past that there’s a connection ciety Engaged Learning Group. Gregg was to be as abundant as the power generated between the amount of carbon talking to a classmate about wind power in by wind turbine farms in West Texas, but dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere Waco, specifically focusing on possible ap- they believe that some wind energy is bet- and global earth temperature con- proaches to increase efficiency. ter than none, so long as it is cost-effective. ditions, there is an interest in the “We were interested in finding out how “The more we researched, the more re- terms of the U.S. government and to get wind power to work in an area that search I realized I had to do,” Gregg said. other countries to reduce carbon doesn’t have wind like West Texas does,” This summer Tyler senior Andrew dioxide releases, or find a way to at Gregg said. Hanks was welcomed to the team. He least put them somewhere where The team believes that because Waco’s was in charge of borrowing a wind survey they’re not going directly into the wind speeds are likely some of the lowest tower from West Texas A&M University. atmosphere and therefore increas- in the state, if the team can find a way to The team put the tower up just outside of ing the carbon dioxide levels of the use wind energy in Waco, it opens the door Waco. atmosphere even more,” Driese for plenty of other cities to use wind en- “Jason and I went over to be trained for said. ergy as well. a day about how to put up the tower and “If it’s not economically feasible During the fall semester of his senior to mitigate the amount of carbon year, Gregg approached Dr. Kenneth Van SEE page 6 dioxide released, then, at the very Treuren, professor and associate dean WIND, MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE ipcars hit campus MAKENZIE MASON Z LARIAT PHOTOGRAPHER Take one for a spin By Jade Mardirosian Bringing Zipcar Inc. to campus will is a huge Staff Writer provide members of the Baylor community benefit to with more transportation options. Matt tive. our programs,” Getterman On Tuesday, Baylor unveiled its latest Penney, director of parking and transpor- “Right now it is kind of said. “It is just another avenue that students transportation program: Zipcar. tation services, said Zipcar is a great addi- a pile-up project. We need to see how it can take advantage of that makes our cam- Zipcar Inc. is a membership based car- tion to the university and will be helpful in goes,” Penney said. pus a little greener.” sharing company that offers self-service reducing traffic on campus. “Obviously, if the cars are filled up a Members of the Baylor community also vehicles to rent by the hour or day. It oper- “This is a service that obviously if you lot and people respond well to the cars on backed the program and are excited to see ates in more than 50 cities and 100 college don’t have to bring a car to campus it helps campus, then we would bring more here.” that Zipcar has finally made an appearance campuses throughout North America and to reduce congestion and our carbon foot- The car-sharing program is also an- on campus. the U.K. print,” Penney said. other step in Baylor’s sustainability efforts. Pattie Orr, vice president for informa- The university’s new partnership with “It brings a whole new level of accessi- Smith Getterman, sustainability coordina- tion technology and dean of University Li- the company will offer students, faculty and bility here. If you don’t own a car, or you tor for Baylor, said there must be a shift in braries, was already a Zipcar user from her staff an advantageous and environmentally don’t want to bring a car to school, now you culture and a change in mindset from stu- time spent living and working in Boston. conscious travel alternative. have options.” dents, faculty and staff regarding efforts to After arriving at Baylor, Orr was ap- Baylor joins Rice as the second Texas Baylor will consider adding more cars go green on campus. Zipcar is another way PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAKENZIE MASON school with the Zipcar company on cam- in the future if feedback from users is posi- to ensure that happens. pus. “We supported it, obviously, because it SEE ZIPCAR, page 6 By Sara Tirrito fight to reduce carbon emissions from One project will be conducted by San- mental science at Baylor. Staff writer industrial plants,” U.S. Energy Secretary dia Technologies, LLC in Houston. The “That’s going to benefit all of us. It’s Steven Chu said in a press release. other will be conducted by the Univer- going to allow us to build more power Clean The U.S. Department of Energy an- “These new technologies will not only sity of Texas at Austin. The projects were plants, yet reduce the amount of pollution nounced Tuesday the allocation of $10 help fight climate change, they will create previously funded through the American that’s going to be emitted.” million in funding to expand two Texas jobs now and help position the United Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but each Dr. Steven Driese, professor and chair research projects. States to lead the world in clean coal tech- has now been allocated an additional $5 of the geology department at Baylor, said The projects, in combination with 20 nologies, which will only increase in de- million of Recovery Act funding. the earth’s geologic past indicates that coal others in 14 states, are aimed at further- mand in the years ahead.” “I think the U.S. government, through carbon dioxide emissions need to be con- ing research on containing carbon pro- Both Texas projects involve research- the DOE, is hopeful to find a methodol- trolled. duced by industrial plants and making ing the possibility of injecting carbon into ogy to sequester carbon dioxide and keep “Because we understand from the geo- coal cleaner. underground geologic formations so that it from going to the atmosphere,” said Dr. energy “This is a major step forward in the it can be kept out of the atmosphere. Larry Lehr, senior lecturer of environ- SEE COAL, page 6 Newspaper of the Year | Texas APME TheLariat Best Student Newspaper | Houston Press Club THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 | the Opinion 2 Baylor Lariat www.baylorlariat.com Americans ought to realize need, then help y freshman year of col- scope of inequality in America; lege I took a class called a Poverty and Human Capability Introduction to the course would show me just how MNew Testament.