Day 2 - Systems Thinking and Finger Lakes Fresh Greenhouse

Day 2 was focused on the concept of Systems Thinking in the context of energy, fuel, and product development.  The morning sessions were dedicated to hearing from two Cornell professors.

First we heard from Dr. C. Lindsay Anderson, professor of Biological and Environmental Engineering.  Dr. Anderson spoke on two, superficially unrelated but intricately linked, topics: using technology to go paperless, and using systems analysis to understand the wind industry.

Given that US is going to a one-to-one Mac program with the sophomores in 2012-2013, Dr. Anderson's first topic is of particular interest to me.  Evernote, a integrated note-taking software/app package, can be used to warehouse information gathered from traditional and non-traditional sources.  Input methods include typed text, emails, clippings from the internet, photographs, audio notes, as well as linked documents from other apps (Notability, Dropbox, UPad, Bamboo Paper, etc.).  On the topic of efficiency, we also learned about several other tools that can be used to minimize the need for paper copies of anything.  Namely, we looked at FormulatePro which enables typing, addition of shapes or drawings, onto PDF documents, thus allowing the user to fill out and sign documents electronically.  Nozbe is a unique workflow web site that allows the user to centralize the decision-making and tasks necessary to work through a project.  Lastly, Papers2 is an app that acts like iTunes for scientific articles.

After a short break Dr. Anderson started her second presentation that looked at systems thinking and the wind industry.  It is important to understand that a system is a collection of processes where one big thing is built from several smaller things, all oriented towards the common goal.  The idea of systems thinking is integral when considering an alternative energy system, and in Dr. Anderson's work that energy is wind power.  She introduced us to how subsystems can impact an entire system, and that and ad hoc assemblage of subsystems is doomed to failure, or at the very least a lot of headaches.

Of particular interest to me was her discussion of the Vee Model.  Specifically, the Vee Model describes the deconstruction of a system to its pieces to see if they work individually, and then, simplistically speaking, put those pieces back together to make sure they work as a whole.  This was put into play by considering how the wind industry works.  It isn't enough to simply build a wind turbine and then hope the wind blows.  You need to consider several sub-systems that can't be thought of as being mutually exclusive.

Wind Energy Integration

• Atmospheric considerations: wind speeds, output
• Power Generation: transmission of energy and potential generation
• Socioeconomic considerations: what is the load/demand?
• Market forces: price and rate

Looking at all the sub-systems, it is obvious that there is much more in play here, but ultimately when you consider that wind power is only available when the wind blows, the backbone of a usable wind energy model is the quality of your wind forecasting.  If you can reasonably predict when the wind will blow and how fast the wind will blow you can reliably bid your energy generation at a price that makes sense and avoid penalties for failure to generate what you said you could.  

After lunch, we had the opportunity to visit the Finger Lakes Fresh which is a hydroponic greenhouse that specializes in growing leafy greens in a high density environment year-round in a temperate northern climate.  They are able to produce over 1,200 heads of lettuce daily as part of a 35 day growing cycle from seed to harvest.  

Romaine and Boston lettuce at Finger Lakes Fresh

The greenhouse produces several different types of lettuce including Romaine, Boston, Green and Red Leaf Lettuce, as well as Arugula and Bok Choy.

Young red and green leaf lettuce

The plant manger, Bob, has been at the greenhouse for 12 years and has a background in aquaculture.  Not only did he talk about the logistics and operations of the greenhouse, he also spoke about the labor force that is employed at the greenhouse.  Finger Lakes Fresh is a subsidiary of Challenge Industries which employs developmentally challenged individuals that may not be able to find traditional employment.

Bob describes the operations of Finger Lakes Fresh's greenhouse

 Lastly, we got to see how Finger Lakes Fresh begins it's crop.  The lettuce seeds are planted in a rock foam substrate and allowed to germinate.  As they grow, they are thinned and added to a foam cell and floated at an end of one of the four ponds.  As they continue to grow they are moved down the pond as heads are harvested.  Finally, they are harvested live, and placed in a clamshell, boxed, and shipped to local grocery stores for sale.

Progression from small plant to final harvest size

Seedlings in the rock foam substrate

Day One - Sustainability and Ecovillage, Ithaca

Each day at the BBEP Train-the-Trainer program has a theme.  Programing for the day (lectures, tours, films, etc.) center on the theme.

Today's theme is Sustainability.  We heard from both Dr. Walker and Dr. Volk on the topics of energy development and technology. We also watched a short documentary, "Designing a Great Neighborhood"about the conversion of an old drive-in movie location into a co-housing development centered around sustainability and community.  Lastly we toured Ecovillage, Ithaca and saw the future of sustainable planned communities.

Dr. Walker, a Michigan native and Michigan State graduate, spoke about fitting biofuels into the larger picture and about how to bring all the players (Government, Universities, Industry, and the Consumer) together to work towards a sustainable energy future.  A self-proclaimed "capitalist," Dr. Walker spoke about how "science is not technology," but rather "technology is applied science."  More importantly, he related this idea to the National Bioeconomy Blueprint proposed by President Obama this past April (2012).  It is important to realize here that the ability to spur innovation exists within government, as well as within the educational and private sectors.

Dr. Walker continued his talk by looking specifically at the science and emerging technologies for the extraction of simple sugars from complex cellulosic organisms (grasses, woody fibers, etc.) so that fermentation and thus ethanol could be produced.  He also talked about how an extreme thermophilic bacteria discovered at a thermal vent in Naples, Italy that is potentially capable of converting CO2 to H2 and the potentials for industrial scale hydrogen production as a result.

Lastly, Dr. Walker peeked my interest by brining up the topic of how plant pathogens and parasites could possibly be use in the biofuel industry.  When you consider that these organisms are designed to consume and destroy the cellular structure of a plant for it's own use, it becomes obvious how, if they can be discovered, isolated, and grown, they could be of great use to the biofuel industry as it works to refine the process of converting cellulose to glucose for the purposes of fermentation to ethanol.  Specifically, Dr. Walker spoke of Shipworm and a fungus that plagued WWII soldiers by eating uniforms, Tricoderma reesi, as potential cellulosic converters that could propel biofuels forward in the near future.

Later in the morning we heard from Dr. Volk, a professor at SUNY ESF in Syracuse, NY.  Dr. Volk focused his talk on the energy system of the United States and what portion of it is derived from biomass and biofuels.  About ~60% of the oil consumed in the US is imported, and only 8% of the energy consumed in this country could be considered renewable.  The argument here is that there is an awful lot of potential for growth in the the renewable sector, and not all of it, in fact not even the majority of it, needs to be from what we would consider to be conventional sources: PV, Wind, Hydroelectric, etc.  Instead there is a huge potential for biomass as a viable alternative.

Lastly, we watched the film "Designing a Great Neighborhood" and visited the Ecovillage here in Ithaca. The film looks at the inception, design, and implementation of a planned co-housing community in Boulder, CO.  Paramount to the people and the city of Boulder was the creation of a sustainable housing project that would also be economically within reach for homebuyers that are middle-class. After viewing the film, we left Cornell's campus and headed off to the Ecovillage site.   Part commune, part self-segregation by principles, the village is quaint and has the feel of Montessori classroom for people of all ages.  There are community meals offered between two and four times a week. The main thoroughfare of the community is a walking path and all car parking is behind the homes, away from the flow of the community.  Each home has rainwater catchments and they maintain a small pond for both recreation and fire protection via dry hydrants.  The community runs on a model similar to a condominium association and residents own "from the studs in."  An interesting factoid, Liz Walker, co-founder of the community, pays around $300/year in heating and hot water costs.  This is about what my family pays for one winter month of heat only.

Liz Walker touring participants through Ithaca's Ecovillage

Owner managed front yards and the main thoroughfare

SONG neighborhood - Second Development

Rain Catchments on a downspout

Heading to Cornell for Biofuels

My name is Ben Hobbs and I am a high school science teacher at University School, a K-12, boys private school in suburban Cleveland.  This summer I will be spending three weeks at Cornell University training and studying the biofuel and bioproducts industry as part of a group of 11 educators from around the north east.

The program is formally called the Biofuels and Bioproducts Educational Program Certified Master Trainer.  I am planning on blogging throughout the training program and provide insight into the world of biofuels and bioproducts.

I arrived in Ithaca today (6/10/12) and am staying at the beautiful Edgewood House along with my other colleagues.  There are teachers and researchers from such institutions as University of Maryland, Eastern Shores, University of Delaware, SUNY Cortland, and as well as a few graduate students from Cornell University.  There also several teachers who work in various public districts in New York State.

After a brief tour of the campus (which is ridiculously hilly by the way) I am back in my room and resting up for what will surely be a busy first day.

On tomorrow's agenda:

1. A lecture by Dr. Larry Walker, Director, Biofuels Research Laboratory, Cornell University.
2. A lecture by Dr. Timothy Volk Co-Director, SUNY ESF Center for Sustainable and Renewable Energy.
3. A tour of Ecovillage Ithaca by co-founder Liz Walker

I'll keep you posted.