University Press Releases
Food for Thought: Sustainability and Innovation in AgricultureTuesday, Feb. 9, 2010SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 9, 2010 —How does one turn used corn cobs, fruit peels and other veggie waste into electricity, steam, hot air or hot water? With a biogas plant – where such organic waste is put in anaerobic conditions in large tanks and inoculated with bacteria to produce a methane-rich biogas. On Thursday, Feb. 11, students and the public are invited to meet Karla Chambers, co-owner and vice president of the first such plant in North America, the 5,000-acre Stahlbush Island Farms ( http://www.stahlbush.com/ ) in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. The site is an environmentally friendly farm and food processor committed to sustainable agriculture. Its plant produces enough electricity to power approximately 1,100 homes -- nearly twice what the farm uses in a year – some of which is sold back to the electrical “grid.” The event will take place at 4 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11th in the Weigand Room of Santa Clara University’s Arts & Sciences Building, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, Calif. 95053. Chambers will discuss sustainability and innovation in agriculture, including why it's important for businesses to focus on sustainability. She will also address how consumers can make informed decisions at the grocery store to positively impact the environment. The event is co-sponsored by three Santa Clara University entities: the Food and Agribusiness Institute of the Leavey School of Business; the Environmental Studies Institute and the Office of Sustainability. RSVP is requested at http://www.scu.edu/events/rsvp.cfm?rsvpid=318. About Santa Clara University MEDIA CONTACT:
Posted by Deborah Lohse
Tags: FAI; sustainability Archives
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