Wahoo!

The EPA just announced the winner for its’ P3 (People, Prosperity, and the Planet) competition. Students from across the United States competed for $75,000 in prize money.

Congratulations to the six winners!

Appalachian State University – Closing the Biodiesel Loop: Self Sustaining Community Based Biodiesel Production
Lafayette College – Development of Sustainable Water Systems in Yoro, Honduras
Portland State University Whole systems, Integrated Site design for Education (WISE) Website: An Interactive Website for Educators and Students
Stanford University The Green Dorm: a Sustainable Residence and Living Laboratory for Stanford University
University of Massachusetts – Lowell – Biocatalytic Polymerization of Naturally Occurring Green Tea Flavonoids for Cancer Therapy
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor – Growing Alternative Sustainable Buildings: Bio-composite Products from Natural Fiber, Biodegradable and Recyclable Polymer Materials for Load-bearing Construction Components

These students have all worked incredibly hard to be able to see their project to completion, and I know that the folks at Appalachian State have spent countless hours working on making their biodiesel processor self-sustaining, easily replicable, and functionable. They used solar thermal heating, built a passive solar greenhouse, and make soap out of the waste of the biodiesel process. Congratulations for a hard-earned and well-deserved victory my friends!

About JW Randolph

Raised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.