Carbon Crew

WASILLA — When it comes to promoting a smaller carbon footprint on the earth, a group of Mat-Su College students might as well be called green giants.

Officially known as the Mat-Su Carbon Crew, about a dozen students in the school’s Small Business Management class last spring entered a global competition on green energy projects between college campuses in China, India and the United States. Dubbed “The Great Power Race,” the Carbon Crew ended up winning two prestigious awards.

Out of nearly 1,000 colleges and universities participating in the competition between Sept. 1 and Nov. 12, the Mat-Su Carbon Crew found out Dec. 9 it had placed eighth overall in the world and won the prize for “Most Collaborative Team” by reaching out to other campuses around the planet.

“We dominated this race for a good portion of it and did pretty well against Berkeley and USC-Columbia,” Carbon Crew leader David Johnson said last week. “But we could not be more pleased with getting the prize of Most Collaborative Team. That’s what this is all about — working together to find solutions to global issues.”

The object of the race is to earn the most points by completing campus greening projects, each assigned specific points depending on difficulty.

Designing and putting up posters about how to save water, for example, earned the Carbon Crew five points. Installing bike racks on campus earned 10 points. Serving a “local foods only” meal in the cafeteria snagged the members 25 points.

The crew also has shown a series of films on the destructiveness of coal mining, had students sign green pledges, put up a Facebook site for community outreach and held community clean-up events at various illegal dumpsites around the Valley.

In all, the Mat-Su Carbon Crew has completed 40 projects and is coming up with new ones all the time.

One project Johnson is particularly excited about is the discovery and adoption of a “forgotten arboretum” near Snodgrass Hall on the campus off Trunk Road.

“The trees were planted 24 years ago and there are pine trees from all over the world, some a foot in diameter,” Johnson said. “This is truly a gem in this Valley. It could be a destination for families from all over the country. It could be a magnificent arboretum.”

Johnson said Mat-Su College Director Talis Colberg encouraged the arboretum and has been a big supporter of the Carbon Crew over the last few months.

“David Johnson is an incredibly resourceful and energetic student who knows how to make things happen,” Colberg said. “We are fortunate to benefit from his energy.”

Johnson said he enrolled in Mat-Su College’s small business program because he’d eventually like to start his own green business and work toward bringing 250 green jobs to the Valley — even in the Wishbone Hill area, the site of Usibelli Coal Mine Co.’s next mine.

“I’m trying to explain that there’s a better way to use that property for our future,” Johnson said. “We can create green jobs and better jobs that won’t destroy our community. Once one coal mine goes in, another will go in, and then another and soon it will just be one big coal mine north of Palmer.”

Fellow crewmembers Dylan DeBusk and Cody Hawkins, who formed a green-minded music company called Lyrically Dope Entertainment, loved being involved in the worldwide community clean-up event on Oct. 10 known as “10-10-10” by helping provide music and labor.

DeBusk and Hawkins also liked the idea of supporting local farmers and fighting against proposed coal mines in the Sutton area.

“What’s really beautiful about The Great Power Race is that it is just the beginning for us,” DeBusk said. “Whether it’s cleaning up dump sites or working toward creating green industry jobs, as long as we’re getting people to think about these things more we know we’re having a positive impact.”

For more information on Mat-Su Carbon Crew, contact David Johnson at matsucarboncrew@live.com or find the crew on Facebook. For more information on The Great Power Race, visit greatpowerrace.org.

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.