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Letter from the Director: The Green Guild Biodiesel Co-op
By: Margaret Morgan-Hubbard, Director
In the local community, a very promising alternative economic development project is currently underway, supported and assisted by the staff of the Engaged University. The Green Guild Biodiesel Coop, initiated and developed by two graduating seniors from the University of Maryland, is a member-based nonprofit social enterprise that will produce and distribute quality biofuel to the Washington, DC metro area. By creating a local source of environmentally sustainable alternative energy, the Coop aims to empower the community, reduce its dependence on foreign oil, mitigate climate change, and strengthen the local economy.
Biodiesel is a fuel derived from vegetable oil and restaurant grease feedstocks that can be used in an unmodified diesel engine, such as a pick-up truck. It has a lower life-cycle carbon footprint than other fuels, lower harmful emissions, and is more lubricating and better for the longevity of the engine.
The Green Guild Biodiesel Coop is the brainchild of Adam Schwartz and Andrea Calderon, two very enterprising undergraduates who have worked with the Engaged University on our biking and gardening projects respectively. Adam is majoring in Environmental Science and Policy while Andrea is majoring in Biological Anthropology.
"The Green Guild is an exciting project because it focuses on empowering the local community to work cooperatively towards self determination and a sustainable future," said Adam. "By breaking from the dominant corporate economy, the community can produce their own energy instead of merely consuming it."
Adam and Andrea are partnering with Dan Goodman, a UMCP Smith Business School Technology Commercialization Fellow, who runs his Mercedes Benz on biodiesel fuel he produces himself. Dan created the Biodiesel University, mobile renewable energy education lab that tours schools, universities, and public events to provide hands-on demonstrations on the topics of renewable energy sources, environmental stewardship, national energy security, and the societal and environmental costs of our national petroleum addiction.
The Biodiesel University is the Smith Business School's Dingman Center's first nonprofit start-up, providing a unique opportunity for students to explore the intersection of entrepreneurship and social good. Biodiesel University is also setting up a network of educational "energy gardens" and aims to educate young people for careers in science and technology to solve the environmental crisis.
The Engaged University is on the initial Board of Directors of the Green Guild Biodiesel Coop. The name Green Guild references a time before the industrial revolution when guilds were managed by master craftspeople and artisans. Guilds were pre-cursors of both modern trade unions and corporations. The students chose the term to evoke a time when an entrepreneur with expertise, ingenuity and a small amount of capital could create a cottage industry capable of competing with and surpassing established enterprises.
The first "Community Interest" meeting of the Green Guild Biodiesel Coop was held at the Center for Educational Partnership on March 12. A second meeting will be held Saturday, April 5 from 3:00-5:00 PM at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue in the Azalea Room.
Membership for the Green Guild Biodiesel Coop costs $250 per year, of which $200 is a tax deductible, non-transferable co-op share and $50 is an annual membership fee.
This is the first of what the Engaged University hopes will be many community-based ventures designed to meet local needs. Future ventures will be based on our signature programs-gardening, biking and art-making-and will involve community youth in every facet of their development. Stay tuned!