Colorado State University Police Department Goes Green with New Electric Personal Vehicles

The Colorado State University Police Department will be patrolling campus with four environmentally friendly T3 electric law enforcement units. The T3’s electric motor has zero gas emissions, which will add a "green" hue to the current police fleet.

With a zero-degree turning radius and a sleek futuristic design, the T3 can easily maneuver tight corners and access areas inaccessible by squad cars. Lighting on the vehicle, including flashing blue and red lights, is energy efficient LED lighting. Two removable, rechargeable power modules and a short, three-hour charging time allow the vehicles to be in virtually continuous use by officers and is expected to cost less than 10 cents a day to operate.

The electric vehicle, with speeds up to 25 miles per hour, allows police to have enhanced mobility, versatility and faster coverage of areas previously covered by foot patrol. In addition, the T3s will allow for better community policing by making officers more approachable to the public than they are in squad cars.

From composting cafeteria waste to buildings that meet the highest standards for environmentally sustainable construction, Colorado State has long been a leader in adopting environmentally friendly approaches to campus operations. The university is also a leader in preparing students to compete as professionals in the surging need for a highly skilled green-collar workforce.

In addition to the use of T3s, additional examples of the university’s commitment to green include collecting and recycling cooking oil from on-campus dining centers to recycle into biodiesel. And more than 95 percent of the university’s grounds are irrigated with raw water from a lake on campus, eliminating the need for chemical treatment and increasing efficiency.

Colorado State researchers are recognized around the world for research in global climate change, clean and alternative energy solutions, natural resources, green construction and more. The university’s unique, enterprise-based approach – Supercluster – moves groundbreaking technologies to the marketplace more rapidly and effectively, cutting through red tape to address the global challenge of sustainability.

Some examples of the university’s leadership include the following.

–     CSU scientists built the world’s first engineered solar heated and cooled building, created the nation’s first emissions control center and now lead the most prominent independent engines research laboratory in North America.

–     The Colorado State Forest Service, part of Colorado State University, has a tree nursery that produces 2 million seedling trees each year, most grown outdoors, and more than 50 species of native and non-native plants, helping to reduce carbon dioxide and increase the supply of renewable forest resources.

–     Envirofit International, a Colorado State University spinoff company, is developing what the New York Times calls "the first market-based model for clean-burning wood stove technology" for application in the developing world.

–     CSU scientists designed the satellite that is monitoring global warming and climate change activity from space.

–     CSU faculty are pioneers in the fields of environmental ethics and policy.

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