An ENG 177 student created a visual representation of the amount of landfill waste produced on campus using the Main Quad. The student posted this project on reddit.com (link is attached). 

https://www.reddit.com/r/UIUC/comments/r9uza9/campus_waste/

USGBC offers information on LEED Certification Fees. This includes information on the initial flat registration fee, rates for certification fees, member discounts, policies, and more.

Visit the USGBC website to read more about LEED Certification Fees.

This Live Panel Discussion will assemble five industry leaders to answer questions about allowable leakage rates (ALRs) for different types of containment facilities.  In particular, the maximum ALR of a liquid impoundment or landfill is usually a common but difficult question to answer. (1.5 PDH)

This event will be held on December 7th, 2021 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM as a virtual experience. Visit the GoToWebinar page for this event to register!

iSEE is offering seed funding to help faculty & instructors incorporate sustainability into the classroom in 2022-23. Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellows can get $1,000 to integrate sustainability into an existing course or $2,000 to develop a new course, as well as resource support. 100- and 200-level courses encouraged.

Application deadline Jan. 31, 2022.

In the middle of 2021, there was a discussion about adding a sensor station at the far south of South Farms to track the water quality in the Embarras. 

The original scope included installing the sensor during the Fall 2021 semester as a part of Arthur Schmidt's Field Class. However, obstacles, such as purchasing additional materials and the change in weather, have shifted this timeline. 

As of Mid-November, Arthur Schmidt and his colleague, Jacob, are teaching a new sensors class in the Spring 2022 semester. The new timeline hopes to get the installation included in the Sensors Class curriculum, with installation occurring in the early half of 2022.

Please see attached the presentation for the CTAC meeting in Fall 2021. This meeting was held on December 3, 2021. Here is the link to see the recording of this meeting: https://uofi.box.com/s/ezoxpyo8xp2bysocygvj4hnh7cnm9xi3

Becky Chambers Hennessy, writer of R&D World magazine, wrote a Q&A style piece on UIUC's "Winning Streak Award" for the International Freezer Challenge. The piece contains answers from Deborah S. Katz-Downie, Martin Gruebele, and Paul Foote. The piece can be found here.

From: Ricci, Marcus <mericci@urbanaillinois.us>
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2021 1:32 PM
To: icap-resilience at lists.illinois.edu
Subject: RE: [icap-resilience] Revolving Loan Fund example for evaluation

*** Email From An External Source ***

Today’s Lunchtime Stroll Through the Internet: “Local Carbon Offset Programs.”

I hit on “The Offset Project” which started off in 2010 as a not-for-profit program in Monterey Bay, to fund sustainability programs that reduce carbon emissions: https://theoffsetproject.org/programs-and-services/local-offset-projects/top-local-offset-projects/.

They eventually morphed into a for-profit group that helps/services others to do the same: http://www.bluestrikeenvironmental.com/. One of their clients was UC Santa Cruz and the City of Watsonville, the latter of which instituted a Carbon Fund Ordinance which “establishes a Carbon Fee to be charged to all development projects except single family residential alterations, temporary buildings, and/or building area that is not used as conditioned space. The goal of the Carbon Fund Ordinance is to encourage the implementation of renewable energy in development projects. The money collected from the Carbon Fund Fee are placed in a separate account to be used for citywide greenhouse gas reduction projects.” https://www.cityofwatsonville.org/1765/Carbon-Fund-Ordinance

So, if we (someone) wanted to pick their brains (for free) Kristin from Blue Strike Environmental would be willing to chat with us, and provide the Power Point presentations they used at City of Watsonville.

The UC Santa Cruz Carbon Fund sounds similar to UIUC’s sustainability funds, so it could be used, in general, to pay for offsetting carbon: https://sustainability.ucsc.edu/engage/funding/carbon-fund/about/index.html.

By the way, I *really* dislike the use of the word “offset.” I feel that an offset is when you are paying for emitting something, when what we are trying to do (I think?) is actually *reduce* carbon emissions.

                Merriam-Webster: : to cancel or reduce the effect of (something) : to create an equal balance between two things

Are we trying to reduce the emissions themselves? Or allowing all of the emissions and just fixing their effects?

Be safe, stay healthy,

Marcus

Marcus Ricci, AICP
Planner II

Community Services Department | City of Urbana
400 S Vine St | Urbana, Illinois 61801
217.328.8283

Scott Tess shared these resources for local projects: 

https://www.green-e.org/certified-resources/carbon-offsets

https://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/voluntary-offset-program/