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  1. Grind2Energy

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Reduce Foodwaste
    Grind2Energy

    Grind2Energy-horizontal.jpgGrind2Energy: Turning Campus Food Waste into Fuel

    The 49,000 students educated at the University of Illinois can generate a lot of food waste. Most of it winds up in a landfill. But for students with a dining hall plan, food waste is ultimately turned into energy, helping the campus reduce its carbon footprint.

    With the "Grind2Energy" system, food scraps are ground down and ultimately run through an anaerobic digester at the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District, producing methane that is used for fuel to power the plant. The system was installed at Florida Avenue Residence Halls last fall, and others are in the works.

    "Hopefully this small piece will be part of a bigger system down the road," said Thurman Etchison, Assistant Director of Housing Dining Services for Equipment and Facilities.

  2. Earth Week Event: Annual Keeling Lecture by Katharine Hayhoe

    Associated Project(s): 
    Earth Week
    Earth Month

    Join the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and iSEE for the annual Charles David Keeling Lecture. This year we feature noted atmospheric scientist and U of I alumna Katharine Hayhoe discussing “Climate Science in a Fact-Free World.” This "zero carbon" event is vailable on Zoom (Meeting ID: 722 887 599; Password: Keeling).

    April 20, 4–5 PM • Zoom Tony Mancuso • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

    Earth Week Event: Annual Keeling Lecture by Katharine Hayhoe

    https://www.facebook.com/events/216025282792996/ 

     

  6. Tree Campus USA Celebration - Zoom Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education
    Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet) [ARCHIVED]
    Campus Tree Inventory
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature

    Thank you to everyone who joined us live or watches later on the CCNet Facebook page!  We enjoyed a great turnout for the Tree Campus USA Celebration, with about 35 people on the Zoom call and a reach of 365 on Facebook.

    This event included a review of the five years that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been designated as a Tree Campus USA, by Brent Lewis. Senior in Integrative Biology student, Maddie Smith, presented the results of her diversity analysis for the campus' urban forest, and the F&S Tree Surgeons, Dustin Reifsteck and Sky Drewes, answered tree-related questions.  At the end of the hour, community announcements included Arbor Day and Earth Month events coming up.

    Celebrate National Arbor Day next week on April 24, 2020!

    Links from announcements and presentation

    The event concluded with a round of thanks, and several were captured in the chat log.

    12:56:43     From  Eliana Brown : Thank you to the Grounds Dept!
    12:58:28     From  Samantha Fisher : Thank you for this presentation! I really enjoy your monthly presentations.
    13:00:02     From  Stacy Gloss : Thanks CCNET for a great presentation today. Awesome collaborative effort.  Everyone have a great day!
    13:00:33     From  ekamarah : Thank you everyone for these interesting presentations and conversations. Have a great day.
    13:00:37     From  Brent Lewis : Yes, thank you everyone!
    13:00:49     From  Eliana Brown : Thank you, everyone! Great job!
    13:01:08     From  pattsi : Stay well everyone
    13:01:12     From  Marya Ryan : Yes, great presentations! So glad to reconnect with CCNet after a few years away.
    13:01:24     From  Miranda Vieson : Thanks!
    13:01:25     From  Marcus Ricci : It was a great presentation, with all of the different presenters nicely tying in to the theme. The Q&A was cool.
    13:01:26     From  Jenna Kurtzweil : Thanks, everyone!!
    13:01:26     From  Kate Gardiner : Love CCNet, thanks Morgan!

    Attached Files: 

  12. Update on MTD's transition to clean energy vehicles

    Associated Project(s): 
    Support the MTD Bus System

    We currently have 94 hybrids in our fleet of 111 vehicles, which makes us 85% hybrid. However, we have 11 more hybrids being made right now as replacement vehicles that are supposed to start arriving in the next week. At that point, we’ll have 105 hybrids, making up 95% of the fleet. I know that’s starting now and will certainly be done by the end of the year, but I don’t the exact timeline (I would imagine within a few months we’ll have them all, though).

    We did order the two hydrogen buses that will be arriving later this year and then go into service in 2021. We did design that fueling station to be scalable, because we feel really good about this technology and think it holds a lot of promise for us, so if it does work out, the station was designed to be modified and go from accommodating two buses to six or ten or twelve as easily as possible. So, if funding allows, I would be on the look-out for those. - MTD representative to F&S inquiry in April 2020

  13. Green Office Opportunities!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)

    Many university employees want to set an example for students by taking environmental action at work, but they aren’t sure where to start. The Certified Green Office Program is designed to identify simple, inexpensive actions you can take in your workspace.

    In its first four years, more than 50 offices and over 1,000 staff and faculty joined the Certified Green Office Program. In the program’s fifth year, we invite you and your office to make a pledge to reduce your use of resources and improve the overall sustainability of your office’s day-to-day practices.

    Small actions make a big difference when many take those small actions. The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) outlines campus plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and we believe everyone can play a part in achieving that goal through their day-to-day actions. With your help, we can reduce the environmental impact of this campus and strengthen its position as a national leader in sustainability.

    Click here for more information about the Certified Green Office Program.

  15. history note from F&S

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase use of EVs and other Alternative Service Vehicles

    F&S has used both GEM (8?) and e-Ride (2) electric service vehicles as well as 8 other small, gas powered Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs), 2 each from 4 different manufacturers totaling 8 LSVs. I’ve attached an email that has a link to a story posted on Cars.com about our use. While a variety of vehicles were used they were pretty much all gone in 5-8 years for many reasons including capability, reliability, parts supplies, vendors going out of business and personnel concerns. None in service currently.

     

    From July 2008, by Pete Varney:

    The University did in fact purchase 8 vehicles, we are calling them "mini-trucks."  Chery is one of the OEMs.  We purchased two each of Tiger, Mag Intl, Vantage and Cushman (no longer selling in the US).  The desire is to test their effectiveness as a service vehicle on campus.  We have a large fleet of service vehicles (250+) and the majority of them never travel more that a couple of miles each day and never exceed the campus speed limit, 25 mph.

     

    This has been a long and at sometimes, difficult, project to get rolling, but now includes electric vehicles (E-ride) as well.  All part of the University's goal of conserving energy and increasing sustainability.

    https://www.cars.com/articles/chinese-part-of-mini-truck-mania-1420663272884/

     

     

    Attached Files: 

  18. Celebrate Earth Month!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Earth Month

    Untitled-design-2.pngHelp Us Celebrate Earth Month — Wherever You Are!

    It's officially Earth Month, and the countdown is on to Earth Day 2020 on April 22!

    On this 50th Earth Day, the theme nationally is climate action, and we have several virtual events scheduled — both informative and fun!

    On April 20, climate scientist and U of I graduate Katharine Hayhoe will deliver the annual Charles David Keeling Lecture online, via Zoom, "Climate Science in a Fact-Free World." Hayhoe — Director of the Climate Center and Associate in the Public Health Program of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University — writes that the best predictor of whether someone agrees that humans are responsible for climate change isn't their level of education or scientific literacy, but where they fall on the political spectrum. 

    On April 23, we will celebrate the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) with a Facebook Live event. Join us for a livestream discussion as we showcase a draft of iCAP 2020 and the hard work of the many people who contributed their time and effort this past year.

    You can find details below on how to participate in both events.

    And there's more! Starting next week, take our Earth Week Countdown Quiz on Instagram (@sustainillinois). And during Earth Week, chart your sustainable activities by playing Earth Week Blackout BINGO. Stay tuned for details!

  20. Sustainability Webinar: Large Summer Festival Going Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    ISTC Sustainability Seminars
    Achieve Zero Waste

    James Carter - programming & operations manager with Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) - will discuss how they implemented a dramatic waste management transformation, created educational opportunities, and presented community-collaborative art programming. The operational goal? To become a zero waste event with 90% landfill diversion over three years.

    April 9, 12–1 PM Elizabeth Meschewski • Illinois Sustainable Technology Center

    Sustainability Webinar: Large Summer Festival Going Zero Waste

     

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