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  1. Car Culture and Climate Change: A Student Op-Ed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Driving on Campus

     

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    Student Op-Ed: Car Culture and Climate Change

    In this opinion piece, undergraduate Shelby Job uses the U of I as a case study to examine the impact of efforts to limit automobile use and enourage biking, walking and public transit on America's "car culture" — especially in lower- and middle-class communities. 

    "Although the campus’ lack of accessibility by automobile might feel like a constraint on individual freedom, using infrastructure to encourage active modes of transportation may be the way forward as we search for solutions to the climate crisis," Job writes.

    But higher parking rates and the scarcity of parking overall raise the question of whether manipulating road systems will lead to a car culture that is only accessible to socioeconomic elites, she writes. "If municipalities begin to restrict auto travel by cutting down on the amount of affordable parking, then the face of an area's car culture is likely to change in a way that excludes those of lower socioeconomic standing."

    The op-ed was originally written for a course in iSEE's Certificate in Environmental Writing (CEW

  4. Legal opinion on authority to enter into virtual PPAs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Off-campus Solar Farm 3.0 PPA

    VIRTUAL POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT RULED LEGAL
    F&S and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment hired attorney Paul Durbin to evaluate the legality for the campus to enter into a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) to meet the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) goals for purchasing renewable energy. The analysis concluded that the Board of Trustees has the legal authority to enter into a VPPA, if it is financially reasonable; said agreement would be performed by Prairieland Energy, Inc. (PEI), a subsidiary wholly-owned by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

  5. Bee Campus USA in F&S quarterly report

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    BEE CAMPUS USA
    F&S collaborated with students in the Bee Campus committee to complete the renewal of our Bee Campus USA designation in February; Illinois originally earned recognition in 2018 becoming the first B1G school to do so. This process includes using integrated pest management, installation of native plantings, student living lab projects, and outreach.

  6. SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER
    F&S representatives shared detailed designs for the pollinator supportive landscape buffer along the future Solar Farm 2.0 site to the Village of Savoy. Village leaders were pleased with the design plans and thanked us for being responsive to their neighborly request. When completed, this site will serve as a demonstration for pollinator-friendly solar arrays, following the requirements of the Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act (Illinois Pub. Act 100-1022). Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, and will generate the equivalent electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes.

  7. Zero Waste Webinar

    Associated Project(s): 
    ISTC Sustainability Seminars

    Webinar: Going Zero Waste. 

    Over the past two years the Ann Arbor Summer Festival has taken dramatic steps toward becoming a zero-waste event, focusing on social impact through community arts engagement. In this webinar, you will hear from James Carter, the festival's program and operations manager and co-founder of the Manhattan-based theater company terraNOVA Collective. Sponsored locally by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC, a Division of the Prairie Research Institute).
    Noon-1 p.m. | Thursday, April 9

  8. Sustainability course list!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Inventory Sustainability Courses

     

    Collaboratory-NRES-285.jpgSchedule Time: Our List of Sustainability Courses!

    Our sustainability course lists are live for Summer and Fall 2020, with hundreds of offerings across campus.

    From English to Geology to Horticulture, find a class incorporating sustainability that's right for you!

    iSEE is also accepting applications for its two educational programs: the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Fellows Program campuswide minor; and the undergraduate Certificate in Environmental Writing.

  10. Transportation SWATeam Meeting: 30 March 2020

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Incorporate Sustainability Principles into Campus Master Plan
    Support Zipcar in Champaign-Urbana
    Encourage Telecommuting

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the Transportation SWATeam meeting on 30 March 2020. 

    The Agenda is as follows:

    Recommendations Review

    • (M. Hubbard) Support CMP by increasing pedestrian safety by reevaluating current pedestrian routes and conducting traffic studies.
    • (S. Prasad) Zip-cars continuity: continue to serve at popular locations and set up a system to maintain Zip-car presence (two options are to set up a fund to pay for Zip-car parking spaces or ask Parking not to charge the department). 
    • (J. Cidell) UI Ride Survey
    • (J. Cidell) Teleconferencing assessment
    • (Y. Ouyang) Faculty/Staff Vanpool Survey

    April Agenda

    • iCAP 2020 Transportation Chapter Review
    Attached Files: 

  11. Archived info - previous background

    Associated Project(s): 
    President's Strategic Framework

    IV. Tomorrow's University Today: 4. Become a model of environmental sustainability

    We will incorporate practices that reduce our carbon footprint and  build a System-wide culture of environmental care, supporting the efforts of our universities and campuses to achieve carbon neutrality over the next three to four decades. To do this, our universities and regional campuses will actively seek:

    • Climate neutrality by increasing building energy efficiency, achieving LEED certification for construction and renovations, enhancing the efficiency of campus fleets and shuttle buses, and becoming more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
    • Zero waste by increasing waste diversion rates, reducing bottled water use, and increasing the number of green-certified campus events.
    • Net zero water use by managing and reducing storm water runoff within parking lots and structures and reducing water use through more efficient technology and practices.
    • Campus biodiversity by promoting the use of local produce, increasing tree canopy size and the diversity of plants on campus, and using sustainable landscaping practices.

  12. Archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    President's Strategic Framework

    In 2015-16, University of Illinois President Timothy Killeen led an initiative to develop a System-wide strategic framework to chart the institution's path to the future and build on the U of I's rich legacy of service to students and to the public good. The development process was a team effort involving all of the U of I's stakeholders.

    The resulting strategic framework was approved at the May 19, 2016 meeting of the U of I Board of Trustees. The framework calls for the U of I System to organize its world-class resources around four strategic pillars:

    I. An Institution of and for Our Students

    II. Research and Scholarship with Global Impact

    III. A Healthy Future for Illinois and the Midwest

    IV. Tomorrow's University Today

  13. Illini Lights Out goes home

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out
    Earth Month

    You can start this weekend by participating in two virtual events. On Friday we're debuting "Illini Lights Out Goes Home" to encourage people to shut off their own lights at home to save energy. And we ask you to join the national Earth Hour celebration on Saturday by going dark for one hour from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Learn more about both events below.

     

    In accordance with campus safety guidelines, iSEE had to suspend all in-person events this semester, including the Spring 2020 Illini Lights Out series and activities related to Earth Month in April. A March 26 symposium on polar exploration, print culture and climate change, co-sponsored by iSEE and the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, is among hundreds of campus events also postponed.

    But we are transitioning some of our Earth Month activities to an online format, and in the meantime our calendar has other ways for you to celebrate sustainability from the comforts of home!

    We will keep the Illinois Sustainability Calendar as up-to-date as possible, so please check back regularly there and in our upcoming newsletters for details! In ILO-goes-home.pngthe meantime, we want to extend thanks for your patience during these challenging times. We will continue to promote sustainability and the environment wherever we can!

     

    Check It Out: iSEE Sustainability Events Going Virtual!

  14. Zero Waste SWATeam Meeting: 27 March 2020

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Develop Sustainable Purchasing Policies

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting on 27 March 2020.

    The agenda is as follows:

    March Formal Recommendations

    • America To Go Catering Sustainability Criteria
    • Aluminum Vending Machine Replacement
    • Student Sustainability Ambassadors

    April Agenda

    Recommendations for next round of submissions?

    • Any pertinent topics?
    • Staff/faculty Ethics training update?
    Attached Files: 

  17. FY19 Green Power Partnership renewal submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA Green Power Partner
    Use Clean Power
    Solar Farm 1.0
    BIF Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wassaja Hall Rooftop Solar PVs
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    Apply for Recognition

    F&S completed the renewal of our recognition as a Green Power Partner through the US Environmental Protection Agency. Green Power Partners of our scale now have to use renewable power for seven percent of their annual consumption, an increase from the previous requirement of three percent. Fortunately, the FY19 green power supply for FY19 was 7.28%.  See attached file.

    Overview submitted: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is proud of its sustainability initiatives, as documented in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. The first project was a 32.76 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the Business Instructional Facility in 2009. The 14.7 kW PV array, ground mounted at the Building Research Council, is a research platform for the Information Trust Institute. The most significant on-campus renewable energy generation project to date went into operation in December 2015, with the completion of the 5.87 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm, producing approximately 7,200 MWh/year. In December 2015 another solar array was installed on the new Wassaja Residence Hall roof with a capacity of 33 kW. In September 2016, campus signed a ten-year Wind Power Purchase Agreement for 25 million kWh/year. Most recently, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building had 970 rooftop panels installed. Since production began in April 2019, 11% of all power supplied to the ECE Building has been from the rooftop panels, not including the panels that are used for student-oriented research. The University will soon be home to Solar Farm 2.0, which is projected to produce 20,000 MWh/year, nearly tripling on-site production.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Check out the I-Pollinate citizen science research initiative

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach
    Support Regional Sustainability

    I-Pollinate is a citizen science research initiative, through the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, designed to collect state-wide pollinator data. I-Pollinate enlists citizen scientists to participate in three research projects and collect data on monarch egg and caterpillar abundance, pollinator visitation to ornamental flowers, and state bee demographics. If you are interested in participating and want more information, visit the website site at https://ipollinate.illinois.edu/.

  20. Illini Lights Virtual Event!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    Illini Lights Out Goes Home! 

    Since we can't participate in our usual ILO event by switching off thousands of bulbs to save energy and emissions on campus, we ask that ALL Illinois community members do their part for the Earth by shutting off unused lights and electronics — wherever you are! Commit to participate by clicking the link above.
    5:30-7 p.m. | Friday, March 27

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