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  2. IBI considers trailer from Verdebiofuel.com

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)

    The Illinois Biodiesel Initiative is considering a bioreactor in a trailer as a solution to their location quandry.  They are looking into the power connection needs and potential siting locations for a 6x10 or 7x14 foot trailer.  The vendor they have spoken with is Verde Biofuel, and they are looking for the ability to process 100 gallons per day with 240 volt 30 amp service.  If needed, they could build the system to work with 120 volt service, but it is not preferred.

    Facilities staff (Robert Halverson, Morgan Johnston, and Paul Foote) met to discuss the engineering requirements and potential site locations.  Morgan requested additional information from IBI about water supply and waste water needs.

  3. Purchasing met with SPO

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0

    From: Milbrandt, Janet
    Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 1:33 PM
    To: Dempsey, John Garrett
    Cc: Johnston, Morgan B
    Subject: RE: solar farm

    Justin met with Steve Rotello on Friday, 6/30/2013.  We are meeting later today to discuss the results. 

    Janet.

    From: Dempsey, John Garrett
    Sent: Monday, July 01, 2013 1:26 PM
    To: Milbrandt, Janet
    Cc: Johnston, Morgan B
    Subject: solar farm

    Can you provide me with and updated status of this important procurement.

  4. Information about solar films

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Energy on Campus

    F&S Engineers provide input on solar film technology: "We experienced delamination with these in the past; about 25 years ago.  I’d be curious if the adhesives have gotten any better." - John Prince

    "Films have come a long way.  Like John, I have seen several versions of solar films and have not been impressed with their durability.  The newer films and coatings are much better but the effectiveness is still dependent to the quality of installation.  The films may have some applications on campus but must be evaluated in terms of cost.  The solar transmittance is low enough for me to question whether IHPA would have a problem with our historic buildings.  We would also want to avoid a checker board appearance if the product were applied randomly to a building windows.  I don’t want to dismiss the product but it does need more investigation." - Fred Hahn

  6. Campus Bicycle Coordinator Position Formalized

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Bicycle Use

    A new Academic Hourly Position, Campus Bicycle Coordinator, has been created within the Facilities & Services division. Amelia Neptune, formerly a Sustainability Specialist in F&S was appointed to the position for the 2014 Fiscal Year (July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014). The Campus Bicycle Coordinator will report to the Sustainability Coordinator within F&S, under the Engineering & Transportation Services department. The Campus Bicycle Coordinator will be responsible for promoting bicycles and bicycle education, enforcement, encouragement, engineering, and evaluation and planning. 

    Attached Files: 

  7. work order submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    TBH Lighting Project

    Work order # 10214352 was created with funding from AiM account # KR767-018 as follows. "PLEASE PROVIDE DAYLIGHTING AND OCC SENSORS ENGINEERING DESIGN, PER THE DOCUMENTATION FROM TERESA TOUSIGNANT FOR THE PROJECT FUNDED BY THE SSC. CHARGE CFOP: 1-303692-767000-767030-767TBH. TERESA WILL PROVIDE THE DOCUMENTS TO EVA SWEENEY. ROBERT HALVERSON'S GROUP IS WHO THIS NEEDS TO GO TO. *** CONTACT: HALL, GAINES; PHONE: 217-333-3318; EMAIL: GBHALL@ILLINOIS.EDU ***"

  8. earlier information

    Associated Project(s): 
    University of Illinois Foundation Accounts for iCAP

    In FY10 and FY11, Steve Sonka and other representatives of the Office of Sustainability met with UI Foundation representatives to discuss setting up a campus sustainability foundation account.  Through the discussions, it became apparent that it is better to have a specific project identified for a foundation account, rather than an all-encompassing sustainability fund.  One suggested project that could have a UIF fund set up for it was the Campus Bike Plan, when it was completed.

  9. Spring 2012 monthly activity reports

    Associated Project(s): 
    Activities Reports

    These reports reflects the joint efforts of the CSE and F&S in spring 2012, by month.  These reports were created during the design phase of the iCAP Portal and phased out when the portal went online.

    Attached Files: 

  12. University Sustainability Program

    Associated Project(s): 
    Provide incentives for sustainability education

    From: JElderJR@aol.com [mailto:JElderJR@aol.com]
    Sent: Monday, May 06, 2013 9:23 AM
    To: dhales@secondnature.org; mmadia@secondnature.org; tnelson@secondnature.org; anaik@secondnature.org; SUSTAINABILITY@aacc.nche.edu; DGROWE@oaklandcc.edu; keniry@nwf.org; FitzgeraldP@nwf.org; paul.rowland@aashe.org; julie.elzanati@igencc.org; brockadler@gmail.com; David@CEDD.org
    Subject: University Sustainability Program

    Dear colleagues,

    I am writing to ask for your help in reauthorizing the University Sustainability Program (USP) at the Department of Education.  It is part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, which is set to expire this coming August. This is the only federal sustainability education funding program in existence, and it is imperative that we keep it alive. 

    As you know, USP only received partial funding one year, as part of the FY2010 Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education appropriation (generating over $4 million in grants for sustainability projects). This fact makes USP vulnerable to being dropped out of the new reauthorization bill.

    USP's original House sponsor, Representative Earl Blumenauer, has proposed to make a push for funding USP as part of the FY14 federal budget, and has recently sent a "Dear Colleague" letter (attached) to House Members asking them to join him in this request. He would be the first to admit that securing funding for USP in these tough times is a long shot at the moment. But he feels that a push for FY14 funding will at least help to start building momentum for reauthorization now by getting USP back on Congress's radar screen. And while it is also likely that action on the new Higher Ed act will be delayed beyond the August expiration date, hearings on the bill are being held now, and so we need to get our position regarding USP on record in a timely manner.

    Towards that end, I have drafted two letters of support (attached), one for a FY14 appropriation and one for reauthorization, which I hope you'll help circulate to your networks for co-signing by college presidents and national NGOs. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know. I have put a somewhat arbitrary deadline of May 30 for signing on. If you need help drafting a cover note for these letters, I'll be happy to help. We generated over 300 signatories the last time around, and I'm hoping we can do better this time.

    Many of us worked hard to get USP passed five years ago, and a time will come when we have a good shot at getting it more fully funded. So it would be a major setback to have it fail to be included in the new higher education bill, and then have to start all over from scratch in trying to get a new authorization bill passed.

    Thank you as always for your help!

    Best wishes,

    Jim

    James L. Elder, Director
    The Campaign for Environmental Literacy
    14 Jersey Lane
    Manchester, MA 01944
    www.FundEE.org
    www.GreenRibbon.org
    978-526-7768 (office)
    978-609-2892 (cell)

     

    Attached Files: 

  13. Bridge to China Allerton Project Funding Award and Acceptance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Allerton Park, located in Monticello, Ill., was previously the private estate of Robert Henry Allerton. In 1946 Allerton Park was given as a gift to the University of Illinois by Robert Allerton as “an educational and research center, as a forest and wildlife and plant-life reserve, as an example of landscape architecture, and as a public park”. Today, the park is used for various purposes, such as business meetings, hiking, and weddings.

    Allerton Park is 4.7 miles away from downtown Monticello and has three entrances to it. One of these entrances is a North Entrance that leads from Old Timber Road. Allerton Park wishes to construct a pedestrian pathway which runs alongside Old Timber Road, connecting the Visitor Centre of the park to County Farm Road, which is connected to downtown Monticello. However, a quarter mile north from the visitors center the path is obstructed by a creek, which is difficult to cross. Allerton Park needs a solution that would help connect the two ends of this path over the creek. They wish to construct a bike path that would connect all three entrances of the Park and be a form of transportation within the park. Allerton Park wishes to draw visitors towards the park via a safe and sustainable transportation method and to promote a positive relationship between users and the natural environment. Also, this bridge project will assist the student organization, Bridge to China, to build sustainable bridges in future bridge projects in China.

    Attached Files: 

  14. Allerton Park Geothermal_Funding Award and Acceptance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at Allerton Park
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    In 2011, $18,000 was awarded to install a geothermal system at the Evergreen lodge and Retreat Center. The installation, while being the University’s first experience in relying on geothermal systems, resulted in $2,000 of annual savings. An on-site educational display about geothermal energy helps spread public awareness of the project.

    Attached Files: 

  18. Campus Bicycle Shop_Funding Award and Acceptance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Attached Files: 

  19. Glass Filler Retrofit_Funding Award and Acceptance

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water Fountain Retrofit
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    By providing convenient bottle filling stations at water fountains in several heavily-trafficked campus buildings and libraries, the goal of this project was to wean the student body off of plastic water bottle consumption, lower campus waste generation, and encourage students, faculty, staff, and visitors to adopt environmentally-conscious habits. A marketing campaign called “Tap That” was coordinated to publicize the project and educate the campus community about the numerous benefits of reusable water bottles. In total, the project expenses were $15,160.

    Attached Files: 

  20. Don't ditch Diesel Yet

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    When most people think about clean energy, many just think wind and solar. However, the truth is that with the rapid increase in technology and innovation within the last few decades, the possibilities for renewable energy have increased exponentially. Biodiesel, for instance, is one that many people are not familiar with but should be because it is leading the way in clean fuel production. Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel replacement that can be made from a diverse mix of feedstocks including recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats.


    In addition to the club, the team working on this project found that an education component would be very beneficial to spreading their overarching goals of sustainability across the campus. Because of that, they created a class that students from all disciplines can take and piloted it this semester. The objective of the class competent is to educate students on the project and hopefully increase student and campus involvement in sustainability. I had the opportunity to check out the class earlier this week. I got to see the entire progress that the oil goes through first hand, and it was incredible. The SSC plans to follow up again after they are moved into their permanent location so stay tuned for further progress and innovation updates.UIUC is participating in the development and expansion of biodiesel in many ways. On campus, there is a registered student organization dedicated to it called The Illinois Biodiesel Initiative (IBI). Their primary mission is to produce biodiesel and soap from waste vegetable oil (WVO) collected from campus dining halls in an effort to reduce emissions and promote sustainability on campus. The Student Sustainability Committee initially voted to fund the Illinois Biodiesel Initiative during its 2012-13 funding cycle; however, due IBI being forced out of their old site at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, SSC funding was put on hold. While they wait for their permanent site in the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, IBI is currently running scaled-down production in a space in Roger Adams Laboratory.

    In the meantime, aside from the class, there are several other opportunities to get involved with the initiative and in the club. Students can join any of the four subgroups which include production/testing, Soap (production or research), Finance, and Special Projects. They are always looking for new members from all grade levels.

    Attached Files: 

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