Resilience Team Meeting: April 3, 2020
Associated Project(s):
The minutes of the Resilience Team meeting held on 04/03/2020 is attached.
Attached Files:
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Land and Water SWATeam Meeting Minutes 3/31/2020
Associated Project(s):Meeting minutes from the Land and Water SWATeam meeting on March 31st, 2020. This meeting focused on finalizing a recommendation for a data repository and generating ideas for future recommendations.
Attached Files:Veo March 2020 ridership overview
Associated Project(s):Please see ridership data below:
March:
Total rides: 1034
Total new users: 117
Total bikes out: 100 e bikes
Average rides per day: 43
Total rides to date: 393,521
Total users to date: 20,203
update from Mike Marquissee
Associated Project(s):GRITS is updated as of 6-30-2019 and the fund balance as of 6-30-2019 is $4,131,042.
info about green labs from Paul Foote
Associated Project(s):See this article in Lab Manager, the author works with My Green Labs and lightly covers every aspect of what sustainable labs actions are and how they help.
She also used to work for Thermo Fisher Scientific and was in the team that developed cardboard coolers for shipping supplies instead of Styrofoam.
Making Sustainable Labs a Reality
How to reduce the environmental impact of research
Have a great day!
Compare power consumption for BIF - Week 3
Associated Project(s):Energy consumption at BIF during the week of March 20-March 26 is attached. We are tracking energy usage while most people are off-campus.
Attached Files:Car Culture and Climate Change: A Student Op-Ed
Associated Project(s):
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
Comments about Bike Registration Fee from the students
Associated Project(s):Please see attached.
Attached Files:Bicycle Registration Fee
Associated Project(s):Following the CTAC meeting on March 27, 2020, the Committee approved the proposal of adding a one-time $10 bicycle registration fee per bicycle.
Legal opinion on authority to enter into virtual PPAs
Associated Project(s):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 IllinoisBee Campus USA in F&S quarterly report
Associated Project(s):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.SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER
Associated Project(s):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.Zero Waste Webinar
Associated Project(s):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 9Sustainability course list!
Associated Project(s):
Schedule 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.
Transportation SWATeam Meeting: 30 March 2020
Associated Project(s):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:Archived info - previous background
Associated Project(s):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.
Archived info - previous project description
Associated Project(s):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
Illini Lights Out goes home
Associated Project(s):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
the 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!Zero Waste SWATeam Meeting: 27 March 2020
Associated Project(s):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:Energy SWATeam Meeting: March 27, 2020
Associated Project(s):The Energy SWATeam met on 3/27/2020 for a final discussion on the four recommendation they plan to turn in on 4/3/2020. Attached are the meeting minutes.
Attached Files:
