Friday, August 16, 2013

Sustainability Social Thursday, August 22, 5 - 7 PM, at the FPG Student Union Art Gallery

Are you Carolina Green? Get involved, find your niche, and help make UNC a more sustainable campus! This is your opportunity to mingle with students and employees from across the University. Learn about Carolina’s many student organizations, departments, academic offerings, and internship opportunities. 

WHO: All new and returning students and employees interested in environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 

WHAT: Representatives from sustainability-related student groups and campus departments will briefly describe their activities and priorities to help you decide where you want to focus your efforts. Sustainable refreshments will be served while you mingle. 

WHEN: 5 – 7 PM on Thursday, August 22, 2013 

WHERE: FPG Student Union Art Gallery (catch the bus

SPONSORS: The UNC Sustainability Office and the Environmental Affairs Committee of Student Government.

You don’t need to wait until the Sustainability Social to be Carolina Green. View the full schedule of Carolina Green events during Week of Welcome.

EcoReps Recruitment Fair Tuesday, August 20, from 4 - 7 PM at Rams Head Plaza

EcoReps are Carolina’s trained peer-to-peer sustainability outreach team. Come learn about campus sustainability initiatives through games and trivia. Be part of a campus-wide student movement to promote environmental quality, economic prosperity, and societal well-being. EcoReps training, scheduled for September 14, counts as a Public Service Scholars Skills Training. Talk with an EcoRep and learn more, Tuesday, August 20, from 4 – 7PM at Rams Head Plaza. Read more »

Sustainability Features Tour Wednesday, August 21, from 4 - 5:30 PM starting at the FedEx Global Education Center on Pittsboro and McCauley

See Carolina’s green roofs, solar panels, and LEED Gold Lab building on a tour narrated by Sustainability Director Cindy Shea. There’s nothing like taking a tour to learn your way around a new city and with 40,000 people on campus, Carolina is a city unto itself. Don’t wait four years to find the coolest places on campus. Meet on the 4th floor of the FedEx Global Education Center at 4 PM Wednesday to get a scoop on some of the most innovative infrastructure and best study and meeting locations on campus.
Moving in? Whether moving to campus for the first time or the last, check out the green dorm room interactive website to learn how to live green on campus. For example, consider renting textbooks or buying used ones- you’ll save trees and money. Also consider repurposing used school supplies or swapping with friends instead of buying them new. And check out the Move-In Guide from the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling to learn how to reduce waste when you arrive.

Learn to Lead Staff Sustainability Efforts

Sustainability is a core value and top-level priority at Carolina. Be the leader in your workplace by learning practical steps to become more economically, environmentally, and socially responsible. “Making the Workplace More Sustainable,” an interactive staff sustainability workshop, will help participants identify, measure, and promote sustainable change opportunities in their areas. Participants will learn about sustainability goals and initiatives at UNC, become “green events” certified, and have time to plan a Workplace Sustainability Assessment in their work unit. Based on participant feedback, training is scheduled for two, four-hour sessions, Tuesday, September 24, and Thursday, September 26, from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, at the Administrative Office Building. Register soon, space is limited. Read more »

Have a Sustainability Idea that Needs Additional Support?

Do you have an idea for a sustainability-related campus initiative, program, or project? Need some help identifying the next steps or overcoming existing barriers? The Sustainability Advisory Committee invites students, faculty, and staff to share innovative ideas that will advance campus sustainability. The Committee will review project proposals and provide direct guidance and feedback to promising, feasible initiatives. Submittals received by September 16 will be considered at the September Committee meeting. Send a short description (no more than 500 words) of the initiative you want to make happen to sustainability@unc.edu. Read more »

It's Easy Being Carolina Green

Start the fall semester with a quick refresher on how you can help Carolina have the greenest year yet. Get an A in Sustainability by: 

1. Recycling aluminum and steel cans, plastic and glass bottles, #2 and #5 plastic tubs, phone books, card stock, junk mail, magazines, newspaper, cereal boxes, frozen food boxes, and softcover books. Carolina separates recycling so bottles, cans, and plastics go in one container, mixed paper in another. Read more »

2. Saving energy. Turn off lights and appliances when leaving the room, close the sash on fume hoods in the lab, and dress appropriately for the season. Set the thermostat to 76 degrees in air-conditioned spaces and 68 degrees in the winter. Read more »

3. Conserving water. Take five minute showers and turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

 4. Getting on board with alternative transportation. Ride a bike, take the bus, walk or carpool. 

5. Reporting energy and water leaks and inefficiencies. Let Energy Management know when you spot a waste by emailing Save-energy@unc.edu.

Carolina Campus Makes Top 50 List of "Most Beautiful Campuses"

UNC Chapel Hill ranked 27th on The Best Colleges list of most beautiful campuses. The list recognizes UNC Chapel Hill’s McCorkle and Polk Place landscaping, along with iconic landmarks, such as the Old Well. Carolina was one of four North Carolina universities to make the Top 50 list. Read more »

Solar Farm Coming to Orange County

A 5-megawatt solar farm, designed and managed by Chapel Hill-based Strata Solar, will be constructed on an unused tract of land in White Cross, NC. With more than 26,000 solar panels, the White Cross farm will be capable of powering up to 750 homes and displacing 4,224 tons of carbon dioxide annually. The solar farm will generate electricity and sell the power output to Duke Energy. Read more »

Triangle Companies Leading the Way to Sustainability

Green business is booming as local companies are increasingly prioritizing energy efficiency in daily operations while providing cleaner, greener goods and services. Clean tech, including renewable energy and transportation technologies, continues to grow even during this prolonged economic downturn. In 2008, Raleigh received a $3.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help fund solar panels, energy-efficient technology, and hybrid vehicle charging stations. Since then, clean tech companies have invested more than $700 billion in capital and created 2,600 new jobs in the Research Triangle region. Read more »

Harvard Hires Sustainable Investment Vice President after Divestment Campaign

Harvard University has hired its first vice president for sustainable investment, Jameela Pedicini, following a student-led campaign to divest the University’s endowment from fossil-fuel companies. Pedicini will be responsible for researching and understanding environmental, social and governance issues at Harvard Management Company, the university’s endowment arm that oversees more than $30 billion of assets. She also will provide staff support to Harvard University’s Corporation Committee on Shared Responsibility. As the investment officer for global governance with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Pedicini advised institutional investors with collective assets of $1.5 trillion. Read more »

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, and people at UNC: 

Even sharks no match for invasive lionfish 
NBC News 
It was once thought that natural predators, such as sharks and groupers, could curb lionfish populations by eating or out-competing them for food. A new study shows that this is not the case. “Lionfish are here to stay and it appears that the only way to control them is by fishing them,” said John Bruno, professor of biology in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and lead investigator of the study. The research has important implications not just for Caribbean reefs, but for the North Carolina coast, where growing numbers of lionfish now threaten local fish populations. First introduced to the Atlantic Ocean by humans, this invasive species has no real predators in the Atlantic. Authorities from Florida to the Bahamas have started organizing fishing derbies as a way to control the lionfish population. Read more »

Hurricane warning system gets boost from UNC-Chapel Hill computer center 
News and Observer (Raleigh, NC) 
Coastal communities will be better informed during hurricane seasons, thanks to a storm-modeling computer program at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Renaissance Computing Institute, known as RENCI, is offering detailed storm-surge data in a format that allows local emergency managers to create their own customized analysis of incoming hurricanes, nor’easters and other weather events, said Brian Blanton, senior scientist and oceanographer at UNC. The Surge Guidance System uses real-time weather conditions, ocean circulation patterns, and wave height to evaluate storm-surge impacts along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. “The typical way you assess storm surge is to look at a big region, but the true nature of the coastline and tidal inlets can have a big impact on how storm surge is going to develop in a specific location,” says Brian Blanton, senior scientist and oceanographer at UNC. Read more »

Worldwide air pollution deaths per year number over 2 million, new study claims 
The Huffington Post 
A new study estimates that 2.1 million deaths each year are linked with fine particulate matter, tiny particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause health problems. Exposure to particle pollution has been linked to early death from heart and lung disease, including lung cancer. "Air pollution is an important problem. It's probably one of the most important environmental risk factors for health," said Jason West, an assistant professor of environmental science at the University of North Carolina and lead study coauthor. The study also found that 470,000 deaths yearly are linked with human sources of ozone, which forms when pollutants from sources such as cars or factories come together and react. Read more »

UNC documentary nominated for Emmy 
The Herald Sun (Durham, NC) 
UNC’s Powering a Nation journalism project, “100 Gallons: How Water Powers Life,” a multimedia documentary about water conservation, has been nominated for an Emmy Award. Available online, the documentary includes videos of everyday experiences with water. “We wanted to create a universal appeal, where you see people of all ages and all backgrounds interacting with water. That was our hook to get people to think about how critical water is to life,” says Josh Davis, the managing editor and video producer on the project, who graduated from UNC in 2012. Read more »

N.C.’s Southern Cricket Frog populations declining 
Phys.org 
Jonathan Micancin, a researcher and visiting lecturer with UNC’s Biology Department, has found that the Southern Cricket Frog has been disappearing from the upper coastal plains of North Carolina. “We don’t know yet why this is happening, but we can expect that it does not bode well for amphibians and other animals that share their habitats, including humans,” Micancin said. Some theories for the decline include development impacts on fragile habitats or the inability to survive drought or winter temperature weather conditions. The decline of the Southern Cricket Frog mirrors a disturbing national trend of amphibians disappearing at alarming rates. Read more »

Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Water Institute – Undergraduate Research Position – NC


Carolina Recycling Association – Executive Director – NC

North Carolina Conservation Network – Toxic Free NC – Executive Director – NC

North Carolina Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina – Deputy Director – NC

TableNC – Part-time IT Consultant – NC

Wake Forest University – Program Director of the Master Arts degree program in Sustainability – NC

City of Charlotte – Storm Water Quality Project Coordinator – NC

University of South Carolina – Office of Sustainability – Student Services Program Coordinator, Req.# 005786 – SC

Virginia Tech University – Campus Energy Manager – VA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water – Climate Read Water Utilities – Postgraduate Internship – Washington DC

Florida State University – Director of Campus Utilities – FL

Oberlin College – Assistant Professor of Environmental Politics and Policy – OH

Yale University – Office of Sustainability – Sustainability Fellow – CT

Tufts University – Global Development and Environment Institute – Senior Researcher – MA

Sustainable Endowments Institute – Research Fellowship – MA

Rochester Institute of Technology – Golisano Institute for Sustainability – Pollution Prevention Institute – Marketing and Communications Program Coordinator – NY

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry – President – NY

University of Louisiana at Lafayette – Director of Sustainability – LA

Portland Community College – Office of Equity and Inclusion – Director – OR

University of Washington Tacoma – Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies – WA

Climate Corps – Bay Area Fellow – CA