UNC Sustainability Update - Grants for Energy & Climate Research, Bike Discounts, and more!

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:

• May is Bike Month!
  
• Endeavors' Article on NC Climate Change
  
• Get involved with the Community Nutrition Partnership
  
• "Getting Ready for Capital" Workshop with the Center for Sustainable Enterprise
  
• School of Government Publishes Bulletin on Benefits and Costs of Economic Development Projects
  
• Science Documentary TV courses for Fall
  
• Department of the Interior Regional Climate Science Centers
  
• Green Your Campus Contest
  
• 2010 ACEEE Student Scholarship to Learn about Energy Efficiency
  
• And more!

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Institute studies children, poverty
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The FPG Child Development Institute is launching a new initiative to lay the groundwork for the next generation of care and interventions for infants and toddlers living in poverty and their families. The institute, based at UNC, is hosting a series of working meetings this week with national experts in child health and development.
Click here to read more.

Grad students bike to NFTE HQ
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Three graduate students from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC bicycled to the New York City headquarters of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). This nonprofit organization empowers children from low-income communities by building skills and unlocking their entrepreneurial creativity. The students -- Michael Yehle, Kai Zeng and Andrew Fu -- are members of the school's Entrepreneurship Club and the master of business administration Class of 2011.
Click here to 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

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Signs of oil spill pollution might be hiding underwater
The Los Angeles Times
...More than three weeks after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, resulting in a leak spewing 210,000 gallons of crude per day into the gulf, the fouled beaches and dead seabirds that are the hallmarks of catastrophic spills have yet to materialize. ..."This is such sticky oil in its emulsified and dispersed form that there are mechanisms of harm that we don't usually look at," said Charles Peterson, a professor of marine sciences at the University of North Carolina who studied the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill on Alaska's Prince William Sound. The oil might clog the feeding organs of species such as jellyfish, he speculated.
Click here to 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

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Calories, carbon footprint: Do we get too much information about food we order?
The Canadian Press (Wire Service)
Walk into a restaurant these days and you might be able to check the calorie count of your enchilada, the salt content of your fries, the "heart healthy" status of your Asiago peppercorn steak and — in at least one pioneering place — the carbon footprint of your vegetable lasagna. ..."At some point, having too much information might actually hurt, because it may start to confuse," says Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Click here to 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

Pardon our dust!

Aloha, loyal Sustaina-Blog readers!

After months of hard work, the UNC Sustainability Office is preparing to debut a completely new website! Beyond just having a whole new look, the website will feature updated information, new graphics, and enhanced integration of social media sites and interactive features.

In anticipation of these changes, you will notice significant changes to the existing UNC Sustaina-Blog content and appearance. We apologize for this temporary disruption, but hope you will continue to follow our regular blog posts here.

Thank you, in advance, for your patience. Check back to this blog frequently in the coming week and you'll be the first to know when our new website is up and running!

Mahalo,
Brian Cain, C.I.T., C.I.P.
Research & Outreach Manager
UNC Sustainability Office

Seven honored for furthering diversity

Diversity honors have been awarded to seven people and groups at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The 2010 University Diversity Awards recognize significant contributions to the enhancement, support and furthering of diversity on campus and in the community. The Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Student Government sponsor the awards.

Carla White-Harris, director of recruitment and diversity in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, received the faculty award for efforts to champion diversity –
in the pharmacy school and throughout the University. She advises a group of more than 100 students who work to recruit a diverse student body.

Brenda Siler, office administrator for the Equal Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act Office, received the staff award for supporting equal opportunity and diversity at Carolina. She helps monitor the composition of search committees for diversity and advises campus departments about the recruitment or application process.

The Department of Housing and Residential Education in the Division of Student Affairs was recognized for advancing principles of multiculturalism and appreciation of differences among people and cultures. The department’s contributions include diversity training for students and staff and living-learning programs such as Unitas, in which students are assigned roommates of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Awards also went to:

• Rose Brannon, a doctoral student in biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, for work to enhance diversity in the school’s graduate programs and basic science departments as well as the broader University community;
• Matthew Stevens, a junior who has worked extensively with the Interfaith Council, Multicultural Affairs Committee, Connected Learning Program and Muslim Students Association, for challenging students to question stereotypes regarding ethnicity and religion;
• Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, for efforts to recruit students from diverse backgrounds concerning race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, political views, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation.
• Peter Kramer, an alumnus of the School of Social Work and longtime clinical social worker for children and families at a community health clinic in Hillsborough, for his work, both professionally and through volunteering, to bring diverse people together and foster understanding among different populations.

Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs contact: Miki Kersgard

Community invited to claim Tar Heel Treasure at giant yard sale Saturday

You don’t need a pirate ship or a special map to claim the Tar Heel Treasure left behind by departing students, but a big truck might come in handy. Tar Heel Treasure is a giant community yard sale being held from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday (May 15) at the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Now in its second year, Tar Heel Treasure is a campus initiative that has changed UNC’s end-of-year move-out waste practices. Through the program, goods that might otherwise have been discarded when students leave residence halls are collected and offered for sale to the campus and community.

Last spring, more than eight tons of abandoned furniture and almost four tons of discarded shoes and clothing were part of the bounty salvaged after students moved out of residence halls. Among the things to look for at this year’s sale are bedding, clothing, carpets, toys, equipment, computers, printers, fans, fixtures, appliances, electronics, furniture, food and cleaning supplies. Any remaining items will be donated to local charities.

Tar Heel Treasure not only reduces landfill waste and provides access to items at bargain prices, but also raises money for charitable causes. The first Tar Heel Treasure sale, held last spring, raised about $7,000 for the Eve Marie Carson Memorial Junior-Year Merit Scholarship. Proceeds from this year’s sale will benefit Build a Block, the campus partnership with Habitat for Humanity that aims to build 10 homes for UNC and hospital employees in Phoenix Place, an affordable green-certified subdivision under construction in Chapel Hill.

For more information on the event, visit the Tar Heel Treasure website at http://www.tarheeltreasure.unc.edu/.

Tar Heel Treasure contact: Larry Hicks

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Did a single week reverse energy fortunes forever? (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Houston Chronicle (Texas)
The week following April 20 will go down as one of the most pivotal and important weeks in the history of energy in this country. Two defining events, from different parts of the energy world, indicate that we may have reached a sea change in how we get and use energy. First was the tragic explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, with its toll in human life and the continued upward revision of environmental impacts.(Victor Flatt is the Taft Distinguished Professor of Environmental Law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
Click here to read more.

Coal cutoff victory for activists
The Chapel Hill News
A UNC decision to phase out coal use by 2020 is a victory for a group of student activists. For the members of the local chapter of the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign, last week's announcement was the happy ending to several months of news conferences, campus events and badgering of campus officials. At a news conference to discuss the plan, Chancellor Holden Thorp said the students "pushed us to take another look at how we do things."
Click here to read more.

Taking the long view (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
The university took a bold and welcome step last Tuesday, making public its intention to phase out its use of coal within 10 years. Although there are a number of issues to be worked out before that commitment can become reality, the public pledge puts UNC's goal on record and places the university among those at forefront of such efforts in academia.
Click here to read more.

Saving the Earth, or hurting it?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...Geoengineering most often refers to deliberately altering Earth's atmosphere to slow or halt the climate-changing effects of greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide. Most geoengineering schemes actually do little or nothing to reduce these emissions. ...Jose Rial, a geophysicist and climatologist at UNC-Chapel Hill who studies abrupt climate change, said most geoengineering projects "rank from craziness to lunacy." They also detract research dollars and attention from renewable energy technologies with scalable potential - like geothermal, wind, and biomass - and improving efficiencies in buildings and transportation, he said.
Click here to read more.

Vanishing coral reefs hinder biodiversity
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Efforts to protect the Earth's diverse plant and animal populations are failing, as evidenced by disappearing coral reefs and other ecological markers, according to a report in the journal Science. Marine scientist John Bruno, from UNC-Chapel Hill, was among a group of international researchers who contributed to the paper. The report represents the first global assessment of targets made by world leaders through the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity.
Click here to read more.

Women make strides, but diversity goals largely unmet
The Triangle Business Journal
The prolonged economic slump has set back a long-term effort in the Triangle and nationwide to attract and retain more women and minorities into the legal profession. ...“Getting into the profession is easier,” says Paul Meggett, associate general counsel for UNC Health Care and adjunct professor at the UNC School of Law who leads a diversity task force for the North Carolina Bar Association. “Getting positions of leadership is still hard. Our profession still looks like old white males, and to some extent that is hard to crack.”
Click here to 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

UNC Sustainability - Summer Internships, Commute Prizes, Transition Carrboro-Chapel Hill, and more!

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:

• Staying in Chapel Hill This Summer? Apply Now for the Summer Sustainability Outreach Internship!
  
• Help UNC Win the SmartCommute Challenge
  
• Transition Carrboro-Chapel Hill's Big Unleashing
  
• Sustainable Vocations Training Program
  
• UVM's Campus Sustainability Leadership Program
  
• Jobs and Internships
  
• And more!

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

UNC commits to end coal use by 2020
The Carrboro Citizen
Flanked by representatives of the Sierra Club and North Carolina Energy Policy Council chair Tim Toben, Chancellor Holden Thorp announced Tuesday that the university intends to end its use of coal at the Cameron Avenue co-generation plant in 10 years. Starting with tests this spring with wood pellets, the university will gradually shift away from coal, phasing it our entirely by 2020. The plan was put together over the past six months by a university task force comprised of students, faculty, energy-systems managers and Sierra Club representatives.
Click here to read more.

Bingham 'impacts' wetlands, stream
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's Bingham Facility was hit with three notices of violations last month for unauthorized "impacts" to wetlands and a stream at the facility located on Clover Garden Church Road. ...(UNC Associate Vice Chancellor Dwayne) Pinkney said the recent notices stem from management issues at the animal holding facility prior to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp's reorganization in February to establish a clear chain of command, which was thought to be a major source of the facility's problems. "Now what we're seeing is how those issues are going to be resolved," Pinkney said.
Click here to 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

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Scientists say oil spill could make it up Atlantic coast
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Scientists are increasingly worried that spilled oil from the Gulf of Mexico may get sucked into the Gulf Stream and make its way up the Atlantic coast to Virginia and North Carolina, perhaps within two or three weeks. ..."We are concerned, definitely concerned," said Harvey Seim, a marine science professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He and other scientists have been briefing emergency management coordinators along the Atlantic coast for several days.
Click here to read more.

Gulf Stream has swept goo to N.C. coast in the past
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It would take a rare combination of currents, winds and timing to wash leaking oil from the Gulf of Mexico ashore anywhere above South Florida, scientists say. ...The Outer Banks would likely form a protective shield around the rich nursery grounds of North Carolina's Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, said Richard Luettich, director of UNC's Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City. The barrier islands are broken only by narrow inlets. Still, Luettich added, "The thing people don't realize is just how long this oil is going to be around, maybe a year or more. We may be dealing with this next fall, we could be dealing with this next spring."
Click here to 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

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to Stop Burning Coal in 10 Years
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will spend the next decade weaning its cogeneration plant off coal, the university's chancellor, Holden Thorp, said Tuesday morning. He spoke at a campus event attended by Bruce Nilles, head of a Sierra Club campaign that has challenged colleges and universities to abandon coal. Universities "must lead the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy," which in Chapel Hill's case could be a mix of biomass and other fuels, Mr. Thorp said.
Click here to read more.

UNC plans to go coal-free, via 'woody biomass,' by 2020
The Chapel Hill Herald
In a major environmental decision Tuesday, UNC officials announced that the university plans to wean itself off of coal by spring of 2020. The university's goal is to replace coal with a "woody biomass" in the form of "dried wood pellets" and "torrefied wood," a product that is similar to charcoal. ..."Universities must lead the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy," Thorp said, noting that the transition won't be easy. "Today Carolina takes another big step in that direction."
Click here to read more.

UNC to boot Old King Coal (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
In the environmental equivalent of the biblical David v. Goliath showdown, it appears that David won. Again. UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp made, what had to be for many green believers, a stunning announcement on Tuesday that the university was going to take an ecologically ethical lead in ending its use of coal as a fuel source by the year 2020.
Click here to 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

Breaking News: UNC-Chapel Hill to end campus coal use by 2020

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:

• Breaking News: UNC-Chapel Hill to end campus coal use by 2020

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

UNC-Chapel Hill to end campus coal use by May 2020

With the national director of the Sierra Club’s coal campaign on hand to endorse the decision, Chancellor Holden Thorp today (May 4) announced that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will end its use of coal in the next decade.

Watch the announcement

“Universities must lead the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy,” Thorp said. “Today, Carolina takes another big step in that direction.” The chancellor spoke from the green rooftop of the Rams Head Plaza, within sight of the solar panel array on the Morrison Residence Hall roof.

“Carolina is proud to be a national leader in sustainability in American higher education,” Thorp said. “Our systems for energy efficiency, cogeneration of electricity and steam, waste recycling, green building, mass transit and water conservation are models.”

Thorp said he expected Carolina’s decision to help guide other campuses. “We are in an unusual position because our cogeneration plant has a useful life of another 30 to 40 years,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy to make this transition. We have challenges in making sure biomass will work in our existing boilers and challenges on the supply side as well. But we are confident we can achieve our goal in 10 years.”

As a step toward ending coal use, the cogeneration facility will test co-firing coal with biomass in the form of dried wood pellets later this spring and torrefied wood – a product similar to charcoal – this fall or winter. The University plans to replace 20 percent of its coal with biomass no later than 2015, and perhaps by 2012.

The 2020 date for ending coal usage was one of six interim recommendations submitted to Thorp April 29 by the Energy Task Force he appointed in January to study energy issues on campus. The chancellor accepted all of the group’s recommendations:

1. End all use of coal on campus by May 1, 2020;
2. Accelerate conversion from coal to a cleaner fuel or fuel mix;
3. Source biomass, if used, from certified “sustainably managed” forests, as determined by third-party verification;
4. Make best efforts to identify and secure coal that is certified by a third party and sourced from deep mines only;
5. Optimize use of natural gas as supplies and costs warrant; and
6. Undertake periodic reviews of the potential for solar thermal and solar photovoltaic system installations.

“UNC has made a decision today to lead by example,” said Bruce Nilles, who oversees the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “College campuses cannot responsibly teach the science of climate change and sustainability in classrooms powered by coal. Although we’d love to see coal use end today, we applaud UNC for agreeing to a firm deadline.”

Last year, the Sierra Club’s Coal-Free Campus Campaign targeted 60 U.S. campuses that are still burning coal, including UNC and its coal-burning cogeneration facility. The Sierra Club urged these campuses to lead by example, cut their pollution, and end burning coal as soon as possible.

In response, Thorp appointed 10 students, faculty and community members to a task force to make recommendations before year’s end to reduce Carolina’s carbon footprint. One task force member is Molly Diggins, the state director of the Sierra Club. The task force is led by Tim Toben, who is also chair of the N.C. Energy Policy Council.

“Carolina’s cogeneration facility is one of the cleanest-burning, most efficient coal plants in the country and has won national awards for efficiency from the Environmental Protection Agency,” Toben said. “But it still burns coal, and that must end to avoid contributing to the worst effects of global climate change. And unless you set a deadline for ending coal usage, you’re not going to get to it.”

Toben said the University’s coal decision already is generating positive reaction. He has heard from James Hansen, the internationally recognized global climate change expert at the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration, who visited and spoke on campus in February.

Hansen wrote in an e-mail to Toben, “UNC-Chapel Hill is a model for how students and a university can work together with a civil constructive approach to ending our national addiction to coal. It is good to see a university demonstrating the rational approach to problem solving. We need to somehow overcome the uncivil discourse that has infected current politics.”

Stewart Boss, coordinator for the Coal-Free UNC Campaign and co-chair for the UNC chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition, commended Thorp and other UNC administrators for listening to the students’ concerns. “We have been fortunate to work with a university that has been responsive, open-minded and willing to hear our story,” Boss said. “Our universities should be at the forefront of developing clean energy technologies and preparing students to be clean energy leaders. I hope other universities will soon follow UNC’s lead in moving beyond coal.”

The Energy Task Force’s interim recommendations deal with UNC’s energy supply. The group will next turn its attention to improving energy efficiency in buildings, making its final recommendations in September.

Energy Task Force website: http://www.unc.edu/chan/chancellors/thorp_holden/energytaskforce.php
Sustainability website: http://sustainability.unc.edu/

News Services contact: Susan Houston

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Students Pressure University of North Carolina to Abandon Coal
Bloomberg News
Student environmental activists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won a commitment from administrators to stop using coal for campus heat and power within a decade. The university will begin testing alternative fuels such as biomass to help switch away from coal by May 1, 2020, Chancellor Holden Thorp announced today. The campus generator is among the most efficient in the country and could run for an additional 30 years to 40 years, Thorp said.
Click here to read more.

Biodiversity Loss Continues Unabated Despite International Efforts
The Huffington Post
Betting on biodiversity loss is a pretty sure thing. The earth's plant and animal species are disappearing at a sobering rate due to pressures including habitat loss, climate change, pollution and over-harvesting. Despite a few success stories and steps in the right direction, we are falling far short of stemming these losses. (John F. Bruno, marine ecologist; associate professor, UNC Chapel Hill)
Click here to read more.

UNC to phase out coal
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill today announced plans to phase out the use of coal by 2020. As a first step, the university’s cogeneration plant will soon start testing the co-firing of coal with biomass in the form of dried wood pellets. The university hopes to replace 20 percent of its coal with biomass by 2015. “Universities must lead the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy,” said Chancellor Holden Thorp. “Today, Carolina takes another big step in that direction.”
Click here to read more.

Planning for a more urban Raleigh
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Last year, Raleigh adopted a new Comprehensive Plan to guide planning decisions through 2030. This year, the city is in the midst of drafting a new code, known as the Uniform Development Ordinance or UDO. ...Like so many other reasons for the region's success, the answer lies with our human capital. It includes enlightened local developers, intensely engaged neighborhood groups and many talented professionals who came out of N.C. State's Design and Engineering Colleges and UNC-Chapel Hill's Department of City and Regional Planning.
Click here to 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

Morrison Residence Hall to vie in the EPA National Building Competition

Morrison Residence Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was selected for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s first national competition among buildings to save energy and fight climate change.

In the spirit of popular weight-loss competitions, Morrison will compete against 13 other buildings nationwide to “work off the waste” through improvements in energy efficiency with help from the EPA’s Energy Star program. The building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis will be recognized as the winner of the EPA’s National Building Competition in late October.

“We want to make significant and sustainable improvements in how we occupy, maintain and operate Morrison Residence Hall,” said Chris M. Martin Jr., director of UNC Energy Management.

As it turns out, Carolina will be engaging in a backyard battle of sorts with North Carolina State University, whose Tucker Residence Hall is also part of the EPA competition.

Nearly 200 buildings applied to participate in the National Building Competition, which will judge the energy performance of the 14 finalists from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010. The energy use of each building is being monitored with the EPA’s online measurement and tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. Contestants will receive technical assistance from the EPA, as well as energy fitness advice from celebrity trainer Bob Harper. Each building will participate in a mid-point weigh-in and post their results online at the competition Web site. Twitter updates by contestants will also be available at http://twitter.com/EnergyStarBldgs/contestants.

“Buildings of all shapes and sizes are saving money and energy with help from EPA and Energy Star,” said Jean Lupinacci, director of the EPA’s Energy Star Commercial Buildings Program. “We applaud the contestants of EPA’s National Building Competition for taking action to protect the environment and fight climate change.”

According to the EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. On average, 30 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with the EPA’s Energy Star program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.

Morrison Residence Hall, whose renovation was completed in the fall of 2007, uses a centralized chilled water system and a new heating system. Energy-efficient windows were installed and the common areas on every floor are now well lit. Solar thermal panels mounted on the building’s roof create a source of heating and domestic hot water. These panels were partially funded by the $4 per semester Green Energy Campaign fee UNC students imposed on themselves starting in 2004-2005. This fund is managed by the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee, which also provides funding for lighting upgrades, mechanical system upgrades and promotional materials in support of this competition. UNC’s first energy dashboard presents energy use information about Morrison on site.

Morrison is also home to the sustainability-themed housing community on campus. Students living there participate in programs on energy and sustainability.

Photo: http://urxserve.ur.unc.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=8467&site=Luminosity. Caption: UNC greenhouse gas specialist Daniel Arneman with solar panels on Morrison Residence Hall.
National Building Competition Web site: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_building_competition
Energy Star Web site: www.energystar.gov/buildings
UNC Energy Management Web site: www.save-energy.unc.edu
Morrison Residence Hall Web site: http://buildingdashboard.com/clients/unc/morrison/
Media contact: Jessica O’Hara
News Services contact: Susan Houston

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Threats to Wildlife Often Linger Long After Accidents
The Wall Street Journal
Driven deep into Gulf Coast waterways by wind and seasonally high tides, the spreading oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon accident could cause serious ecological and wildlife-health consequences long after signs of surface damage have been erased. ...But the concentrated spillage from the Deepwater Horizon well overwhelms the natural background levels, researchers said, and the oil will be carried into more vulnerable intertidal zones. "The oil will come in on the tide and penetrate as far as the tide penetrates," said marine ecologist Charles Peterson at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703871904575216521020249694.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6

Study on nuke plants, cancer planned
The Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pa.)
Two decades after it last did so, the federal government is taking a new look at whether people who live near nuclear plants have a higher risk of getting cancer. ...Dr. Steven Wing, a University of North Carolina professor of epidemiology, said he and assistants found lung cancer and leukemia rates five to 10 times higher downwind of TMI than upwind. Wing was forbidden by a judge in 1996 from presenting his findings in court on behalf of 2,000 residents who sued TMI owners and others for alleged personal injuries stemming from the accident.
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/252748

UNC students on bike trip to raise awareness
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Three students from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill have embarked on a 700-mile bike trip. Their mission: To bring attention to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit organization that empowers children from low-income communities by building their entrepreneurial skills. The three Kenan-Flagler students, Michael Yehle, Kai Zeng and Andrew Fu, departed from UNC on Friday with a delegation of other bikers who joined them for the first day of their journey.
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/7278356/article-UNC-students-on-bike-trip-to-raise-awareness?instance=homefifthleft

Moving beyond crude oil (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The bad news is that crude oil now costs more than $80 a barrel. The good news is that crude oil now costs more than $80 a barrel. The news is bad in the short term because the price of everything we use will increase. Gas at the pump. Manufactured goods that use oil during manufacturing and shipment to consumers. Even food, which depends heavily on oil for planting, harvesting and transportation. (John J. W. Rogers is retired as the William R. Kenan Jr. professor of geology at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/05/02/461474/moving-beyond-crude-oil.html

-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:

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Threats to Wildlife Often Linger Long After Accidents
The Wall Street Journal
Driven deep into Gulf Coast waterways by wind and seasonally high tides, the spreading oil slick from the Deepwater Horizon accident could cause serious ecological and wildlife-health consequences long after signs of surface damage have been erased. ...But the concentrated spillage from the Deepwater Horizon well overwhelms the natural background levels, researchers said, and the oil will be carried into more vulnerable intertidal zones. "The oil will come in on the tide and penetrate as far as the tide penetrates," said marine ecologist Charles Peterson at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Click here to read more.

Study on nuke plants, cancer planned
The Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pa.)
Two decades after it last did so, the federal government is taking a new look at whether people who live near nuclear plants have a higher risk of getting cancer. ...Dr. Steven Wing, a University of North Carolina professor of epidemiology, said he and assistants found lung cancer and leukemia rates five to 10 times higher downwind of TMI than upwind. Wing was forbidden by a judge in 1996 from presenting his findings in court on behalf of 2,000 residents who sued TMI owners and others for alleged personal injuries stemming from the accident.Click here to read more.

UNC students on bike trip to raise awareness
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Three students from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill have embarked on a 700-mile bike trip. Their mission: To bring attention to the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit organization that empowers children from low-income communities by building their entrepreneurial skills. The three Kenan-Flagler students, Michael Yehle, Kai Zeng and Andrew Fu, departed from UNC on Friday with a delegation of other bikers who joined them for the first day of their journey.
Click here to read more.

Moving beyond crude oil (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The bad news is that crude oil now costs more than $80 a barrel. The good news is that crude oil now costs more than $80 a barrel. The news is bad in the short term because the price of everything we use will increase. Gas at the pump. Manufactured goods that use oil during manufacturing and shipment to consumers. Even food, which depends heavily on oil for planting, harvesting and transportation. (John J. W. Rogers is retired as the William R. Kenan Jr. professor of geology at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Click here to 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

UNC Sustainability - 286 Green Colleges, Capstone Presentations, and more!

Today's UNC Sustainability Update includes the following headlines:

• Sustainability Capstone Presentations
  
• UNC Profiled Among 286 Green Colleges
  
• Extended Disaster Relief's Summer Trip
  
• Community-Campus Partnership Offers Grants
  
• School of Government Bulletin on Financing for Private Energy Efficiency Projects
  
• New Online Materials Exchange for NC
  
• And more!

Click here to read the full UNC Sustainability Update.

Click here to join the UNC Sustainability Listserv.

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Researchers study indoor air pollution
The National (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
If you think you can avoid air pollution by staying indoors, think again. ...“It is an effort to find out what is happening to the population in the last 40 years as urbanisation has increased,” said Dr Karin Yeatts, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr Yeatts is heading a team of 68 researchers who will work in collaboration with the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and the UAE University’s department of community medicine.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091122/NATIONAL/711219876/1010

Town, UNC Seeking Bike Input
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Carolina North will be connected to UNC by a bicycle route, but the school and the town of Chapel Hill are first getting public opinion on where to place that route at an open workshop. Mary Jane Nirdlinger, special projects coordinator for the town of Chapel Hill, says the discussion will focus on an effective and easy location for the route.
http://wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12489

-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/content/category/8/34/103/

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Kresge Foundation $43.7M aids groups helping poor
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
...The National Advising Corps at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill gets $1 million to place college graduates in underserved high schools and community colleges. The foundation has $2.8 billion in assets and made 342 grants totaling $181 million last year.
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/6257801/

Researchers make key step towards turning methane gas into liquid fuel
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Washington have taken an important step in converting methane gas to a liquid, potentially making it more useful as a fuel and as a source for making other chemicals. Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is plentiful and is an attractive fuel and raw material because it is more efficient than oil, produces less pollution and could serve as a practical substitute for petroleum-based fuels until renewable fuels are widely useable and available.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3017/74/

UNC to celebrate Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 27 with food, activities, Segway rides
Prizes, pledges and a people mover promise to make 2009 Campus Sustainability Day on Tuesday (Oct. 27) a waste-free event to remember at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Frank Porter Graham Student Union Plaza includes free refreshments. If it rains, the event will move indoors to the union’s Great Hall.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3028/68/

Universities set goals, take small steps to sustainability
Triangle Business Journal
Going green is not easy, and it will take a long time and a lot of money. But the Triangle’s three research universities now have their goals for doing so. Duke University has committed to being climate neutral by 2024, while the University of North Carolina System has committed for all 17 of its institutions, including UNC in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, to reach that status by 2050.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/10/26/story11.html

UNC To Celebrate Sustainability
WCHL 1360-AM
Next week, the UNC family will celebrate Campus Sustainability Day at the Frank Porter Graham Student Union. Cindy Shea, director of the sustainability office at UNC, says this event will observe why UNC is one of the leaders in waste and energy management.
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12175
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3028/1/

Energy policy changes the temperature at UNC
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
It might be cooler in buildings at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this winter, thanks to an energy-use policy adopted in July. ...Chris Martin, UNC's director of energy management, said the new policy puts everyone on the same page about saving energy. "We wanted a consistent approach across all of campus with an effort to reach out and educate people as to what actions they could take to save energy," Martin said.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+to+celebrate+Sustainability+Day%20&id=4141603-UNC+to+celebrate+Sustainability+Day

UNC to celebrate Sustainability Day
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Prizes, pledges and a people mover promise to make 2009 Campus Sustainability Day on Tuesday a waste-free event to remember at UNC. The celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Frank Porter Graham Student Union Plaza includes free refreshments. If it rains, the event will move indoors to the union’s Great Hall.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+to+celebrate+Sustainability+Day%20&id=4141603-UNC+to+celebrate+Sustainability+Day
UNC Release:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/53130.html

IFC may delay new shelter
The Chapel Hill News
Inter-Faith Council director Chris Moran said the agency may delay its development permit application amid neighbors' opposition to a new men's homeless shelter on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Homestead Road. ..."We've looked at 14, 15, 17 different locations over the years," Moran said. Last year UNC offered 1.6 acres out of 13 it was buying near Homestead Park, meeting all IFC's criteria. "The university is making this extraordinary gift, which I don't think we can ever get again," Moran said.
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/53130.html

Social activist Yonni Chapman dies
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Family, friends and fellow veterans of the civil rights movement on Friday remembered Mr. Yonni Chapman as an unyielding fighter for social justice and a skilled historian who embodied the very best spirit of Chapel Hill. ...Mr. Chapman asked the university to impose a moratorium on the award, which led then-UNC Chancellor James Moeser to hold a campus dialogue on the issue. UNC eventually canceled the Bell Award and replaced it with three awards that honor women’s advocacy at the university.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Social+activist+Yonni+Chapman+dies%20&id=4123791-Social+activist+Yonni+Chapman+dies&instance=main_article

Money Talks: African-American Economic Summit
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
This weekend, scholars from around the country will gather at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke universities to talk about the current recession and its impact on African-Americans. In advance of the summit, guest host Janet Babin unpacks why the current economic contraction has deepened long-standing racial gaps in income and wealth.
http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/african-american-economic-summit/view
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3011/73/

Institute receives award
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The service and outreach arm of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health has received an award in recognition of its "significant contributions" to public health in the state. The North Carolina Institute for Public Health was presented with the Partners in Public Health Distinguished Group Award at the N.C. Public Health Association's annual conference in Asheville earlier this month.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-BRIEFS%20&id=4150967-BRIEFS
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/3013/107/

UNC wants more sustainability courses
The Chapel Hill Herald
Last spring, a team of students at UNC found more than 150 courses related to sustainability. On Tuesday, Chancellor Holden Thorp said he would like to see more such courses on campus to prepare students for the abundant opportunities efforts in sustainability will eventually bring.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+wants+more+sustainability+courses%20&id=4163785-UNC+wants+more+sustainability+courses

Poverty is bad; helping is hard
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
No lawmaker opposes the goal of reducing poverty, but a state legislative commission Tuesday was far from unified about how to do it. The group listened as leaders from UNC-Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity and the N.C. Justice Center, which advocates on behalf of low-income families, outlined four proposals the commission will consider turning into bills...Gene Nichol, who heads the poverty center, emphasized that 15 percent of North Carolina households and nearly 20 percent of children in the state live below the poverty level.
http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/state/story/161245.html


-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/content/category/8/34/103/

Carolina in the New

We've got a lot of articles this week, not to mention an A- earned for UNC in its efforts to be green!!!
Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Carolina moving ahead on wind
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)
Virginia officials have long discussed placing wind turbines off the coast, but the first towers in the region are likely to appear farther south - in North Carolina's Pamlico Sound. Duke Energy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently signed a contract to install one to three turbines in the sound west of Buxton and Avon as early as next year.
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/carolina-moving-ahead-wind

NC Botanical Garden’s New Education Center Opens
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
Frank Harmon Architect PA of Raleigh, NC, has completed the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s new and thoroughly “green” 29,656-square-foot Education Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Governor Beverly Perdue attended the dedication ceremony and praised the project for being slated as the first LEED Platinum certified building in the state.
http://orange.mync.com/site/orange/news|Sports|Lifestyles/story/43063/NC_Botanical_Garden_s_New_Education_Center_Opens
Related Link:
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12057
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2849/138/

Coastal wind power (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
North Carolina is wisely dipping only its big toe into coastal wind power. The state, UNC and Duke Energy are planning to build as many as three enormous wind turbines in Pamlico Sound, between the mainland and the Outer Banks. If all goes well, the $36 million project could begin sending power into the electrical grid by this time next year.
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/oct/13/122215/coastal-wind-power/opinion/

UNC Recognized For Green Initiatives
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
The Sustainable Endowments Institute has ranked UNC as one of the best colleges in the United States and Canada for their green initiatives. Cindy Shea, director of the Sustainability Office at UNC, says they have several programs that helped them earn this accolade.
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12051

Warming is fact; denial is harmful (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The earth is cooling!" Actually it isn't, but we have all heard that so many times recently, we're starting to wonder. Globally, the last few years have indeed been cooler than 1998 and 2005. But this has no relevance for whether the planet's climate is changing or whether people are the cause. (John Bruno is an associate professor in the Department of Marine Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill. Mark Sorensen is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columnists_blogs/story/134115.html

Geographer gets fellowship
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC geographer Martin Doyle has been named the inaugural recipient of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources' Frederick J. Clarke Fellowship. The institute created the fellowship to provide scholars with the opportunity to help advise the corps on policy issues related to its environmental mission.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+BRIEFS%20&id=3936459-UNC+BRIEFS&instance=main_article
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2965/74/

Reclaimed water system honored
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC recently received a national award for the reclaimed water system that began serving the main campus in April and for its innovative reuse of rainwater in a second project. The WateReuse Association gave the university its 2009 Institution of the Year award at the association's annual symposium in Seattle. The awards recognize projects and individuals that advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+BRIEFS%20&id=3936459-UNC+BRIEFS&instance=main_article
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2968/68/

UNC system aims for carbon neutrality (Blog)
The News & Record (Greensboro)
It's official: The 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system will pursue sustainability in eight categories, with the most ambitious goal being achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The Board of Governors approved the sustainability policy on Friday.
http://www.news-record.com/blog/52580/entry/72453

UNC and Duke Energy sign contract to develop coastal wind pilot project
In a pilot project designed to harness the power of the ocean breezes along North Carolina’s coast, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke Energy announced they have signed a contract to place up to three demonstration wind turbines in the Pamlico Sound.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2946/68/

Awarding-winning journalists to share reports on threats to global food supply Oct. 15
Three award-winning journalists will discuss mounting threats to the global food supply and the challenges of reporting them on Thursday, Oct. 15, at UNC-Chapel Hill. “Hungry? Frontline on the Threats to the Global Food Supply” will also feature new documentary footage reporting on the global food crisis from Africa, Asia and Central America.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2958/68/

University Day: Perdue speaks at convocation; garden dedicates center; Thorp gives online address
Monday (Oct. 12) is University Day (http://www.unc.edu/universityday/) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, marking the 216th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Old East and the start of public higher education in the United States. The University will hold a traditional University Day convocation at 11 a.m. in Memorial Hall. Gov. Bev Perdue is the featured speaker, and Distinguished Alumna and Alumnus Awards will be presented. Later in the day, the North Carolina Botanical Garden will dedicate its new Education Center.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2960/68/

UNC receives Institution of the Year award for its reclaimed water system, rainwater reuse
UNC recently received a national award for the reclaimed water system that began serving the main campus in April and for its innovative reuse of rainwater in a second project. The WateReuse Association gave the University its 2009 Institution of the Year award at the association’s annual symposium in Sept. 14 in Seattle. The awards recognize projects and individuals that advance the beneficial and efficient use of water resources.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2968/68/

America's Greenest Colleges
Forbes
Everything under the sun is being sold as green nowadays, and colleges are no different. ... Twenty-six schools received the highest grade, an A-. Among them: Arizona State University, Middlebury College, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Pennsylvania and Pomona College. The schools were graded on a variety of categories, including green building initiatives, transportation, climate-change policy, investment priorities and the administration's efforts on sustainability (a buzz word for green policies).
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/07/greenest-colleges-harvard-business-energy-evergreen.html

$100,000 to go toward economic development in Franklin
The Macon County News (Franklin)
The Town of Franklin is set to proceed with plans to improve area economics and aesthetics. Available to the town is $100,000 in grant funding to implement a plan for economic development. ...Assistant Town Manager Mike Decker made a presentation to the board on suggested rules of procedure, adapted from rules outlined by the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.maconnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5650&Itemid=34

Duke Energy to fund offshore North Carolina wind project
Reuters (Wire Service)
Duke Energy Corp has agreed to fund a pilot study of commercial wind turbines in the waters offshore of North Carolina, the utility holding company said on Tuesday. The company had contracted with the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill to place up to three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound. ...The pilot study would focus on Pamlico Sound, between North Carolina's Outer Banks and the mainland, rather than areas with more wind further offshore, because waters in the sound were under state control, University of North Carolina Vice Chancellor Carolyn Elfland said. She is project manager for the UNC Coastal Wind Study which was presented to the state legislature in June.
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5956SL20091006
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2946/68/

Duke Plans Offshore Wind Pilot Project
GreenTechMedia (Wire Service)
...Charlotte-based Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) is funding a pilot project to erect up to three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound, the company said Tuesday. The project is taking shape as a result of a nine-month, 378-page study recently completed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ..."There aren't wind turbines installed elsewhere that could have endured conditions from a tropical storm - we want to know what will it do to the turbine blades or the foundation," said Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chancellor for campus services at the university.
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/duke-plans-offshore-wind-pilot/
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2946/68/

Group sues to force greenhouse gas regulation
The Houston Chronicle
An environmental group is suing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to force the agency to regulate emissions of gases blamed for global warming. ...Victor Flatt, a professor of environmental law at the University of North Carolina, said TCEQ has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide, but the question is whether the agency is required to act. Once the EPA finalizes its finding that carbon dioxide endangers public health and welfare, then TCEQ would be forced to regulate it, Flatt said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6654829.html

Despite Hard Times, Colleges Are Still Going Green (Blog)
The New York Times
Times may be tough, but colleges are not abandoning their efforts to be green, according to the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card, released Wednesday morning by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. ...Twenty-six schools were recognized as Overall College Sustainability Leaders, having achieved grades of A-. They ranged from elite institutions like Brown, Harvard, Stanford, Wesleyan and Yale to public universities like Arizona State and the Universities of Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Vermont.
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/despite-hard-times-colleges-are-still-going-green/?scp=1&sq=%22university%20of%20north%20carolina%22&st=cse

Wind turbines to be installed in water
The State (Columbia, S.C.)
Duke Energy and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill said Tuesday they have signed a contract to place one to three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound, possibly paving the way for utility-scale wind farms on the N.C. coast. The demonstration project may be the first wind turbines placed in water in the United States.
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/973933.html
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2946/68/

Duke Energy, UNC join forces to launch wind turbine pilot project
The Triangle Business Journal
Duke Energy and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are partnering on a pilot project to install up to three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound that could become the first turbines placed in water in the country. The project follows a nine-month UNC study completed in June for the general assembly that concluded the state has the potential to develop utility-scale wind energy production. Duke will pay for the turbines and their installation. UNC will continue its wind energy research throughout the project.
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/10/05/daily21.html
Related Links:
http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/10/05/daily19.html
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20091006/ARTICLES/910069948?Title=UNC-Duke-Energy-will-team-up-to-construct-first-offshore-turbines
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/987770.html
http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/5021/123/
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=12013
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2946/68/

Time is right for Duke wind power project (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have concluded what many North Carolinians have long surmised: Strong winds in the coastal region mean there's a potential for large-scale wind energy generators -- offshore and perhaps in part of eastern Pamlico Sound.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Researchers+at+UNC+Chapel+Hill+have+concluded+what+many+North+Carolinians+have+long+surmised-+Strong+winds+in+the+coastal+region+mean+there-s+a+potential+for+large-scale+wind+energy+generators+-+offshore+and+perhaps+in+part+of+eastern+Pamlico+Sound%20&id=3847345-Researchers+at+UNC+Chapel+Hill+have+concluded+what+many+North+Carolinians+have+long+surmised-+Strong+winds+in+the+coastal+region+mean+there-s+a+potential+for+large-scale+wind+energy+generators+-+offshore+and+perhaps+in+part+of+eastern+Pamlico+Sound
Related Links:
http://www.theherald-nc.com/opinion/story/11615.html
http://www.dailyadvance.com/opinion/wind-farms-better-than-offshore-rigs-880056.html

Study examining health issues in workplace
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A wellness study focusing on tobacco use cessation, healthy eating, increased physical activity and stress management is moving into a new phase by examining the issues in the workplace. ...Laura Linnan, a national expert on worksite wellness, and Michael Bowling, an expert in public health statistics and evaluation design, from the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, are joining the study.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Study+examining+health+issues+in+workplace%20&id=3831113-Study+examining+health+issues+in+workplace

-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/content/category/8/34/103/

Alternative Fall Break: Become a Certified Interpretive Guide!

What are you doing for Fall Break this year?
-Communicate more effectively to give better presentations and tours!
-Earn nationally-recognized certification!
-Learn about sustainable practices and programs at UNC!

Interested?
October 21-25, UNC will be hosting an CIG Workshop for students, faculty, staff, and alumni. It is co-sponsored by UNC’s Sustainability Office and American Studies Department, so the cost is significantly reduced. Enrollment is limited to 15 participants.

What is a CIG?
CIG stands for “Certified Interpretive Guide” – the entry-level professional certification for those who communicate with diverse audiences as educators, tour guides, and communications specialists. Successful interpretation incorporates elements of public speaking, storytelling, and psychology to communicate specific information and messages on a subject. Effective interpreters play an invaluable role at schools, parks, museums, nature centers, zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, and commercial tour companies worldwide. For information on CIG, visit http://www.interpnet.com/certification/index.shtml

What is the workshop?
This 32-hour intensive workshop introduces participants to the basic principles of interpretation, and coaches them in the application of those principles. Examples will be drawn from UNC campus sustainability features and initiatives, though the principles are applicable to any subject. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will have satisfied all requirements for the national recognition as a Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) by the National Association for Interpretation (NAI). This includes completion of an open book exam, preparation of a program outline, and delivery of a 10-minute interpretive presentation on the final day.

Learn more and enroll by reading the Program Details at:
http://tinyurl.com/ybsnchk

Please direct any questions or comments to:
Brian Cain, C.I.T., C.I.P.
Research & Outreach Manager
Sustainability Office
Email: Brian.Cain [at] fac.unc.edu
Web: http://sustainability.unc.edu

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media coverage of sustainability-related programs and practices at UNC:

Time right for Duke wind power project (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill have concluded what many North Carolinians have long surmised: Strong winds in the coastal region mean there's a potential for large-scale wind energy generators - offshore and perhaps in part of eastern Pamlico Sound. That's what researchers at Duke Energy think, too. The company is proposing a test project of one to three tall wind turbines in Pamlico Sound perhaps as early as next year.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/story/974274.html

Shoe Recycling Program Hits Stride
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Fair-Trade store Ten Thousand Villages is partnering with the UNC Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling for the Nike shoe recycling program. Amy Preble, recycling and outreach coordinator for the UNC Recycling Office, says UNC became one of 10 campuses across the nation chosen by Nike for the pilot program last year. These bins were placed in residence halls as well as three gyms throughout campus.
http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=11936

Three UNC-CH researchers snag big NIH awards (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Three UNC Chapel Hill scientists have received prestigious National Institutes of Health awards that target high-risk research and innovation. They are Joseph DeSimone, Klaus Hahn and Mark Zylka. DeSimone received one of 18 Pioneer awards, which honors a scientist's creative in proposing pioneering biomedical and behavioral research. The award is worth up to $500,000 a year for five years. ...Hahn and Zylka received the T-RO1, or "Transformative" awards, which free scientists from budget restraints and allow them to propose new, bold ideas that may require significant resources.
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/campusnotes/three-unc-ch-researchers-snag-big-nih-awards
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2898/71/

Roses and Raspberries (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill News
Raspberries to UNC students and bicyclists who cross campus roads outside of crosswalks and against the light. ...So today UNC will again work to remind pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers about the importance of visibility and attentiveness as part of the Yield to Heels education campaign. Volunteers and the Department of Public Safety officers will distribute educational fliers, retro-reflective items and T-shirts to pedestrians at crosswalks across campus between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the following crosswalks...
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/opinion/story/52569.html
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2908/68/

Partnership works to preserve living laboratory of Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands are undoubtedly among the most famous places on Earth, thanks to Charles Darwin, giant tortoises and the archipelago’s dramatic land- and seascapes.
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2921/75/

UNC wins $8.6 million NIH award for new psychiatric disorders, genomics center of excellence
Autism, depression, anxiety. Antipsychotic drug side effects. What are the genetic and environmental factors that underlie and contribute to these complex problems? And how do genes and environment interact to shape them?
http://www.unchealthcare.org/site/newsroom/news/2009/September/cisgen

UNC gets award for diversity
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC was one of 53 colleges and universities nationwide that were honored recently for commitment to diversity. Minority Access Inc., a nonprofit education organization that supports academic institutions, government agencies and private businesses in improving the recruitment, retention and enhancement of minorities, presents the award. Archie Ervin, UNC's associate provost for diversity and multicultural affairs, accepted the award for the university.
http://www.heraldsun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-UNC+BRIEFS%20&id=3786377-UNC+BRIEFS
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2894/68/

UNC Climate Action Plan: Netting out at zero by 2050
The Carrboro Citizen
Last month, UNC released its first Climate Action Plan, which sketched a roadmap to climate neutrality by mid-century. The plan is comprehensive and multi-faceted, but foremost among its objectives is improving energy efficiency in campus buildings. The impetus for the plan came in 2006, when then-Chancellor James Moeser signed onto the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging the university to achieve climate neutrality – meaning zero net greenhouse gas emissions – by 2050.
http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2009/10/02/unc-climate-action-plan-netting-out-at-zero-by-2050/
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2865/107/

The Senate Bill Tinkers With Touchy Issue -- Carbon Offsets
The New York Times
Major climate legislation introduced yesterday in the Senate makes significant changes from a House version of the bill on offsets, or clean-energy initiatives that businesses can use to meet emission cuts outside their own facilities. ...Victor Flatt, a University of North Carolina law professor who wrote a blog posting on the new offset language yesterday, noted in an interview that preliminary versions of the Senate bill emphasized the role of EPA, rather than the Agriculture Department. The "punt to the president" language popped up later.
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/01/01climatewire-the-senate-bill-tinkers-with-touchy-issue----6788.html

Farming the wind (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
I was excited to read that Duke Energy and UNC-Chapel Hill are moving forward with placing a few wind turbines in Pamlico Sound. ...If we continue to use large amounts of electricity for our daily comforts, we need to actively pursue clean alternative energy sources. We are fortunate in North Carolina to have sufficient natural resources and dedicated researchers to explore and act on wind as an option to help meet our energy demands. (George Thompson, Durham)
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/story/123448.html
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/story/123450.html

Money Headed to Wind Power
North Carolina News Network
A report from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the best place to build a wind power farm would be 40 miles off the North Carolina coast.
http://www.ncnn.com/content/view/5011/26/


-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/content/category/8/34/103/

Coal on campus?

A couple good articles appeared today in the Daily Tar Heel that directly relate to two climate issues on campus - transportation and coal power. Check them out:

Coal-powered campus

The UNC Cogeneration Facility has been getting a lot more attention than usual.

Recent protests on campus against the use of coal have caused the public to turn its focus to the industrial site, which is on West Cameron Avenue.

Activists have been encouraging the University to reduce coal consumption at the facility, which produced 63 percent of campus greenhouse emissions in 2008. Plant managers said plans are already in place to do so.

Continue reading at: http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/coal-powered-campus


UNC grad hopes to offer affordable bike rentals

Hasan Abdullah’s bicycle was stolen on campus two years ago.

And now, he wants to ensure other local bicycle owners don’t suffer the same fate.

With WeCycles, the company he founded, Abdullah hopes to create a bike rental service on campus and around Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Abdullah said the program, if approved, would use 24-hour electronic kiosks where customers could swipe their One Cards or credit cards to rent bikes at an hourly fee. Yearly memberships would also be available.

Continue reading at: http://www.dailytarheel.com/content/unc-grad-hopes-offer-affordable-bike-rentals

STATEWIDE PLASTIC BOTTLE BAN TAKES EFFECT OCTOBER 1

Students hold up a sign during a smart flash mob to promote the plastic bottle recycling ban in the Pit on Oct. 1.

Starting Oct. 1, plastic bottles, oil filters and wooden pallets are banned from disposal in North Carolina’s landfills.

North Carolina recovers less than one out of every five plastic bottles generated in the state, despite hosting some of the largest processors of these materials. The new ban is intended to boost the recovery of bottles, in large part to meet the growing demand for these materials.
An example of the appetite for recovered plastic bottles is the Clear Path facility being built in Fayetteville, which will have the capacity to use 280 million pounds of polyethlene terephthalate (PET #1) bottles annually. Envision Plastics, the nation’s second largest recycler of high-density polyethlene (HDPE #2) bottles, also operates a facility in Reidsville. According to the National Association of PET Container Resources, end users of recycled PET in 11 southeastern states have the capacity for 1.439 billion pounds per year. HDPE reclaimers in the United States can use more than 1 billion pounds annually, but due to poor recovery rates are operating at 69 percent capacity.

“Widespread compliance with the plastic bottle disposal ban will ensure a flow of plastic bottles to meet market demand for the materials and will result in additional job creation through the expansion of recycling collection companies,” said Scott Mouw, environmental supervisor for the state Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance. “The law represents a major growth opportunity for the state’s recycling businesses and for local government recycling collection programs as well.”

Moreover, such recycling programs are good for the environment. If all the plastic bottles generated in the state were recycled, more than 2.4 billion additional plastic bottles would be kept out of landfills annually.

The law, also known as House Bill 1465, joins other statewide and local bans, such as the statewide ban on disposal of aluminum cans in the landfill, which has been in effect since 1994. Since 2008, all ABC permit holders in North Carolina are required to recycle their beverage containers. Also banned from landfills statewide are: appliances (white goods), used motor oil, antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, scrap tires, oyster shells, and yard waste. Since 1996, it is a requirement to recycle corrugated cardboard in Orange County, and since 2002, under the Regulated Recyclable Materials Ordinance, scrap metal and clean wood waste are also required to be recycled in Orange County.

Orange County has a comprehensive program and claims the top spot in the county-by-county rankings. With a recovery rate of more than 29 pounds of plastic bottles per person, Orange County recycled more than seven times the state average on a per capita basis. The average county per capita recovery is 3.81 pounds per person. UNC-Chapel Hill recycled 224.68 tons of containers in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the vast majority of those being plastic bottles.

How does this new law affect the University? UNC-Chapel Hill has plastic bottle recycling containers available indoors in every building, as well as outdoors. If you are interested in adding additional recycling containers, please call the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling at 962-1442 or email us at recycling@fac.unc.edu. The law does allow for accidental or occasional disposal of small amounts of banned materials, and materials that contain hazardous materials should still be dealt with through Environment, Health and Safety as they have been in the past.

To help publicize the ban, a group of students, organized by Bill Bobbitt, participated in a “smart flash mob” today at lunchtime in the Pit. The idea was sent out to local universities by Kelley Dennings of www.re3.org, a statewide recycling campaign run by the NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance. Students froze with plastic bottles in their hands, while an a cappella group sang a modified version of the song “Battlefield,” by Jordin Sparks, substituting lyrics about throwing plastic bottles in the landfill. A similar flash mob occurred today in the brickyard at NC State.

The statutory reference for the disposal ban can be found at: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/38/37984.pdf

For information about where recycling bins are located in campus buildings, please visit the website for the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling here: http://portal.facilities.unc.edu/webrequestsystem/RecyclingIndoorPickups.aspx

Please also refer to our Quick Recycling Guide: http://www.fac.unc.edu/wastereduction/signs/New%20Image.JPG

Contact:
Amy Preble, UNC OWRR (919) 962-5169, apreble@fac.unc.edu