It’s a cliche, but things sure have changed since when I was in school. As I mentioned previously, my daughter recently started kindergarten. In addition to recess, which one would expect, she actually has physical education (P.E.) every third day (alternated with music and art classes). I’m pleased she’s being kept active, but surprised to be thinking about gym class quite so soon. In the midst of watching her explore the brave new word of P.E., I received an e-mail inquiry regarding the Greening Schools web site. This was a joint project of the Illinois EPA and GLRPPR’s parent organization, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC, formerly WMRC), which is unfortunately no longer funded (please e-mail me any ideas regarding funding sources to maintain and expand this site). The inquirer was interested in greener lesson plans geared toward P.E. I’ve seen resources related to greening athletic facilities, but the idea of actually greening the P.E. curriculum was an interesting twist to me, so I decided to share some of the resources I provided in response here. In this post I’ll discuss both resources for more sustainable P.E. facilities as well as curricula. Continue reading “Greening Gym Class”
There is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch–Waste Free, That Is
My daughter started kindergarten last week and next week my son is off to preschool for the first time. We’ll all look back on these days fondly sometime in the future, but for now, I’m having some typical Mommy back-to-school blues. In the interest of combating those blues, I decided to focus on some greens–specifically in the form of green tips related to schools and students. In this post I’ll discuss how to reduce waste associated with school lunches; look for more discussions on green ideas and examples for K-12 and beyond in the days to come.
Continue reading “There is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch–Waste Free, That Is”
Spotlight: Clean Manufacturing Technology Institute
Continuing our focus on Indiana P2 programs, the Clean Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), based at Purdue University, provides technical assistance, outreach, education, planning services and research to facilitate the adoption of pollution prevention/clean manufacturing strategies by Indiana manufacturing facilities.
CMTI offers assistance in all manufacturing sectors, but has special expertise in plastics (including fiber reinforced plastic), wood products, metal finishing, metal and plastic coatings, foundries and motor vehicle parts manufacturing.
CMTI co-founded (in 1996), and continues to manage, the Coating Applications Research Laboratory (CARL) on the Purdue campus. The lab allows manufacturers to test state-of-the-art coating and curing technologies under the guidance of CMTI engineers expert in their application. CMTI also offers ISO14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) services businesses and government entities. Training and energy efficiency assessments are also provided by CMTI.
Check out the CMTI web site for an archive of Technology Transfer/Pollution Prevention Case Studies. You can also browse the CMTI Clearinghouse Bibliography online.
Spotlight: Partners for Pollution Prevention
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the 2009 GLRPPR/Region 7 Conference, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN June 3-5. In honor of the host state for our conference, we’ll be featuring pollution prevention programs this week that call the great state of Indiana home. Today’s spotlight is on the Partners for Pollution Prevention (P4P2).
Organized by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in 1996, the purpose of P4P2 is to assist industry in sharing pollution prevention successes and to advise IDEM on pollution prevention policy and programs. The Partners represent industry, government, academia and environmental organizations interested in advancing pollution prevention in Indiana, as well as the financial and environmental benefits P2 projects can bring.
According to the program website, there are currently 55 Partners, many of which have received the Indiana Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The benefits of being a Partner include, among other things, exchanging information on P2 technologies and successes with your peers, being recognized statewide for your P2 efforts and potentially having your P2 projects promoted in IDEM publications.
If you are interested in applying for membership to P4P2, or would like more information, contact IDEM’s Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance at 800-988-7901 or 317-233-6662. Becoming a member involves committing to the Partners Pledge. New Partners are inducted at quarterly meetings, and Partners are required to complete the annual recertification to share P2 success stories and data.
Check out the Partners Activity page for copies of reports and presentations given at quarterly meetings. Another major activity for the Partners is the organization of the Annual Pollution Prevention Conference and Trade Show.
Illinois Governor Signs Executive Order to Reduce Goverment Operations Impact
[Post author: Wayne Duke]
On Earth Day, Governor Pat Quinn signed Exeuctive Order 11. This Executive Order covers the topics of Waste Prevention, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Water Quality and Conservation, Sustainable Transportation, plus Education and Outreach. The Green Government Coordinating Council is responsible for the implementation of this Executive Order. The P2 Programs at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (on behalf of the University of Illinois) were involved in crafting the Executive Order and will be involved in overseeing the progress of the Order throughout state government, as well as colleges and universities in Illinois. To read the entire Executive Order visit http://www.glrppr.org/docs/GOVExecutiveOrder11.pdf.
April 2009 Site of the Month: The Sustainable Sites Initiative
The Sustainable Sites Initiative is an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. The information on the site is meant to be applied to sites both with and without buildings, including, but not limited to:
- Open spaces such as local, state and national parks, conservation easements and buffer zones and transportation rights-of-way.
- Sites with buildings including industrial, retail and office parks, military complexes, airports, botanical gardens, streetscapes and plazas, residential and commercial developments and public and private campuses.
The Initiative site provides a copy of the report Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks – Draft 2008, which focuses on measuring how a site can protect, restore and regenerate ecosystem services – benefits provided by natural ecosystems such as cleaning air and water, climate regulation and human health benefits. This report contains over 50 draft prerequisites and credits that cover all stages of the site development process from site selection to landscape maintenance.
Case studies, dates for upcoming presentations on sustainable sites, and information on the Initiative’s areas of focus (Why Sustainable Sites?; Hydrology; Soils; Vegetation; Materials; and Human Health & Well-being) are also provided.
New job for a long time GLRPPR friend!
[Post author: Bob Iverson]
A long-time friend (and one of the original creators) of GLRPPR has a new job. The following announcement is from Bill Shilts, Executive Director of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability at the University of Illinois. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (which coordinates GLRPPR) is part of INRS.
“I am pleased to announce that Gary Miller has accepted the position of Interim Associate Executive Director within the INRS central office, effective March 16, 2009. Gary has served as the Interim Director of ISTC for almost a year, and has been employed at ISTC (formerly WMRC) for the past 23 years. Gary’s many years of experience with the University and State government will help shape the Institute during this exciting time.
As Gary accepts this new role, John Marlin will become Acting Director of ISTC. John has worked many years at ISTC and had been serving as Associate Director. His experience at ISTC, as well as his prior experiences chairing the Illinois Pollution Control Board and as a well-known and respected environmentalist will serve us well.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Asghar Mirarefi for his service as Interim Associate Executive Director. Asghar will resume a 100% appointment within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.”
Congratulations to both Gary Miller and John Marlin. Those of us in GLRPPR look forward to continuing to work with them in their new roles.
Registration Open for Biofuels and Sustainability Conference
Registration is now open for the Biofuels and Sustainability Conference to be held at the University of Illinois campus in Champaign, IL on October 21-22. This event will provide a forum for researchers, policy makers, students, activists and industry leaders to share and gain perspectives regarding the entire life-cycle of the biofuels industry–from feedstock development through fuel consumption. Diverse constituencies will be able to network and develop future directions and strategies regarding this important and complex topic and examine innovations that can improve the sustainability of the biofuels industry.
See the conference website for a detailed description of the event, a list of speakers, and registration information.
Remember that if you have events related to sustainability and pollution prevention that you would like to promote to the region, you can suggest them for the GLRPPR Calendar by sending them to Wayne Duke. Events posted to the GLRPPR Calendar also appear in relevant Sector Resources and are featured on the RSS feeds for those Sector Resources.
Back to School: GLRPPR’s Energy Efficient Schools and Students Topic Hub
It’s that time of year again. As students go back to school to focus on the three Rs, school districts and technical assistance providers may want to focus on the two Es (energy efficiency). The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) has developed a Topic Hub on Energy Efficient Schools and Students that describes energy efficient practices and research available to schools and introduces resources that support changes in operations, maintenance, and behavior. Numerous ways exist to reduce escalating energy costs and this Topic Hub assembles guidelines and comprehensive energy programs, identifies educational efforts and case studies, and provides examples of best practices for schools. A “Curricula” section identifies energy related instructional materials and standards-linked K-12 curricula for classrooms.
New resources are continuously added to the Hub’s “Complete List of Links.” If you would like to suggest links for the hub or have other comments, please contact Joy Scrogum.
See the main Topic Hub menu on the GLRPPR web site for other Hubs maintained by GLRPPR and other Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) centers.
Check Out GLRPPR’s Sustainable School Design Topic Hub
The Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) has developed a Topic Hub on Sustainable School Design that addresses many areas, including: indoor air quality; energy consumption and options; construction materials; education materials; water use; waste management; transportation; community interaction; landscaping and the building envelope. It draws upon the myriad resources available to school administrators, school boards, and community planners with the hope that these tools will guide the design of more optimally sustainable schools. The Topic Hub deals with the big issues of construction and retrofitting, siting and commissioning, and actual design of new and remodeled schools. Pollution prevention opportunities and alternative technologies that include lighting, acoustics, air quality, and well-being needs for students and school staff for a healthy and safe learning environment, are presented. Case studies and a glossary of terms are also provided, as well as a “Curricula” section that focuses on teacher training, classroom curricula for grades K-12, college and graduate level programs, community outreach, student-led community projects, and administrator education related to sustainable development and building design.
New resources are continuously added to the Hub’s “Complete List of Links.” If you would like to suggest links for the hub or have other comments, please contact Joy Scrogum.
See the main Topic Hub menu on the GLRPPR web site for other Hubs maintained by GLRPPR and other Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx) centers.