Category: General GLRPPR Information

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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.

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Back to School: GLRPPR’s Energy Efficient Schools and Students Topic Hub

GLRPPR Logo

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.

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A new name for Agency

[Post author: Bob Iverson]

It’s a new day for us with a different name, a different leadership, and a renewed commitment to our values.

The Waste Management & Research Center is now known as the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). The new name better represents the goals and direction of the organization.

The name change is part of even larger changes at ISTC. The Center is now part of the University of Illinois. It joined the other scientific surveys (Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, and Illinois Natural History Survey) in moving out of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The four organizations are now part of the Institute of Natural Resources Sustainability at the University of Illinois.

“We are excited about the move to the University of Illinois,” said ISTC Acting Director Gary Miller. “The research, knowledge, and educational goals of the scientific surveys will be greatly enhanced by the strong research and academic excellence of the University of Illinois.”

The ISTC staff remains committed to providing real world solutions to real world problems – solutions that bridge the gap between the natural resources and the human ones. Sustainability examines how to make human economic systems last longer and have less impact on ecological systems, and particularly relates to concern over major global problems such as climate change. By putting “Sustainable Technology” in our name, ISTC is showing its commitment to providing the ideas and systems to reduce environmental impacts and enhance the bottom line.

ISTC will continue to offer direct technical assistance from specialists, energy and pollution prevention assessments, a sophisticated analytical laboratory, research funding to explore a wide range of environmental issues, and information on environmental and pollution prevention issues. In addition, ISTC will continue to serve as the coordinating agency for regional and national programs including the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable and the Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center.

Becoming part of the University of Illinois and changing our name will require ISTC to make a variety of changes to our website, letterhead, forms, e-mail address, etc. Please bear with us in the coming weeks and months as we make these needed adjustments.

ISTC will continue to maintain office on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign, and in OakBrook, Peoria, and Brighton.

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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.

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RSS in Plain English

[Post authored by Tyler Rubach]

As the web developer and resident “geek” of our office, I’m asked a lot questions regarding technologies that are shaping the web. One of the most common questions I get is “What’s so cool about RSS anyhow?”. While I fancy myself as someone who can speak technology in “Plain English”, the folks at Common Craft have created a video demonstrating simply and effectively why RSS is such a great tool. Check it out below!

Now that you’re an expert on consuming RSS feeds, here are the RSS feeds that GLRPPR offers:

If any of you have any additional tips or tricks with regard to RSS feeds, please leave a comment.

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What a great conference!

[Post author: Bob Iverson]

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The recent Region 5 and 7 joint conference held in Omaha was great. There were interesting speaker, fun accommodations, a comfortable hotel, and great networking. Kudos to everyone in both regions who had a hand in organizing and hosting the event.The conference meetings were held at the Omaha Zoo. During the breaks participants were free to explore that very nice zoo.

I couldn’t help but be struck by the positioning of the conference participants and the zoo (no comments about monkeys running the conference). Just outside the conference rooms, children were enjoying visits with some of the exotic plants and animals of our world. The conference speakers were all talking about ways to preserve the environment, and what they were fighting for was right there for us all to see. We could see endangered species and environments such as rainforests. And we could see the next generation who deserve a healthy planet.

It was fun to watch the children respond to the animals. The wide-eyed look of wonder and excitement that children have at the zoo is how we jaded adults need to look at the amazing world around us.

I’ll have a wrap-up of this successful conference in the next issue of the LINK, the electronic newsletter of the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable.

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Rate Archived GLRPPR Help Desk Answers

Did you know you could rate the usefulness of the answers provided in the GLRPPR Help Desk Archive? Just click on the “View Answer” link for any question in the archive. Below the response displayed, there will be a prompt saying “Was this answer helpful to you?” and you may click “yes” or “no.” Note that if you would like to add to or comment upon the information provided in the archived answer, you can click the word “Comments” at the bottom of the response and fill out a simple online form to submit your comment. This is your opportunity to share information about a resource that you’re aware of, but which wasn’t included in the archived answer, to say how you used the information provided, or to simply thank our Help Desk Librarian for the great info.

Remember that submitting a pollution prevention related question to the Help Desk Librarian is easy–just fill out the online form and submit it. You’ll get an hour of free literature and Internet searching by a professional librarian and a response within a week that will provide a great start for exploring the topic you’ve inquired about. Archived Help Desk questions and answers are also integrated into relevant Sector Resources on the GLRPPR web site.

If you have questions or would like further information about the GLRPPR Help Desk, contact Laura Barnes.

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New GLRPPR Resources on Climate Change and Nanotechnology

Be sure to check out the recently added GLRPPR Sector Resources on Climate Change and Nanotechnology. As with any Sector Resource, these online compilations include links to online and hard copy documents, expert contact information, and also integrate relevant events, funding opportunities, Help Desk questions and answers and recent news stories. Currently, the Climate Change Sector Resource includes a section for statistical information; the Nanotechnology Sector Resource includes special sections for environmental health and safety information, as well as information on environmental remediation.

The Climate Change Sector Resource RSS Feed and the Nanotechnology Sector Resource RSS Feed are available for those who want to stay up to date on the latest information related to these topics.

If you have any comments or suggestions for these Sector Resources, contact Laura Barnes or Joy Scrogum.

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Technical Reviewers Needed for Two New GLRPPR Topic Hubs

P2Rx LogoGLRPPR has developed two new school-related Topic Hubs as part of the P2Rx Topic Hub project. Before any Topic Hub is published, topical experts review its narrative portions for accuracy and completeness.

“Energy Efficient Schools and Students” 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.

“Sustainable School Design” 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.

If you’re interested in reading the narrative portions of these hubs and providing some voluntary feedback, please contact Joy Scrogum or Bob Iverson. We’re looking for 2-4 experts to evaluate each of these new hubs; one person may evaluate both hubs if they desire. If you are selected to review the hubs, we’ll contact you with a link to the information you’ll need to read and further instructions. Your name will be included in the “Acknowledgments” section of the final published Topic Hub as a “Technical Reviewer.” See the Acknowledgments section of the Pollution Prevention for Arts Education Topic Hub for an example.

Our greatest asset is the technical expertise of our members and their willingness to share their knowledge with colleagues throughout the region. We appreciate your input and look forward to working with those selected to review these new resources.