The Greening of the Beinecke blog is joining forces with the Yale University Library’s to promote a more sustainable and environmentally responsible library system, and campus. Our first collaborative effort will be a unified blog. From now on, the Beinecke’s efforts to conserve, to change habits, and to make purchasing choices that promote sustainability can be found here, along with the Yale University Library Green Team’s news, suggestions, and efforts. Thanks for reading, and for joining our green efforts, wherever they may blog.
As the Beinecke Library wraps-up its roof renovation patrons and staff will no longer circle the building for an entrance, and, we’ll be back to using the revolving door. This is good news from a green perspective, as folks over at MIT have determined: “On average 8x as much air is exchanged when a swing door is opened as opposed to a revolving door. That’s 8x as much new air that needs to be heated or cooled and that’s why using the revolving door is a great way to reduce energy requirements on campus.”
As the days grow shorter and colder many of us are tempted to bulk-up for the winter weather. The Yale Sustainable Food Project and the Yale Office of Sustainability provide some healthy options. At the Yale Farm this Friday John Barricelli of SoNo Baking Company and Cafe will demonstrate how to make an apple galette and the Yale Sustainability Student Blog showcases ideas for a vegetarian Thanksgiving.
On the Fringe: Benefits for Bicycle Commuters
Published November 5, 2008 Uncategorized Leave a CommentIn October, George Bush signed the Transportation Fringe Benefit to Bicycle Commuters, which allows employers to reimburse bicycle commuters up to $20 per month tax-free for eligible expenses. The act was section 211 of HR 1424 (the Wall Street bailout package) and takes effect January 1.
This is a wonderful opportunity for Yale to improve the commuter benefit program in order to better align it with University-wide sustainability initiatives. Currently, bicycle commuters do not receive the type of benefits that are extended to those who carpool or use public transportation. While the dollar amount is small, this benefit would be an added incentive to bike to work.
The Benefits Office has not decided whether or how to implement this yet so it would be good if they heard from staff. Have an opinion? Let them know (benefits.office@yale.edu)!
The full text of the relevant section of the law is cited in this article form Cycleliciou.us.
Yes, the University has instituted a new free parking policy for three or more person carpools. For all the details see the Commuting Alternatives web site.
Kroon Hall, the new building for Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, will be Yale campus’s “greenest” building. To create this model of sustainable design, F&ES brought together some of the world’s leading architects and engineers: Hopkins Architects, Centerbrook Architects and Planners, ARUP, aetelier ten, and Olin Partnership. The building is currently on a path to go beyond the “Platinum” rating given by U.S. Green Building Council through their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED). Kroon will set a new standard for sustainable design. A new website details the vision of the building and tracks its progress, including a Flickr slideshow detailing the construction progress.
Environmental Failure: A Case for a New Green Politics
Published October 30, 2008 Uncategorized Leave a CommentJames Gustave Speth, author of The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability and dean of the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, proposes a new, inclusive green politics that challenges basic assumptions about consumerism and unlimited growth. Read his recent commentary on Yale Environment 360 or listen to a podcast where James Gustave Speth talks about building a new environmentalism, also available through Yale Environment 360.
If your travels take you into New York, check out the new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. “Climate Change: The Threat to Life and the New Energy Future,” opened on October 18th and will run through next August. “Yes, climate has changed throughout Earth’s long history, but this time it is different. For the first time, complex human societies are facing the consequences of climate change worldwide. Plant and animal species already threatened by fragmented habitats are feeling the impact. And for the first time, humans are causing it. Can we avoid disastrous climate change by altering the way we live? There is still time. But it will take a worldwide effort, lasting generations. And it needs to start now. “
If you aren’t able to make the trip in to see the exhibit, check out the web site, which provides a full description of the exhibition, additional resources, and an exhibition blog.
Yale community members are invited to Take the Sustainability Pledge and join others who are taking personal actions to reduce our collective impact. With Yale’s staff, faculty, and students numbering around 21, 000, this is no small impact! While not everyone may choose to make their name available on the roster of who has pledged so far, it’s surprising to see how few faculty members have signed-up – so take the pledge and spread the word!
There are a number of ways New Haven residents can find local produce, from farmers’ markets at Wooster Square and downtown to local retailers. A new site, Buy CT Grown, now offers a quick and easy way to find out what’s in season and where to find it – all year ‘round.
As CitySeed, Inc. explains, “Buy CT Grown’s mission is to link Connecticut’s food and agricultural community including farmers, consumers, restaurants and retailers to: celebrate and promote Connecticut grown farm products, grow the local economy, and enhance the quality of life in our state.”
Buy CT Grown is a project of CitySeed, Inc. and the Buy CT Grown Advisory Team. For more information about Buy CT Grown click here.
A lovely and much-anticipated bike rack arrived at the off-site space today, made of recycled plastic (not only ecological but unattractive to scrap metal thieves).
Unfortunately there’s no way to park a bike on it. Our bike commuters couldn’t wrangle an angle that would get a U-lock around the bike and the rack.
Facilities is on the case and hopefully we’ll soon have something that functions. Our parameters are somewhat limited at the off-site space since the owners of the building are not on board with the University-wide green initiatives. They are content to devote resources to car parking but don’t give a hoot about cyclists.
Until then we’re left wondering — what’s the deal with manufacturers who make bike racks that don’t fit bikes? This is a wider problem that discourages cycling. Take a look sometime at bike parking around campus and you’ll see scores of bikes falling over, being damaged, crammed into inappropriate racks. Because, um, the bike racks don’t fit bikes.
When the Northridge earthquake caused the loss of electrical power in Los Angeles in 1994, Joe Sharkey reported recently in the New York Times, officials received calls from anxious residents who saw a “giant silvery cloud” in the sky. They were told not to worry, that what they were seeing was the Milky Way galaxy. Many city dwellers rarely see stars in the night sky. Even in New Haven, it is difficult to see many stars at night due to what is called light pollution, excessive exterior lighting that shines up into the sky. Many individuals, businesses and communities are finding ways to improve their viewing of the night sky by using recommendations from The International Dark-Sky Association.
Thanks to Holly Parker, Yale’s Director of Sustainable Transportation Systems, for sharing this 15-minute commute map during a Yale University Library-wide convening of “green-minded” librarians. The circles represent the radius within which pedestrians (inner circle) and bicyclists (outer circle) can commute to the central Yale campus within 15 minutes.
Note too, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies’ Getting Around by Bike resource page.
The drip, drip, drip of that pesky kitchen faucet is annoying, but did you ever wonder how much water was just going down the drain? The U. S. Geological Survey has a handy Web site where you can calculate just how much water is being wasted.
Yale Sustainable Food Project launches a blog
Published September 24, 2008 Uncategorized Leave a CommentLook to the Yale Sustainable Food Project’s new blog when you want information on what’s happening at the Yale Farm, food and agriculture in the news, recipes, and dispatches from Yalies across the country and the world working on sustainable food and agriculture. Learn more about the Yale Sustainable Food Project at their website.
