From the Yale Office of Sustainability:
Take the Sustainability Pledge – join a growing number of Yale staff, faculty and students who are taking personal actions to reduce our collective impact.
While a commitment to make as few as three personal changes may seem insignificant, as more and more of Yale’s 21,000 community members take the pledge, together we can make a difference!
If you missed it in print (or perhaps you were too hasty in recycling this issue), here is a link to the 13 articles highlighting Yale’s commitment to operating campus in a sustainable manner. Recycling, solar power, transportation, food, green architecture, and research, among other topics are covered.
Once again, Renee Cawley, the Beinecke Library’s tireless Archives Assistant has sought out a green solution to an everyday need: the disposal of batteries and small electronic appliances without negatively impacting the environment. The Yale Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) has provided the Library with several buckets for the disposal of batteries (from our flashlights, digital cameras, etc.) and other small hand-held electronic devises (e.g. cell phones, Palm pilots, etc.). OEHS will retrieve the buckets as they become full. To learn more about e-cycling visit the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) web page.
Lisa Belkin of The New York Times published an interesting article in March about efforts to “green up” offices and our daily work processes.
Thank to a Beinecke Library Archives Assistant, the Manuscript Unit of the Beinecke Library has switched to 100% recycled cardboard packing materials to replace all of the plastic bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts previously used to pack materials sent off-site for conservation work.
Welcome to the Beinecke, corrugated wrap and honeycomb void fill!
We have requested that vendors return our materials with the same recycled materials that they arrived in, therefore closing the cycle of petroleum-based packaging materials. So far, the Northeastern Document Conservation Center has agreed to these terms and other vendors will be contacted in the upcoming days. Please contact the Green Committee if you are interested in vanquishing bubble wrap and peanuts from this day forward.
The Beinecke Library’s Facilities Manager is bravely switching to green cleaning products. As reported to the Green Committee, a whole line of biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners will be replacing the chemical cleaners traditionally used by the custodial staff. These new cleaners contain no ammonia, phosphates, dyes, or fragrances nor do they contain ozone-depleting chemicals and they come in recycled packaging. A green huzzah to all involved and particularly to the Beinecke’s custodial staff for integrating new tools into their work routines. In return, we will all have a safer, less toxic workplace (with a natural citrus aroma to boot). For you diehards, here is a complete list with links to the new cleaners and technical specifications:
Earth Sense® Multi Surface Cleaner (“safely, yet effectively clean almost any washable surface imaginable!”)
Earth Sense® Degreaser Cleaner
Earth Sense® #19 Glass & Window Cleaner
ASPIRE® Environmentally Responsible Metal-Free Floor Sealer/Finish
An order was recently placed for 1,000 biodegradable, compostable, paper cups with corn-based plastic linings for hot/cold beverages. According to the manufacturer, the cups are designed to compost in a commercial garbage facility. However, much like the Green Committee’s lively debate on turning lights on and off, these new cups may not satisfy advocates for good ol’ ceramic mugs. While corn, unlike petroleum, is a renewable resource, the Committee was mindful of unfair agricultural subsidies for crops like corn (see the Yale alum-produced documentary King Corn for one example) and recent news of global food shortages due in part to the rising cost of grains. Yes, these cups are better than our current petroleum-based plastic cups or disposable paper cups. No, these are not better than re-useable mugs. But for those staff members who recall darker days when Break Room dishes went unwashed…well, we will say no more. In the end, please remember that every cup is just shy of 10 cents each. So be prudent when you sip coffee from your new, biodegradeable, compostable receptacle, and raise a toast to small steps forward (and to one nice looking cup).
Perhaps you noticed our new reams of paper? The Beinecke recently switched to Earthsaver 100% post consumer recycled paper. And it is chlorine-free to boot. Use it wisely and sparingly, and enjoy.
On January 21, President Levin gave a lecture at the University of Copenhagen Climate Lecture Series titled, Leading by Example: From Sustainable Campuses to a Sustainable World. He talked about sustainability and about how Yale has made plans to reduce its CO2 emissions. Watch the video of his talk here. Or read the transcript.
There was some excitement during the inaugural Green Beinecke Committee meetings around this very issue. In a nutshell, incandescent lights (traditional lightbulbs) should always be shut off, but fluorescent bulbs (including compact flourescents lightbulbs or CFLs) present a slightly more complicated choice. However, Scientific American published an article in March 2008 aptly titled: Does turning fluorescent lights off use more energy than leaving them on? The short answer: No.
A highlight from the article:
“A simple rule of thumb that balances both concerns is to shut off fluorescents if you’re planning to leave a room for more than five minutes…it almost always makes sense to turn the lights off…From an environmental standpoint, the best way to save energy is to turn off the things that you’re not using.”
And there you have it.
In an effort to become a more sustainable institution, staff members at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library have formed a Green Committee in order to seek out and share ways in which we can reduce the environmental impact of our daily work routines.
