Paper Towels in Compost

Cyndy recently suggested that we add the paper towels from the bathrooms to our compost.  We discussed this at some length at today’s Green Team meeting and, after looking up some interesting data, we concluded that our compost is already out of balance in that we aren’t producing enough nitrogen-rich waste. Since paper towels are so carbon-rich, they would put the balance even further out of whack. It’s a great idea though and we can revisit in the future.  Thanks for the idea Cyndy!

The New Hampshire Carbon Challenge

I received email today from Liz Soper of the National Wildlife Federation about a series of workshops to train individuals to give NH Carbon Challenge presentations in their communities. The first workshop is on Saturday, Nov. 8 in Peterborough. If you’re interested, visit the workshop page here. Actually, the whole website for the New Hampshire Carbon Challenge is interesting. It includes town rankings, calculators, resources, and helpful information. Check it out here. – Colleen

UNH Bike Shelters

The Green Team Advocates for Bicycle Shelters.

What was discussed in the last meeting:

 

1)      Location of existing racks, snow removal, flooding, and safety issues (at Gregg Hall).

 

Facilities are attempting to take care of the flooding and snow removal issues with the hi bay racks. If there is any problems contact Tom Byron of facilities. I reiterated the safety concern with the fact that the rack is located in a loading zone and is unsafe for bicyclists.

 

2)      Options we discussed:

 

a) Individual shelters/lockers for employees… Pretty well shut down by Steve, due to a high cost/bike and management issues. However, there is still optimism about perusing this on our own, i.e. get Gardner a locker. After all, everyone has a parking space why not support his efforts to reduce his footprint… We will continue to discuss our options for this. Also, they are considering lockers for the rail station.

 

b) Purchase shelters from manufacturing company.

I have sent Stephanie and Steve links to multiple options. These can be found with a simple google search of bicycle shelters or lockers… The design has to be approved by Doug (campus architect) before it can be implemented. Also, funding for shelters would not come till July ’09.

 

c) Hold a design contest.

This idea was passed over by them, not surprising; however I restated this idea in my last email to Stephanie.

      This would raise awareness, education, and participation… Comments/ideas???

                                                                                                   

3)      Move rack next to parking lot to gable end of Gregg Hall and cover with shelter. The cost of moving this rack is more expensive than moving a ‘sled rack.’ We were told a sled rack will be brought over from in front of Ham Smith, but they were talking of trying to put it between two hi bay doors or extending the hi bay rack towards the underpass in the last email. I responded that the location is a safety concern and restated our suggestion of placing a rack at the gable end of the building facing the underpass.

As far as the shelter goes: Gregg Hall could be the prototype (because we are not in the center of campus). The design has to be approved and the funding would come from next year’s budget. 

 

UNH’s Current Efforts:

 

-13 new racks being installed this year with a budgeted install goal of 15-20 racks per year.

 

-A ‘Bike Pod’ (bike shelter to accommodate 100+ bikes) is to be built at the Morris Hall circle, the main entrance to Kinsgbury.

 

UNH Fall 2008 Energy Challenge

Run by the UNH student group the Ecological Advocates, the Challenge is an energy use reduction competition held on the UNH Durham campus every fall semester! The major goal is to engage students living on campus in activities that reduce their ecological footprints – in particular, energy use. Students compete as a residence hall or apartment complex to reduce their per capita energy and water consumption compared to their building’s average usage from the past three years… To read more click here.

Wouldn’t it be super if UNH did this challenge for academic buildings on campus!

Make Your Own Grocery Tote

The Dover Public Library is sponsoring a workshop to teach sewing novices how to make an eco-friendly tote using repurposed fabric. The workshop, which will be held on Nov. 12, is free and open to everyone but registration is required. Sewing machines and fabric will be provided but you could also bring your own. For details and registration information, see this article in Foster’s. By the way, did you know you save $.05 on your grocery bill for every fabric bag you use at Hannaford? – Colleen

Uh-oh!

In an effort to green my office, I was changing the lightbulbs in my lamps to CFLs and I BROKE ONE! Fortunately, it was a pretty clean break and the pieces landed on my cabinet where they were easily cleanup up with a damp paper towel. However, it was a good ten minutes before I read that I should have immediately ventilated the room (luckily my window was already open) and vacated for 15 minutes. Since we’ll be using more and more of these bulbs in our offices and homes, and breakage is bound to happen, here’s some CFL information from the EPA…

What should I do if I break a bulb

The risks to you and your family from breaking a CFL are small. The amount of mercury in a CFL is very small, about five milligrams, or the size of the tip of a ball point pen. In comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal the amount of mercury in a single thermometer.

The mercury in a CFL is needed to help turn the electric current into white light you get from the bulb. Once turned on, a very small amount of the mercury in the CFL becomes a vapor. If a CFL bulb breaks, a small amount of the mercury vapor will be released in the air. Unlike the elemental mercury found in fever thermometers, which are the shiny beads of liquid mercury, you will probably not see any mercury with the naked eye if you break a CFL bulb. The white powder you see is from the phosphorus coating on the inside of the CFL.

So if you break a bulb, you’re at little risk for significant mercury exposure. It is important, though, to carefully clean up and dispose of a broken CFL to avoid spreading around the phosphorus powder, glass and any remaining mercury. 

Here are U.S. EPA’s guidelines for cleaning up a broken CFL:

1. Open a window and leave the room (restrict access) for at least 15 minutes. If you have fans, place the fans in the windows and blow the air out of the room. Note: If the room has no windows, open all doors to the room and windows outside the room and use fans to move the air out of the room and to the open windows.
2. Remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner.
   • Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available (do not use your bare hands).
   • Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard.
   • Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe.
   • Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
3. Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it, and then place in a second sealed plastic bag.
   • If no other disposal or recycling options are available, private residents may dispose of the CFL in residential garbage. Be sure to seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash.
   • Wash your hands after disposing of the bags.
4. The first time you vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag and/or vacuum debris, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.

- Colleen

Printing to the Copier

The copier is now set up to be used as a printer. Tom Kurshinsky said in an email, “Instructions and drivers are available on the printers page, http://www.erg.unh.edu/itinfo/Printer/printers.htm. Install it as you would a normal printer but make sure you check out the Further Instructions link.”