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  1. iSEE Newsletter 03/01/2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

     

    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

    OFFICE OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

     

     

     

    		 March 1, 2022

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    Magazine Features U of I Basalt Project

    A University of Illinois team researching the use of basalt rock for "enhanced weathering" of farm fields was recently featured in Anthropocene magazine. Spreading rock dust could boost crop yields and lock up vast amounts of carbon. Researchers Carl Bernacchi, USDA Agricultural Research Service Plant Physiologist; Evan DeLucia, Arends Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology; Ilsa Kantola, soil ecologist and iSEE Visiting Research Scientist; and Stephen Long, Professor of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology, discussed their work with the magazine's Dan Ferber. The Illinois work is part of the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation (LC3M) and was funded in 2021 for five more years of studies in the now nearly $3 million project.

     

     

     

     

     

    Scott Tess from the City of Urbana meets with Environmental Leadership Program students in the iSEE Collaboratory. Credit: Mark Herman/iSEE

     

    		  

    ELP Updates: Projects and Visitors

    iSEE's Spring 2022 Environmental Leadership Program is rapidly nearing its conclusion. The students and instructors have been meeting since January to hear from governmental and advocacy representatives as well as academic experts — and pursuing their own projects as they prepare to make presentations to local and state government officials. For the latest on the ELP, please check out the blog by iSEE Communications Intern Kratika Tandon, a member of the 2022 cohort!

     

     

     

     

     

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    Plant Model Expert to Highlight Crops in silico Symposium

    Registration is open for the 6th Crops in silico (Cis) Symposium and Hackathon on May 11-13, to be held virtually through the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The keynote will be delivered by Leah Band of the School of Biosciences and School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Nottingham, who creates models to gain understanding of plant growth and development. Trained as a mathemetician, Band has collaborated closely with experimental biologists in her work. Stay tuned for more details about the keynote and other presentations by visiting this website, and register here! >>>

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Green and white banner advertising the "Use the Bin" recycling pledge at U of I.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    		 Upcoming Events & Opportunities

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Engineering a Greener Future Mural. Calling all student artists! Help create a mural showcasing sustainability initiatives and green technology research on campus. “Engineering a Greener Future” will be featured in the main gallery of the Siebel Center for Design (SCD) during the Fall 2022 semester. Sponsored by the Student Sustainability Committee and hosted by SCD, the project is designed to put a spotlight on sustainability initiatives like Solar Farm 2.0 and inspire students to participate in sustainable actions! Applications are due Friday March 4! >>>

    Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC). Registration is open for ECEC22, co-hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant! Keynote speakers are Scott Coffin, a Research Scientist with the California State Water Resources Control Board; and Abby Hendershott of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Out of an abundance of caution, the conference has moved from a hybrid format to fully virtual. Undergraduate scholarships covering registration fees are available.
    Saturday-Sunday | April 27-28, 2022 | Register

    Nomination Deadline March 4 for Social Justice Awards. The Diversity and Social Justice Education Program’s Annual Social Justice Awards honor unsung members of the U of I campus and community who have sought to address marginalization, oppression, and/or privilege in their communities. Nominations for outstanding undergraduates, graduate students, staff/faculty members, alumni, and registered student organizations will remain open through Friday, March 4. You can nominate yourself or someone else by visiting this website >>>

    Breaking the Plastic Wave: Solving the Plastic Pollution Problem. Plastic has become ubiquitous in our lives, from disposable bottles to microbeads in body washes, and plastic waste is piling up in our terrestrial and aquatic systems. Jim Palardy, Project Director of the Conservation Science Program at The Pew Charitable Trusts, will give an overview of the current trajectory for plastic pollution and highlight a better solution for the environment, the economy, and communities. This Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) webinar is an iSEE-certified green event!
    Noon-1 p.m. | Thursday, March 10 | Register

    Watch the Sustainability Training Video! Help our campus reach "herd sustainability" by watching our video and filling out a short survey. You'll learn about everyday actions you can take to get your semester off to a sustainable start and build an environmentally responsible campus! Visit our website to watch now>>>

    Green Your Lab With Our New Toolkit! Facilities & Services and iSEE have developed a Greener Labs Inventory Toolkit to help facility liaisons and principal investigators track energy usage in their labs and identify more sustainable practices, such as leaving items unplugged or upgrading equipment. For questions, email mbwhite@illinois.edu.

    C4 Social Media Internship Available! The Champaign County Climate Coalition (C4) is looking for several social media/marketing interns to share information, resources, and opportunities with the county-wide community. Applicants must have enthusiasm for climate action and experience with marketing and social media; graphic design experience appreciated. This is an unpaid internship. To apply, email your resume and/or a letter of interest describing your qualifications to Savannah Donovan at sydonovan@urbanaparks.org.

    Check out iSEE’s Illinois Sustainability Calendar for a full list of events!

     

     

     
       

     

    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

    Suite 350 National Soybean Research Center MC 635
    1101 W. Peabody | Urbana, IL 61801
    Contact: sustainability@illinois.edu

     

     

     

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  2. Weekly Update: New hires

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, We’ve got a backlog of bikes in need of test rides/final tune-ups that I’ll happily attend to with the warmer weather this week. We’ve got a new batch of hires starting as well.

    This week I’ve got trainings with staff and I’ll start game-planning with my team for our ramped-up programming for March/April. Warm weather = more bikes.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 17
    Sales: $356.50

    Bike (refurb): 1 for $160
    Build-a-Bike: 1 for $30
    Memberships:  2 for $60

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  3. Waste Transfer Station C&D waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Recycle Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D)

    The only C&D waste the WTS recycles (outside of pulling salvageable metal to send to Mervis) would be concrete and asphalt through the companies Emulsicoat and Vulcan.

    And the issue there is that it is so little, we do not have any accurate weight tracking right now.

    This is something we could certainly refine for our metrics in the future but that is the status we are at for now.

  7. Terry Guen, TGDA, presentation at TBH

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Landscape Master Plan (CLMP)
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    Terry Guen’s practice has brought ecology back to communities through high-profile technical projects in landscape and urban design. TGDA is a nationally recognized designer of urban public spaces and ecological landscapes. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, TGDA designed landscapes for Ikenberry Commons and the recently completed Siebel Center for Design.

    March 3, 5:30–6:45 pm • 134 Temple Buell Hall (Plym Auditorium), 611 E. Lorado Taft Drive, Champaign, IL.

    Conor O'Shea • Department of Landscape Architecture

    baseline_wifi_black_18dp.png This opportunity is available online.

    Stanley H. White Lecture: Terry Guen, Principal and Founder, TGDA

  8. Mason Bee House Workshop

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA

    Join Piatt County Master Gardener Kent McFarland as he explains the importance of having a Mason Bee House in your garden, and walks you through the steps of building one using recycled and natural materials. Registration is required; $15/person, includes all materials.

    March 26, 10–11 am • Registration Deadline: 3/18/22 • Greenhouse Auditorium at Allerton Park & Retreat Center

    Olivia Warren • Allerton Park & Retreat Center

    Mason Bee House Workshop

  9. Update on Charging Stations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    From: Robert O'Daniell <rodaniell@att.net>
    Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2022 5:05 PM
    To: White, Morgan; Slezak, Paul
    Cc: DeLorenzo, Stacey; Prasad, Sarthak
    Subject: I guess I spoke too soon Re: I’m happy to report

    The ChargePoint locations at B4, D22 and E14 are all down. Disappeared from the ChargePoint app and will not charge. (Discovered Sunday noonish at E14 when I failed to begin charge. Standing beside the charger the App said no chargers nearby) Checked the other locations. All three locations have same message on the screen.

    Robert K. O'Daniell
    Photographer Emeritus-News-Gazette
    PO Box 2085
    Champaign, IL 61825
    217-352-1493

    Attached Files: 

  10. Archived Info - Project Description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Race to Zero Waste

    For the first time since 2014, we are participating in a national race for campuses across the country to show their commitment to recycling and reducing landfill waste. The Campus Race to Zero Waste, formerly known as Recyclemania, runs from January 31, 2021 to March 27, 2021. Each week, F&S will gather and report the waste data from campus, and iSEE will promote recycling and waste reduction across campus. Together, we can strengthen and show our Illini commitment to protecting the environment and implementing the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) objective to reduce landfill waste.

  11. Transportation iCAP Team February Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Walkability Study
    Multi-Modal Transportation Study
    Reduce Driving on Campus
    Sustainably Manage Transportation Systems

    The Transportation iCAP team met on Thursday, 2/25/2022 at 4:00 P.M. and discussed the following topics:

    • Scoring for the upcoming walkability audit
    • Questions for an upcoming mode choice survey

    Further details are in attached documents.

    Attached Files: 

  12. Energy iCAP Team February Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy iCAP Team
    Building-Level Energy Efficiency
    Centralized Energy Efficiency Efforts

    The Energy iCAP team met on Wednesday, 2./24/2022 at 9:00 A.M. on Zoom to discuss the following topics:

    • CO2 District Heating and Cooling Research Update
    • Requisitioning data on current energy and square footage
    • Upcoming energy webinars.

    More details in the attached file.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Interview with Bill Rose and Andrew Stumpf (iCAP Energy Team Co-Chairs)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Clean Energy Plan

    A document containing the notes from this interview is attached below.

     

    Summary of the Clean Energy Transition Plan Interview:

    Bill Rose - iCAP Energy Team Co-Chair

    Andrew Stumpf - iCAP Energy Team Co-Chair

    On 2/25/22, the team met with Bill Rose and Andrew Stumpf. As we are still in the stage of initial research and this was the first interview of this project, we were hoping to learn about their experience as Energy iCAP leaders as well as their recommendations. From this interview, we gained a lot of important information about their beliefs surrounding a clean energy transition as well as what they believe to be the biggest challenges. Overall, Bill Rose places a lot of emphasis on conservation and demand side improvements. Andrew also sees the importance of conservation but focuses on generation and supply side improvements. He places importance on a diverse portfolio of energy generation, including the use of geothermal for steam generation. They also provided us with peer institutions to investigate including Stanford and Ball State. Additionally, they provided us with potential people to interview including Meredith Moore, John Zhao (geothermal), a couple committees on campus and another senior design group that Andrew is working with. This was a very beneficial meeting to see the bigger picture and everything that must go into this plan. A recommendation from Bill was to potentially narrow the scope of our project as there are a lot of components that go into a clean energy transition plan. He is worried it may be difficult for us to cover everything.

     

     

    Attached Files: 

  14. Update on Charging Stations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations

    From: Robert O'Daniell <rodaniell@att.net>
    Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 1:43 PM
    To: White, Morgan; Slezak, Paul
    Cc: DeLorenzo, Stacey; Prasad, Sarthak
    Subject: I’m happy to report

    The chargers at B4 are back - showing up on the Where to Charge apps again. (Began Feb 24th)

    The damaged screen still not replaced at D22 ( supply chain issue ? )

    On an odd note in the last week or so – I failed in an attempt to charge at E14. Possibly a weather issue and there are indications that others have indeed charged. I have not yet tried again. Possibly a one time issue.

    During that attempt I became aware of some kind of issue with 3G on all three of those charging stations. ATT shut down Feb 22 and Verizon and T-mobile will both shut down 3G by the end of the year. All 3 ChargePoint locations indicate “Illini charging / Off network 1” and a warning message. I did drive by and cars are indeed charging at B4 and at D22 in spite of that message.

    ( images below )
    ——————
    As a retired person I’ve taken on the project of making it easier for people buy and transition to EVs. And to do what I can to improve the infrastructure needed for the EVs.

    Robert K. O'Daniell
    PO Box 2085
    Champaign, IL 61825
    217-493-8129

    Attached Files: 

  15. New iSEE Green Event Certification

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Certified Green Event Program

    Congratulations to the newest recipient of our Green Event Certification Program!

    IHSA Wheelchair Basketball/Unified Sports State Tournament, Certified February 2022

    The event will be held at a location that is convenient for public transportation. They will also use natural lighting whenever possible to minimize lighting needs, along with communicating that the event is sustainable via Green Event promotion.

    Keep up the great work!

  17. Walkability audit: Spring 2022, Meeting 5,6

    Associated Project(s): 
    Walkability Study

    On Feb 17 and 24, Sarthak and Sutapa met to discuss the scoring system of the General Walkability audit. 

    We prepared a comparative list of 2 scoring systems (0-5 scale scores and negative to 5 scale scores). The Transportation dept. group meeting on 24th February has an agenda to finalise our scoring system after discussion.

    We have also prepared a spreadsheet with all the results of the survey and formatted it in a way that has questions on each row and one survey per column of the audit. Instead of prioritizing our larger categories of parameters, we decided to assign priorities to each question as High, Medium and Low with weights of x3, x2 and x1 respectively.

    Map blocks 9, 10, 14, 22, 23 and 27 have no records yet. Part 2 of Data collection for the same will start in the last week of March when the weather gets pleasant to walk around. A call for volunteers has been made in the SPO meeting on February 23rd, 2022.

    Results of Transportation group meeting on 24th February:

    1. Scoring system was discussed and finalized

    • Questions are categorized into High, Medium and Low categories. A few questions are marked as Bonus questions with Low priority.
    • 0-5 scoring scale was chosen to represent the options. Negative points were discontinued.
    • Total addition of weighted scores at this stage was 65 points.

    2. Mass email to be sent out again to MUP students as a 'Call for Volunteers' next week.

    3. Chad and Justin to colour code the categories of the Deficiency reporting surveys in the coming weeks.

     

     

  18. Energy009 MMR Safety and Security - Submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy iCAP Team Recommendations Summary
    Energy iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)

    The Energy iCAP Team made the following recommendation on 2/8/21. The Energy009 MMR Safety and Security is attached, and a summary of the recommendation is as follows. 

    =========

    We recommend that the campus commission a report on safety and security surrounding the micro-modular reactor (MMR).

    Attached Files: 

  19. Energy008 Charging Responsibility for Meeting iCAP Energy Goals - Submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)

    The Energy iCAP Team made the following recommendation on 2/8/21. The Energy008 Charging Responsibility for Meeting iCAP Energy Goals is attached, and a summary of the recommendation is as follows. 

    ===========

    We recommend the following actions:

    • The Office of the Provost provide a clear charge to F&S to meet and/or accelerate energy requirements of the iCAP goal.
    • F&S accept this charge and begin internal planning to meet this goal.
      • This will include ensuring the capability to provide the necessary work on utilities and buildings.
      • It will also include making a budget request for necessary funding.
    Attached Files: 

  20. Time-sensitive Petition to raise SSC fees by $3.94

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC)
    Sustainable Campus Environment Fee

    Note: Deadline was extended to March 1

     

    "Hey guys! The SSC needs your help! We are currently circulating a time-sensitive petition to raise SSC fees by $3.94. We need over 2,000 signatures by February 22! https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/529864641?referrer=https://shibboleth.illinois.edu/ 

     

    Right now, the SSC collects $14 from each student via the Cleaner Energy Technologies Fee and the Sustainable Campus Environment Fee, which together is called the Illinois Green Fund. This money goes into a pot, and the SSC allocates that pot of money toward student- and faculty-led sustainability projects. This fee hasn't increased in years, despite increases in tuition and national inflation. To continue to adequately support sustainability projects, we need more funding! 

     

    If we don't hit our mark, the SSC won't be considered for more funding :( Please please please sign this, promote it on your social media, and send it to your general members." Maria Maring (2-16-2022)

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