As Heat Returns, Energy Curtailment is On
After a few weeks of seasonable to below-average temperatures the heat is returning, which means energy curtailment will too.
That heat and humidity puts extra stress on our systems as these curtailment days are our highest energy-users. Energy curtailment allows us to control our maximum energy demand or “peak”. If we can reduce energy where it isn’t needed, we ensure that everything that needs energy is getting it. Lower energy means lower emissions, better air quality, and better health for our community–our mission. It also saves us money as our utility rates are based on peak use. The maximum of energy we use at any given time determines the rate we pay for the entire next year. I can think of many other things to spend money on, can’t you?
Energy Curtailment can be confusing though. Spaces may actually be colder than your chosen set-point and/or in the afternoon the temperature may rise above it. It’s sounds crazy, but both manners can help to save energy. It’s not true at your house but is true here, because of the requirements for patient-care and research spaces. Please see our website for further explanation.
We still need your help! When the outside temperature becomes unbearable, we’ll ask you to help ease the energy load by performing simple actions.
Need to see your colleagues have fun demonstrating these actions? Watch this:
Or you can just read this:
- close shades, blinds and curtains whenever possible to reduce solar heat gain;
- lower lighting levels where possible, turn off lights in unoccupied areas and when leaving a room;
- shut fume hood sashes when not in use;
- take the stairs instead of the elevator (leave them for those that need them);
- turn off and unplug all electrical equipment not in use (computers, coffee makers, printers, chargers, etc.);
- open doors manually instead of using the ADA buttons;
- use revolving doors whenever possible;
- don’t charge items on campus, wait until after 7pm unless absolutely necessary;
AND
- Tell other people so they can help too!
These easy steps combine to have a huge impact, on the hot days and for the year ahead. We know not being able to control your space isn’t optional and appreciate your cooperation in this endeavor. Thank you for helping to improve health, reduce pollution, and save money.
Travel Sustainably
by Treyten Ozuna
Traveling has been shown to increase levels of happiness, boost creativity, and decrease stress. Seeing the world allows a person to experience new ideas, cultures, and people, but traveling and tourism can have negative impacts on the places we’re visiting.
If you aren’t following our staycation guide this summer, here are three big ways to travel responsibly this vacation season:
Transportation
Sometimes traveling by plane is the only option for reaching a long-distance destination. Unfortunately, the aviation industry represents the transportation sector with the fastest growing greenhouse gas emissions. With air quality being the leading environmental threat to public health, it’s important we make responsible decisions regarding our mode of transportation.
To travel more sustainably, seek out airlines that offer carbon offset programs or use biofuels. Always keep airtime minimal and opt for non-stop flights wherever possible.
If you’re traveling a short distance, you may even consider traveling by train. You’re able to sight see along the way and you’d be reducing your carbon footprint by half.
If you’re sorting out how to get around once you arrive, opt for electric vehicles or public transportation.
Accommodations
Booking through home-sharing services supports a more efficient use of existing resources. One study showed that staying in an Airbnb is actually more sustainable than even the most energy-efficient hotels. Next time you’re looking for accommodations, give services like Airbnb, Couchsurfer, or other shared services a try. Staying with locals or meeting fellow travelers could certainly add to your experience.
Community
Our actions impact the communities we’re visiting. The World Tourism Organization reports that out of each $100 spent during a trip, only $5 benefits the destination.
Be mindful of your economic contribution. Support businesses and services that contribute to the local economy and preserve the cultural heritage of the community. You’ll likely find an artisan made souvenir or dinner at a local family restaurant is more memorable.
It’s also important to also be weary of purchasing wildlife products as they can inadvertently support the market for trafficking rare and endangered wildlife products.
Traveling can be a fulfilling experience and improve the quality of your life. Sustainability doesn’t have to be more expensive or a drag, it can enhance your vacation experience. It’s possible to the keep public health, the environment, and community in mind, and still have the time of your life.
photo credit: freeimages.com/lisalangell
American Medical Association Takes a Stand
The American Medical Association (AMA) is one of the most well-known and respected medical organizations in the country, having been established in 1847 and publishing the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
At their annual meeting in June, the AMA joined the World Medical Association, British Medical Association, and Canadian Medical Association in the decision to completely divest from fossil fuels. The resolution will “end all financial investments or relationships with companies that generate the majority of their income from the exploration for, production of, transportation of, or sale of fossil fuels”. This is quite a statement, given that fossil fuel companies continue to be profitable. The AMA’s choice is about health and care of patients, not money.
In their public statement, they were very clear: “It is meaningful that the American Medical Association…is saying to the dirty fuels industry now just what it said to tobacco a generation ago: You are killing our patients and we will not allow it anymore” said Todd Sack, MD, who co-authored the resolution.
Did you know air pollution from fossil fuels causes 200,000 premature deaths each year in the United States alone? Or that closing coal and oil plants immediately lowers the risk of pre-term births in surrounding areas? Carbon pollution from fossil fuels is also the leading cause of climate change, which contributes to an increase in many public health concerns including but not limited to: vector-borne diseases, food and water scarcity and contamination, migration, and heat-related illnesses.
This resolution also calls for the AMA to choose vendors, suppliers, and corporations that have demonstrated environmental sustainability practices that seek to minimize their fossil fuels consumption. It also intends to support physicians/health professional associations with policy analyses, education, and informing patient/public/government policy makers.
This is why Nebraska Medicine and UNMC have made a strong commitment to sustainability, pledging to by 2030:
- Become carbon neutral (net zero building emissions)
- Achieve zero waste (90% of all non-biohazardous materials leaving campus will be diverted from the landfill and incineration)
- Use less water than what falls on the main campus during an average rainfall year (54% reduction)
- Increase the trips made to campus using active transportation to 35%
It’s about health. It’s preventative healthcare. It’s our mission. We will lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities.
To learn more about our goals and their impacts, click here.
photo credit: freeimages.com/nikitagolovanov
Independence Day the Sustainable Way
I like fireworks; they never fail to impress me. Remember that as you read this. They do, however, come with risks, including a lot of environmental and health risks. LiveGreen wants you to be safe and sustainable on your holiday; please note the simple tips below.
When it comes to fireworks, leave it to the pros, there are many good shows to watch on multiple days in the metro area. You stay safe and save money.
If you are going to light fireworks at your home, follow these safety tips to reduce your family’s chance of being injured or starting an unintentional fire. Don’t forget to be considerate of Veterans and take special care of your pets!
Fireworks contain a variety of toxins and pollutants that can affect you and the environment around us, especially when they make their way to waterways. The compounds in fireworks and their smoke cause cancer, nervous system damage, kidney failure, lung diseases, and skin diseases. Some risks are immediate, especially for asthmatics and people with chronic lung diseases, while others show up over time. The same risks apply to wildlife with aquatic animals being affected more quickly.
To protect yourself, your property and ensure our waterways and local ecosystems are not damaged, properly dispose of all fireworks and never allow them to enter storm drains. Follow Keep Omaha Beautiful’s simple steps.
If you have left over fireworks, don’t forget the Omaha Police Department’s Firework Amnesty Day, usually held the following weekend.
To make the rest of your holiday festivities sustainable, check out these easy tips:
- Buy in food and supplies bulk; don’t forget your reusable shopping bags
- Don’t buy bottled water or individually canned/bottled beverages. Buy and serve in larger containers in reusable cups….and plates/utensils.
- Provide recycling containers for guests.
- When decorating, don’t buy new. Use what you have, visit second-hand stores, and be creative!
- Leaving home?
- Turn your thermostat up and turn off lights to save energy and money
- Use public transportation and/or carpool to get to your destination
- Eat less meat and more vegetables—it’s healthier, too!
- If you are grilling, electric or propane grills are better than charcoal. If you must use charcoal, but a brand that uses invasive tree species and forego lighter fluid for a chemical free starter.
- Encourage local officials to use biodegradable and gunpowder-free (smoke-free) fireworks, launched with compressed air (it’s what Disney does!)
Ditch the Plastic
Plastic, plastic, plastic. We live in a plastic world; countless everyday items are made from plastic, everything from grocery bags to toothbrushes to bottles. Plastic has its place, especially in healthcare, but you’ve probably seen an article or two floating around on plastic consumption and the impact it’s having.
So, is it really that big of a deal?
Yes! Plastic pollution is a problem—not just for the environment but also for your health. It can take hundreds of years for plastic items to biodegrade and items like plastic bags and bottle caps
often find their way into oceans, rivers, and streams where they harm wildlife, spoil the landscape, and clog infrastructure. If that isn’t concerning on its own, plastics break down into microplastics. These tiny particles are contaminating water sources and making their way up the food chain onto our dinner plates. Even beer has fallen victim to contamination.
It might come as a surprise, but it’s been estimated that 80% of marine debris originates as land-based trash. Plastics are littered, fly off during transport, and manage to escape from landfills. It
may seem like a daunting problem to take on, but fortunately there are easy actions you can take that to reduce your daily dose of plastic, and you’ll be shocked at the impact it can have. Here are a few easy ways for you to get started:
- Ordering take-out? Let the restaurant know ahead of time you won’t be needing plastic cutlery.
- Bring your reusable shopping bags along for all shopping trips.
- Stop sucking! Don’t be afraid to say no to straws in the drive thru or elsewhere.
- Try using bamboo toothbrushes.
- …And while you’re at it consider using a metal, reusable shaving razor.
- Shop for cotton or other natural fiber clothing. Synthetic fibers like polyester are just one source of microplastics.
- When purchasing paper towels, toilet paper or other household items, opt for products that are packaged in paper or other natural materials.
- Go topless! Not you, the drinks! Decline lids and straws on fountain drinks, coffees and other to-go items wherever possible.
- Get a reusable beverage container, and stop buying single-use servings.
- Check out our Pinterest page for more ideas.
Making these easy choices to ditch the plastic can reduce pollution, improve your health, and save you money.
Energy Curtailment
Though summer hasn’t officially arrived, the heat and humidity have, which means we are in energy curtailment.
Energy curtailment allows us to control our maximum energy demand or “peak”. If we can reduce energy where it isn’t needed, we ensure that everything that needs energy is getting it. Lower energy means lower emissions, better air quality, and better health for our community–our mission. It also saves us money as our utility rates are based on peak use. The maximum of energy we use at any given time determines the rate we pay for the entire next year. I can think of many other things to spend money on, can’t you?
In the past many of you felt cold on curtailment days. It seemed backwards, that you would save energy by having it be colder in spaces when it was so hot out. It was an effective way to save energy and money—it’s inefficient to produce heat when it’s hot out, and that’s what we were doing. By not producing that heat, some spaces felt cold.
Updating technology has allowed us to control this process better. Beginning in 2018, spaces that were previously cold will be affected differently by energy curtailment. They will still be pre-cooled at night. {“Pre-cooling” is a literal term: spaces are cooled in the early morning, before people arrive. This is also when energy use is lower, and before the sun is beating down and temps get really hot. Spaces are often cooled below the temperature set on the thermostat, which makes it easier for the system to keep up, once the heat and humidity are in full effect.} However, these spaces will not need to be pre-cooled to such a cold temp to see the energy savings. This does mean that your space will likely get a little warmer in the afternoon.
Not only does this tend to mirror what happens in a residential situation, it is overwhelmingly what you, the building occupants, have requested and we are happy to report that this is now possible.
We need your help! When we are in energy curtailment, we’ll ask you to help ease the energy load:
- close shades, blinds and curtains whenever possible to reduce solar heat gain;
- lower lighting levels where possible, turn off lights in unoccupied areas and when leaving a room;
- turn off and unplug all electrical equipment not in use (computers, coffee makers, printers, chargers, etc.);
- shut fume hood sashes when not in use; and
- open doors manually instead of using the ADA buttons.
- take the stairs instead of the elevator
- tell others!
These easy steps combine to have a huge impact, on the hot days and for the year ahead.
Commercial Recycling Changes
You may have heard FirstStar Fiber, Omaha’s materials recovery facility, made changes to their commercial recycling processes, effective June 1st. They will no longer be accepting “single-stream” recycling (all recyclables mixed together) from commercial customers.
To be clear, this will not change any aspect of residential/curbside recycling, it is only affecting commercial/businesses.
This change largely due to the level of contamination in the single-stream containers. Contamination in recycling can be items that are not recyclable (Styrofoam) or items that are recyclable, but are dirty, usually with food and liquid (greasy pizza box). Food contamination can also lead to issues for the people doing the sorting, as it can attract bugs/vermin. A little contamination can be dealt with, but a large amount usually means the load gets taken to the landfill. Contamination can be caused by a lack of education or laziness, but can also by people who place an item in a bin and just hope if it gets to the recycling place they’ll figure out how to recycle it. Nope. I understand the wish and the hope, but this action ultimately means less items are being recycled.
What does this mean for the Medical Center?
Right now, it does not affect us. We are already sorting our recyclables into 3 streams: Paper, Cardboard, and Mixed Plastic & Metal. Because of this we are already in compliance but are lucky—other businesses got less than a month’s notice which sadly means they are scrambling to figure out what to do and a lot of recyclables are probably going to go to the landfill.
Even though our process isn’t currently changing, we want to make sure everything that goes in a recycling container is recycled and that we do not have a contamination problem. Please:
- Visit our recycling page for information on recycling on campus
- Put all paper in the blue bins. It all gets shredded and recycled; easy peasy.
- Flatten cardboard boxes, regardless of size or cardboard type
- Empty all food and liquids prior to placing them in the plastic/metal bin
- Containers do not need to be washed clean
- Empty any food you don’t eat into the trash
- Dump liquids out of bottles, no need to rinse
- S. Get a reusable bottle! You’ll save money, it’s better for your health, and you won’t be drinking plastic pieces.
- Contact LiveGreen@unmc.edu or your LiveGreen Ambassador with any questions.
- Containers do not need to be washed clean
Earth Month Wrap-Up
The first campus Earth Month puts up impressive numbers
In years past we have always had “Earth Week”—a weeklong celebration of International Earth Day. You requested more events and to have events spread out so it was easier for you to attend. We were happy to oblige and even happier to combine forces with UNO to be able to offer additional events while making sure you were aware of community events brought to you by the Nebraska Science Festival.
A special thank you to all of our awesome volunteers—without you this week would not have been possible!
All month long we asked you to join the Drawdown EcoChallenge and our team ranked 40th in the nation, with an impressive environmental and personal impact!
We kicked things off by providing you with personal care recipes, so you can reduce your exposure to chemicals, save money, and because we tested and use all of them, know they work. If you missed out, click here for copies.
UNO hosted the Sustainability Expo this year and we’ll host it on our campus next year. Snow (?!) and then rain forced us to move the “Yoga on the Green” sessions inside. As usual, it rained during the personal document shredding and electronic/battery/techno trash recycling event, but it’s still our most popular event with hundreds of you dropping off items:
- 141 eyeglasses donated to the TEI clinic; ~8000 pop tabs to Ronald McDonald House
- 401 pounds of VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs, and floppy disks
- 5,657 pounds of electronics
- 2,740 pounds of TVs and computer monitors
- 7,280 pounds of paper for shredding
- 150 pounds of alkaline batteries
- 16,228 total pounds (that’s almost 2,000 more pounds than last year and equals 8.1 tons or 4.5 average US cars!) diverted from the landfill. That impact?*
- 15 trees saved
- 151 gallons of oil not used
- 340,040 hours of electricity saved
- 4,603 gallons of water
We ended the week celebrating our status as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, replacing an Eastern Redbud tree that was removed due to disease, giving away Red osier Dogwoods and wildflower seeds, and asking Master Gardner Susan Siebler lots of questions.
We want to provide activities that are meaningful to you, both personally and professionally. If you have any additional comments, suggestions, or changes for next year please email us.
*Estimated impact; actual totals may vary slightly depending the exact mix of electronics turned in.
30×30 Nature Challenge
You may not have heard of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), but you’ve probably heard of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for buildings, which is the credentialing the USGBC provides for building construction. Here, we are covered by the USGBC Nebraska Flatwater Chapter.
The USGBC understands that the built environment is important, but it envisions “buildings and communities that will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation.” Essentially, the built environment needs to work with nature instead of against it, or by dominating it. Working against nature can negatively affect our health and overall wellbeing.
The USGBC is asking everybody to spend 30 minutes outside in nature for the 30 days in June, hence the 30×30 challenge. That can’t be hard, right? Just 30 minutes of your day outside? You can take the dog for a walk, read in the shade of a tree, spend time in the garden, explore a new walking path, take the kids to a park and/or admire the sights, sounds and smells from anyplace—just get outside!
Benefits to you include:
- Decreased stress
- Exercise
- Stronger relationships
- Lowers blood pressure
- Reduces fatigue and helps children focus and control impulses
- Greater productivity, at home and work
- Increased satisfaction
- Improved memory, problem solving, creativity, and attention span
- Building community/camaraderie among neighbors
- Have a heightened sense of well-being
You can do this before work, on your lunch or break, or after work. Don’t forget that some of your favorite places are different in the dark, and that’s worth exploring too.
Like trees? Studies show heading to a forest can have additional benefits, and Fontenelle Forest is a great local attraction, (and they have Nature Discovery Day Camps for kids!).
After your 30 days are up, take stock of how you feel (bonus points for keeping a journal along the way). What benefits have you observed in your own life? Do you take a walk at lunch and find that you get more done in the afternoon? Did you have more or deeper conversations with your kids? Did your overall stress diminish? Maybe you lost a few pounds? Is your dog less destructive indoors?
Whatever it is, everybody will benefit from the 30×30 challenge. So what are you waiting for?
photo credit: freeimages.com/brianlary
Emerald Ash Borer Reminder
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was confirmed in Douglas and Cass Counties in 2016, forcing quarantines and treatment zones 5 Nebraska and 2 Iowa counties. It is an invasive beetle that whose larvae bore into the layer of wood beneath the bark, which is responsible for water and nutrient movement in the tree, and this eventually kills the tree. Once an area is infested, it’s estimated that 80% of ash trees will be killed in the first 8 years.
Omaha has an estimated 100,000 ash trees, all of which could be wiped out by an EAB infestation. This will remove 14% of Omaha’s tree canopy and change the landscape of our city, while increasing air-conditioning costs. To help spread awareness, the Omaha Parks Foundation and City of Omaha Forestry Division have participated in EAB Awareness Week for several years. Ironically, this is how the EAB was discovered. Several trees have been wrapped with bright emerald ribbons to show what’s at risk. This includes several trees on campus.
While we have a diverse species of trees on campus, almost every tree lining Emile and Farnam Streets on the 42nd and Dewey campus are ash trees, including the trees the purple martins use in their migration. Almost all of the trees lining Regency Parkway, Abbot Drive, and along the streets of Memorial and Elmwood parks are ash trees.
Not only will we lose the trees and the benefits they provide, but removal of the dead trees will cost millions of dollars. EAB has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in the U.S. since its discovery in 2002.
So what can you do to stop the devastation?
- Educate yourself on EAB, identify ash trees in your area, educate others.
- Observe the quarantine preventing the movement of firewood, mulch, timber, and green waste as beetles and larvae can hide, be transported, and infect other areas.
- Plant more trees now.
- Plant diverse species to protect against future loss.
- More than 60 species of broadleaf trees can be grown successfully in eastern Nebraska.
- Check out Keep Omaha Beautiful’s Trees for Omaha program.
Are you a homeowner with an ash tree?
- Remove ash trees in poor condition.
- Treat healthy ash trees to slow down the spread of EAB.
- Spray and soil applications are available; talk to a certified arborist.
- Plant more trees now.
- Plant diverse species to protect against future loss.
