Archive | 2010

Biowalls

By on December 30, 2010 in Sustainability in Business

by Ashley Adams

Creating a complete ecosystem involving plants and soil in your business or home can help reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other pollutants in the air.  This can easily be achieved by installing a biowall also known as a green wall, living wall, or vertical garden. A biowall is a vertical surface covered with plants, which air passes over or through, filtering out toxins.  There are mainly two different kinds of biowalls; green facades and living walls.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 1 }

New EPA Climate Rules Set to Take Affect

By on December 22, 2010 in Current Events

by Beth Gray

After years of preparation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to execute a new set of rules that have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States.  On January 2, 2011, the EPA’s Tailoring Rule takes effect which aims to target the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

To fully understand the impact of the Tailoring Rule, it is important to understand its origins which really began in 1970 with the Clean Air Act (CAA).  The Clean Air Act sought to curb atmospheric pollution that was found even 40 years ago to have a negative impact on the environment and human health.  Various pollutants are acknowledged in the CAA as detrimental.  The CAA contains a permitting function which seeks to regulate the volume of pollutants as identified within the CAA.  In April 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Space Tourism

By on November 29, 2010 in Sustainability General

by Beth Gray

While most of us are lucky to travel to another country in our lifetime, there are some who are taking the concept of a vacation to an unprecedented level.  For those with enough money (approximately $20 to $30 million dollars) and a need for adventure, space tourism offers a once-in-a-lifetime vacation opportunity.  Beginning in 2001 with American Dennis Tito, space tourism company Space Adventures began marketing this amazing opportunity.  To date, the company has provided the opportunity for seven individuals to spend up to 15 days traveling to and from the International Space Station. 

A recent study in Geophysical Research Letters has many questioning the practice of space tourism.  The authors of the study assumed “using current business models” that “by 2020 there will be 1,000 suborbital space tourist flights every year.”  Just last month, the world saw the first spaceport established in New Mexico.  Richard Branson has been one of the most stalwart advocates of space tourism and his company, Virgin, funded the New Mexico spaceport.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Procter & Gamble: A Big Step for a Big Company

By on November 22, 2010 in Sustainability in Business

by Shawn Skinner

Despite the surge in sustainability interest in recent years, trips to large chain stores quickly reveal that many still value convenience over environmentalism.  Many large department and grocery stores often have green and organic products separated in small sections in their stores—demonstrating that green products still are just a consumer niche.  Additionally, there are stores that only sell sustainable and organic products, but again, this is just a specialty niche.  According to Lori Tripoli in the June issue of the magazine, Sustainability: The Journal of Record, “A large chunk of the population isn’t necessarily attracted to green products, doesn’t want to be confronted with green-product propaganda, and is uninterested in paying a premium for a product that might do more for the environment while doing a little less for the consumer.”  One of the top Fortune 500 companies, Procter & Gamble (P&G), has recognized this dilemma and responded to it by beginning to sell environmentally friendly products to the mainstream.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

APUS marks a new era of development with the Academic Center ribbon cutting

By on November 19, 2010 in Academic Building, Video

Tour of the APUS Academic Center from American Public University on Vimeo.

Ribbon Cutting 004Thursday, Nov 18th marked another milestone for American Public University System. Charles Town Mayor Peggy Smith noted that, with the ribbon cutting ceremony on the new Academic Center, APUS expanded its substantial contribution to the Charles Town community and established itself as “an anchor for sustainable development” in the area. The event was attended by APUS administration and staff as well as local dignitaries and representatives from the Dept of Transportation (DoT), Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

APUS Opens Green Building

By on November 18, 2010 in APUS Sustainability Efforts, LEED Building, Sustainability in Higher Education

by Beth Gray

This morning American Public University System (APUS) held the ribbon cutting event for its fifteenth building in downtown Charles Town, West Virginia.  The building is a 45,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly building which is anticipated to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification. 

 The building is constructed on a site designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a brownfields, a site which, due to previous uses, may contain various contaminants.  The site on which APUS chose to construct its building was previously used as an industrial scrap yard; various contaminants were found in the soil at the site including lead and petroleum products.  The contaminants were removed from the soil prior to construction.  In total, the university system removed 36 tons of soil from the property before beginning the construction process.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Water Efficiency

By on November 13, 2010 in Uncategorized

WE Prerequisite 1: Water Use Reduction- 20% less than standard.

WE Credit 1: Water Efficient Landscaping 2–4 Points

WE Credit 3: Water Use Reduction (30-40% reduction)  2-4 Points

Intent- To increase water efficiency within buildings to reduce the burden on municipal water supply and wastewater systems.

By: Wesley Holmes

Energy Efficient Bathrooms in the LEED Certified APUS Academic Center from Kudda on Vimeo.

Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. population nearly doubled. In that same period water consumption more than tripled to 410 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d) in 2005, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 2 }

APUS Group Discusses Sustainability at Sloan-C Conference

By on November 8, 2010 in APUS Sustainability Efforts, Current Events, Sustainability in Higher Education

by Beth Gray

Last week, several American Public University System (APUS) staff members from the school’s Instructional Design and Development office and the Office of the President presented at the 16th Annual Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning in Orlando, Florida.  The Sloan Consortium (often called simply “Sloan-C”) “is an institutional and professional leadership organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, helping institutions and individual educators improve the quality, scale, and breadth of education.” More than 1,400 individuals attended (some virtually via Sloan’s live streaming feature) this year’s conference.  Attendees included representatives from other fully online institutions, ground-based colleges and universities, and schools with blended programs. 

The presentation, titled “Going Green Online,” detailed the ways in which APUS has capitalized on its online format to make significant progress in mitigating its carbon footprint.  The theme for this year’s conference was “The Power of Online Learning: Stimulating New Possibilities” and the group discussed the ways in which online universities can make a tremendous impact in combating climate change, a practice that is still relatively new to the online learning community.  To date, APUS is the only fully online school to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment.  Stressing the effectiveness of online instruction in helping to reduce a school’s carbon footprint, the presenting group provided best practices to help interested schools of all formats (online, blended, or on-ground) get started with their own sustainability programs.  The unique session topic was well-attended and was a great fit for the conference theme of “stimulating new possibilities.”

… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }

Refrigerant Management

By on November 3, 2010 in Environmental Protection

EA Prerequisite 3: Fundamental Refrigerant Management

Required

Intent- To reduce stratospheric ozone depletion.

By: Wesley Holmes

November marks the last month of construction on the new Academic Center. As we enter the final weeks of development the last of the LEED categories are being addressed. With systems and interiors being finished the buildings operational requirements are being addressed. For example, now that the buildings heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment is installed, it must be charged with refrigerant and tested.… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 1 }

Organic vs. All Natural

By on November 1, 2010 in Sustainability General

by Ashley Adams

When shopping, for food, clothes, furniture, or other products, there are a few terms used frequently that are sometimes misunderstood. As the trend of purchasing green products as alternatives to the more traditional products becomes more poplar, so too do the marketing ideas to draw consumers’ attention.  There are many signs and labels that say “organic” or “all natural.” Some believe these are the same thing but they are not.

Organic, when applied to food, means that the products have passed standards set by a state or private entity that is accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The USDA has a sub-program that develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards of organic products called the National Organic Program (NOP).… Read the rest

Continue Reading • Comments { 0 }