by Wesley Holmes, LEED Green Associate, Environmental Policy Analyst and Sustainability Consultant

Wesley Holmes earned his Masters of Science degree in Environmental Policy and Management from APU in February 2010, graduating with honors.  For his final project, Wesley began researching the green elements associated with APUS’ new Academic Center which is anticipated to receive LEED Gold certification later this year. As part of that project, Wesley created the APUS Green Building Blog which he maintains on a regular basis.  The blog is full of information related to the APUS Academic Center, green building in general, and Brownfields sites in particular.  Earlier this month Wesley attended the National Brownfields Conference in Philadelphia and submitted the following article for publication on the APUS Sustainability Blog.  

Thickness map of Marcellus Shale. Image from Geology.com, http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml.

Over the course of the three day event, the National Brownfields Conference offers dozens of educational events, round tables, town halls and training sessions. Learning opportunities range from the State of Sustainability in Local Governments to Leveraging Tax Incentives for Sustainable Revitalization to Utilizing Social Media in Brownfield Development. Days before the event I was looking over the schedule trying to pick which sessions I wanted to sit in on. The Marcellus Shale presentation immediately caught my eye. The Marcellus Shale Formation is a rock formation found deep within the Appalachian Basin that contains large pockets of natural gas formed by the decaying organic matter embedded within this ancient formation. As the organic matter has broken down over millions of years it has produced pockets of natural gas. There is currently great excitement about the potential yield of natural gas contained within the Marcellus Formation.

A few facts about the Marcellus Shale Formation
• 390 Million Years Old
• Covers 95,000 sq miles over 7 states
• Contains estimates as high as 500 Trillion Cubic Ft of Natural Gas

Natural gas operations are growing rapidly in the United States, with increasing exploitation of natural gas reserves being a cornerstone of both Democratic and Republican energy proposals. Natural gas burns cleaner than traditional fossil fuels such as oil and coal, presently it is easier to get to, it’s cheaper, and perhaps most importantly, the U.S. has a lot of it. But could this rush to development of a cleaner, cheaper fuel source result in creating as many problems as it helps to address? Adjoining the rapid growth of natural gas projects, there is increasing concern and debate about the safety of the practices used to harvest this fossil fuel of the future. Daily reports of environmental impacts are emerging near natural gas development sites in the form of harmful air emissions, watershed impairment and even earthquakes. In response to these reports, legal challenges are being brought forth by environmental advocacy groups and landowners alike. How appropriate that this year’s National Brownfields Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), should also be held in Philadelphia, home to both the second largest natural gas deposit known in the world, the Marcellus Shale Formation, and the largest emerging market of natural gas production industry and its associated controversies.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Beth Gray

In a January 19th open letter addressed to President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao of China, a coalition of environmental leaders encouraged both presidents to acknowledge the current climate crisis and make it a priority to address the situation through mitigation strategies.  Signed by representatives from 23 leading environmental groups (including among others Sierra Club, Earth Policy Institute, 350.org, Greenpeace, and Rainforest Action Network), the letter notes that the United States and China “dominate world carbon emissions” which has been a well-publicized fact. 

The letter provides both leaders with daunting statistics that would make even the most skeptical environmentalists cringe.  For example, signatories cite the World Health Organization’s estimate that the Earth’s warming climate contributes to more than 150,000 deaths each year.  They further note that scientists predict that some 1/5 of all living species could be driven toward extinction by mid-century if the current climate situation is not alleviated. 

The letter calls for a “wartime-like mobilization by the governments of the United States and China to cut carbon emissions 80 percent (based on 2006 levels) by 2020” and notes that if we are to reduce carbon emissions to 350 parts per million in the atmosphere (the level “top climate scientists” state is safe for humanity), such a “mobilization” must be quickly forthcoming. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Commander Carol Pollio, PhD has been a member of the US Coast Guard Reserve for the last 27 years.  She is also the Program Director for the Environmental Studies Program at APUS and has worked as a biologist for the Department of Interior for the past 33 years.  Dr. Pollio was called to active duty by the US Coast Guard in July 2010 to respond to the Gulf Oil Spill.  In the November/December 2010 issue of The National Association of Environmental Professionals’ National E-News, Dr. Pollio recounts the three months she spent serving as a Liaison Officer in Santa Rosa County, Florida.  Pollio describes her day-to-day tasks in that role (everything from briefings and visits to affected beaches, to simply listening to the people living in and around the affected areas) and provides first-hand insight into many elements of the event that the media did not cover.  Dr. Pollio’s article can be found beginning on page 12 of the most recent issue of NAEP’s National E-News publication.

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. EPA that greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, are air pollutants that are covered under the CAA.  At that time, the EPA undertook to determine whether such greenhouse gas emissions were subject to the CAA permitting regulations. 

Read the rest of this entry »

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.”