Environmental News
Environmental News from Boulder, Colorado
CU’s Will Vill North is better than gold
Dec 2nd
CU’S WILLIAMS VILLAGE NORTH EARNS
PLATINUM RATING IN LEED CERTIFICATION
PLATINUM RATING IN LEED CERTIFICATION
Williams Village North, the University of Colorado Boulder’s newest residence hall, has received a LEED platinum rating from the United States Green Building Council. The 500-bed residence hall is the first of its size in the nation to rank platinum — the highest possible designation.
LEED certification is a U.S. benchmark for sustainable building design, construction, operation and maintenance. The $46.5 million Williams Village North, with 131,246 gross square feet, is projected to be nearly 40 percent more energy and water efficient than modern code-compliant buildings of the same size.
“Our platinum rating — a first for the campus — represents a lot and we’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished through the efforts of many dedicated people,” said Moe Tabrizi, campus sustainability director. “It reflects our commitments to immediate energy, water and resource conservation and our long-term goal of carbon neutrality, as well as the belief that we can provide students interactive learning in every corner of campus.”.
CU-Boulder has eight other structures that are LEED gold rated and another with a silver designation. All future new or renovated buildings on campus will be at least LEED gold rated, with the goal of seeking LEED platinum whenever possible, Tabrizi said.
In a building that gets 12.5 percent of its energy from on-site solar panels, Williams Village North residents have a hand in controlling the flow of electricity. They are able to shut off power to nonessential and not-in-use outlets with single switches installed in each room. Residents will be able to monitor electricity using meters and information kiosks in the building, which also are slated for upcoming energy savings competitions.
A free water bottle filling station shows how many plastic containers may have been diverted from landfills as users stock reusable vessels. Since the building opened in mid-August, the estimated savings stands at more than 24,000 bottles.
The building is home to two Residential Academic Programs, or RAPS — Sustainable by Design and Social Entrepreneurship for Equitable Development and Sustainability. Architecture Assistant Professor Matthew Jelacic serves as faculty in residence for both of the RAPS.
“Williams Village North offers more than a living space, it offers a lifestyle,” said Kambiz Khalili, executive director of Housing and Dining Services. “Our partnership with the campus and resident student leaders provided the opportunity to commit resources that allow CU students to fully explore the impacts of sustainability in a unique living and learning environment.”
The site has low-flow water fixtures installed in sinks, showers and toilets, and native landscaping that requires little or no watering.
Other green features include energy-efficient lighting with daylight harvesting, advanced heat-recovery systems and low-volatile organic compound, or VOC, materials.
“As we began the design process, it became obvious to us that if we stretched our collaborative efforts we had a chance to create the first LEED platinum building on campus,” said Curt Huetson, director of facilities, planning and operations for Housing and Dining Services. “I challenged our project team, which actually signed a pact and committed to make it happen. As a result, each member now points to this facility with tremendous personal pride.”
Team members included Paul Leef, director of planning, design and construction and campus architect; Steve Hecht, manager of design and project management; Heidi Rogé, project manager; Tom Goodhew, campus planner; Richelle Reilly, landscape architect; and Paula Bland, director of Residence Life. Also included were campus engineers Jonathan Akins, Pieter van der Mersch, Pepper Clayton and Joe Branchaw.
Only 1.5 percent of Williams Village North project costs came from the sustainability integration that makes the building LEED platinum rated and will translate into significant utility savings over time.
For more information on CU-Boulder’s green campus initiatives visit http://www.colorado.edu/cusustainability/greeningcu/GreeningCU.html. For more information on Housing and Dining Services visit http://housing.colorado.edu/
Is Boulder’s “waste”water treatment next?
Nov 23rd
City water treatment facilities earn Partnership for Safe Water award
The City of Boulder’s water treatment facilities at Betasso and Boulder Reservoir have earned the Partnership for Safe Water’s Phase III Directors Award, in recognition of their demonstrated commitment to water quality and consumer safety. Only seven other water treatment facilities in the State of Colorado have received this award for optimizing water treatment facility performance.
To be eligible for the award, the two water treatment facilities successfully completed the Phase III self-assessment process, as required by the
Partnership, which required the facilities to examine operations and identify areas for performance improvement.
The Partnership praised the facilities for their strong commitment to operational excellence and to protecting the health of water customers in Boulder.
The Partnership for Safe Water is a unique cooperative organization designed to support water treatment facilities in voluntarily enhancing their water systems performance to help protect the health of customers. The partnership is between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Water Works Association, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Water Companies and Association of State Drinking Water Administrators. Visit the Partnership for Safe Water website to learn more.
CU Boulder –Nature, not nurture, behind hard-core smoking
Nov 16th
Cigarette smoking should be treated as addiction, scientists say.
Well, duh
A new study of twins led by the University of Colorado Boulder shows that today’s smokers are more strongly influenced by genetic factors than in the past and that the influence makes it more difficult for them to quit.
“In the past, when smoking rates were higher, people smoked for a variety of reasons,” said sociology Professor Fred Pampel, a study co-author. “Today the composition of the smoking population has changed. Smokers are more likely to be hard-core users who are most strongly influenced by genetic factors.”
The study showed that adult identical twins sharing a common genetic structure are significantly more likely to quit smoking at the same time compared with fraternal twins who do not share identical genes. This genetic influence has increased in importance among smokers following the initial restrictive legislation on smoking enacted in the United States in the 1970s, Pampel said.
“These days people don’t smoke as much for social reasons,” Pampel said. “They in fact face criticism for the habit but tend to smoke because of their dependence on nicotine.”
The study, to be published in this month’s edition of the journal!
Demography, was led by Associate Professor Jason Boardman and doctoral student Casey Blalock of CU-Boulder’s sociology department and Institute of Behavioral Science, and co-authored with Pampel, also of IBS, Peter Hatemi of Pennsylvania State University, Andrew Heath of Washington University in St. Louis and Lindon Eaves of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond.
Using a database of twins who responded to an extensive health questionnaire, the researchers examined the smoking patterns of 596 pairs of twins, 363 of them identical and 233 of them fraternal. The researchers looked at their smoking patterns from 1960 to 1980 because they wanted to focus on a period of changing views about smoking.
Among identical twins, 65 percent of both twins quit during a two-year timeframe if one twin quit, but among fraternal twins, the percentage dropped to 55 percent, a statistically significant difference that indicates a genetic component at work, Pampel said.
While a specific genetic marker has been hard to identify among those who smoke, certain genetic similarities can be inferred. “If one identical twin quits the other is likely to quit,” he said. “And if one twin continues so is the other twin.”
The study has implications for current public policies aimed at reducing smoking, which may be becoming less effective, Pampel said.
Since the early and mid 1970s when restrictive anti-smoking legislation began to be enacted in the United States, many smokers have quit. “Prior to 1975 this (potentially genetic) pattern wasn’t clear because there were so many smokers.”
Two of today’s main anti-smoking policies include heavy taxes on cigarettes and vast reductions in the number of public spaces where smoking is allowed, particularly in bars and restaurants, Pampel said.
But with indications that the genetic component is growing, it may be time to treat smoking more like an addiction than a choice, Pampel said. Such a policy shift might include more emphasis on nicotine-replacement therapy and counseling.
Boardman, Blalock and Pampel are affiliated with the CU Population Center in CU-Boulder’s Institute of Behavioral Science.
–
