The Earth Day Celebration Roundup

April has easily become a month dedicated to increased awareness and activity in the arena of sustainability, and Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22^nd).  Over the next few weeks, many companies are putting together events for their employees to help engage and educate them on ways they can improve the planet.  Companies like IBM, Cisco, and BASF are inviting organizations to share some of the great information they have on ways employees can help the planet.  For example, SmartCommute@rtp will be providing information on ways employees can green up their commutes.

Of course, even if your company isn’t offering an event, there are still lots of ways to celebrate Earth Day, right here in RTP.

RTP Earth Day GetConnected Event
If you haven’t already heard, RTP will be hosting its very own Earth Day Celebration in conjunction with the Triangle Green Business Challenge Kickoff on April 23, from 4pm to 6:30pm at the RTP Headquarters.  This event will include food, beverages, raffles, and guest speakers.  (You can register here.)  You’ll likely be hearing more about this event in the coming days.

RTP Electronics Recycling Day
Environment@rtp will be hosting its annual Spring Electronics Recycling Drive on Wednesday, April 25th for RTP for employees to drop off unneeded household electronics for donation and/or recycling. Visit www.environmentrtp.org/news-events/electronics-recycling-events for more information on this free event.

Books on Break Book Drive
Community Outreach@rtp will be hosting its inaugural “Books on Break” book drive for elementary students.  Instead of disposing of those gently used books you have lying around, donate and allow them to be reused, the best form of recycling.  Visit www.rtp.org/community for more information.

And if that’s not enough, here’s my roundup of upcoming celebratory Earth Day Events around the Triangle for the whole family: Read more »

Think. Act. Breathe. 2012 Air Quality Awareness Season Begins

With April upon us, we’re all excited about the opportunity to be outdoors more.  Some of us look forward to dining al fresco, others enjoy biking to work, and some of us explore our RTP pedestrian trails, while others enjoy the rugged RTP mountain biking trail. But along with our warmer weather come concerns about our regional air quality.

The two biggest air quality problems in North Carolina are ground-level ozone (the main ingredient in “smog”) and particle pollution. Both pollutants are caused mainly by emissions from cars and trucks, and from the coal-burning power plants that supply most of our electricity.  Because hot, sunny conditions are needed for elevated ozone levels, ozone is only a problem during the warm-weather months. The ozone forecast season, when N.C. Division of Air Quality forecasts daily ozone levels, is April 1 to October 31.

For those of your working or passing through the Park, you may notice SmartCommute@rtp member employers posting informational signs letting Park  employees know what the Air Quality Forecast is for the day using the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is a tool used to report levels of ozone, particles and other pollutants in the air to the public. The AQI scale is divided into five color-coded categories, each corresponding to a different level of health concern ranging from green (good) to purple (very unhealthy). Greater AQI values correspond to greater concentrations of air pollution and indicate greater health danger.

The air quality color codes are:

 
Even with cleaner cars and other new technology, our air could get worse as our population grows, endangering our health and reducing our quality of life. The good news is that by being mindful of our daily activities, we can make a few simple changes to help us all breathe easier. Read more »

Research Triangle Park is Alive with Wildlife

Research Triangle Park is home to over 38,000 full-time employees in over 170 diverse companies.  Most people are aware of its regional importance for research and development and its importance to North Carolina.  One thing people may not be as aware of is the flourishing wildlife within the Park.  In addition to the 38,000 employees, hundreds of plants and animals call the 7,000 acre campus home and coexist within RTP.

Male Bluebird in RTP

The Research Triangle Park is home to over 40 bluebird boxes, 8 duck boxes, 4 bat boxes, 2 purple martin houses, and this does not include the various boxes other companies have on their private campuses.  The boxes can be found all over the park off pedestrian trails we they are easily accessible. These houses provide homes for the unique and important species within the Park.  The wildlife box program has been active within the Park since 2005 and has helped shelter hundreds of birds and mammals since then.  Other than the wildlife box program there is also a butterfly garden within the Park at the RTP headquarters, a tree ID trail off of Davis drive, and an ongoing Park wildlife inventory.

Male and Female Bluebird

The main emphasis throughout the wildlife programs at this time of year is on wildlife boxes, notably the bluebird boxes.  Currently there are 40 bluebird boxes throughout the Park which are all available for adoption by RTP employees.  Employees adopt a Bluebird box (es) and monitor the boxes over the breeding season, from late March to August.  All of the data collected on nesting and reproductive habits is then collected and sent to NestWatch through Cornell University.  Cornell uses this data to look at reproductive success and species movement and work to develop better wildlife management for the birds.

Eastern bluebirds experienced a sharp decline in populations from the 1920s to 1970s due to pesticides and other manmade disturbances.  Since then bluebird box programs across the nation have worked amazingly well to bring back populations.  The story of the bluebird’s re-establishment is such an interesting success story, not only for the bird’s recovery, but also for the fact that it was primarily citizens who have worked to bring the birds back and not a specific agency or organization. Read more »

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count

Did you know that there are over 115 different bird species that have been observed in RTP? Starting tomorrow, you’ll have a great reason to get outside and see some yourself!

Bluebirds will begin nesting in March.

The 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up, February 17-20.  This project is one of the largest, most enjoyable citizen-science projects on the planet and this year should be especially interesting because of the warmer temperatures and lack of snowfall that we’ve experienced this winter.

To participate, just count birds anywhere you wish (even outside your RTP office) for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the GBBC. Then, report the highest number of each species seen together at one time on the GBBC website: www.birdcount.org. Everything you need to know is on the website along with an instructional video and downloadable instructions.

You can upload a photo for consideration in the GBBC photo contest. Explore data on the website using maps and charts that show what everyone is reporting. Anyone who participates also has a chance to win great prizes! Tweet about the birds you’re seeing and include the #gbbc tag to have your message show up in the Twitter widget on the GBBC home page. The GBBC is hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society along with Canadian partner, Bird Studies Canada.

Just one of RTP's 40 Blue Bird Boxes.

And if you’re interested in getting more involved with birds on a local scale, consider adopting one of RTP’s 40 bluebird boxes for the Spring and Summer. Environment@rtp will be hosting a Bluebird Box Adoption Lunch and Learn event on March 9, 2012 from 11:30am to 1:00pm for anyone interested in the program!  For more information about the Bluebird Box Adoption program or the Lunch and Learn event, visit www.environmentrtp.org. To register for the Lunch and Learn, use our registration form.

Biogen Idec Plugs In

The buzz around plug-in electric vehicles has been livelier than ever in North Carolina, and RTP is certainly becoming a hub of activity for the technology.  RTI unveiled two new electric vehicle charging stations back in November, and just this past Tuesday,  Biogen Idec held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for ten new electric vehicle charging stations at its RTP campus.

Back in November, I had the opportunity to participate in Biogen Idec’s multi-day Sustainability Fair for employees, and got a chance to hear about the exciting work they were doing to bring these charging stations to fruition and procure funding incentives to encourage employees to purchase or lease electric vehicles.  On Tuesday, Biogen Idec’s work paid off, and they cut the ribbon for their new stations, the first for any of their worldwide locations.

Biogen Idec purchased the charging stations with support from the Carolina Blue Skies Initiative, a project led by Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG), with $12 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.  Biogen Idec has the distinction of being the first organization in the Triangle to successfully deploy electric charging stations under this initiative.

Biogen Idec installed ten Level 2 charging stations at their RTP Campus.

Pat Hoy was one of the four employees that took advantage of the incentive provided to Biogen Idec employees through Advanced Energy to purchase a Nissan Leaf.  He received a $7500 stipend to offset the purchase price and will also receive a $7500 tax credit.  Speaking briefly at the ceremony, Pat mentioned that one of the greatest benefits of owning a plug-in electric vehicle is that it allows him to bypass the gas station.  “I haven’t been to a gas station in three and half weeks since I’ve owned the car… There aren’t too many other people that can say that.”  He also highlighted some of the technological benefits, such as being able to remotely pre-cool the car’s interior using his smartphone (as long as the car is plugged in).   Read more »

Building Bridges to the Classroom

Kit Creek Bridge

As an organization founded on collaboration between the region’s research universities, the Research Triangle Foundation is always looking for new opportunities to engage our academic partners. One of the projects in this vein involves a group of landscape architecture students from North Carolina State University. This week, we had the chance to hear presentations from them on the potential for planting and amenities around a new pedestrian bridge in southern RTP.

Read more »

Let’s Not Waste Waste: Electronics Recyling in RTP

e-Waste is a growing problem – one significant issue is that it is often taken to other nations for handling and improper or unsafe disposal.

CPUs are bundled for recycling at the RTP Electronics Recycling event.

Given the scale of the e-waste challenge, the United States has turned to an initiative called “Solving the E-Waste Problem” or StEP, manged by the United Nations University (UNU), which provides a forum for science-based solutions to international policy problems.  In May of this year, EPA, a founding member of StEP, announced a five year, $2.5 million grant to help finance the creation of the first-ever comprehensive inventory of the country’s e-waste output. The project will “help authorities track shipments of North American electronic waste and provide support to nations in both Africa and Asia coping with e-waste imports …”

Adding to efforts locally, as of January 1^st of this year, the disposal of computer equipment and televisions (among many other things) in a landfill or incinerator is prohibited by North Carolina state law. While this might be a new concept to some, for the last eight years, Environment@rtp has been offering a way for RTP employees to dispose of their residential e-waste.  Twice a year, the committee provides a free and convenient opportunity for employees to drop of their household electronic waste and have it properly disposed of, through recycling and/or reuse.  And for the last five years, the committee has partnered with Kramden Institute, Inc. which collects, refurbishes, and donates PCs to less advantaged students in North Carolina.

Environment@rtp will host its fifteenth Electronics Recycling Day on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 for RTP employees to drop off unneeded household electronics for donation and/or recycling. Read more »

Seeing RTP Through the Trees

Let’s say you’re taking a drive through RTP, as people often do, to get the lay of the land. What stands out the most along the way? If you said ‘trees’, you wouldn’t be alone. The Research Triangle Park is frequently characterized by its extensive landscaping and vegetation. And if you look a little closer, you’ll also find an abundance of flowers, lakes, streams, and wildlife. From time to time, it’s nice to take a step back and appreciate the rich natural landscape of RTP.

Natural systems have been an integral part of RTP’s development since the beginning. Land management regulations have always kept portions of our research campuses wooded, while topography and drainage have guided the way sites were laid out. And for many years, RTP has had so much land available that its pastoral character was practically a given. But as undeveloped property became scarcer, it was time to be more intentional and strategic with how we relate to the environment.

Read more »

Entrepreneurs. Electronics. Elevators. Expansions. Oh my.

Phew! It’s Friday. And what a week! A week filled with excitement and energy in and around the RTP and the Triangle. Bear with me as I recap… I promise, I have an important point.

• Entrepreneurs. As many of you know, we started the week with a bang as The Blackstone Charitable Foundation committed $3.6 million in 2011 to support a dense network of entrepreneurial support in this region.

• Electronics. The RTP community through wind rain and sun came out in force to recycle old electronics and donate reusable computers to Kramden Institute, Inc., a 501(c)(3)not-for-profit charitable institution to refurbish. Kramden then empowers hardworking, less-advantaged students in the community by giving them home computers, allowing them to bridge the digital divide and advance their achievement.

• Elevators. Elevator pitches that is – during a 2-minute lightening round from some of the most promising start-ups and some serial entrepreneurs at the CED Venture Conference. First, can I just say the coffee at the beautiful and expansive Raleigh Convention Center rocks! And second, we’ve got some serious rock-stars in this area. Michael Capps at Epic Games. You crushed it. Ben Weinberger at Digitalsmiths. Just to name a few.

• Expansions. I told you. It was a busy week! RTI International held a grand opening event for their gorgeous, new 127,000 square-foot LEED Silver Building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) on its main campus in the Park. And we celebrated with nearly 300 Biogen Idec employees and partners from the RTP and from around the region and broke ground for an 180,000-square-foot LEED office building, expanding their presence in the Park. Read more »

Electronics Recycling Event – Wednesday, April 27

257 tons. Since the first Electronics Recycling Day held in RTP almost five years ago, the Environment@rtp committee has collected roughly 7,825 donations of used electronic equipment such as computers, stereos, cell phones, VCRs, and TVs from RTP employees, amounting to 257 tons of recyclable material being donated or diverted from landfill disposal.

Do your part. Recycle your used electronics. Leave Wall-E in animation.

As a tech enthusiast, I’m an early adopter of the latest and greatest gadget. It’s silly, but there’s a whole walk-in closet at my home with outdated electronics and yes, a couple of tube TVs. As a result, the question of what to do with outdated electronics has come up in our spring cleaning conversation, and no doubt the disposal of  old electronic equipment has become a global issue. Throwing these items in the trash is not a solution – there is a North Carolina law banning the disposal of televisions and computers that began this year.

Read more »