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 »

2012 North Carolina Science Festival

Guest blog post by Julie Rhodes, North Carolina Science Festival

The North Carolina Science Festival is a multi-day celebration showcasing science and technology. The Festival highlights the educational, cultural and financial impact of science in our state. Through hands-on activities, science talks, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits and performances, the Festival engages a wide range of public audiences while inspiring future generations.

Hands-on activities provide a glimpse into real-life science challenges. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Science Festival

Attention all science enthusiasts! The North Carolina Science Festival, the annual statewide Festival celebrating all things science and technology –related, is about to arrive near you!

With more than 500 events on this year’s Festival calendar, there’s sure to be something for everyone. The North Carolina Science Festival runs April 13-29, 2012.

With a mission to inspire and inform the public about the foundations and frontiers of scientific discovery, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center proudly produces the North Carolina Science Festival.

With more than 500 choices, there's sure to be anl event to suit nearly every science tastebud. Photo courtesy of Counter Culture Coffee.

The Festival, a two-week, statewide series of programs that showcase science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), highlights the educational, cultural and financial impact of the STEM disciplines on North Carolina. It includes hands-on activities, science talks, lab tours, nature experiences, exhibits, performances and other events, and engages a wide range of audiences while inspiring the next generation. It serves as a vehicle for encouraging students to pursue STEM careers and for businesses to invest in North Carolina.

This year the Festival is bringing three TV science personalities that you won’t want to miss. Jeff Corwin, wildlife biologist and Animal Planet TV host, is coming to Greensboro; Neil deGrasse Tyson, host of PBS’s “NOVA scienceNOW,” in coming to Chapel Hill; and Adam and Jamie, hosts of Discovery Channel ‘s “MythBusters,” are coming Charlotte.

Curious about the science-economy connection? Some businesses are hosting behind-the-scenes tours during the Festival. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Science Festival.

But it’s not all superstar talent at the Festival. You can get your science kicks with events like the Kannapolis Zucchini 500, the Robot Rumble in Durham, or Train Rides in New Hill! To find more events near you, visit www.ncsciencefestival.org.

The 2012 Festival Champion is Time Warner Cable. 2012 Platinum sponsors include Burroughs Wellcome Fund, NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation and SAS. 2012 Gold Sponsors include Biogen Idec Foundation, Duke Energy and News 14 Carolina. The Festival is proudly produced by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Charlotte’s Discovery Place is a key strategic partner.

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.

Celebrating STEM

by Elizabeth Ward, Guest Blogger from Citizen Schools

STEM. It’s one of those buzz words that people talk about in the media, politics, education, debates, etc. But what is this STEM? Stem cell research? Plant stems? A slang term referring to someone with nice legs? At Citizen Schools North Carolina STEM means changing the lives of low income middle students. STEM is a chance to expose young Americans to new careers, new opportunities and a new chance to succeed. STEM is power created through learning science, technology, engineering and math and at Citizen Schools, we know how to do STEM right. How? Apprenticeships.

The numbers don’t lie. Less than 1/3 of America’s 8^th grade students are proficient in math and science. Kids don’t want to pursue careers in STEM because quite frankly, they don’t know how. Among the few teens who do express interest in science and math careers, nearly 2/3 say they won’t because they don’t know anyone who work STEM careers and don’t understand what people actually do in STEM careers. Citizen Schools changes those statistics.

At Citizen Schools, we bring professionals off the sidelines and into the classroom to teach hands-on learning projects called apprenticeships. Engineers, electricians, scientists, come to Durham’s most struggling middle schools once a week for 10 weeks and make STEM relevant. They turn a broad concept into something the students can touch, see, smell and feel. They make STEM real.

At Citizen Schools STEM is planting an urban garden. It’s when a 6^th grade student who was initially afraid to get her hands dirty tried to take home worms from her worm decomposition bin because she was so excited about gardening.

At Citizen Schools STEM is producing and editing a student made film. It’s when a young lady gets so excited about the chance to work with a real video camera that she wrote her own song about the experience which became the theme song for a student produced movie.

At Citizen Schools STEM is creating a robot out of Legos and actually making it move. It’s when a group of students turn a mess of Lego parts into working, moving robots that they programmed all by themselves.

At Citizen Schools, STEM happens. For the first time, we are celebrating STEM in Durham, the Citizen Schools way. Come join other STEM professionals, the Citizen Schools staff and most importantly our student apprentices as they teach back what they have learned in their STEM apprenticeships this semester at Neal Middle School. Come say, “WOW!” with us and celebrate the future STEM professionals of America.

These kids know STEM. Let’s thank them in advance for making a better future for our country.

Citizen Schools STEM WOW!

Tuesday, November 29th

4:00 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.

Research Triangle Park Community Foundation

12 Davis Drive

Research Triangle Park NC, 27709

CLICK HERE TO R.S.V.P.

A Running Start for Triangle Parkway

This past Sunday, 434 people got a chance to travel on North Carolina’s first modern toll road… by foot, as part the Triangle Expressway Trot, and I was lucky enough to be one of them.  The event included food trucks, kids’ activities, equipment demonstrations and supported MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving).  The race itself took place on Phase I of the Triangle Expressway, a new toll road that will eventually connect Holly Springs to The Research Triangle Park at 540 and I-40.

And they're off! Runners leaving the start at the Triangle Expressway Trot

I have to admit, there was something very cool about running on a road of this magnitude and significance that hasn’t yet been open to the public, but I also couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, like a kid writing his name in wet cement.  Of course, that didn’t stop me.  And although I was running by, I definitely noted some of the nice attributes of the Triangle Parkway: smooth paving, attractive native and sustainable landscaping, and even the toll gantries are embellished with dogwood flowers in relief.

The Triangle Parkway is the first section of the larger 18.8 mile Triangle Expressway.  This 3.7 mile segment will open to vehicular traffic on December 8, and will be toll-free through January 3, 2012, when tolling will begin.  Interestingly enough, there will be no toll booths and no stopping on the new toll road. Customers may purchase an NC Quick Pass, an electronic sticker transponder, for $5.00, saving them up to 35% on tolls. For those without an NC Quick Pass, overhead high-speed cameras will capture license plate information and bill drivers through a “Bill by Mail” process. Most importantly, the toll-road will offer some definite time savings to commuters, and once all the phases are completed, could shave 40 minutes off the commute time for some.

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the Triangle Expressway on Thursday, December 8, at 10:30am for those who are interested.  Of course, I’ve already been on the road myself.  Oh, and for all my fans out there dying to know, I came in 20^th in the race. Get more race results here and visit NCDOT’s project page for the Triangle Expressway for more information about the new road and for project updates.

High school students + Triangle CEOs = Startup High 2012

by Scott Kelly, RTP Guest Blogger from Startup High

Imagine a summer camp where CEOs and entrepreneurial leaders teach high schoolers how to build and grow companies.  What if each day the students had the chance to visit a different company and interact personally with business leaders?   

Startup High 2012 is making that happen.  

At some point during our life all of us will get out of the shower and say, “I know how I can make millions!”   If the idea gets off the ground it usually fails when it goes to market.  However, a recent methodology called Lean Startup (see Eric Ries’s book The Lean Startup) teaches a scientific approach to test ideas for market fit and can help increase the chance of success when launching a new venture.  

Lean Startup will be part of the curriculum Startup High and help students understand how to test those crazy startup ideas.  Also, instead of each business leader delivering a one way lecture to students, Startup High will utilize a question based approach.  Before each company visit, students will craft appropriate questions for leader to better understand how the company grew. 

Know a parent of a high schooler?  Send them to startuphigh.com, or the Nov 1 Lunch Info Session at First Flight, or one of the other info sessions.

RTP Food Truck Rodeo

RTP Employees enjoying the food trucks

A big huge thank you to all that joined us at RTP Headquarters for the first ever RTP Food Truck Rodeo with the Pie Pushers Pizza Truck, the Chirba Chirba Dumpling Truck and The Parlour Ice Cream Truck.  We were testing out an idea that we thought would be fun and to see if RTP employees would be interested, and turns out it was a HIT with over 200 people from companies all over RTP!  

Patiently waiting for Chirba Chirba Dumplings!

We had a much larger crowd than we (and the food trucks!) anticipated, so we are definitely planning on making the RTP Food Truck Rodeo a monthly event, at least as long as the weather holds out.

The next RTP Food Truck Rodeo is scheduled for Thursday, October 20th from 11:30 AM -1:30 PM and we are planning on making it even bigger & better than the last one with at least two more food trucks, picnic tables, and more!  

That’s where you come in. We want your feedback.  Any other suggestions on things we should change or add to the RTP Food Truck Rodeo?

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 »

Raleigh Leads the Charge for Electric Vehicles

PEV at a Downtown Raleigh charging station

This Wednesday at Marbles Museum in Downtown Raleigh, several RTP staff had the opportunity to attend Plugging In: Progress and Opportunities for Electric Vehicles. The forum, presented by The City of Raleigh, Progress Energy, and Advanced Energy, intended to raise awareness of opportunities and successes in electrified transportation technology.

As the event began, one thing that was quickly apparent was that Raleigh is in the cutting edge of the national rollout of plug-in vehicles. The forum was MC’ed by Paula Thomas, the City of Raleigh’s Sustainability Initiatives Manager, and featured remarks from Mayor Charles Meeker, Assistant City Manager Julian Prosser, and several other City staff. All expressed their eagerness to get Raleigh prepared for electric vehicles.

Read more »