Sustainable Athletics?

Courtesy of Author

As we progress into the month of March I find myself already longing for some good ole' SEC Football (GO GATORS!). Yeah, yeah I know, the Orange and Blue game will be here soon enough but let's face it, it's just not the same as the real thing: tailgating, screaming fans, Pride of the Sunshine, and sustainability? Wait, what?

The University of Florida Gators had their first carbon neutral football game in 2007, following with their first carbon neutral home football season in 2008, and the first carbon neutral athletics program in 2009.UF has partnered with Neutral Gator to generate local offset credits through community development projects in low-income households and natural area restorations for the approximately 2,500 ton carbon footprint of the Gator athletic programs. A carbon offset represents the reduction of 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. Another way that UF is being sustainable was in the construction and design of the South Endzone of Florida Field which is currently LEED Platinum. Seeing all that UF has done to make their athletic program more sustainable got me to thinking about what other athletic facilities may be doing.

While I hate to even applaud The Ohio State University football program for their sustainability efforts because of Urban Liar, they were able to accomplish a major feat in 2012 when they were able to prevent 87% of the waste created by the football stadium from going into the landfill by recycling and composting efforts, with a season high of 98.2%. They attribute their success to educating the public, marketing efforts, and having people to assist the public in making sure their trash was disposed of responsibly.

Courtesy of Switchboard.nrdc.org

Ever since coming to college I haven't really been interested in NFL football games, but some notable sustainable features in NFL stadiums include: 1,350 solar panels around Metlife Stadium (Jets), 3,000 solar panels around Gilette Stadium (Patriots), and 8,000 solar panels, as well as, electric vehicle charging stations at FedEx Field (Redskins). I'm not a Redskins fan but hey, if I was it might be worth it to get an electric vehicle just for the premium tailgating location!

Wind Turbine (Courtesy of Cleantechnica)

Sustainable efforts in Major League Baseball (MLB) include: helical wind turbines for the Cleveland Indians, a LEED retractable roof for Brewers Miller Park, and diverting 61% of stadium waste by recycling for the Pittsburgh Pirates. When I searched for a picture of the Indian's wind turbine I wasn't expecting such a neat looking structure. When I searched for my favorite baseball team's sustainability efforts (Go Rays!), I found out that the Tampa Bay Rays promote carpooling by offering free parking (I already knew this, hence why I always ride with friends to games when I am home.), have increased recycling efforts by 50%, and use corn-oil based beverage cups and biodegradable beverage cups in concessions. In addition, at their Spring Training facility in Charlotte County, they have an on-site recycling center and a 1,600 square foot educational green roof.

Courtesy of Flickr

It's great to see some of the sustainability efforts that athletic programs across the country are incorporating into their seasons. Hopefully, the years ahead will bring us many more sustainable athletic facilities in our communities. In the mean time just remember, when at the University of Florida, "Put it in the can, Gator Fan."

The Green House Project

Courtesy of FreeFoto

The title of this blog post may be a little misleading at first. The title appears to be precluding to an article about "green" residential homes. However, "The Green House Project" is actually a program designed to foster a more comfortable living environment for our nation's ever increasing elderly population.

According to the Administration of Aging, the number of persons aged 65 or older, within the United States numbered 39.6 million in 2009 and represent almost 13% of the total population. By the year 2030, there will be approximately 72.1 million older persons living in the United States! So what does all this mean in terms of urban planning? It means there will be A LOT of people who need specialized residential facilities. These facilities will either need to be newly constructed or must come from existing structures in our communities. 

Courtesy of Green House Project

The Green House Project (GHP) creates small, residential homes designed with 10-12 bedrooms, each with their own personal bathroom, and common areas such as a living room, kitchen, and outdoor areas. The elderly living in these homes receive the same type of care they would normally get in a traditional assisted-living facility, but in a more personalized environment similar to living at home with their children or grandchildren.Instead of having one large assisted-living facility the homes are situated in a neighborhood-like atmosphere with traditional yards and spacing between the homes. At first glance, these homes look like any other single-family residential facility. In more urban areas, these Green Homes can be built vertically so that each floor is a separate "Green House." There are currently more than 200 homes in 23 states. Within Florida, there are two Green House Project locations under construction in South Jacksonville and Pompano Beach. (I was really surprised there weren't any planned for the Tampa Bay area...because I am from that area and there are a TON of elderly people.)

 

GHP states on their website, "A green environment is one that supports growth through meaningful interactions with life-enhancing natural resources, such as plants, natural light and therapeutic outdoor spaces." This doesn't exactly evoke an image of sustainability but more physical greenness (i.e. connection to the outdoors). Maybe that's the reason for their name. So in any case, bringing all of this back to sustainability, what could be done to make this project more "green?" An immediate idea that came to my mind, was merging this GHP idea with the many homes that are uninhabited or abandoned due to foreclosures. Why not retrofit these existing residential facilities into elderly care facilities? (Forget about all the public outcry this might cause and just focus on the sustainability aspect.) It could spark redevelopment in communities that are in need of some tender loving care and these structures would be built in areas where there is existing infrastructure such as utilities and roads, and more importantly neighbors who could provide the social interaction desired by many elderly persons. Are there other ways that future elderly homes can be built more sustainably? Maybe, GHP could follow the lead of Atria Senior Living who incorporate LEED certifications in many of their projects.

Retiring Nuclear Plant - First Nuclear Plant to Close in Florida

Crystal River Power Plant - Courtesy of TBT

Anyone who is from or lives near Tampa Bay, Florida often thinks of "Three Sisters Springs" or manatees when they hear about the city of Crystal River, which is located in Citrus County. However, a completely different scene is currently taking place there not too far from all the manatees and that is a nuclear power plant.

The Crystal River Power Plant, commonly referred to as CR3, was built in 1977 and is located about just 8 miles north of the river. The pressurized water reactor nuclear plant has a capacity of 860 megawatts of energy and uses uranium dioxide as fuel. In addition, the nuclear complex includes four coal-fired generating units on site.

Red Indicates Crystal River - Courtesy of Wikipedia

The nuclear plant has been shutdown since 2009 when all of its troubles began. During 2009, a planned replacement of steam generators was done in-house by Progress Energy, now Duke Energy, instead of hiring one of the two companies other U.S. utilities used for similar work. The idea was to save money but it ended up costing them big time because during the replace it was discovered that the reactor's 42-inch thick concrete containment building was cracked. Trying to fix the crack only worsened the problem. The idle nuclear power plant has since cost about $300 million a year to buy replacement power.  The energy company has decided it is not worth it to continue to invest in this plant due to its failing infrastructure. The hope is that the site will one day become a new natural gas plant in the future. In addition to being the first nuclear reactor plant to close in Florida, it will be one of the first major ones to close in the entire Southeastern U.S. The closing of CR3 brings about a lot of questions. How long will the decommissioning process take? A similar plant in Wiscassett, Maine took nearly seven years. And, how much is this going to actually cost in the long run? A 2008 report by Duke Energy suggested it would cost nearly $621 million! 

From an urban planning prospective, this looks disastrous. Not only is a nuclear power plant that could have created much needed clean energy for Florida's future being lost but also some 400 out of 600 jobs. Where will this people work after the decommissioning job is complete on the nuclear plant site? And how is this going to impact the energy costs and availability in that area? Lastly, what is going to become of the site if there is not any money in the future to fund the construction of a new, natural gas plant? Will the site end of looking like Chernobyl, a dreary abandoned property that is unsuitable for residences and schools due to its industrial nature? What kind of message does the closing down of a nuclear power plant give to other areas when this is the very thing many people are trying to promote as a source of hope for the future of our energy needs?

Using GIS to Track Sustainability Efforts

"GIS is like a smartphone: if you use it, you are a believer."
- M.Felton, Real Estate GIS Director/Researcher

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have changed the sustainability game over the last few decades. For those unfamiliar with GIS, it is a software for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced data. GIS allows users to review and visualize data in ways that show relationships, patterns, and/ or trends in a series of maps, charts, and reports. Seeing trends in data and tracking data sets over large areas has become very important in the search for sustainability. Urban planners use GIS on an almost daily basis, as well as, a variety of other professionals such as engineers and environmentalist. There are many different GIS projects that have been done recently and encourage everyone to be on the lookout for them!

Existing and Future PV Panels

"Infrastructure Planning for Solar Technology Recycling", is an article in the most recent Winter 2013 ArcUser magazine. The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), is currently working on a way to better track the collection and recovery of solar (PV) panels within New York. The State has the "fifth largest renewable energy capacity in the United States, despite its less than ideal climate." What this means is that, there are a large number of new photovoltaic PV installations occurring all across the state. RIT wants to keep track of all of these panels, especially those nearing the end of their life cycles, since they contain precious, economically viable materials such as silver, indium, and gallium. In addition, keeping track of these panels is important because they have the potential to contaminate groundwater and landfills with arsenic and cadmium. In addition to tracking the panels, RIT is locating recycling centers throughout the State to see if it will make sense in the future to build new infrastructure for recycling. When examining a variety of different inputs, it seems that trends indicate that future PV installations will likely be occurring in areas where there are younger, urban populations who have higher incomes. I found this very interesting. One, because this may indicate that young professionals are choosing to install more PV panels because they have been more educated on their positive impacts and are willing to make the initial investment because they knew they will make it all back at a later date. Or two, young professionals may be moving into areas of New York where there are more sustainable housing choices that include PV panels. Either way, the overall future of PV panels in New York looks to be very hopeful!

Potential New PV Recovery Sites

Let's just hope the recycling of all of the PV panels continues to be monitored and that potential recovery facilities are built where they are most needed so that when the life cycle of PV panels ends, they can be disposed of in a responsible manner more easily. To read more about this study, be sure to check out the link to the article.

Other GIS studies to read about, if this sort of thing interests you, are:
"Making SureWastewater Isn't Wasted: GIS aids in managing the application of biosoils" and "More Crop per Drop: GIS-based water requirement maps optimize water use."