Georgetown University - Woman Killed by Lift

Just after 8:00 a.m. Wednesday Morning a female construction worker was killed on the campus of Georgetown University while operating a lift at the site of the new science center near the Leavey Center. Reports say she got stuck between an overhead scaffolding and railing. When emergency services arrived coworkers were prefoming CPR, the woman was not breathing. She was transported to George Washington University Hospital.

DC Police Department and OSHA are investigation. Whiting Turner is overseeing the entire construction project.

Washington University introduces new effort to help students go green

ST. LOUIS — In Washington University's continued effort to remain green, the Office of Sustainability has developed a plan that it calls a "pledge for sustainability," according to Student Life. The pledge aims to deal with the issue of sustainability on a micro level, teaching the university community to take small steps toward becoming green, the article stated. The pledge is broken down into five categories: energy, food, water, transportation and waste, and offers 24 recommendations to students who aim to incorporate more sustainable habits into their daily lives, the article noted. "I think the point is to give people an opportunity to learn more about the small parts about leading a sustainable lifestyle," said Will Fischer, assistant coordinator for special projects and fellow in the Office of Sustainability. Click here to read the complete article.

Sustainable campus planned in Pittsburgh, Chatham University

PITTSBURGH — Chatham University has unveiled a master plan that calls for developing a 388-acre site into what it says will be the nation's first fully sustainable campus, according to a press release.

The Eden Hall campus, donated to the university in 2008 by the Eden Hall Foundation, will be home to Chatham's School of Sustainability and the Environment, whose inaugural class began studies in the fall 2010 semester, the release noted.

"There is tremendous pent-up demand for sustainability education," says David Hassenzahl, founding dean of the School of Sustainability and the Environment (SSE).

"Over the next 10 years, SSE will offer bachelor's through doctoral degrees, beginning with master's programs, as well as professional certification in topics ranging from health care, energy and urban forestry to national security, aquaponics and education," Hassenzahl added.

The campus plan envisions four phases of development, which will result in the construction of climate-positive facilities — where on-site greenhouse gas emissions are actually less than zero — and environmentally sensitive landscape design, the release stated.

Students lead the way in creating a sustainable college community

EASTON, PA — Every day is Earth Day at Lafayette College, as a growing number of students are taking an active role in making the campus a greener place to live and learn, according to a press release.

Through student-faculty research and projects and involvement in numerous campus organizations, students have been the drivers behind many efforts that helped the college climb from a grade of D- to B in the national Sustainable Endowments Institute's annual Green Report Card, the article stated.

"Students have stepped up to move the college forward with regard to working toward a sustainable community," said Arthur Kney, associate professor and head of civil and environmental engineering.

"It has been a united effort among faculty, staff and administration with the students acting as the thread that has brought us all together," Kney added.

George Xiques, assistant director of facilities planning and construction and campus sustainability manager, says it's critical that students are realistic in their environmental ideas, working with the administration to bring about change in a practical way, the article noted.

Click hereto read the complete release.

The University of North Carolina hire consultant to resolve housekeeping complaints

CHAPEL HILL, NC — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) will hire an external consultant to address a range of complaints raised by housekeepers in recent months, according to The Daily Tar Heel.

"I want to help everybody who's had difficulty in this situation, and I'm happy to make this investment of time and some money to pay an external consultant to see if we can come up with some new ideas," said Chancellor Holden Thorp.

Jackie Overton, chairwoman of the forum, said four themes were expressed at the meetings with Thorp: Retaliation, intimidation, management issues and inconsistent application of rules, the article noted.

Housekeepers presented their complaints to Thorp in a previous meeting, which occurred after weeks of controversy within the housekeeping ranks that began with a debate over the wage-hour policy that prohibits employees from taking additional breaks without prior approval from their supervisors, the article stated.

"After that meeting, we had three others because the chancellor really wanted their concerns to be heard fully," Overton said.

"So the decision was, after much discussion, to bring in an outside source to not let anybody at the university handle the issue, because there could always be the accusation that it's tainted," Overton added.

Click here to read the complete article.

IU Student Sustainability Council seeks to establish Sustainability Fund

BLOOMINGTON, IN — The Indiana University Student Sustainability Council (SSC) and its 22 member organizations are campaigning to establish a Sustainability Fund for the promotion of "green" initiatives and projects on the Indiana University Bloomington campus, according to a press release.

The Sustainability Fund would be supplied by a voluntary five-dollar fee offered during course registration, the release noted.

According to the release, to make this optional fund available, the SSC must collect signatures in support of the Sustainability Fund from one quarter of the enrolled student body — nearly 10,000 students — by the end of this semester.

If the Sustainability Fund is established, students and student organizations will have the opportunity to apply for funding for sustainability-related initiatives and projects on campus, the release stated.

"The voluntary nature of the fee and the fact that it is student-administered sends a clear message to IU officials and officials from peer universities that Indiana students are interested in and capable of identifying and addressing large-scale problems," said Jacob Bower-Bir, Graduate and Professional Student Organization sustainability officer and SSC logistics chair.

Click here to read the complete release.

University of Alberta janitors form union

EDMONTON, AB — Janitors at the University of Alberta have cleaned up problems with their employer over unpaid overtime and their desire to form a union, according to CHQT-AM.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) said it has reached a first contract with Bee-Clean Building Maintenance to represent janitors who work at the university, the article stated.

Merryn Edwards, a union spokeswoman, said the contract has been ratified and all issues regarding unpaid overtime and unfair labor practices have been addressed in the agreement.

According to the article, 82 of the janitors have received their overtime pay and the province is trying to locate the remaining 40, who may have left the country.

Click here to read the complete article.

Seattle is turning its rooftops green

SEATTLE — Seattle rooftops are starting to look more like parks as a new report shows half of all new commercial structures developed in the area are being built with green rooftops, according to My Northwest.

"Green roofs can lead directly to reduced utility rates for storm water, an increase in property values, energy efficiency benefits for buildings and opportunities for urban agriculture in existing 'food deserts,'" said City Councilmember Mike O'Brien, chair of the Council's Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods.

As of December 2009, Seattle had 62 structures with green roofs, with total rooftop green space amounting to 359,375 square feet, the article noted.

The Bastille restaurant in Ballard and McMahon Hall at the University of Washington, reportedly use vegetables and herbs grown on rooftop spaces for their food service, the article stated.

Other local apartment buildings report setting up community P-patch gardens atop their buildings, the article added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Custodians file grievances to University of Washington human resources

SEATTLE — A delegation of 20 custodians on campus — accompanied by union and activist allies — delivered individually signed copies of a grievance form to the University of Washington's (UW) human resources, outlining what they believe are violations of the 2009-11 contract between the university and the union that represents the custodians, according to The Daily.

According to the grievance form, UW facilities custodial managers posted on September 30 new requirements at one custodial area's clocking stations in regards to the use of custodial closets as break rooms and new standards for the custodians' timekeeping, the article stated.

The custodians allege that these new rules deny comfortable facilities for their breaks and the ability to heat meals, and that the rules violate their rights to overtime payment, the article noted.

According to the article, some of the custodians' specific concerns with the new requirements include insufficient time to travel between the clocking station and work area, and the lack of overtime payment for the extra time needed to walk back and forth, as well as insufficient break time to walk between the work area and the few custodial break rooms on campus.

Click here to read the complete article.

University of Alberta janitors say they are being mistreated

ALBERTA, CANADA — Janitors at the University of Alberta appear to be fed up with how they're being treated, and they're taking their complaints to the Alberta Labor Relations Board, according to News i880AM.

At least one janitor claims they were fired by cleaning contractor Bee Clean for standing up for temporary foreign workers, the article noted.

The cleaners say they've had ongoing concerns over pay and other issues, but anytime they bring it up Bee Clean threatens to send them home, the article stated.

According to the article, the workers have filed an unfair labor practice and they're also going public with their complaints at a news conference.

Click here to read the complete article.

Texas universities selling branded renewable energy

DALLAS — The University of Texas (UT) and Texas A&M have started selling branded energy alongside other team gear — so you can now watch the Texas Longhorns game in your Longhorns underwear while sitting in a house powered by Texas Longhorns Energy, according to a press release.

The deal, made possible thanks to Texas' deregulated energy market, will see Texas Longhorns Energy and Texas A&M Aggies Energy selling electricity and natural gas as soon as next month, the release stated.

"We're very conscientious about our brand. We want to be careful with that logo and that symbol," said University of Texas Senior Associate Athletic Director Chris Plonsky.

"When BRE and IMG brought it to us, we went 'Huh?' But it made sense because the issue of sustainability, especially on large college campuses that use a lot of energy, is important to us," Plonsky added.

Champion Energy Services is supposedly providing the branded power companies with renewable energy and every Texas fan that opens an account contributes to a sustainability initiative for either Texas A&M or UT, the release noted.

Click here to read the complete release.

Thirteenth university building receives LEED certification

ATLANTA — Emory University's Emory Conference Center Hotel (ECCH) recently received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification at the Silver level from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to the Emory Wheel.

According to the story, The ECCH certification brings the total number of LEED-certified buildings on the Emory University campus to 13.

Sustainable aspects of the five-story building include the recycling and reuse of building materials, water and energy efficiency and access to alternative transportation, the story stated.

General Manager of the ECCH Kathryn Johnson said: "There was so much thought put into it. I give accolades to the university and the trustees for having the vision that all new constructions will be LEED-certified. It definitely helps us get business because there are other folks out there that are passionate about their business, and they want to know what is different about us."

The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently recognized Emory University's sustainability efforts during their awards ceremony for "Deals of the Decade" where Emory won in the "Design" category for its green building program, the story noted.

All future Emory University buildings will be LEED-certified at the Silver level as a minimum, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Rogue Community College LEEDs the way

MEDFORD, OR — The Higher Education Center in downtown Medford has received an advanced certification for environmentally friendly construction from the U.S. Green Building Council, joining an elite league of universities in the Western United States, according to the Mail Tribune.

The three-story, 68,700-square-foot education center, which opened in September 2008, is jointly operated by Southern Oregon University (SOU) and Rogue Community College (RCC), the article noted.

"With the emphasis on sustainability at SOU, achieving the LEED Platinum certification and being first in the Oregon University System was a very high priority for us," said Larry Blake, SOU planning and sustainability officer, who headed up the certification process for about the past three years.

"LEED Platinum certification is eventually going to become commonplace, but it's certainly a distinction for us now. We are trying to raise the profile of sustainability of this institution, and this is an important step," Blake added.

The Higher Education Center features heat wheels that transfer energy from exhaust air to pre-heat and pre-cool fresh air, occupancy sensors that control light, heating and air conditioning use and a 56-kilowatt solar array on the roof that produces 6 percent of the building's power supply, among other items, the article stated.

Click here to read the complete article.

University of Illinois makes plans to improve sustainability

CHAMPAIGN, IL — With the release of the Office of Sustainability's Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), the University of Illinois pledged to take steps toward carbon neutrality, less energy use and overall improved sustainability in the future, according to the Daily Illini.

As part of the university's signing of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment in 2008, the plan calls for carbon neutrality by 2050, which refers to net zero carbon emissions, the article stated.

Tom Abram, sustainability coordinator for facilities and services, said in addition to energy reduction, the plan calls for a "significant increase in renewable energy usage."

In the iCAP, the university pledges to use renewable energy generation systems to supply at least 5 percent of its electrical needs by 2015 and 25 percent by 2025, the article noted.

According to the article, officials said other projected goals include implementing a campus bicycling master plan and requiring that all new buildings and major renovations meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards by 2011.

Click here to read the complete article.

Georgetown Univ. Rafik B. Hariri Building has been awarded LEED Silver certification

As expected, the Rafik B. Hariri Building has been awarded LEED certification for its environmentally-friendly features. Georgetown applied for LEED Certification, which is awarded to buildings that are sustainable, and water, energy, resource, and material efficient, during the fall semester.

LEED certification is awarded by the U. S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization which bills the award as the “nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings,” but LEED certification has been criticized for similarly weighting expensive green features with large environmental impacts and inexpensive projects with minimal impact.

According to a press release from the Georgetown McDonough School of Business, the following are some of the features that the LEED certification recognized:

Click here to read the full story

For more information click here

On a personal note, as part of Georgetown's Facilities Management team, this means a lot.

Washington State Univ. Custodians complain of doing too much with too little

PULLMAN, WA — The custodians at Washington State University at Pullman are complaining that they have more work piling up than they can complete, according to the Daily Evergreen.

Lately, the custodians have been asked to complete more tasks in significantly less time, something they find troubling as it could easily lead to the campus becoming unsanitary, the story stated.

Because custodians used to have over nine hours to complete their daily tasks and now only have eight, corners are being cut to meet productivity requirements, the story noted.

Lawrence Davis, associate vice president of facilities operations, said: "This isn't a problem unique to Washington State University or custodians. This is a problem across the board. We're all stretched thin."

Custodians are no longer required to empty trash cans in offices and classrooms and the frequency of tasks such as sweeping and dusting have been reduced, the story added.

According to the story, numerous custodians have also complained that work assignments are not divided evenly among staff, making it increasingly difficult for those with time-consuming tasks to complete them in a timely and orderly fashion.

Click here to read the complete article.

University instates changes to increase custodial supervision

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The facilities department at Montclair State University is instating a new cleaning strategy expected to begin during spring break, according to The Montclarion.

Cleaning at Montclair State University is currently done over three shifts a day with a separate cleaning staff for each shift, the story stated.

Vice President of University Facilities Greg Bressler said: "We think this rearrangement will make the cleaning better. We are trying to manage it to a number of four supervisors. This allows us better supervision. We think this will be an improvement to the level of service provided to the constituency."

According to the story, the new strategy, which will come with no additional costs, is to change from three shifts per day to two, a move that is hoped to provide better results.

With the change, the first cleaning shift will begin at 4 a.m. and the second shift at 1 p.m., the story noted.

A letter is to be circulated by the facilities department to the students about the change in the coming week, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Ohio State Univ. Janitor kills supervisor, self after poor evaluation

COLUMBUS, OH — A janitor at Ohio State University shot two supervisors, killing one and then himself in the campus maintenance building after receiving a poor job performance evaluation, according to the Associated Press.

According to the story, Nathaniel Brown opened fire at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in a maintenance office using two handguns, killing building services manager Larry Wallington and injuring operations shift leader Henry Butler.

Police did not confirm whether the poor evaluation was a motive for the shooting and a campus official declined to comment on reports that Brown was in the process of being fired, citing the ongoing investigation, the story stated.

Vernon Baisden, assistant vice president for public safety, said: "This is a tragic event, and our hearts go out to all of the families."

About six other employees were in the building at the time of the shooting, and no students were involved and classes continued as scheduled, the story noted.

Brown previously served five years in prison on a receiving stolen property, and while Baisden said Ohio State does conduct background checks depending on the type of position, it was not clear if a background check had been conducted before Brown was hired, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Rare meningitis outbreak declared at Ohio University

COLUMBUS, OH — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared an outbreak and launched an investigation into seven cases of meningitis at Ohio University (OU), the latest of which resulted in a death, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

According to the story, the investigation into why students at the University are more susceptible to the bacteria will utilize federal, state and local scientists and will last a few weeks.

Dr. Mary DiOrio, assistant state epidemiologist, said: "I think that it will be a fairly lengthy survey."

The group of bacteria that caused all seven cases of meningitis at OU — group B — is not prevented by vaccination, the story stated.

Officials have been unable to determine any other connection between the cases other than that they are all students at OU, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.

Univ of New Hampsher had extensive cleaning for anthrax

DURHAM, NH — The Waysmeet Center at the United Campus Ministry for the University of New Hampshire (UNH) will undergo extensive cleaning after a woman was exposed to anthrax spores during a December 4 drum circle event, according to the Foster's Daily Democrat.

According to the story, the woman is doing much better and continues to recover from the exposure as state health officials prepare to decontaminate the building.

The cleaning plan includes the use of bleach and vacuuming to decontaminate five common areas that tested for low levels of anthrax, the story stated.

Deputy State Epidemiologist Jodie Dionne-Odom said the state will use one of the companies on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended list experienced with anthrax cleaning, but it will be the responsibility of the ministry to hire and pay a company, the story noted.

Dionne-Odom said: "It will be a period of a few weeks because several rooms need to be cleaned from top to bottom."

The quarantine of the Waysmeet Center, which began last month, will be lifted once the building has been cleaned, the story added.

Click here to read the complete article.