World's Greenest Museum Gets Second LEED Platinum Award

Awarded for its sustainable operations and maintenance, the California Academy of Sciences is now the world's largest "Double Platinum" building SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 2011 - On September 27, 2008, the California Academy of Sciences unveiled the world's greenest museum—an eco-friendly new home featuring a hilly living roof, recycled denim insulation, and many other green innovations. Three years and more than five million visitors later, the museum celebrates another symbolic color: platinum. Today, the U.S. Green Building Council presented the Academy with its second LEED Platinum award, making the California Academy of Sciences the world's first "Double Platinum" museum and the world's largest Double Platinum building. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the Academy building houses an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and world-class research and education programs under one living roof, standing as an embodiment of its 158-year-old mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world. The new award bolsters San Francisco's efforts to maintain its designation as the greenest city in the country. "We couldn't be more proud of the California Academy of Sciences for its commitment to high levels of environmental performance, and for setting the example as a leader in the San Francisco green building community and around the world," said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. "Their Double Platinum rating is truly a remarkable achievement for our City." The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is a consensus-based standard for evaluating high-performance, sustainable buildings, and the Platinum rating is its highest award. In October 2008, the Academy received its first LEED Platinum rating under the "New Construction" category, which focused on the building's design and construction process. Today, the Academy received its second LEED Platinum award under the "Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance" category, which certifies that its day-to-day operations and business practices also meet the highest standards of sustainability. The Academy's operations and maintenance practices were evaluated and earned points across six different categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. Based on a wide range of green practices and performance metrics, including staff transportation, purchasing decisions, and high recycling and composting rates, it was awarded a total of 82 points, exceeding the threshold for a Platinum certification (80 points). Founded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is one of the world's preeminent natural history museums and is an international leader in scientific research about the natural world. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the Academy's original home in Golden Gate Park, but also provided a silver lining: the opportunity to reinvent the facility from the ground up. After nearly a decade of planning and the largest cultural fundraising effort in San Francisco history, the new Academy opened to the public in 2008. This major new initiative built on the Academy's distinguished history and deepened its commitment to advancing scientific literacy, engaging the public, and documenting and conserving Earth's natural resources. "Our LEED Platinum building is a marvelous example of sustainable architecture that has wowed millions of visitors since we opened three years ago," said Dr. Gregory Farrington, Executive Director of the Academy. "However, it is more than just a building. It is also a stage—one that has allowed us to host a wide variety of programs and exhibits about the history and future of life on Earth. Delivering these programs as sustainably as possible helps us inspire our visitors to make sustainable choices in their own lives."

Melvin Wylie

World Vegetarian Day - October 1: Give Vegetarianism a Try and Win Up to $1,000

DOLGEVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 27, 2011 - Vegetarians and interested individuals from around the globe will be joining the North American Vegetarian Society on October 1st, 2011, for the annual celebration of World Vegetarian Day. Since its inception in 1977, the event has commemorated the health-supporting and life-affirming benefits of vegetarianism. World Vegetarian Day is the annual kick-off of Vegetarian Awareness Month. There are many reasons people choose a vegetarian diet. It has proven health benefits, saves animals' lives and helps to preserve the Earth. To encourage non-vegetarians to give meatless eating a try, the North American Vegetarian Society has developed a prize-winning contest. Non-vegetarians who pledge to abstain from all meat, fish and fowl during Vegetarian Awareness Month (October) will be entered in a random drawing for cash prizes. The top winner will get $1,000 in cash. One winner will be chosen in each of the following three categories: One day - $250; One week - $500; One month - $1,000. People can enter the "Give Vegetarianism a Try" contest at http://www.worldvegetarianday.org Join us to make the world a better place and we are all winners! Vegetarian Diets:

• Reduce the risk of major killers such as heart disease, stroke and cancer while cutting exposure to foodborne pathogens
• Provide a viable answer to feeding the world's hungry through more efficient use of grains and other crops
• Save animals from suffering in factory-farm conditions and from the pain and terror of slaughter
• Conserve vital but limited freshwater, fertile topsoil and other precious resources
• Preserve irreplaceable ecosystems such as rainforests and other wildlife habitats
• Decrease greenhouse gases that are accelerating global warming
• Mitigate the ever-expanding environmental pollution of animal agriculture

Melvin Wylie

University of Kansas Becomes More Energy Efficient

LAWRENCE, KS — The University Center for Sustainability has teamed up with with Energy Solutions Professionals to replace energy-consuming light bulbs around The University of Kansas, according to the Daily Kansan. Jeff Servin, director of the center for sustainability, hopes to complete the project by the end of October. "Today, we're trying to get about 150 bulbs out. They've identified about 3,000 lamps on campus that we might be able to change out, so I know their goal is at least a couple thousand bulbs". The new bulbs will also help the university contribute to the Take Charge Challenge, a competition of energy conservation among cities in Kansas. Savings from the new light bulbs looks to be the equivalent of saving more than 9,000 gallons of gasoline each year. Click here to read the complete article.

Melvin Wylie

UNC Petitions to get rid of Assistant Director of Housekeeping

CHAPEL HILL, NC — A petition is circulating urging the removal of University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill assistant director of housekeeping, according to The Charlotte Post. George James, a UNC housekeeper, has said the history of "authoritarian" leadership and a culture of sexual harassment that permeated the department before the appointment of Tonya Sell, has only become worse. The community, students and faculty have rallied to support the housekeepers' petition to change a "repressive work environment, egregious and discriminatory management practices," and to remove Sell. "For too long, UNC-Chapel Hill housekeepers have struggled to obtain decent working conditions and respect they have earned as workers who assure that UNC students have clean dorms, cafeterias, libraries and athletic department areas. But 'sexual harassment, health and safety violations, favoritism and unfair disciplinary practices are continuing,' with fear of retaliation for speaking out," the petition added. Click here to read the complete article.

Melvin Wylie

School Custodians Chared with Selling Cocaine to Students

HAMILTON, GA — According to The Chronicle, Two men who cleaned a Harris County school were arrested after the sheriff received a tip about the janitors possibly selling cocaine to students. Victor Lamar Hutchinson, 33, and Lontario Jerome Howe, 36, were arrested after the pair attempted to sell drugs to an undercover officer. Sheriff Mike Jolley suspected the men, both employed by Southern Management, had been selling drugs to students on school property. Both are being held in the Harris County jail on charges of possession with the intent to sell, the article noted. Click here to read the complete article.

Melvin Wylie

Akridge Named to List of DC's Healthiest Workplaces

Washington Business Journal Recognizes Akridge for Employee Wellness Programs and Policies WASHINGTON, D.C.  Sept. 23, 2011 - Commercial real estate services firm Akridge was recognized as one of Washington's Healthiest Places to Work yesterday by the Washington Business Journal. In the publication's inaugural awards, Akridge rated second in the region among businesses with between 100 and 499 employees. More than 100 area companies, representing a total of three million employees, submitted applications for the honor. "We are committed to the wellness of Akridge employees." said company president Matthew J. Klein. "We have implemented a comprehensive program and strive to maintain an atmosphere that fosters healthy practices because these efforts benefit our people and our company. " The Business Journal contracted with Healthiest Employers, LLC to survey and evaluate companies competing for healthy workplace honors. A Healthiest Employer Index (HEI) score was determined for each entrant based on responses to 75 questions, which generated a maximum of 236 points in six categories. These scores were the sole basis for company rankings.

Melvin Wylie

SeaWorld Uses Ingenuity to Save Rescued Marine Animals

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 23, 2011 - Winter, the flippered star of the new movie "Dolphin Tale," will bring much-deserved attention this weekend to wildlife rescue efforts on behalf of marine mammal facilities around the world. The SeaWorld Rescue Team – which also helped with the initial rescue transport of Winter – is currently caring for an array of ill, injured and orphaned wild marine animals, each with its own against-all-odds story. Like those passionate individuals who helped Winter, this team uses their expertise and creativity every day to devise new ways to rescue, treat and return to nature these extraordinary animals. No rescue, no case is ever the same. Few are aware that SeaWorld operates one of the world's most respected wildlife rescue programs and has treated more than 18,000 animals over the last four decades. The goal for every rescue is to be able to successfully return the animal. The team has created nutritional formulas and custom bottles to hand-feed orphaned animals; imaginative ways to help save sea turtles with cracked shells; prosthetic beaks for injured birds; and even an "animal wetsuit" to help an injured manatee stay afloat. Examples of this ingenuity at work include:

• Currently, a team of animal experts at SeaWorld Orlando is performing hands-on physical therapy on a once-stranded pilot whale. The whale has scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, that developed approximately five weeks after her early-May rescue and has created a sharp angle in her spine that prevents her from swimming normally. The physical therapy, performed three times a day, includes stretching the whale's muscles and working her tail fluke up and down. It's hoped the therapy sessions will allow her to regain proper and more normal use of her tail.

• SeaWorld animal experts were the first to bottle raise an orphaned manatee and have also developed "baby formulas" for rescued whales, sea lions and seals.

• Sometimes the innovation comes not in the equipment, but in the training. When a severely injured loggerhead sea turtle arrived at SeaWorld Orlando missing its lower jaw and suffering from starvation, park turtle experts taught the emaciated animal a new way to eat with only its upper jaw. The process took months, and the turtle gradually progressed from hand-feedings to independent eating skills.

• The innovative care also extends to the park's animal population. SeaWorld veterinarians went to extraordinary lengths to preserve the life of Dottie, one of the park's Atlantic bottle nose dolphins. Dottie went into kidney failure due to complications from kidney stones, but by working with "human" doctors from UC San Diego Medical Center, her life was saved through medical procedures never before performed on a dolphin including dialysis.

A global leader in animal care and conservation, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment cares for more than 60,000 animals including 200 endangered or threatened species. This commitment extends to animals around the world: The company has contributed more than $50 million to conservation, wildlife rescue and environmental stewardship initiatives and has supported efforts on every continent, as well as operating its own well-respected wildlife rescue program. The SeaWorld Rescue Team is on call 24/7 to help animals in need.

Melvin Wylie