Thanks to Bill Richo for creating this spiffy sign that will encourage your colleagues to make double-sided copies. (For a version of this image in Microsoft Publisher format, contact Lisa or Bill.

Our March 2009 guest at the Library Green Team was Tara Kennedy, Preservation Field Services Librarian. Tara is tracking temperature and humidity conditions in collection areas throughout the library system. The systematic collection of data will help the preservation team identify opportunities for energy conservation that will not compromise the collections.

One experiment is already up and running in Sterling. The Sterling stack tower has six powerful HVAC units running simultaneously. Tara is using environmental monitoring to assess the impact of powering down one of the units periodically (some of the results are shown in the graph below).

The hope is that facilities can cycle through the HVAC units, reducing the total energy usage for conditioning the stacks. The experiment is ongoing and we look forward to hearing more as it progresses.

Many thanks to Tara for updating us on energy conservation efforts in the Preservation department!

Tom Downing, Senior Energy Engineer at Yale, visited the Library Green Team in February to discuss energy conservation at Yale. He shared the following chart, showing energy usage in several library buildings. If you compare the amount that goes to steam and chilled water to the other categories, you can see that a very large portion of energy is devoted to heating and cooling in Library buildings.

A national study is currently underway that will re-evaluate the air conditioning requirements for bookstacks. Based on studies such as this, we may be able to change the way Library buildings heat and cool the stacks and cut away at the blue and orange swaths of the bar graph below.

While heating and cooling is largely beyond our daily control, the green-shaded areas below can be reduced through simple behavioral changes (turn off anything electric when not in use and unplug devices such as battery chargers, etc.). Information about sustainable office behavior can be found at the Yale Sustainability Pledge.

Thanks to Tom for the update on conservation practices!

In recent conversation about the budget, it has been heartening to hear recognition of the Library Green Team efforts to save money and other resources. I've listed here several of the recent measures that both promote environmental sustainability and reduce costs. It can be difficult to quantify how much money is saved by measures like this. If you see savings in your department, please document it and share figures with the Green Team.

Switch from 5-gallon Poland Spring water bottles to filtered water.

Turn lights off when not necessary.

Do you have something to add to the list? Send your observation to Green Team chair Lisa Conathan.

The Yale Office of Sustainability has just released its October newsletter, which details information on the University's Greenhouse gas reduction, the work of the Law School's Green Team, and other campus sustainability initiatives.

Library Green Team member, Lisa Conathan (Archivist for Slavic Language Collections, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library), shares this good information:

In October, George Bush signed the Transportation Fringe Benefit to Bicycle Commuters, which allows employers to reimburse bicycle commuters up to $20 per month tax-free for eligible expenses. The act was section 211 of HR 1424 (the Wall Street bailout package) and takes effect January 1.

Library Green Team members believe this represents a wonderful opportunity for Yale to improve the commuter benefit program in order to better align it with University-wide sustainability initiatives. Currently, bicycle commuters do not receive the type of benefits that are extended to those who carpool or use public transportation. While the dollar amount is small, this benefit would be an added incentive to bike to work.

The University Benefits Office has not decided whether or how to implement this yet. Library staff are encouraged to share their opinions: (benefits.office@yale.edu).

The full text of the relevant section of the law is cited in this article form Cycleliciou.us:
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2008/10/bike-commuter-benefits-act-passes.html

Earlier this month, Yale released its 2008 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy executive summary. The University’s role as a leader in campus sustainability includes openly sharing the University’s progress toward achieving its greenhouse gas commitment to reduce emissions 43% below 2005 levels by 2020.

This summary illustrates Yale’s progress to date and outlines the University’s strategy for reaching its ambitious target. For further information regarding Yale’s campus sustainability efforts or to view Yale’s 2006 and 2007 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy executive summaries go to the Office of Sustainability's homepage.

Melina Shannon-DiPietro, Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project; Hannah Eisler Burnett , Yale Sustainable Food Project Program Coordinator; and Bob Sullivan, Interim Director of Retail Operations & Catering for Yale Dining Services; spoke at the Library Green Team's October meeting. Melina and Hannah discussed the Project's mission, history and work, as well as the Yale Farm, the Harvest pre-orientation program, and other programs. Bob contributed information about Yale catering and retail, including the Thain Family Cafe in the Bass Library.

Bike to Work Friday, Oct. 10!
7:30-9:30 a.m.

Join us outside New Haven City Hall, Church Street across from the Green or inside City Hall if it’s cold!

Free breakfast, brought to you by Koffee on Orange and members of Elm City Cycling

Pick up free helpful information and bike accessories.
Chat with fellow cyclists about best commuting routes.
Learn about efforts to make New Haven more bike-friendly.

More info: bikenewhaven@gmail.com or visit www.elmcitycycling.org

During the past several years, Yale Mail Services has been working with departments throughout the University to reduce the amount of unsolicited mail, or junk mail, it receives.

The program's website lists the following statistics:

To date we have updated almost 1,100 mailing lists for companies around the country. Below is a sample of pounds of mail we do not have to handle / sort deliver / pick up or dispose of. Some companies send out mailings monthly. We estimate the reduction in pounds of each mailing are:

Sigma / Aldrich - Savings of 1,080 lbs. each mailing !
L.L. Bean - Savings of 2,487 lbs. each mailing !
Land's End - Savings of 1,252 lbs. each mailing !
InMac Computers - Savings of 285 lbs. each mailing !
Global Computers - Savings of 638 lbs. each mailing !