Temperatures across the South are climbing into the 90s for the first time this summer. As one of the largest energy consumers in Middle Tennessee, Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students are encouraged to do their part to reduce energy consumption on campus and at the medical center.

Slight modifications to energy use patterns can make a large impact when aggregated across the entire university. While particularly important during high heat conditions, conserving energy should be practiced all year.

VU Plant Operations, VUMC Plant Services and the Sustainability and Environmental Management Office ask for your help and cooperation with these conservation efforts.

Here are some things you can do to help reduce energy consumption at Vanderbilt:

• Moderate thermostat settings to 76-78 degrees. Remember to adjust thermostats in classrooms unoccupied during the summer. Adjust thermostats more radically when you leave for the day or weekend. Dress for the hot weather so you can remain comfortable in more moderate temperatures.
• Close window shades or blinds during the hottest part of the day to keep heat out and cool air in.
• Turn off lights in your workspace when you leave, even if only for a short period of time. Turning off your lights will save energy if you are gone for more than 30 seconds.
• Turn off lights to common areas such as kitchens, bathrooms, break rooms, classrooms and conference rooms when you leave and especially before leaving for the day. Many of these spaces sit empty the majority of the day.
• Turn off office equipment. If allowed in your area, computers, printers, copiers, and scanners can be turned off when you leave for the day (or at the end of your work shift if they will not be used again for several hours). Otherwise, activate sleep modes and energy-saving settings. Instructions for modifying power settings can be found on the SustainVU Energy Saving Tips page.
• In laboratory spaces, close fume hood sashes when not in use.
• If your office or area seems unusually cold or hot, or you have trouble regulating the temperature, please call VU Plant Operations at 343-9675 or VUMC Plant Services at 322-2041 to let them know.

For additional ways to conserve energy, visit Vanderbilt’s ThinkOne energy conservation website.

Using alternative transportation to get to work—such as MTA buses, the Music City Star, carpools or vanpools—helps the environment and saves you money, but it may leave you without a mode of transportation to attend a meeting, run a quick errand or grab a bite to eat during the work day.

In addition to Vanderbilt’s Zipcar program, the Office of Traffic and Parking is now partnering with Enterprise CarShare, formerly WeCar, to offer even more car sharing services to Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students.

In order to provide more choices, Enterprise CarShare and Zipcar have 10 vehicles on campus, including two hybrid vehicles. Cars are located in lots 113B, 96, 84, 27, 15, 5A and 1A, with hybrids located in lots 27 and 113. Detailed instructions for renting a car can be found on the Traffic and Parking website.

Consider enrolling in both programs to take advantage of the increasing alternative transportation and car sharing opportunities on campus. By taking mass transit and alternative transportation to work, you personally can eliminate the emission of 42 pounds of greenhouse gases each day.

For more information on alternative transportation options at the university and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, visit SustainVU.

Indigenous Yoreme dancers from Sinaloa, Mexico, constructed a ceremonial hut on Library Lawn and performed songs and dances in a sacred ceremony to mark World Environment Day June 5.

About 100 people enjoyed the colorful lunchtime performance by Yeu-Matchuc. Through the ancient deer dance, the performers transform into deer to reassert their ties to the sacred earth.

Read more here.

As the weather heats up for summer, we’re headed toward peak season for fresh vegetables and fruits in Middle Tennessee.

We can help make sure those veggies keep coming by supporting local farmers with Community Supported Agriculture programs and by buying from growers at local farmers markets to make dishes at home, including the recipes featured below.

Recognizing the popularity of farm-to-table concepts at many local restaurants, the Land Trust invites diners to make reservations at 25 establishments that have agreed to donate a portion of their sales on June 4 to support the nonprofit in an event called Eat Green Tennessee.

For a list of all participating restaurants and to read more, click here.

Stop by and shop for local fruits and vegetables, dairy products such as goat cheese, milk and yogurt, grass-fed beef, eggs, pasta, honey, healthy baked goods and flowers.

Cash is accepted at all vendors. Credit cards and debit cards accepted at some.

You can find the market at Vanderbilt Medical Center Plaza across from Langford Auditorium.

The market runs every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine.

To learn more and view the 2013 vendor list, click here.

In addition to being a healthy and cost-effective mode of transportation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that biking one mile saves almost one pound of greenhouse gas from being produced. By biking to work, you can spend less money on gas and car maintenance, spend more time enjoying the great outdoors, get some exercise and be one less car sitting in rush hour traffic.

As part of Nashville Bike Month, Walk/Bike Nashville will serve breakfast at the Public Square at 8 a.m. to all bike commuters on May 17. Mayor Karl Dean will also issue a proclamation designating May as Nashville Bike Month at the event.

Join the Tour de Nash on Saturday, May 18, to learn about Music City’s many bike-friendly facilities and perhaps find a new biking route to work.

Don’t own a bike? Nashville offers two bike rental options in the downtown area, including locations near Vanderbilt’s campus. Information about the Nashville B-Cycle and Nashville GreenBikes programs can be found here.

For more information on Vanderbilt’s alternative transportation options, including biking, visit SustainVU.

See more photos here!

Vanderbilt’s Sustainability and Environmental Management Office (SEMO) and the Clean Air Partnership of Middle Tennessee hosted a Clean Air Week scavenger hunt near Vanderbilt’s Central Library on May 1. This and other activities were held to celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week April 29–May 3.

At the events, Vanderbilt employees and students learned about the university’s alternative transportation and commuter choice programs, such as the Ride to Work Program, regional bus service, vanpools, Ride‑Match Program, Music City Star Commuter Rail, Zipcars, biking to work and more.

 

Information on these programs and much more is available at SustainVU’s transportation page or Traffic and Parking’s alternative transportation page.

Sign up to get air alert notices for Middle Tennessee on your mobile device and on Facebook through the State of Tennessee air quality website, and visit the Clean Air Partnership website to learn more about the scavenger hunt and the organization’s mission to promote air quality in Middle Tennessee.

Designed by Donald Blair Architects from New York City, and completed in May 2012, VANTAGE is a genomics core laboratory occupying over 15,800 square feet, 12,000 of which were renovated under the LEED Commercial Interiors protocol. It is home to the Flow Cytometry Core, Genome Sciences Resource, DNA Resources Core and BioVU, Vanderbilt’s massive DNA database. Laboratory spaces are complex and difficult to renovate to LEED’s green standards, so achieving the Gold level of certification is a significant accomplishment for VUMC’s Space and Facilities Planning department.

Highlights from the renovation include a 20% reduction in lighting energy usage with more than 75% of lighting controls connected to occupancy sensors, a 38% reduction in water usage achieved through plumbing fixture upgrades, and 100% of eligible, newly purchased equipment is ENERGY STAR rated. During the renovation of the laboratory, 73% of construction waste was diverted from the landfill and recycled, 11% of the total building materials now contain recycled content, and 32% of the total building materials used were manufactured regionally. Also, most workstations now have individual controls for thermal and lighting comfort allowing lab staff to adjust to their preferred settings in their own workspace.

More than 15 tons of casework and equipment were removed from the space and stored to be reused in the future. Air quality was maintained during construction through the use of low-emitting adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings while ductwork was kept dust and moisture free. “Sustainability is achievable in highly functional and complex projects; however, thought and effort must be incorporated into the initial process, as with any worthwhile achievement” said Bobby Otten, Architect/Project Manager with Space & Facilities Planning.

“A special thanks to The Office of Research, the Lab Core groups and users, greenSTUDIO sustainability consulting, Phoenix Design Group consulting engineers, and Turner Universal Construction Company in their support of this achievement”.

Donate your old textbooks, resell them, swap them with friends or post them on Vandy FreeSwap. This might earn you money and will reduce waste in the landfill! Donate any other items that you do not want to a local charity by dropping them off in the residence hall lobbies or in the pods conveniently located throughout campus. Or you can post them on Vandy FreeSwap.

In addition to donating, there are many locations for recycling items during move out.

• Electronics, tablets, computers, appliances, ink and toner cartridges, batteries, pens and pencils, papers, and books can all be recycled. Please drop off your electronics and appliances in the specially designated areas outdoors around the residence halls that are set up only during move-out.
• For ink and toner cartridges, batteries, and pens, markers and mechanical pencils, recycling is available year round at the Sarratt and Commons Center main desks.  Battery recycling is also available at all Reeve desks.
• For more traditional recycling items such as plastic, paper, aluminum, and cardboard, students are encouraged to use the residential recycling areas located next to their dumpsters rather than throwing items away.  Please remember to flatten boxes to leave space for others wanting to recycle!

For more information about Earth Friendly Move Out, please visit the SustainVU website, contact recycle@vanderbilt.edu or call 343-2784 (E.ARTH on campus).