Sustainable Facilities Management - News & Trends
Growing green jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Workers at every skill level will be in high demand and enjoy greater job security in key industries essential to building a clean-energy economy in America and fighting global warming, according to a report by the Center for American Progress.
The report also helps define “green jobs” noting that hundreds of thousands of workers in the U.S. already possess the vast majority of skills and occupations necessary to reduce global warming and make the shift to a clean energy economy. For more information, see www.americanprogress.org
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Bristol Myers gains green globe
WALLINGFORD, Conn. – The Green Building Initiative (GBI) recognized Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for the energy-efficient and sustainability practices at its Wallingford research facility using the new module of the Green Globes rating system—Green Globes for Continual Improvement of Existing Buildings (Green Globes-CIEB). The Wallingford facility is the first building in the U.S. to achieve a rating using the new Green Globes module.
The building uses a comprehensive energy management plan, including on-site renewable energy, as well as high efficiency lighting and boilers; in-place emissions, effluents, and pollution controls; and good management practices. The one million square-foot Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical research and development facility covers 180 acres and houses a state-of-the-art research laboratory. The multi-wing, five story structure was built in 1986 and is comprised almost equally of laboratory and office space staffed by approximately 1,250 employees.
To achieve a Green Globes rating, the design team at the S/L/A/M Collaborative, used the Green Globes tool to assess the performance of the building and identify areas for improvement. Later, a GBI-authorized third-party building science expert was engaged to review the construction documents, conduct an on-site inspection and confirm the original rating.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb facility is the first building in the United States recognized for its use of Green Globes-CIEB. For more information about the Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system, or the GBI, visit www.thegbi.org
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How do you say green in Japanese?
PORTLAND, Ore. and TOKYO, Japan – The Green Grid, a global consortium dedicated to increasing energy efficiency in data centers, has formed two Japan Work Groups as well as a formal relationship with the Green IT Promotion Council.
These steps are intended to increase The Green Grids’ presence in Asia. The Japanese groups will collect and analyze data from The Green Grid’s Japanese member companies. For more information, see www.thegreengrid.org
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Report documents effects of climate change
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3: The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States is the most extensive examination of the impacts of climate change on important U.S. ecosystems undertaken to date. The report was produced under the auspices of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The study found that cClimate change is already affecting U.S. water resources, agriculture, land resources, and biodiversity, and will continue to do so. Grain and oilseed crops will mature more rapidly, but increasing temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures, particularly if precipitation decreases or becomes more variable. Higher temperatures will negatively affect livestock. Warmer winters will reduce mortality but this will be more than offset by greater mortality in hotter summers. Hotter temperatures will also result in reduced productivity of livestock and dairy animals.
Forests in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska are already being affected by climate change with increases in the size and frequency of forest fires, insect outbreaks and tree mortality. These changes are expected to continue. Much of the United States has experienced higher precipitation and streamflow, with decreased drought severity and duration, over the 20th century. The West and Southwest, however, are notable exceptions, and increased drought conditions have occurred in these regions. Weeds grow more rapidly under elevated atmospheric CO2. Under projections reported in the assessment, weeds migrate northward and are less sensitive to herbicide applications. There is a trend toward reduced mountain snowpack and earlier spring snowmelt runoff in the Western United States.
Horticultural crops (such as tomato, onion, and fruit) are more sensitive to climate change than grains and oilseed crops. Young forests on fertile soils will achieve higher productivity from elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen deposition and warmer temperatures will increase productivity in other types of forests where water is available.
Invasion by exotic grass species into arid lands will result from climate change, causing an increase fire frequency. Rivers and riparian systems in arid lands will be negatively impacted. A continuation of the trend toward increased water use efficiency could help mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources. The growing season has increased by 10 to 14 days over the last 19 years across the temperate latitudes. Species' distributions have also shifted.
The rapid rates of warming in the Arctic observed in recent decades, and projected for at least the next century, are dramatically reducing the snow and ice covers that provide denning and foraging habitat for polar bears. For more information, see www.sap43.ucar.edu
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A plant a day keeps the doctor away
SAN MARCOS, Tex. — Employees in offices without plants rated their job satisfaction low, while employees who worked with offices with live plants rated their job satisfaction higher, according to a study by Tina Marie (Waliczek) Cade, Ph.D., of the Department of Agriculture at Texas State University.
Survey data showed significant differences in workers’ perceptions of overall life quality, overall perceptions of job satisfaction among employees who worked in office environments that had plants or window views compared to those who worked in plant-free environments. People who work in offices with plants and windows report that they felt better about their job and the work they perform.
Additionally, employees in offices with plants rated their statements relating to bosses, coworkers, and their overall nature of work more positively when compared to employees in offices without plants, regardless of age, ethnicity, salary, education level, or position in the company.
The complete study and abstract are available at hortsci.ashspublications.org
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Who cares?
WASHINGTON, D.C. – There also is a substantial gap in concern over global warming, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, ranging from 66% to 19%.
Roughly two-thirds of Japanese (66%) and Indians (65%) say they personally worry a great deal about global warming. About half of the populations of Spain (51%) and France (46%) also express great concern over global warming, based on those who have heard about the issue.
But there is no evidence of alarm over global warming in either the United States or China, the two largest producers of greenhouse gases. Just 19% of Americans and 20% of the Chinese who have heard of the issue say they worry a lot about global warming - the lowest percentages in the 15 countries surveyed. Moreover, nearly half of Americans (47%) and somewhat fewer Chinese (37%) express little or no concern about the problem. For more information, see http://pewglobal.org
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The cost of climate change
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A report released today by researchers at Tufts University, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), presents two ways of estimating the costs of inaction on climate change, both leading to staggering bottom lines.
A comprehensive estimate, based on state-of-the-art computer modeling, finds that doing nothing on global warming will cost the United States economy more than 3.6% of GDP - or $3.8 trillion annually (in today’s dollars) - by 2100. On the other hand, a detailed, bottom-up analysis finds that just four categories of global warming impacts -- hurricane damage, real estate losses, increased energy costs and water costs -- will add up to a price tag of 1.8% of U.S. GDP, or almost $1.9 trillion annually (in today’s dollars) by 2100.
In the future, global warming will cause drastic changes to the planet’s climate, with average temperature increases of 13 degrees Fahrenheit in most of the United States and 18 degrees Fahrenheit in Alaska over the next 100 years. Costs and damages for the four detailed categories cited in the report if global warming continues:
- Hurricane damages: $422 billion
- Real estate losses: $360 billion
- Increased energy costs: $141 billion
- Water costs: $950 billion
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Global warming is already melting sea ice and glaciers that will contribute significantly to sea level rise. Sea level is expected to rise 23 inches in 2050 and 45 inches by 2100, with grave impacts expected for the Southeastern United States.. By 2100, an estimated $360 billion a year will be spent on damaged or destroyed residential real estate in the United States as a result of the rising sea levels inundating low-lying coastal properties. The effects of climate change will also be felt in the form of more severe heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, and other erratic weather events—and in their impact on our economy’s bottom line.
Global warming will change the nature of where Americans live. For example, this analysis found that if global warming continues unchecked, by 2100, New York City will feel like Las Vegas does today and San Francisco will have a climate comparable to that in New Orleans. In 2100, Boston will have average temperatures similar to those in Memphis, Tennessee today. Read the full report at www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/cost/contents.asp
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West heats up
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Human activities are already changing the climate of the American West, according to the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
Indeed, the West is being affected more by a changed climate than any other part of the United States outside of Alaska, based on this study of nearly 200 sources of data. When compared to the 20th century average, the West has experienced an increase in average temperature during the last five years that is 70% greater than the world as a whole. Responding quickly at all levels of government by embracing the solutions that are available is critical to minimizing further disruption of this region's climate and economy. For more information, see www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/west/contents.asp
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