In November 2010, American Public University System (APUS) completed its first green building, a 45,000-square-foot structure which recently received its LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Sitting atop that building are 99 solar panels which provide approximately 5 to 7% of the total energy for the structure. Just over a year later, the school completed another solar project, the largest in the state of West Virginia. With 1,660 panels and generating approximately 480,000 kWh of electricity each year, the array will provide approximately 40 to 50% of the energy needed for the school’s latest green building, a 105,000-square-foot structure which is currently in the LEED certification process.… Read the rest
Archive | 2012
by Sarah Myers (McNair)
Construction activities have a significant impact on the health of the environment.Â Building new structures requires the production of new goods and the transportation of these materials to building sites.Â Throughout the supply chain, the harmful emissions add up.Â Both the construction and demolition processes create large amounts of pollution and waste that fill up landfills quickly and/or are oftentimes not disposed of in an environmentally sound manner.Â These impacts (and many more) are precisely the reason that higher education must prepare its students to improve upon modern building construction practices.Â Second Nature and the U.S.… Read the rest
by Kelly Wenner
We have been reading a lot about how sustainability should factor into the college experience.Â The Princeton Review now has a yearly guide of green colleges, and the Review also reports that students care considerably about a collegeâ€™s sustainability elements when considering colleges to attend.Â Interestingly, it is not always the first-time college student that is concerned with how a college curriculum addresses sustainability.Â A Q&A session at the Net Impact conference shed light on another type of student: those who have already graduated and are professionals with non-sustainability related degrees whose companies or industries are invested in sustainable business practices.Â To go further with this concept, Green Biz conducted an additional survey in partnership with Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, part of the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University.Â This survey aimed at identifying general career-related needs as well as sustainability-specific needs of a potential field of Executive Masterâ€™s candidates.… Read the rest
by Ryan Harding
Zombies. You know, the lumbering dead. A groaning, empty-eyed, rigor mortis army with an evincible, yet inexplicable preoccupation with human flesh and the consumption of brraaaaiiiinnnss. (More serious zombie-enthusiasts will tell you that this preoccupation is actually a function of the virus with which the seeming undead are infected, of whose propagative aspirations a zombieâ€™s curious cravings are but a mere manifestation.)
However fantastic the image, it is one with considerable purchase, which has driven its roots deep down into the imaginative landscape of contemporary culture.… Read the rest
by Sarah McNair
One of the many perks of attending APUS is that we can study just about anywhere we can power our laptops.Â Coffee shops are a great alternative to being stuck at home, but what if youâ€™d like to take your studies outside?Â After putting together a simple solar generator for the tiny house I built, I started thinking about ways to use this type of system on a smaller scale for mobile education.Â The concept of backpack solar power is not new.Â In fact, you can purchase ready-to-go systems for a few hundred dollars.Â These systems are pricey, usually lack battery storage, and arenâ€™t nearly as satisfying as making your own solar power system!Â For the do-it-yourselfers out there, hereâ€™s a good place to start:
- Solar panel
- Charge controller
I suggest getting a 5 or 10 watt solar panel, but it depends on how much power your laptop needs and how much storage your battery has.Â A panel in this range of watts will cost between $25 and $40.Â Search online stores for new panels, or (if you have testing equipment you can bring with you) try the local classifieds for used panels.… Read the rest
by Beth Gray
The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV) held its 2012 Annual Conference in Jefferson County September 27-29 and more than 120 people attended.Â Participants visited several of the most historic sites in the county including several of the Washington family homes and historic Harpers Ferry.Â A variety of valuable and engaging presentations were also offered to attendees during the three-day conference.Â The conference also featured several hands-on workshops including a historic masonry workshop with experts from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center.Â
American Public University System has made its headquarters in historic downtown Charles Town, West Virginia since 2002 and, as a result, has been diligent with its own historic preservation efforts.Â We have written about APUSâ€™ historic preservation and adaptive reuse practices on this blog (see our April article, â€œAdaptive Reuse at APUS is a Necessity and a Priorityâ€) and were therefore happy to provide an exhibit about our efforts for the PAWV conference.Â
by Beth Gray
Last Friday the American Public University System (APUS) Sustainability Committee had a retreat at CraftWorks at Cool Spring.Â The event provided a great opportunity for fun, education, and team building.Â The Committee was hopeful that their team building event could be one to use as an example of how even an event like this can be sustainable, educational, and fun.Â Fridayâ€™s event at CraftWorks did not disappoint.Â
CraftWorks is a non-profit organization located in Charles Town, West Virginia.Â The enthusiastic employees at CraftWorks work diligently to bring together art, nature, and sustainability in such a way that each inspires the others.Â Inspiration is easily found on the 12-acre nature preserve on which they are situated, with studios situated in a very energy-efficient building overlooking rolling hills which abound with butterflies, deer, and other wildlife.Â On the property is Cool Spring Marsh and the CraftWorks community works diligently to ensure that the marsh is healthy.Â CraftWorks provides community workshops ranging from â€œMommy and Meâ€ art programs to summer camps for school-aged children and a master artists series.Â The picturesque setting coupled with the unique mission of the organization provided a great venue for the Committeeâ€™s retreat.Â
The afternoon started with lunch from Fresh Feast on the Farm, another wonderfully sustainable local organization.Â Fresh Feast on the Farm provides meal options that are seasonable and made from all locally grown and raised ingredients.Â The Committee had quite a treat with the lunch menu including swiss steak from beef raised on the Lyle C.… Read the rest
In the latest addition to its headquarters in Charles Town, West Virginia, American Public University System (a fully online university serving more than 100,000 students) is celebrating the opening of its 105,000 square foot environmentally-friendly Finance Center.Â The building sits adjacent to the schoolâ€™s Academic Center which opened in November 2010.Â Both buildings were built to US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Gold standards, a level above the Silver standard required of APUS as a charter signatory of the American College & University Presidentsâ€™ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).… Read the rest
by Ryan Harding
Coined by Thomas Friedman, the phrase â€œelectronic herd,â€ perhaps, may elicit in your mind an image of cattle, furiously stampeding through the vast web of crisscrossing fiber optic cables which comprise the mortar upon which we have built our Information Society. A miniature herd of cattle which could, if not for the thin sheet of liquid crystal and glass before you, come pouring out of your computer monitor surrounded by a great plume of dust and dirt.… Read the rest
- Composting in the Work Place and at Home March 3, 2010
- Adopt-A-Highway March 29, 2010
- Reverse Vending Machines – The Future of Recycling August 24, 2011
- SS Credit 4.1- 4.4: Alternative Transportation January 22, 2010
- SS Credit 6.2: Stormwater Design—Quality Control March 2, 2010
- Exploring the Psychology of Behavior Change May 20, 2013
- Hydro-Fracturing News May 8, 2013
- Hazardous Waste Management and Liability May 3, 2013
- APUS Celebrates Earth Day and Wellness April 26, 2013
- College Campuses Celebrate Earth Day April 26, 2013
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