Exhibition/Outreach/Workshop

Where: Latzer Hall in the University YMCA
When: Wednesday, May 7th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 noon

Be a part of the Champaign-Urbana Sustainability Coalition: Make your voice heard!

This coalition will bring together leaders working toward the sustainability of our community. This diverse group involves student and community leaders, UIUC faculty and is looking to broaden to include local business owners, religious leaders, and younger students.

Free lunch from Chipotle to follow.

Please email Ari Sahagun (sahagun2 [at] uiuc [dot] edu) if you plan to attend.

Speakers will include:

• Chancellor Richard Herman, on the importance of sustainability
• A panel of three University professors who will speak on sustainability from their own academic perspectives: ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, and SOCIAL.

Agenda:

This is the committee in charge of organizing the regional conference taking place on our campus this September.  Planning begins immediately.

Meetings are spontaneous.  Contact Jason Jewell at jjewell2 [at] uiuc [dot] edu to find out when the next meeting is.

RSVP: To Kent Studer at kstuder [at] uiuc [dot] edu by April 4, 2008

General Electric (GE) Energy is converting a Sylvan Power Company plant to a Biomass plant, powered by wood chips.

The facility was constructed in 1996 to burn garbage (otherwise slated for landfill) from the South Side of Chicago, to generate steam to power a steam turbine. The plant generated most of its income, not from supplying electricity, but by accepting garbage. However, in 2000, the State of Illinois changed environmental laws, and the plant went bankrupt.  GE is now converting the plant to generate power from wood chips (3-in in length or less) created from scrap lumber and trees. This will result in a greenhouse-negative facility, the conversion of which is to be completed by the end of 2008.

The facility coordinator is offering a guided site visit for approximately 20-30 University of Illinois students and faculty on April 26th.

Visitors will be able to see:

The 2008 Engineers Without Borders Engineering Open House project is all about insulation. Check out the exhibit in the front lobby area of the Materials Science and Engineering Building.

Come learn to make an ethanol cookstove!