Preserving green space; first steps led to many

IUB has long been dedicated to preserving green space. But while its beautiful campus is the most visible effort toward environmental stewardship, it is certainly not the only one.

At the kickoff meeting for the environmental stewardship initiative last January, Tim Rice, Bloomington Professional Council, confirmed that the Bloomington campus is doing well. "We have an award winning recycling program," he said, "we have a strong commitment to energy efficiency and waste minimization, and we have strong teaching and research efforts on campus."

In the beginning stages of accessing programs and initiatives on campus, the Council on Environmental Stewardship noted just a few examples of positive efforts already being made.

In the area of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS):

• Coal ash used to be disposed of in the mine from which coal was extracted; now EHS is working with a cement plant to add the ash to their product;

• EHS is planning to move underground storage tanks above ground to increase environmental friendliness;

  In the Physical Plant:

• Boilers are being converted to co-burn natural gas and coal, producing cleaner and more efficient energy;

• Ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are being eliminated on campus through retiring large air conditioning units and moving the cooling load to a central location; purchasing has also worked with physical plant personnel to buy CFC-free refrigerants.

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