Omaha B-Cycle has announced that the bike share revolution is here. If you would like to cycle but don’t have a bike readily available, join Omaha B-Cycle and get pedaling. Thirty-five bikes are now wheeling cyclists around midtown. Between Aksarben Village and the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus, five stops are available for members of the public to begin their cycling journeys.

Getting started is easy. You purchase a membership at http://omaha.bcycle.com/ or at any B-station; select a bike from any station; grab a bike and go; and park your bike at any station.

A B-Cycle bike station at Aksarben. Photo Courtesey of Wendy Harrison.

Bikes feature a wide, comfortable seat designed to easily adjust; sturdy frame that’s built low to the ground; fat tires for a smooth ride; and a bell and basket on the front. Cyclists should bring their own helmets. Solar panels at each station are an added bonus of the B-cycle program, sourcing electricity for the stations and kiosks.

The system launched on June 15. As of mid-July the program had 200 members and has had 533 trips, according to Tammie Dodge, project manager at Activate Omaha, which is affiliated with Live Well Omaha.

Live Well and the Community Bike Project established the Omaha program. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska is the founding sponsor, with a donation of $200,000 for the initial system and setup. UNO Student Government donated funds to its station. B-cycle, a Trek-owned company, operates in several other cities in the United States.

Local plans include expanding the program to downtown, north downtown, Midtown Crossing and perhaps further.

A Trial Ride

by Kate Cavanaugh

I too wanted to participate in the B-cycle program, so on a recent Saturday morning I called a friend and asked “Would you like to go on an adventure?” “Sure why not?” was her response. After a beat she said, “By the way, what are we going to be doing?”

“Have you noticed those snazzy bike racks at Aksarben Village? I think we should give them a try.”

Neither my friend nor I are avid cyclers or even occasional users—I think my last time on a bike was … well, I can’t remember it has been so long—but I was subscribing to that old saying “it is just like riding a bike.” I was therefore undaunted by the idea.

I am not at all adverse to physical activity and put some mileage on my walking shoes every week, but I really prefer to put my pedal to the concrete instead of putting my foot to any kind of moving pedal.

We went to the B-cycle kiosk in front of Aksarben Cinema. We put on our bike helmets—safety first—and approached the B-cycle kiosk to get started. As we headed to the Keystone Trail, a young couple returning from a jog asked us where we got the bikes. When we told them they said they were from Minneapolis, where B-Cycle began a year ago and has been hugely successful with continued increased ridership. This encouraging news bolstered our enthusiasm as we pedaled off to the trail.

We got going and loved it. The B-Cycle program is fun and easy. I think it has the potential to be a success with recreational users and to provide a commuting alternative.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO’s) new Mammel Hall has the distinction of being the university’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building, and the first LEED Gold-certified building in the University of Nebraska system.

The new Mammel Hall at UNO is LEED-Certified. Photo Courtesey of Holland Basham Architects.

Louis Pol, Dean of the College of Business Administration (CBA), said its previous facility–Roskens Hall on UNO’s Dodge Street campus–had served the college well for many years, but its programs had evolved beyond the space. Students needed a more contemporary building in which they could learn and collaborate.

Mammel Hall, the CBA’s new home, is located on the former infield of the Aksarben racetrack at 67th and Pine Streets. The $34 million, 120,000-square-foot facility opened in August 2010. It was designed by Omaha’s Holland Basham Architects, with Gensler architects as a design partner.

The building received LEED certification based on the following features:

• Development Density and Community Connectivity
• Alternative Transportation: Public Transportation Access
• Daylight and Views, Daylighting 75 Percent of Spaces
• Water Use Reduction
• Construction Waste Management
• Low Mercury and Energy Efficient Lamps
• Optimize Energy Performance
• Stormwater Management

Decision makers set the goal of LEED certification for Mammel Hall because they recognized that sustainability is becoming an important issue for all organizations, whether educational institutions, businesses or nonprofits. The CBA has worked with a number of organizations over the years to help them address issues of sustainability.

“We have also added a sustainability concentration to our Master of Business Administration program,” Pol said. “Our students are not only learning about sustainability in the classroom, but they understand that this college made a choice that Mammel Hall would be LEED certified. We have been commited to sustainability for a long time, as evidenced by our work with small businesses with support from the Environmental Protection Agency.”

David Nielsen, the Director of Information Technology for the CBA, said a feature he particularly likes at Mammel Hall is the sustainability of the technology. The move to Mammel Hall meant the addition of 224 new computer workstations. At Roskens Hall, workstations in laboratories and for faculty and staff were refurbished or recycled every three years. At Mammel Hall, the CBA could not sustain the three-year replacement cycle. The solution: thin clients. Rather than individual stations that function independently of all other workstations, thin clients depend on a server to fulfill their traditional computational roles. This translates into much more efficient and affordable units.

“If you walk into a lab, the first thing that you notice is that it’s incredibly quiet, because thin clients make no noise,” Pol said. “There is a lot less heat being emitted and a lot less electricity used. We can power 50 of our thin client workstations for one hour on the same amount of electricity it took to power two workstations for one hour in Roskens Hall. Thin clients also cost less than $300 each to purchase. That’s about a third of what it would cost us to purchase traditional towers. We believe that the thin client’s life expectancy is around seven to 10 years.”

The building has been warmly received by its users.

“Students are overwhelmed because now they have so many more spaces to work in, with new access to labs, breakout areas and open seating,” Pol said. “Every time I give a tour, our guests do not look at me. There is no eye contact, but they aren’t being rude. They’re simply looking at this amazing building.”

Roskens Hall is currently being renovated, and the College of Education will move into the facility later this year, Pol said.

–Contributed by Wendy Harrison

Mayor Mike Fahey announced in 2008 that the city would add bike lanes to certain wide streets, make improvements to street markings, add signage and create a new committee for bikers and pedestrians. The lanes have started making their debut around town. What does this mean for bikers and for motorists?

“Signs along the new bike routes are generally for informational purposes like destination directions and distances,” said Bob Brindamour, founder of the advocacy group Omaha Bikes, According to the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles’, bicyclists are considered vehicle operators; they are required to obey the same rules of the road as other vehicle operators. Regardless of whether a bike lane is present, cyclists should always obey traffic signs, signals and lane markings. When people start to think about biking, a common deterrence is not being comfortable with where to bike, whether on a sidewalk or street.

Contrary to popular belief, the sidewalk is the most dangerous place for a biker, because while on the sidewalk you are essentially invisible to motorists. According to Activate Omaha’s commuters guide, when you are biking on the sidewalk and cross driveways and/or intersections, motorists don’t expect to see you and you are more likely to get hit. If you are uncomfortable with your biking ability and feel the sidewalk is the best place for you, never assume that a driver sees you. Be sure to make eye contact when crossing cars and that the driver is aware of your location.

When you’re biking on the road, if you are going below the normal speed of traffic try to ride as far to the right as you can. Brindamour makes a distinction, however, between riding as far to the right as is practicable and allowing room for error. “Riding too close to the curb is dangerous because it leaves no room for the cyclist to avoid road hazards,” Brindamour said. Many times you’ll need to pass another bicyclist or a parked car, or the lane will just be too narrow to leave enough room to be safely passed by motorists. In these cases you will need to “take the lane.” “Taking the lane” means that you have full control over the lane which happens when you bike in the middle of the lane, which minimizes unsafe passing. While biking in the street, try to bike in a straight line, which makes you more predictable to motorists.

The rules for motorists are much the same as those of bikers. A key thing to remember is that bikes are vehicles as well, so you need to treat them as such. When passing a biker make sure you leave at least three feet of clearance. When pulling out of a parking space or even just opening your door, watch for bikers. Many of the new markings on the road are in the middle of the lanes, this means that there isn’t a designated bike lane and that you’re supposed to share the street.

If cycling as a means of commuting is not your thing, there are many paths for bikes and pedestrians around that have scenic views along the way. Happy and safe cycling!

Interested in learning more? Visit http://bikeomaha.blogspot.com/ for additional information.

- Carla Seiwert

3 Green Happenings from the Summer

Coalition Forms Little Steps, Big Impact to Reduce Ground-Level Ozone

To help reduce ground-level ozone in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA), in collaboration with NDEQ, IDNR, the city of Omaha, Douglas County and the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, is launching a community-based planning process to involve air quality stakeholders in ozone reduction plans. Within the community-based planning model, impacted stakeholders collaborate to recommend appropriate actions for achieving pollution reductions. Stakeholders include citizens, emitters of ozone in industry and business and lung health experts.

In the coming months, several public meetings will be held to update the community on ozone reduction efforts. Stakeholders will collaborate with a technical advisory committee of air quality experts to devise a voluntary reduction plan to help the MAPA region remain within the EPA health standard for ozone. For more information, visit http://littlestepsbigimpact.com/.

Metro Area Transit Transforms into “Metro”

Metro Area Transit has changed its name to Metro and has changed its corporate look to communicate that significant changes are afoot with the area’s transit authority. This is part of a purchase of 24 new replacement buses for the Metro fleet, fully funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus effort.

The new name was recommended to not only signify to the public that something significant is transpiring at Metro, but that Omaha’s public transit system is one part of a larger, nationwide whole. It is key for resident and area users to feel Metro is similar to trusted and esteemed systems of similarly-sized or larger cities. Visit http://ometro.com/ for more information.

City of Omaha Hires Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator

To promote enhanced transportation planning to accommodate all users, the City of Omaha Planning Department announced that Carlos Morales will serve as the City’s new Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator. The position is funded by grants and community partners and is not part of the City’s general fund. Those partners include MAPA, Alegent Health with Live Well Omaha and the Douglas County Health Department through a federal grant.

Morales will be tasked with developing and managing policies and programs that further promote a multi-modal transportation network for Omaha, with increased focus on the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. This includes, but is not limited to, trails and bicycle parking facilities, bike lanes, share lane markings, signage, bike racks and enhanced crosswalks and signals.

Morales will lead efforts to incorporate balanced transportation principles into the City of Omaha and regional master plans, which include goals for non-motorized transportation and accessibility. In addition, he will work with the many technical and advisory transportation stakeholders, including local governments and regional partners, such as MAPA and Metro (formerly MAT). For more information, visit http://www.cityofomaha.org/mayor/mayors-office-home/archives/1266.

Contributed by Wendy Harrison, HDR, Inc.

Click here for Green Home Tour FAQs and a complete schedule of events.__________________________________________

Green Home Tour 2010 in the News:

- Watch KETV News on Thursday, September 30th to see the Green Home Tour’s spokesperson, Patrick Wheeler, discuss the ZENTH house.

-Turn to 91.5 KIOS later in the week to hear the Green Home Tour announced on the Events Calendar with a few words from Patrick Wheeler.

- Tune in to KFAB 1110 AM Newsradio on Thursday, September 30th at around 9:45 a.m. to hear the Green Home Tour’s spokesperson, Patrick Wheeler, talk about the upcoming event.

- On Tuesday, September 28th, Sarah Nieves and Brian Allen, owners of the Green Home Tour’s Beyond A/C house, appeared on KMTV’s “The Morning Blend.”  View here.

- Visit Metro Magazine to see additional coverage of the event.
_________________________________

Fundraiser for the Green Home Tour:

Monday, September 13th’s Fundraiser for the Green Home Tour was a success! The GOC would like to thank Loft 610 and all participants for their generosity and support.

Creighton University will harness Nebraska’s sunshine and wind this spring as the university begins assembling a large array of solar panels and wind turbines at various locations across campus. When completed, the solar array will be the largest in the state.

The alternative energy project will be part of a new degree program for students studying technology and applied science in the College of Arts and Sciences. They will have research opportunities to assist with the building of the solar array, which will be located in a university parking lot.

The $1.4 million project is a collaborative effort with Omaha Public Power District (OPPD); $1.14 million of that will be funded by federal funds requested by Rep. Lee Terry and Sen. Ben Nelson. The U. S. Department of Energy will administer the money as part of its mission to promote renewable energy. Creighton will also serve as a resource for OPPD customers contemplating the use of alternative energy projects on commercial sites.

Creighton University Physics Professor Michael Cherney said the new educational program in energy technology will be designed to train future leaders in the field so that they possess the scientific expertise needed, as well as an understanding of related social issues.

The project will begin with the installation of a thin film of photovoltaic cells on part of the south sloping roof of the Kiewit Fitness Center. This simple installation, which will be visible from the interstate, will be a demonstration of what some OPPD customers might find attractive in terms of solar projects, Cherney noted.

A solar tracker panel will be installed on the south side of the Lied Education Center. The panel will be about 20 feet wide and 16 feet tall and mounted on a pole about 10 feet above ground. It will be self-adjusting to provide the best angle for capturing sunlight.

Along with the tracker panel, four wind turbines will be installed on a hillside southwest of the Lied Education Center. Like the tracker panel, the turbines will be very visible from I-480 and from Cass Street. The 30-foot towers will have rotating drums at the top that spin with turbulent winds found in an urban setting. The electricity generated from the tracker panel and the wind turbines will be used in the Lied Education Center.

The largest installation will be the solar array in the parking lot between Burt and Cuming and 24th and 28th streets. The installation will be above two rows of parking. The rows will be about 300 and 100-feet long, respectively. Like the tracker panel, the array will be about 10 feet above ground at the lowest point. The photovoltaic cells will be supplied from four manufacturers so Creighton students can examine the panels and compare each manufacturer’s product. The panels will be installed in a frame that facilitates changing and updating the panels through time.

Along with the large array of solar panels will be a smaller stand-alone array that is adjustable. The fixed panels will be installed at a 37-degree angle for the best efficiency. Connected to the smaller, adjustable array will be a teaching station that will give students the opportunity to see the inverters and other meters associated with producing alternating current.

Students in the atmospheric sciences program will be able to track the efficiency of the panels through a weather station, using computerized weather models developed by the students. The collective analysis, along with a Web-cam presentation and a dashboard showing “right-now” production, will all be visible on a dedicated Web site and on digital displays found in the Hixson-Lied Science Building.

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The GOC is proud to announce that four new professionals have joined its board of directors. The board includes 15 members of the community who serve three-year terms.

New board members include:

Annette Artherton
Artherton is the planning, research and special projects coordinator with Omaha Economic Development Corporation. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from the College of White Plains in New York and a master’s degree in urban studies from the University of Nebraska Omaha. Artherton is a member of the American Association of Grant Professionals. She is an advocate of sustainable development and is passionate about improving the quality of affordable housing through the integration of energy efficiency and healthy built environment design elements.

Craig Moody
Moody is principal of Verdis Group and has an MBA from the University of South Dakota. He is chair of the Earth Day Omaha Coalition, a member of Environment Omaha’s core committee and natural environment sub-committee and serves on VOICE Omaha’s steering committee. Moody was a member of Omaha’s Downtown Master Plan Advisory Group, served as the 2009 chair of Omaha’s Young Professionals Council and was named to the 2009 list of Ten Outstanding Young Omahans by the Omaha Jaycees, who gave him a distinguished service award.

Kerri Peterson
Kerri Peterson is executive director of Live Well Omaha. She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in biology and has a master’s degree in health promotion from Nebraska Methodist College. Peterson participated in the 2001 Health Forum’s Creating a Healthier Communities Fellowship and received her certification in health ministries. She graduated from the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Leadership Omaha program and its Non-Profit Executive Leadership Institute.

Don Preister
Don Preister is the cofounder of Joy Creations Greeting Card Co. Inc. and serves on the Bellevue city council. He served for 16 years in the Nebraska legislature, advocating for clean renewable energy, sustainable family farm practices, open accessible government and environmental stewardship. Preister co-chairs the state Wind Working Group and chairs the South Omaha Environmental Task Force and Green Bellevue Committee. He is a Vietnam veteran and former deputy Omaha city clerk who earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The board is the governing body of the GOC and is responsible for the supervision, control and direction of the organization. Members attend board meetings and provide vision and guidance to the organization.

World Environment Day (WED) 2010 – “bridging the gap” between Earth Day (17 April) and World Environment Day (05 June) – will celebrate the “elements of the environment” throughout a series of events over seven weeks – each week for six weeks will focus on a different theme. The 7th week will be a celebration of World Environment Day with events similar to events presented in WED 2009.

The successful WED 2009 when Omaha was the North American host city inspired the formation of the WED team under the umbrella of Green Omaha Coalition to present WED 2010 in a series of events, celebrations and activities organized by local government officials, businesses, organizations and individuals during the seven weeks that “bridge the gap” between the 40th anniversary of Earth Day to be celebrated in Omaha on April 17 and World Environment Day on June 5. The WED team and the participating partners have received the support and encouragement of United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Regional Office for North America (RONA).

World Environment Day is truly a People’s Day: it is the chance for everyone, young and

old, with their community or with close friends, show that they care for the planet. The theme for WED 2010 “Biodiversity: Connecting with Nature.”

Structure of WED Coordination team: Green Omaha Coalition GOC is the lead sponsor with WED as part of the GOC Program Committee. The WED team includes individuals and organizations interested in volunteering for this effort. Each week is headed by a coordinator (individual(s) and/or organization). The WED team will work together with these weekly coordinators. The WED team will be the coordinator for the events of the 7th week ending on World Environment Day on June 5^th.

WED Objectives: 1) to build awareness of sustainability; 2) social networking – “what’s happening”; 3) empowering the individual so that he/she can make a difference; 4) moving the individual to action.

For more information click here.

Below you will find items concerning legislation from groups in the Omaha community:


From the desk of Repower America:

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski just left the Senate floor after speaking for 15 minutes in support of a Resolution of Disapproval (NOT an amendment to the debt ceiling legislation that she had threatened) that was co-sponsored by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). More updates, emails, and public statements to come.

If successful, this could undermine the Clean Air Act, one of the most successful laws ever passed to protect public health and the environment. This long-standing Act has greatly reduced the pollution that poisons our air and water, and continues to protect Americans’ health across the country.

Altering the Clean Air Act would roll back the clock on decades of progress reducing pollution, putting polluters like coal and oil in control of America’s clean energy future.

Call Senator Nelson’s office today, and tell him to support clean air and public health
by OPPOSING the Murkowski Resolution at (402) 391-3411 or Washington D.C.
(202) 224-6551.

From the desk of Legislative Aide Andrea Fox:

State Senator Heath Mello asked that you know about some of the green legislation that he has introduced during the current legislative session. Please see the below press releases for more information. In addition to the bills mentioned in the press releases, Senator Mello introduced two more green bills: LB 1100, a bill to allow Electric Vehicles to drive on Nebraska roads; and LB 997, a bill that would require counties and cities of a certain size to include an Energy Element in their comprehensive plans.

If you’d like to see the full text of any of these bills, visit the Nebraska Legislature’s website, www.nebraskalegislature.gov and use the “Search Current Bills” tool in the upper right-hand corner.

Press Releases:

Lead by Example
Green Jobs

From the desk of Robert Byrnes, President of Nebraska Renewable Energy Association:

LB 960 is scheduled for public hearing at the capital at 1:30 on Friday, January 29th. Likely the bill will not be heard until 2:30pm. If you want to counterweigh the lobbyists it is important that members of the Omaha community send e-mails to the Natural Resource Committee and their senators to support LB 960, Senator Haar from Lincoln is already on board. Even better, show up and speak your peace about poor policy limiting our ability to interconnect more significant green energy systems. Bill synopsis is below:

“LB960: Introduced bill to amend state statute on net metering that would establish two different classes of net metering users – those that net metering in a residential zoned district, and everyone else. Those that are in a residential area would remain at the 25kW limit set forth in last years bill, but LB960 would also raise the limit for “everyone else” to 125kW.”