Lothrop Science and Technology Magnet School students plan to grow native prairie grasses and flowers and give them to the community to put into landscaping. The students and community members will have the opportunity to learn why native species are a better choice than exotic plants. A $500 grant from the Green Neighborhood Council’s new small seed grants program will help. The Green Neighborhood Council (GNC) is one of five councils that make up the Green Omaha Coalition, whose mission is to promote a greener Omaha through collaboration, education, and advocacy.

In case you don’t already know, May is Bike Month. We at the GOC are guessing that the upsurge of cyclists in Omaha caught your attention well in advance of this latest annual national awareness campaign. Well, it has also caught the attention of the city’s transportation planners.

The year 2010 saw the creation of the city’s first bike-pedestrian coordinator. In 2011, the City of Omaha earned the Bicycle Friendly Community designation by a national cycling advocacy organization. This year is similarly posed to expand our understanding of transportation in Omaha, further dispelling the notion that the daily commute best occurs behind the wheel of a car. The city’s proposed revision to the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) is the first to extensively feature and recommend an option with as strong of an emphasis on multi-modal transportation options for the city’s residents, including expanded mass-transit and pedestrian solutions, in addition to several high profile cycling enhancements.

The TMP will be presented to the City Council on June 5 and a public hearing is scheduled for June 12. To learn more about the proposed update, visit the city website. Also visit the ModeShift Omaha website for talking points on the advantages of multi-modal.

Not convinced Omaha is ready to shift toward a more balanced transportation portfolio? A recent study published by the Frontier Group, Transportation and the New Generation, explains why young people are driving less and what bearing this trend has on current and future transportation policy.

Recently The Reader highlighted five outstanding sustainability leaders in Omaha. They have demonstrated exemplary commitment to a greener Omaha in their personal and professional lives.

Clayton Chapman, executive chef and co-owner, The Grey Plume. The Grey Plume is the first certified green restaurant in Nebraska and the first restaurant in the world to meet the SustainaBuild Standard.

Jody Fritz, manager and co-owner, Tomato Tomato. Omaha’s only year-round indoor farmer’s market, Tomato Tomato supports nearly 30 vendors throughout the metro area.

Dr. Angela Eikenberry and Kevin Flatowicz-Farmer, ModeShift members. Eikenberry and Flatowicz-Farmer practice what they preach by commuting by bike daily and using and promoting local and communal transportation systems.

Eric Williams, program coordinator, reEnergize Omaha. Williams promotes efficiency and clean energy through reEnergize. He also founded the Omaha Biofuels Coop and is a founding board member of the Dundee Community Garden.

Learn more about these leaders.

The Green Omaha Coalition would like to highlight a member who has exhibited outstanding leadership in promoting a greener Omaha. Helen Deffenbacher currently serves as chair of the Green Neighborhood Council.

As chair, Deffenbacher was crucial in the development and execution of the Green Neighborhood Scorecard, a yearly survey that assesses the greenness of neighborhoods while identifying areas of environmental need. She also consistently coordinates green events around the metro.

In addition to her service with the GOC, Deffenbacher participates in Kiva microloans and is active with the Sierra Club. In 2010, she and her grandchildren published “Green Philanthropy for Families,” featuring more than 160 no/low-cost green philanthropy ideas for families, individuals and groups.

“Our community is fortunate to have many sustainability leaders of all ages who are working hard for the common good,” Deffenbacher said regarding her recognition. “Their work and commitment validates and reinforces a desire in others to respect the earth and to conserve and not waste, including our natural resources.”

-Contributed by Catherine Miller

The Nebraska Farmers Union, along with the United Egg Producers and Humane Society of the United States, supports a bill that would require egg producers to essentially double the space allotted per hen.

The Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012 (H.R. 3798), introduced in January in Congress, seeks to transition egg production from conventional cages used for egg-laying hens to enriched cages. The bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.

A study conducted by an independent research company, The Bantam Group, and commissioned by the United Egg Producers found that American consumers support such legislation. A majority of the 1,000 respondents said they support the bill by a margin of 4-to-1.

The Nebraska Farmers Union agreed last fall to develop joint standards and marketing efforts with the Humane Society of the United States.

Interested in reading more? Click here.

- Story contributed by Wendy Harrison

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.
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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.