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Frequently Asked Questions

Sustainability News
UNH sustainability profiled in the latest "Sustainability: The Journal of Record" (PDF) Dual Major in EcoGastronomy coming to UNH this fall!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) Arrow

Answers to your questions about sustainability at UNH, through our office, and beyond!

Questions related to...

 

Agriculture, food & nutrition

Visit Local Harvest and type in your zip code to find a CSA and farmer's market near you!

At UNH, we are developing a Dual Major in EcoGastronomy at the undergraduate level, which will integrate food culture, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health outcomes, and hospitality management. While there are currently no masters or doctoral programs at UNH specifically focused on this topic, some programs are interdisciplinary in nature and could be designed to focus on this subject. In particular, you might look at the Natural Resources department, which offers an MS and a Ph.D. Depending on your specific interests, you might want to look at departments of anthropology and sociology. You may also want to have a look at the Association for the Study of Food and Agriculture, which sponsors an annual conference and has a listserv you can subscribe to to learn more about food culture topics. Other, non-UNH programs include the following:

  1. New York University MA and Ph.D. program in Food Studies
  2. Boston University masters program in gastronomy
  3. Tufts University MS and Ph.D. in Agriculture, Food, and Environment
  4. University of British Colombia has a MS and Ph.D. in Integrated Studies in Land & Food Systems
  5. University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy (focused on food communications)
  6. University of California, Davis has a list of undergraduate and graduate programs that are specifically focused on sustainable agriculture and related fields.
  7. The Educational and Training Opportunities in Sustainable Agriculture guide provides information on degree programs, courses and other opportunities available at U.S. universities and colleges.

If are an undergraduate and are looking for something cross-disciplinary (incorporating sustainable agriculture and food with nutrition or policy or some other field), you might:

  • See if your college or university has an established major or minor that has or could have the ability to integrate these areas;
  • Create a self-design major;
  • Do an independent study or research project;
  • Go abroad for a semester to learn about international food traditions and perspectives. Check with your college or university for options

The New Farm website has a directory of student farms at universities and colleges across the U.S.

Many different career paths are available depending on your background and experience. Here are some ideas to get you started in your search:

  • Listservs are a good place to get position postings and learn more about what people are doing. NEFOOD-L is a list focused on community food security, and frequently has position postings, as well as lots of great information and discussion.
  • Websites such as Idealist.com, EcoEmploy.com, and PASAfarming.org
  • Research organizations that currently exist and check their websites. Start with our food and society link.
  1. At UNH, talk to the Organic Garden Club!
  2. In the northeast, check out NOFA and MOFGA.
  3. ATTRA has an online guide to sustainable farming internships and apprenticeships in the U.S. and Canada.
  4. World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) has information on internships and apprenticeships across the world.

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Climate and energy

 

The amount of time it will take to complete a greenhouse gas inventory will vary greatly from campus to campus. Generally, about a semester would be a good estimate for a full time sustainability officer, or for 2 part-time people. The vast majority of the time will be spent finding out who on campus collects the data needed, and getting it from them. If data collection is highly centralized (say in an institutional research office or a single business office that covers the entire campus) this will be very simple; if not it could take a couple of months.

The next step is to enter the data; again this varies greatly from campus to campus. If each type of data is recorded in a single document (or in electronic form), data entry will be trivial and take a few hours at most. If, on the other hand, data needs to be manually entered from years worth of electric bills stored in someone's filing cabinet, this could be more time consuming.

Scope III emissions, such as airline travel and commuter trips, will be the most difficult to acquire, and may need to be considered additional projects outside of the normal time it takes to complete the rest of the inventory since they will generally not already be recorded by any office on campus and will need to be estimated based on data that is collected. It may be good idea to tackle the Scope I and II emissions in one semester and the Scope III emissions the next semester, using the contacts developed in the first round to help you with the second.

The key is to build relationships with the people who handle and collect the data as part of their normal job responsibilities. This will make each subsequent round of updating the inventory progressively easier. After the first complete inventory is finished the goal is that updating it ever year or so should be simple. Once all the contacts have been made, the need to collect the data made known to everyone involved, and all the historical data gathered, maintaining the inventory over time should hopefully be a matter of sending out a few e-mails at the end of the year asking for the new data.

For more information and guidance -- including how to download the Inventory Calculator co-created by the UNH University Office of Sustainability and Clean Air - Cool Planet, we recommend that you take a look at UNH's greenhouse gas inventory and Clean Air - Cool Planet's Campus Toolkit.

Yes! UNH has invested several million dollars in retrofit projects including high efficiency lighting systems, motors, and control systems. In fact, UNH has used energy efficient compact fluorescent lighting (CFL's) for several years. In combination with T-8 and T-5 fixtures, UNH uses CFL's as a matter of routine on new construction and major renovation projects. UNH has also done some specific lighting upgrade projects using this technology. It is UNH Facilities policy to remove all incandescent lighting through attrition and replace this lighting with CFL's. What's more, no new purchases of incandescent bulbs (unless specific conditions are required that cannot be attained through CFL's) are allowed. More detail on UNH's energy efficiency investments can be found here and here.

Here are a few facts to keep in mind about compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) and mercury: 1) The single largest source of mercury emissions are power plants, so switching to CFL's, which contain a small amount of mercury, will lower mercury released to the environment through reduced electric demand, especially if that electricity is generated through coal-fired power plants. 2) A CFL only has about 5 miligrams of mercury - about 5 times less than a small battery (like a watch battery). 3) Many recycling programs will recycle CFLs, and 10 years from now when they burn out even more programs will take them. For more information, take a look at this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-based fact sheet (PDF) or a recent answer to the mercury/CFL question by Grist's "Ask Umbra."

As part of its Climate Education Initiative, UNH is committed to being as sustainable as feasible in its construction and renovation of buildings, including but not limited to following the intent of U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in terms of current standards and practices. In November 2007, UNH committed to establishing a process to ensure that all new construction and major renovation projects achieve the equivalent of LEED silver standards. A formal process to achieve this was put in place and will be applicable to all new projects initiated once the UNH Construction and Repair Standard has been modified.

The replacement of DeMeritt Hall on the UNH Durham campus is a perfect example of this. Our DeMeritt Design Team (Architerra Inc.), is very familiar with LEED and prides themselves in being on the leading edge of sustainable design. Though not registered with LEED, Architerra, Inc., says the DeMeritt Hall replacement, expected to open in August 2008, will be comparable to a Silver LEED building in their opinion. In addition, we believe that we have been building sustainably for years; the measures taken to ensure durability, quality, and energy efficiency at UNH, especially in our core campus capital projects, have contributed to that end. Other highlights of UNH's commitment to sustainble buildings include:

  1. UNH’s comprehensive approach targets high impact intervention areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as impacts on biodiversity and cultural continuity. With respect to environmental impacts, UNH Design Guidelines used by Facilities Design and Construction require that designs use energy efficient systems and components and consider environmental impacts UNH was awarded the first EPA ENERGY STAR ratings for residence halls in the country; we have eight such designated buildings.
  2. UNH Housing performs energy efficiency improvements as part of all major residence hall renovation projects.
  3. The upcoming renovation of James Hall (2008), which not coincidentally houses the departments of natural resources and earth sciences, will include designs and renovation that facilities energy efficiency, emissions reduction, water conservation, and beyond. Discussions are on-going to make James a LEED-certified renovation project, and the building itself a “living experiment” for students in those departments.

Learn more about sustainable buildings at UNH.

The average residence hall uses about 600,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, which goes up to about 2,000,000 kWh per month in the winter. The increase in the winter is mostly due to the fact that there are 5 residence halls on campus with electric heat. Over the 2006 Thanksgiving break there was about a 37% decrease in electricity use. When the residence halls fill up at the end of the summer, there is typically a 45% increase in energy use.

No. Climate change is a dramatic challenge that demands a systemic and proportional response. We must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible to avert the worst impacts of climate change that will occur in the next 50 to 100 years if we do not cut our emissions drastically in the next decade. In light of this challenge, it's important to keep the following points in mind when considering UNH's landfill gas methane pipeline that will fuel our on-campus cogeneration combined heat and power plant in 2008:

  1. The gas will last for 20 years, even if the landfill is closed tomorrow. Turnkey Landfill is expected to continue to accept waste into the future.
  2. We need to cut greenhouse emissions now -- an estimated 80% by 2050. Therefore, eery landfill in the country should use or sell its methane gas for power - gas that is already being produced now from waste ALREADY in landfills.
  3. Ending the consumer society is an important concern, and we're not going to get to carbon neutrality without addressing it in a sustainable way. However, since we have only a decade in which to substantially reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to explore renewable power sources like landfill gas.
  4. Until we can have a zero waste society, landfills are the best option for managing waste. Incineration, export, ocean dumping, etc., all have their own environmental and social problems. What's more, waste characterization and utilization research and engineering continue to improve our landfills and how we handle waste.
  5. Our US consumer society (like our car culture) developed over the 50 yearperiod from 1950-2000. It can be undone (many of our grandparents remember a time when this type of culture did not predominate, but it may take another 50 years for us to change. In the meantime, we should explore using landfill gas for power

Yes. Electric hand dryers in restrooms are campus standard for new construction and renovation. Even taking the energy used into consideration they are usually more economical than paper towels and more sanitary. Unfortunately, to retrofit restrooms whose buildings are not undergoing renovation is an expensive undertaking and cannot be accomplished all at one time. However, UNH is working to escalate retrofits from paper towels to hand dryers where feasible.

Energy choices and both ecological and public health outcomes are intimately linked. Much of the fossil fuels we burn today for generating electricity, heating our buildings, and fueling our transportation emit particulates that impact pulmonary health (e.g., asthma and other breathing difficulties for children, the elderly, etc.), precursors to ground-level ozone and smog (like nitrous oxides that can lead to heart attacks and other respiratory problems along with harming plants, vistas, buildings, etc.), and greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.

Climate change is occurring now and will have very large health impacts: from increased frequencies of droughts and heatwaves (which can harm vulnerable population like the elderly or those without air conditioning) to water pollution to the increased spread of disease-carrying organisms like mosquitoes. The spread and prevalence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, Lyme Disease, and the like could be influenced by the changes in average temperatures and precipitation patterns caused by climate change. As Rosemary Caron, PhD and MPH, Director of the UNH Masters of Public Health Program, explained in our September/October 2006 newsletter, "There are numerous determinants of health, and it is important to understand how these can interact in order to preserve a high quality environment for our health. Using Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus as examples, we have witnessed how ecological conditions and changes in climate and land use can affect the presence of disease agents, the range and distribution of disease carriers, and the timing and intensity of disease outbreaks. Climate, ecology, and health are inextricably linked in influencing the public's health via the emergence, re-emergence, and redistribution of infectious disease."

As we state in our 2005-2005 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update: "Fossil fuel combustion impacts on health-related costs include the following: increased mortality and occurrence of a variety of respiratory ailments; increased hospital admissions; increased cardiovascular symptoms and illnesses; and a possible decrease in resistance to disease, viruses, and bacterial infections. A 2004 report published by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services estimated that in 2007 over $1 billion in healthcare-related costs will result from the transport of small particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and ozone pollution into New Hampshire. The report also identified several impacts on business costs, including increased employee work days lost, increased employee minor restricted activity days, higher insurance costs due to higher claims, lost ability to attract new businesses and jobs due to poor air quality, lost tourism, and higher costs for fuels."

Climate change will also impact agriculture and thus availability of nutritious local foods. Finally, how we extract and transport fossil fuels can have devastating consequences, including oil spills and devastation to mountains and hillsides from coal mining.

Related links

INHALE

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. (May 2004). Air Pollution Transport and How It Affects New Hampshire (R-ARD 04-1). Concord, NH

EPA Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects

AirNow - Your Health

Good thinking! One site that is useful for "apples to apples" comparisons of vehicles for both fuel economy and emissions is the EPA Greenvehicle Guide; you can sort by make, model, etc. You should also crosscheck against the new standard miles per gallon (MPG) ratings that will be used as of January 1, 2008. Not sure if you should go diesel or hybrid? Check out this section of the Fueleconomy.gov website. You may also want to research estimated annual fuel cost savings information, the status of federal tax credit on a particular hybrid vehicle you are considering (the availability of these rebates declines as each manufacturer hits volume targets), and if there is an alternative fuel version of a vehicle you need to replace.

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Waste management, composting & recycling

UNH outdoor recycling binThe University Office of Sustainability does not handle recycling at UNH. Recycling is handled under contract to Waste Management, and this contract is overseen by UNH Facilities Grounds and Roads. This contract provides for the collection of paperboard, mixed paper, and glass, metal and plastic containers. UNH has both indoor and outdoor recycling containers all over campus. In 2006, UNH recycled more than 130 tons of commingled waste, according to the 2006 Annual Report for the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. In January 2007, UNH began a pilot project to install outdoor recycling containers adjacent to trash receptacles for mixed glass, plastic, and aluminum containers. Fourteen containers were installed as Phase 1 with more to be installed as part of the Main Street project in summer 2007.

For more information about recycling at UNH, contact Linda Leavitt of UNH Facilities at (603) 862-2265.

The UNH recycling program is continually growing and expanding. UNH has both indoor and outdoor recycling bins and signs in every building and all over campus, and more are added as feasible. UNH Facilities, who manage UNH's recycling program, supplies recycling bins and recycling signs in every building on campus, and they have given information to all RA's on campus to help them educate others about recycling. But in order to continue to improve UNH's recycling program, we all have to pitch in and do our part - not only the great Facilities and Housekeeping staff who direct and oversee the day-to-day management of the program, but all of us - students, faculty, and staff - to use the recycling bins properly, pitch in and help empty our personal office and dorms bins as needed into larger building totters, and educate others about the importance of recycling. If you see someone throwing away recyclables, putting trash in recycling bins, or leaving trash on grounds and building floors, please speak up. Nothing beats the power of setting a good example yourself and of educating your peers.

Learn more about waste management at UNH.

No. Waste management on campus is handled by a variety of other offices, including UNH Facilities, the UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), and individual offices and departments. EHS is partnering with all UNH offices handling waste and the rest of the campus community to create an integrated approach to waste management. EPA-New England, in partnership with the UMASS Lowell Environmental Management System Service Program, has selected UNH to participate in an EPA Environmental Management System (EMS) Pilot initiative for colleges and universities that will help UNH develop a solid waste environmental management plan. A functional environmental management plan will help UNH reduce the number of costly waste shipments, reduce the volume and toxicity of the solid waste stream, and increase recycling efforts at the University. The ultimate goal of this project will be to develop a system which decreases the amounts of solid waste leaving the University in a manner protective of human health and the environment while promoting environmental stewardship at the University.

Learn more about biological, chemical, hazardous, and radioactive waste management at UNH.

The University Office of Sustainability managed the compost intern team that picked up waste for composting from the program's inception in 1997 until the summer of 2006, when UNH Dining Services took over this "front end" of the composting program. The UNH College of Life Sciences & Agriculture (COLSA) and Kingman Farm manage the "back end" of composting - the windrows and final compost product that is used by the UNH Organic Garden Club for growing food and that is sold as U-Doo. If you are interested in reserving a bag of compost to purchase in the spring, please call (603) 749-4578.

Learn more about the UNH compost program.

May I compost my (home's, businesses's, school's, etc.) organic waste at UNH?

The UNH Compost Program is not accepting new pickup locations for pre-consumer or post-consumer waste at this time. Instead, we encourage homes, businesses, and schools to set up their own system on site. Tthink about starting small with pre-consumer waste, composting it onsite, and seeing how that goes. You should also recruit other family members and friends, neighbors, students, teachers, and employees to help you out. You can find good advice on how to start composting here and here.

The UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) manages the disposal of scrap electronics for the University. Scrap electronics includes CPUs, monitors, televisions, keyboards, mice, photocopiers, printers, various types of laboratory analytical devices, or any other electronic device that contains a circuit board. With the exception of computer monitors and televisions (cathode ray tubes), which are regulated under the Universal Waste Rules, these items are not specifically required to be managed as regulated waste. However, due to the lead content of printed circuitry, and the potential for other hazardous materials in electronic devices, scrap electronics must not be disposed in the municipal waste stream.

Scrap electronics must first be approved for disposal by the UNH Purchasing Office. After completing the Request to Scrap Form, the UNH Purchasing Office will approve the item(s) for disposal and copy OEHS and the person requesting the disposal. OEHS will then contact the requester to arrange for pick up of the scrapped items. Disposal requests for biohazardous, chemical, and universal waste can be made by filling out the Waste Pick-Up Request Form. When contacting OEHS, provide information on the type and amount of waste, location of waste, department and contact name/phone number of waste generator. To dispose of radioactive waste contact the Radiation Safety Officer or designee. The RSO will set an appointment with the radioactive waste generator to have the waste removed from the laboratory. The radioactive waste generator must provide the RSO or designee with the following information at the time of pickup: type of waste (radionuclide and state - solid or liquid), amount of waste, activity of waste, location of waste, and contact name/phone number ofradioactive waste generator.

UNH Guidelines for the Purchase and Disposal of Personal Computers

For off-campus recycling and proper disposal of electronics like cell phones and computers, visit Earth 911, Wireless: The New Recycleable, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eCycling Program. These sites can help you locate donation or recycling programs in your area. You can also find more information from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

First, we recommend checking with UNH MUB Copy, which in partnership with UNH Computer & Information Services offers a cartridge refilling service for both inkjet and laser printers - saving you up to 50% on the cost of a new cartridge and keeping the old cartridges out of the trash. Visit the MUB Copy Center located on level 2 east of the UNH Memorial Union Building (MUB) or call 862-0530 to learn more. If through this "Refill, Don't Landfill" program you can't refill your particular cartridge, you could check with the UNH Computer Store, with the cartridge manufacturer itself (like HP, for example), or with an office supply store like Staples or OfficeMax, many of which have recycling programs and even in-store drop-off locations for used cartridges.

Our office does not handle battery disposal at UNH. The UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) handles UNH policies, regulations, and management of any waste that could be hazardous. Since passage of the Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act of 1996, use of mercury in batteries was phased out in the U.S. (This act also regulates the proper disposal of nickel cadmium batteries, small sealed lead-acid batteries, and other regulated batteries.) At UNH, since battery recycling proved not to be cost effective, commercially available alkaline batteries can go in the trash. If you have any questions about battery disposal, contact Marty McCrone at 862-3526 or Pam Campbell 862-0683.

If you live in the Town of Durham, you should contact the town as it has its own CFL recycling and disposal program. UNH manages its own, separate program for lamps generated on campus. UNH faculty, staff, and on-campus student residents should contact the UNH Office of Environmental Health and Safety, which manages campus disposal of hazardous, radioactive, biological, and other regulated wastes. In particular, contact Marty McCrone (862-3526) or Jeff Anderson (862-0683).

I don't want to buy water bottles as fossil fuels are burned to make and transport them. What can I use instead?

We recommend that you try and avoid using water bottles when you can as they do take a lot of fossil fuels to make and transport - fuels that when burned release greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Instead, consider buying a reusable water bottle - a Nalgene bottle or stainless bottle like a Sigg or a Kleen Kanteen - and fill these at the various water bubblers in buildings on campus or from your tap. These bottles are simple to clean and easy to carry around.

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UNH University Office of Sustainability

Established in 1997 with a generous gift from an anonymous alumn, the UNH Office of Sustainability is the longest-standing endowed university sustainability program in the United States - and was the only endowed program until 2006. Sustainability at UNH began with the grassroots leadership of faculty, students, and staff, which lead to the establishment of our endowed program. Surf the rest of website to learn more about our guiding philosophy, our staff, and much more.

Unfortunately, no. While we occasionally co-sponsor events, programming, and student research, we do not do so on a regular basis.

Currently, no. We recommend you research the various undergraduate and graduate programs at UNH and work with a particular college, school, or department to find a course of study that meets your needs. Sustainability is a holistic framework that integrates across disciplines and departments, and you can contribute to fostering sustainability as a student regardless of what you study.

Currently our office isn't hiring as we are fully staffed, but you can always check the UNH Jobs website to see if we or other UNH offices are hiring in the future. If you are a UNH student on work study, check the UNH Financial Aid website to see if we are hiring student interns.

I'd like to help my college/university start its own sustainability program. Do you have job descriptions for your office that I can use?

First, we recommend you that you take a look at the campus sustainability officer/coordinator job descriptions already gathered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Second, in terms of the University Office of Sustainability, we have been directed by Tom Kelly, Ph.D., UNH’s Chief Sustainability Officer and the original director of UOS since its founding, since 1997. Tom leads our direction as an office (including fundraising), works with the UNH Administration and faculty to strategically envision and plan where UNH is going as a sustainable learning community, often teaches courses and guest lectures/gives talks on sustainability issues, etc. UOS has three other full-time staff: associate director (lead on budgeting, communications and marketing, office management, HR, and assists others with planning, programming, and evaluation of efforts under each initiative); coordinator of its Food & Society and Culture & Sustainability Initiatives (soup-to-nuts planning, budgeting, programming, communications/marketing, and evaluations of efforts under these initiatives); and coordinator of its Biodiversity Education Initiative and Climate Education Initiative (again, soup-to-nuts planning, budgeting, programming, communications/marketing, and evaluations of efforts under these initiatives). We also have four part-time staff: two special projects coordinators for the four initiatives to assist with various projects under each, one administrative assistant for Tom and the whole office, and a part-time NH Farm to School Coordinator under FAS. In addition, we often hire undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty members (to teach courses, lead research or engagement efforts, etc.), and off-site consultants on a project-by-project basis.

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UNH-related information

Report any leaks and drips in sinks, showers, and toilets to your Hall Director or to UNH Facilities Support Center at 862-1437.

Our office does not handle the sustainable living minor. Interested students should contact Professor Robert Eckert of the UNH Department of Natural Resources.

UNH offers a wide variety of graduate programs that relate to sustainability. For example, the UNH College of Engineering and Physical Science's Environmental Research Group offiers a PhD fellowship program in sustainability engineering. We recommend that looking through the various programs discussed on the UNH Graduate School website, including programs in fields like natural resources, environmental education, animal and nutritional sciences, biology, zoology, chemistry, Earth sciences, plant biology, public health, education, psychology, sociology, history, engineering, political science, liberal studies, and more. We recommend contacting programs directly in order to ask questions and talk to faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students about these programs.

Please read the following:

For questions about vehicle specs and issues, contact Ray Myatt at 862-2574. For fuel card information, contact Martha Mower at 862-2971. For questions about UNH transit and non-transit biodiesel use at UNH, contact Stephen Pesci at 862-4207.

Read "Biodiesel @ UNH: Best Practices for Production, Use, Handling & Safety (PDF)," a brochure produced by the UNH Office of Environmental Health & Safety.

Manged by UNH University Transportation Services, the Cat Cycles program allows any member of the university community to sign out a bike at the UNH Visitor Service Center at the entrance to the "A-lot" parking lot and have sole use of the bike for up to a week. All the bikes are durable, single-speed "cruisers" equipped with a lock, fenders, and a cargo basket. Students, faculty and staff can sign out a bike for free. The individual is given a sign-out form which lists the terms and conditions of the program. Once signed, the individual is issued a bike with a combination lock for their use of up to one week. At the end of the week, the bicycle needs to be returned, or it can be signed out again. The only cost is if the bicycle were damaged while signed out to an individual.

Cat Cycle has its roots in the Yellow Bike Cooperative Program, which started in 1999 and was UNH's original bike program. Initially, the cooperative raised awareness about bicycle transportation on campus but ended due to logistical concerns. The cooperative was designed to operate as a member-supported program, in part because of the maintenance required on recycled bikes used in the program. Initially, member response to community repair efforts was quite good, but later attempts to generate member enthusiasm have resulted in small turn-outs. As a result, UNH shifted to a commuter pilot program - Cat Cycles - in 2001. The only challenge UNH has faced in implementing the Cat Cycles program is that more areas are needed throughout campus where the bikes can be stored under cover to prevent rusting. Theft does not seem to be an issue as only one bike has been stolen since the program's inception.

Weather permitting, Cat Cycles are available for the UNH community to borrow April 1 - December 1. Contact University Transportation Services at 862-2328 to learn more.

We recommend that you contact University Transportation Services to see if they will accept your bicycle as they manage the Cat Cycles Program: 603-862-2328. You could contact Pedals for Progress or Seacoast Area Bike Routes to see if they would like your donation.

While we don't work directly with elementary, middle or high schools to help them in their paths to becoming more sustainable -- although we certainly applaud them doing so and welcome them to use anything from our website that they might find helpful! -- through the NH Farm to School Program (NH FTS) we work to connect NH farms and schools by integrating agricultural production, school food procurement and school curriculum. The goal of NH FTS is to develop a healthy, community-based, community-supported school food system. Other good resources for K-12 schools are the NESEA Building Green Schools Resource List and New York City's Green Schools Guide (PDF).

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New Hampshire and regional sustainability information

While our office does not collect such information, we recommend that you search through Co-op America's National Green Pages as it lists national "green businesses." You can search by product area and by state.

First check out the UNH sustainable building principles and guidelines our office developed with UNH Campus Planning, UNH Facilities, and others. Then check out the following links:

U.S. Green Building Council, which manages a program called LEED for certifying green building standards. Through them you may be able to find a local contractor who is LEED certified and does residential work.

New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association; the "Resources" section of their website has a consumer guide (PDF) to help New Hampshire residents who want to build sustainably.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Residential Green Building Guide (PDF): EPA offers a variety of tax credits for home improvements through the ENERGY STAR Homes Program, where you also can find a list of local contractors.

The New Hampshire Residential Energy Performance Association could also prove useful.

Look here. For several years, the UNH Office of Sustainability worked with AIANH, the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, to host the IDID Conference, which focuses on environmentally responsible design and development. The 2006 IDID Conference - "The Dollars and Sense of Integrated Design" - is scheduled for October 6-7, 2006, at Crotched Mountain in Greenfield, NH.

You bet! UNH Cooperative Extension has a great list with links to both state (including NHSaves.com) and federal incentive programs!

Keene, Nashua, Portsmouth, Epping, Dover, and Rochester have all done or are in the process of doing an inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions and climate action plans based - and you can follow their example! They and other communities are working on initiatives including anti-idling campaigns, green building standards, the use of biofuels and renewables, etc. We recommend taking at the Clean Air-Cool Planet Community Toolkit for more information and ideas about a few of these towns, as well as contacts there to learn more specifics. For more information about the Clean Air-Cool Planet Communities Program, contact Christa Koehler. You might also check out work resources and news about NH local energy committees through the Carbon Coalition, the new New Hampshire Community Energy Project, and the new NH Handbook on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change (PDF). And don't forget to check out the NH Carbon Challenge for help working with households and their energy use!

The UNH composting program is only composting waste from UNH dining areas and from a few Durham businesses. To find a regulatory-compliant composting facility near you that might take your compostable waste, try the BioCycle searchable database "Find A Composter." Sometimes your local transfer facility will have compost facilities, so you might check there. Finally, you could compost at home; look into something like an All Food Recycling Compost Kit from Gaiam, which would let you do it all right in your apartment or condo.

We do!

Below are just a few suggested websites to check out. If you are a UNH student, don't forget the UNH Office of Community Service & Learning.

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