Keep Current with Community Leaders
2023 Residence Hall Sustainability and Energy Challenge
Welcome back to campus! If you're new to Mines, we're happy to have you! This year we're kicking off a Residence Hall Challenge from day 1. Your residence hall can win and so can you! Make sure your profile has your residence hall selected so your hall gets points and individual participants who achieve a gold or platinum level badge by October will be entered to win one of five prices (gift cards or solar charging banks!). More details and ways to earn points to come!
Mines Solar Challenge Winners Announced!
SRSE Discussion with Dr. Carl Mitcham: Social Responsibility in a Changing Climate
Where: Marquez Hall 322
When: Tuesday, February 4th
Time: 5:30pm
Dinner will be provided!
The United States and China have become the two biggest carbon emitters in the world and thus the two largest contributors to climate mutation. But they have quite different perspectives on their social responsibilities in this regard. The U.S. argues that both should commit to reductions and that the U.S. will not reduce if China does not. China argues that the U.S., as the larger per capita and historical emitter, should reduce first. We will explore these and related disagreements and their implications for the exercise of social responsibility in engineering.
Carl Mitcham is an Emeritus Professor of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences has been visiting China since 1992 and now teaches regularly during the spring semester at Renmin University of China. He will be suggesting that Chinese engineers may be acting with more social responsibility than American engineers. Dr. Mitcham is one of the most influential philosophers of engineering worldwide.
Join SRSE for an interactive discussion and free dinner!
Community Project Opportunity: Graywater Reuse
The SRSE club (Socially Responsible Scientists and Engineers) is hoping to partner with MWB on a project in Denver working with a traveling laundry truck. Bayaud's truck travels to different areas to provide laundry services to those who are homeless and/or experience extreme poverty. They currently drain their greywater into the sewer, but would like to explore more sustainable options for reusing the water. Do you want to help find a solution and make a difference in your community? Contact Cassidy Grady (clgrady@mymail.mines.edu) ASAP. You do not need to be a member of SRSE or MWB to participate.
Earth Day Fair!
Come join us for the FIRST Annual Earth Day Fair at Mines! Volunteers still needed to help run activites and staff zero-waste stations. Contact poole@mines.edu with your availability between 2:30-6:30 p.m. on the 22nd.
ZERO WASTE EVENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Mines Sustainability is making E-Days a zero waste event! Are you passionate about recycling and limiting food waste or do you need to complete volunteer hours before the end of the semester? Join the Green Team and volunteer to “Trash Talk” at E-Days or Earth Day as we bring in zero-waste stations with the help of Eco-Cycle. Volunteers needed for time slots on April 12 from 2:30-5pm, April 13th from 12:00-3pm and April 22 from 3-6pm. Email poole@mines.edu with your availability.
Mines Sustainability is making E-Days a zero waste event! Are you passionate about recycling and limiting food waste or do you need to complete volunteer hours before the end of the semester? Join the Green Team and volunteer to “Trash Talk” at E-Days as we bring in zero-waste stations with the help of Eco-Cycle. Volunteers needed for time slots on April 12 from 2:30-5pm, April 13th from 12:00-3pm (especially Saturday)! Email poole@mines.edu with your availability.
Building Science Student Competition
NREL has teamed up with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to put together a building science student competition called JUMP into STEM (https://jump.ideascale.com/a/index). This is the first year that NREL is involved. Oak Ridge has been managing this crowdsourcing competition for a handful of years, but last year was the first year that it was directed toward students. We want to grow the competition to be known like the Solar Decathlon. This competition is sponsored by the DOE’s Building Technologies Office and Mary Hubbard is the DOE manager.
Brief breakdown on the competition
- There are 3 challenges, which students (individuals OR teams) are asked to respond to in written form:
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- Real-time data visualization for homeowners and behaviors (closes November 30, 2018)
- Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics of a small commercial building (released TODAY! closes November 30, 2018)
- Retrofitting the envelope of a residential building (closes February 8, 2019)
- During the open challenge period, all (students, professors, the public) are welcome to comment on the submissions. There are also educational webinars (directed at students) on each topic.
- After the challenge closes, a panel of 3 judges (representing lab/DOE, academia, and industry) evaluate all the submissions in a challenge and select a winner (3 challenge winners).
- The winners of the three competitions will be invited to present their ideas and compete in the “final competition”, which will have another panel of judges.
- The winners of the final competition have the opportunity work as an paid intern at either NREL or Oak Ridge during summer 2019. There is a big push for some of these interns to be underrepresented in the building sciences, and this will be included in the team evaluation criteria.
All information about the competition can be found on the website: https://jump.ideascale.com/a/index.
You're Invited!!! Green Team Kick-Off Meeting
Leading the Energy Transition, Lecture by Amory Lovins
JOIN US: THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN GOLDEN
Your input is needed to help shape what defines Sustainability in Golden. Join us Monday, September 17 from 6-9 p.m. at the American Mountaineering Center to see what progress has been achieved and give your opinion on the future of sustainability in Golden.
10 Years of Sustainability Goals – see what Golden has achieved! Check out how SOLAR has become the must-have energy source. Let’s talk TRASH and find out what new items can be thrown in your single stream recycling bin. Find out the biggest WATER CONSERVATION strategy you can implement at home (hint: it’s not indoors!) See the ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION options available to you and your family. Now is the time to have a say in the future for Golden’s RESILIENCY AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION.
Come for the freebies, sweet treats, and top tier beers. Bring the kids for raffle prizes that include FREE monthly subscriptions for curbside organic pickup, xeric plants from Garden In A Box, home energy audits, daily rentals at the Golden Bike Library, RTD Light Rail passes, garden sprayers, programmable thermostats, and many more.
Have Your Say on Guiding Golden
Have an opinion about something happening in Golden? GuidingGolden.com lets you have your say on issues important in our community. With forums, surveys, Q&As and more, each project on the site offers different ways to engage, with staff always listening and standing by to answer questions.
We have several ongoing projects, and some that are brand new to the site so it always pays to check in regularly. The most recent addition to the site is an opportunity to weigh in on the 2019/2020 Biennial Budget Process. A good portion of the budget is always used to maintain our existing infrastructure, including water systems, street repair, snow plowing and parks. The City wants to look beyond maintaining infrastructure, however, to see how we can make Golden the best place it can possibly be for our residents and is asking for your ideas.
Another new project looking for ideas comes from the Golden History Museum & Park looking for possible items to add to a 2018 Time Capsule. In November of this year we will be unearthing a time capsule buried 50 years ago and replacing it with a new one. What should we add to the new time capsule for future generations to uncover?
Council Connects is a special feature on the site offering a glimpse at articles City Council members are reading and issues they are thinking about in between meetings.
Other conversations currently happening on GuidingGolden.com.
- Planning Projects – Golden Planning Department has a number of projects happening at any given time. This is where you can find out what’s happening!
- Singletrack Sidewalks – The City wants to know your thoughts on the proposal to build natural surface
trails near existing paved paths.
- Affordable Housing - How can we maintain a fair and inclusive community?
- Short Term Rentals - The City needs your feedback on potential regulatory changes.
- Golden Investment Forums – Help the City decide which projects to invest in to achieve our community
goals.
- Hunger Free Golden Community Collaborative – Together we seek to identify and address the challenges
many members of our community face in providing for their food needs.
Walking Campus Tour
Visitors to our main South Table Mountain campus will learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency research, and see how the campus is demonstrating clean energy technologies, reducing waste, and eliminating atmospheric pollution. The tour is a vigorous, outdoor walking tour, so visitors are urged to wear comfortable walking shoes and to dress for the weather. Tours start a tthe NREL Education Center and include the Research Support Facility and Energy Systems Integration Facility. Reservations for this free public program are required. The tours are open to U.S. citizens 18 years of age and older.
Dates For This Event:
Monday, 17 September, 2018
Monday, 15 October, 2018
Contact:
Education Center
15013 Denver West Parkway
Golden, CO 80401
Email: education.center@nrel.gov
Phone: 303-384-6565
Website: Click to Visit
Planning on visiting one of Golden's Parks or Trails this summer?
Summer is a busy time in Golden with many users sharing the same spaces; whatever outdoor activity you enjoy, whether it's biking, hiking, walking, tubing, kayaking, slack-lining, or picnicking. Golden is a beautiful place to do it! There are guidelines that visitors to our parks and trails should follow to make sure that everyone's experience is a memorable one.
Our Park Rangers are happy to welcome you and answer questions, and help ensure that everyone visiting has a great experience in Golden, a great place to Live, Work and PLAY!
Please check out the Golden Park Rules before you head out!
