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In This Issue
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DCTC Green |
Dakota County Technical College, along with colleges
and universities from across the United States, has been
contacted by the Employment and Training Administration
(ETA) for the U.S. Department of Labor regarding American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Competitive Grants
for Green Job Training. The American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) is intended to preserve and
create jobs, promote the nation's economic recovery, and
assist those most impacted by the recession.
The Recovery Act provides $750 million for competitive
grants for worker training and placement in high growth
and emerging industries. Of the $750 million allotted,
$500 million has been designated for projects that prepare
workers for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable
energy sectors. These grants will offer an opportunity
for collaboration and partnerships between the public
workforce system and other public and private systems,
including community organizations, research institutions,
and educational institutions. Successful partnerships
will ensure that supportive services are integrated with
education and training programs and that these efforts
will lead program participants to job placement, while
creating jobs and promoting economic growth.
The ETA is tentatively planning to issue a series of
Solicitations for Grant applications. An overview of the
potential funding opportunities indicates that funds will
be available for energy training partnership grants to
deliver training that leads to employment in careers in
energy efficiency and renewable energy industries, green
capacity building grants to prepare targeted populations
for training and job placement for the emerging green
economy, and automotive related industrial restructuring
grants to facilitate the transition of auto and auto-related
workers to the green/energy efficient workforce.
It is anticipated that the Solicitation for Grant Applications
will be published in June 2009, with application closing
dates in late summer. DCTC is looking at a number of options
and will be working with workforce and industry partners
to determine what grants might be the most appropriate
for us to pursue.
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DCTC Green Updates |
Below are Operations Team Green Projects
recently completed:
- The college lobby and Student Services area are going through
a LEED registered renovation using green furniture and construction
elements compliant with LEED criteria
- A new soccer complex has been developed using a refined drainage
system, which keeps rainwater on campus, as well as natural-seed
grass— not environment-unfriendly artificial turf
- The college is installing photovoltaic panels to offset the
energy costs for the soccer complex
- The college instructional team secured a mini-grant through
Bemidji State University to convert a hybrid car to electric
- Three Customized Training certificates are being offered in
green manufacturing
- DCTC's carbon footprint is dropping:
- 2005 – 20,204,000 lbs of carbon dioxide
- 2006 – 19,753,000 lbs of carbon dioxide = 2% drop
- 2007 – 19,115,000 lbs of carbon dioxide = 3% drop
- 2008 – 16,920,000 lbs of carbon dioxide = 11% drop
- Goal = 0
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Green Tips |
Saving Water Hints:
- Put a plastic bottle in your toilet tank. Each time your toilet
is flushed, it uses five to seven gallons of water. In five
minutes, you can save one or two gallons per flush. Soak the
label off the bottle, fill it with water, cap it and place it
in the tank. Be careful that the bottle doesn't interfere with
the flushing mechanism.
- Avoid bottled water and instead use a reusable water bottle.
It takes millions of gallons of water to produce the plastic
for single-use water bottles, and millions more to purify the
water that goes into them
- Water your lawn only in the morning or evening; water evaporates
four to eight times faster during the heat of the day
- Do only full loads of laundry and dishes
- Take shorter showers; you will save water and energy to heat
it, reducing your carbon dioxide emissions
- Get a low-flow showerhead
- Fix all of the leaks in your home
- Turn the water off while brushing your teeth, washing your
hands, and washing dishes
- If your washing machine has a setting for the amount of clothing
you're washing (small to extra-large load), choose a low setting—you'll
use less water and your clothes will get just as clean
- If your dishwasher has an option to run a "full"
or "short" cycle, choose the short cycle
- Wash your car less often
- Install a rain barrel to capture rain from your downspout,
for more information visit: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/ed/rainbarrel.html
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Quick
Links
Learn how to go green and pick up some
recycling tips at the Web site below:
Planet
Green
If you really want to reduce the water
needed to maintain your yard, consider xeriscaping—a landscaping
technique that uses native, drought-tolerant plants in favor of
ever-thirsty grass. Click on the link below to to get information
on "greening" you life:
xeriscape
Learn how to calculate your own carbon footprint at the
site below:
calculate
your carbon footprint |
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