Photo – left to right:  Edward A. Bogucz and Mark Lichtenstein, Syracuse Center of Excellence and W. Calvin Bowne, Awards Committee Chair, GreeningUSA.


Earlier this year, on May 26, it was announced at the GreeningUSA Annual Meeting that the Syracuse Center of Excellence had been given a GreeningUSA “Greening Our Community” Award in the category of “Research and Development” for convening parties around issues such as green infrastructure, EPA grant opportunities, LEED building and brownfield remediation.

Because of conflicting schedules, GreeningUSA was finally able to present the award in person on July 28 at their Board meeting in the Center of Excellence.

Accepting on behalf of the Syracuse Center of Excellence were Edward A. Bogucz and Mark Lichtenstein.

About GreeningUSA: Greening USA, Inc. is a membership based, not-for-profit, 501(c)3 corporation founded in 2004 in Syracuse, New York and governed by a 12 person all volunteer Board of Directors. Through education, research, partnering, and advocacy, it is advancing the vision of American communities that are much more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.

CNY Business Exchange asks Joel Delmonico, vice president / market manager for Clear Channel, about its green project The Amos Project:

Click here to download the article. (PDF)

The JumpStart program of the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) is designed to help small NYS businesses solve concrete problems related to materials through collaborations with university research centers.

The program provides:

   •   A one-semester project utilizing university expertise
   •   An opportunity to build a relationship with university faculty and facilities
   •   Up to $5000 in matching NYSTAR funding

Applications for the fall semester are due June 25, 2010.

Click here for more info.

A group of SUNY-ESF students take samples from Onondaga Creek for a stream restoration project they’re doing for an ecological engineering class. This particular group focuses on the downtown area.

Measuring the quality of the water is only a small part of the project. They also hope to work with local residents and businesses on improving day-to-day utilization of Onondaga Creek. Despite the creek running all the way through Downtown, few acknowledge that it’s even there. The students hope to raise awareness of the creek and tap into its recreational and functional potential. Another problem they hope to tackle is reducing the high velocity at which the creek flows.

Keep checking the blog as we follow them throughout their project!

Please visit our Facebook Page for pictures! For more videos, visit our YouTube channel.

My colleague Carissa Matthews and I manned (and womanned) the Syracuse Center of Excellence Booth at the Syracuse Chamber Show last week. We were in the Green Business section, along with NY’s Creative Core, The Clean Tech Center, and many others.

We had the SyracuseCoE “Green Ideas Tree” up and encouraged anyone who stopped by to “leaf” a green idea for Syracuse, in exchange for a squishy Creative Core apple. Young and old alike left us some pretty good ideas, and the tree—appropriately enough seeing as it’s spring—got well covered in “leaves.”
Here’s a few of the ideas posted on the tree …

• Establish a “sustainability cooperative” for local businesses, to explore sustainable innovations such as green supply chains, community purchasing, etc
• Walk to your neighborhood store, don’t drive
• Grow vegetables on city roofs
• Have bicycle rentals in downtown Syracuse
• Less buildings falling apart, more parks
• Biodegradable plastic bags for supermarkets
• Plant more trees around Onondaga Lake
• Put recycling bins on every street corner
• Reclaim rain water

Given Central Upstate New York’s history of environmental and engineering innovation, it’s not surprising to find folks rising to the challenge of the new industrial revolution. Don’t forget, if you know of a “hidden” green business, entrepreneur/inventor, or school/college group, enter them (and/or yourself) in the Green of the Crop competition (deadline: April 9, 2010).
—Martin Walls, Syracuse Center of Excellence

via http://amosoneplanet.blogspot.com/

The Sustainability Fair—Green Products and Ideas on April 21 at SUNY Oswego will offer students, homeowners and community members a look at a GM fuel cell vehicle, a display to showcase the college’s new eco-friendly student apartments, expert advice on green-living tax credits and incentives, and much more.

The one-day exposition will feature more than 20 vendors displaying, discussing and, in a few cases, demonstrating green products and services to enhance sustainable solutions for home, property and life. Some students even will ride in the no-gasoline vehicle, according to the organizing ad hoc campus-community panel.

The Sustainability Fair will run 4 to 8 p.m. April 21 in SUNY Oswego’s Campus Center arena. It is free and open to the public, and parking will be available.

“This is the first Sustainability Fair at SUNY Oswego and we intend to make this a premier event that will be of interest to students, homeowners and community members,” said Nola Heidlebaugh, civic engagement coordinator and member of the fair’s organizing committee.

Among the features:

- Chris Carrick of the state Energy Research and Development Authority will promote a range of environmentally responsible initiatives NYSERDA has in the works, and will provide information about home energy efficiency and tax incentives.

- General Motors will provide a fuel cell vehicle (pictured). GM reported last fall that its Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen-to-electricity vehicles have passed a million miles in testing, emitting only wisps of water vapor from the tailpipe.

- SUNY Oswego’s Office of Facilities will host a booth with a display of information about The Village apartments, rapidly rising next to Glimmerglass Lagoon on campus, and all the components that are qualifying it for LEED Gold, a top U.S. Green Building Council certification for building design and environmental sustainability.

More exhibits

“We’re in the process of recruiting the most relevant service providers available to talk about wind, solar and related alternative technologies, to educate students and community members,” said Dick Drosse, event organizer and member of the Oswego County Environmental Management Council.

Kestutis Bendinskas, associate professor of chemistry at the college and contact for the Coalition of Responsible Citizens, says visibility for eco-friendly products is one part of the fair’s vision.

“Our goal this year is just to get sustainability and green products and ideas on people’s radar screens,” Bendinskas said, “and to create an event that will be a focal point for sustainability and discussions among students, homeowners and all community members.”

The fair’s committee of community residents and SUNY Oswego staff, faculty and students continue to solicit vendors and participants. For more information, contact Thad Mantaro at 312-3492 or thaddeus.mantaro@oswego.edu , or visit http://www.oswego.edu/sustainabilityfair.

These are they vendors who have signed up so far:

e now have over 30 + vendors signed up. These include:

*Company*

Energy Savers Inc

Ashley McGraw Architects

Hayden Distribution

Source1 Compliance / BITS Ltd.

Natural Systems Engineering

Classic Cozy

Raby’s Ace Homecenter

Pyrus Energy, Inc.

James Ross & Son Contractors, Inc.

NY Sea Grant

Roberts Office Furniture Concepts

Students for Global Change

Sam’s Club

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County

Hydroponic Shops of America

Sanuvox Technologies

Green Cleaning Technologies, LLC

Happy Bee Heirloom Farm

NYS Public Service Commission

GreenHomes America

Grindstone Farm

HOW Hydronics

Canadice Construction Corp

Oswego County Environmental Management Council

the river’s end bookstore

Sustainable Office Solutions

Sustainable Upstate Network

North Coast Guild

Alternative Power Solutions of NY, LLC

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE)

Oswego Industries, Inc.

Central NY Regional Planning Board

1smallchange:

It’s staggering - American’s throw away almost 100 billion plastic grocery bags each year (only 1% are recycled)!  Plastic bags don’t biodegrade and most end up in landfills where they can take up to 1,000+ years to break down to smaller particles.  Make your One Small Change and use a reusable shopping bag.

A couple weeks ago, we had the pleasure of speaking with UCSD Vice Chancellor Mary Wolshok on the subject of engaging businesses and entrepreneurs in promoting technology development. Mary just finished a federally funded study on this topic for the Finger Lakes region and hadsome wonderful insights for us and our members.

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