Lafayette named one of Top 25 Greenest Cities by The Newsweek Daily Beast Company

Lafayette earned the 16th spot in The Newsweek Daily Beast’s Top 25 Greenest Cities in the United States, named April 24, 2011, in the online publication, The Daily Beast. It was the only Indiana city listed.

Rankings were determined by five equally rated criteria: percentage of eco-conscious residents; percentage of residents who say they are not eco-conscious; percentage who recycle; average weekday trips on public transportation; and homes with solar heat.

Of Lafayette’s residents, 25 percent say they think and act eco-consciously; 18 percent say they do not. Sixty percent of residents recycle, and .03 percent of homes are solar heated. Use of public transportation averaged 21,511 riders on CityBus each weekday for the 4^th quarter of 2010.

“Our city’s long-standing commitment to green practices is paying off with this national recognition,” said Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski. “Besides the criteria measured for this Top 25, Lafayette has taken a lead in protecting our environment through numerous projects. These include rain gardens, LED streetlights, our underground tunnel project that is reducing combined sewer overflows and bicycle racks we’ve installed downtown, to name just a few.”

The city also renovated the historic building at 515 Columbia St. following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The building houses the city’s economic and community development departments.

CityBus is a major player, too, with its campaigns to increase ridership, its fleet that is now 25-percent hybrid buses, and installation of wind turbines now under way on its campus to generate electricity for its facilities.

“Using public transportation is one of the greenest steps a resident can take,” said CityBus General Manager Martin Sennett. “Our agreements with Ivy Tech Community College and Purdue University allow students and staff to ride fare-free. That’s one factor in our high ridership. So is the growing awareness among residents that public transportation is a wise environmental choice.”

“There’s widespread support locally for green initiatives in our business and industry community,” said Joseph Seaman, president and chief executive of Greater Lafayette Commerce. “Recently, Caterpillar announced its local plant had converted to LED lighting with the help of Kirby Risk Electrical Supply, making a significantly positive environmental impact. We also have a growing number of businesses who have become Clear Blue Green Certified, indicating their commitment to the environment.”

Tree Lafayette is also pitching in, Seaman noted. “That all-volunteer group is about to top 1,500 in its tree plantings since it was formed in 1993.”

West Lafayette, too, has earned a reputation for its environmental commitment, said Mayor John Dennis, who cited a recycling program that continually sets new records, the city’s Go Greener Commission and its $8.4 million wastewater utility upgrade that won an Environmental Protection Agency award. The utility accepts greases and food waste, in turn producing electricity.

“Our residents eagerly embrace green initiatives and have taken a leadership role in reducing waste,” Dennis said. “One example is our community’s Global Fest, which last fall had a zero-landfill goal.”

A year ago, West Lafayette took on Indiana’s voluntary Comprehensive Local Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) Community Challenge. “That includes goals of increasing recycling, purchasing an electric vehicle, using biodiesel and implementing other environmental steps,” Dennis said.

In the Daily Beast Top 25 Green Cities list, New York City took first, followed by Las Vegas, Nev., San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Albuquerque, N.M. Completing the Top 10 were Boston, Gainseville, Fla., Chicago, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, M.D.

The Daily Beast is a online news magazine owned by The Newsweek Daily Beast Company.

Finals week service reductions

Next week is finals week at Purdue (Monday, May 2nd through Saturday, May 7th). Regular Routes and Campus Loops will operate their regular schedules with the following exceptions:

• Ross Ade trips departing the stadium parking lot at :00, :20, and :40 will not operate beginning at noon on Wednesday. All other trips will operate.


• AvTech buses departing the airport at :22 will not operate, however service to and from the airport will continue to be available on route 19 South Campus.

Campus Loops will cease operating for summer at 6PM on Friday, May 6. Campus Loop service will not resume until the start of the Fall semester on Monday, August 22nd.

CityBus breaks ground on wind turbines

Green is the theme as CityBus breaks ground for construction of wind turbines just in time for Earth Day.

CityBus is building three wind turbines at its administration, storage, and maintenance facilities on Canal Rd. in Lafayette, with construction to be completed by Fall.

Martin Sennett, CityBus general manager, said the wind turbines will generate about half of the electricity needed to power the facilities which will help offset power produced by fossil fuels. “Diverting from fossil fuels to renewable wind energy could save nearly 500 tons of carbon emissions each year,” said Sennett.

Other benefits include reducing operating expenses by lowering the cost of purchased energy, along with the potential of increasing revenue through the sale of energy cap credits, said Sennett.

The $2.18 million project is funded by federal stimulus funds in a program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from public transit providers. CityBus was one of 49 agencies in the nation awarded such grants in 2009.

The wind turbines, Northern Power 100 models produced by Northern Power Systems, will be installed by Cascade Renewable Energy, a division of Cascade Engineering, Inc. headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The turbines are 155-feet tall from base to blade tip, with a hub at 121-feet. Sennett said these are larger than residential-grade turbines but much smaller than utility-grade turbines like those used in rural areas.

Sennett said he believes CityBus is the first transit system in the United States using renewable wind energy to power its facilities. He said many transit systems, including CityBus, are taking measures to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by using hybrid buses. Yet most transit systems still purchase energy from providers that produce it from fossil fuels.

CityBus’s project is a leading demonstration of the possibility to have facilities powered entirely by a renewable source, produced on site.

The results will be known only with time and experience, said Sennett. “We’ll begin to know how much energy and carbon emissions we are saving after a full year of use.”

CityBus operates a fleet of 70 buses, including 15 hybrid buses, with three new hybrids coming online this summer.

CityBus route information is available at www.gocitybus.com or 742-RIDE. The mission of CityBus is to be a proactive community partner, striving to improve the community’s quality of life by operating safe, reliable and environmentally friendly transit services, by partnering in local economic development and sustainable development activities, and by providing excellent customer service and efficient, convenient access to destinations throughout Lafayette and West Lafayette.

Cascade Renewable Energy manufactures, markets, and distributes renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions tailored for residential, community, and commercial needs. Cascade Renewable Energy is a preferred partner of Northern Power Systems, manufacturer of the Northern Power 100 wind turbine. Cascade Renewable Energy is part of a family owned company in business since 1973. The Cascade Engineering Family of Companies is a global company employing more than 1,000 individuals across 14 businesses. Their world-class engineering, technology, and manufacturing allows Cascade to provide leading-edge solutions, while maintaining a strong commitment to lean manufacturing and environmental stewardship.

Cascade Engineering has been instrumental in developing new products for brands such as Herman Miller, Kohler, Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and more. The Cascade Renewable Energy division was born of this innovative spirit and has become a distributor and system integrator supplying both the wind and solar photovoltaic industries, supported by a dedicated engineering staff. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.cascaderenewableenergy.com.

Easter Sunday

CityBus will not operate and all offices will be closed on Sunday, April 24 for the Easter holiday.