Sustainability Committee
Related News Archive: 2015
Sustainable Development - OC & Beyond Seminar Recap
By Salem Afeworki, LEED GA, ENV SP and Nathan Chase, PE, LEED AP ND, ENV SP Thank you to the City of Irvine and our presenters (Darlene Nicandro, Jeff Thompson, Kip Skabar and Jamie Yoshida) for sharing their experiences in sustainable development in Orange County and beyond. The seminar held at the City of Irvine’s Civic Center was attended by over 40 professionals on Oct 23, 2015. More »
Alternative Modes of Transportation – Safer Cycling for Sustainability
By Eric Regueiro, PE, ENV SP | Kimley-Horn & Associates, Inc. Protected bike lanes have been shown to lead to increased cyclist usage. Now, a new protected intersection concept implemented for the first time in the U.S. in the City of Davis promises to further increase cyclist safety and the sustainability of our communities. More »
Civil Engineering and Sustainability Presentation to The Academy
By Sam Ali, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP I was invited to visit The Academy in Santa Ana and give a presentation to freshmen Design and Engineering students to inspire them about careers in Civil Engineering and Sustainability. The students were engaged and asked several questions, and The Academy faculty and staff were appreciative and hope for more collaboration opportunities with ASCE-OC. More »
The World’s Greenest Building - Bullitt Center, Seattle
By: Elie Hasso, EIT, Intern, OCPW When innovation is paired with the desire to preserve, sustainability is born. Sustainable infrastructure has been on the rise in the last couple decades and is no less sought after today. With design and construction of infrastructure made easier by today’s technology, sustainability is not only within reach, but can even be pushed to the absolute limits. More »
Sustainability Tour | Newport Beach Civic Center + Park
By Nathan Chase, PE, ENV SP, LEED AP We would like to thank the City of Newport Beach for hosting a presentation this past June on the lessons learned in sustainability during the planning, design, construction, and use of the City’s Civic Center and Park. Director of Public Works, Dave Webb PE, presented on the $140M project completed in 2013 and certified at the LEED Gold level. Dave and a few other City staff members also guided the nearly 40 attendees on a walking tour highlighting various sustainable features of the buildings and site. More »
Orange County Loop
By: Sherry Weinmeier, PE, LEED AP, ENV SP Active transportation and improved quality of life—our government leaders from the local level to the federal level recognize these are important for a sustainable future. That’s why our local leaders are preparing studies and seeking funding for 28 miles of bike lanes and trails in Orange County that will ultimately form a nearly 70-mile loop through North Orange County known as the OC Loop. More »
Time For A New Dialogue With The Public On Infrastructure
By Gary Gilbert, PE, GE The recent loss of a bridge on Interstate 10 is another reminder of the importance in replacing our failing infrastructure. Every time Caltrans has stated in the past that all the bridges in the state are safe, I have the feeling they are not telling the whole story. No loss of life occurred with the bridge being washed out, but loosing access to a major transportation corridor in California has a huge impact on the lives of the citizens and the commerce in this state. I believe we need to start a new dialogue with the public on infrastructure. More »
Thank you City of Santa Ana Public Works Agency | Bristol Street Greenroads Sustainability Seminar
By: Nathan Chase, PE, ENV SP, LEED AP ND We would like to thank the City of Santa Ana's presenters (Mindy Ly, PE and Ehab Elias, PE) for sharing their experience on the Bristol Street Improvements and Widening project, which was recently certified at the Bronze level under the Greenroads rating system for sustainable roadways. Their presentation on this pioneering project drew a crowd of over 60 attendees at a lunchtime event held at UCI in April 2015. More »
California’s Historic Drought and Mandatory Water Restrictions
Following the driest winter in California’s written record, mandatory water restrictions have been issued to reduce water usage by 25%. This article summarizes these restrictions and other legislation, as well as water saving ideas that we all can implement in our personal and professional lives. More »
Green Infrastructure and California's new Industrial General Permit
California's new Industrial General Permit (IGP) will go into effect July 1, 2015. One major change is the inclusion of Advanced Best Management Practices (BMPs), for which all hydrologic calculations shall be certified by a California licensed professional engineer. This new Industrial General Permit provides an opportunity for the engineering community to recommend the investigation and implementation of “green” infrastructure at industrial facilities. More »
US Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 Campus RainWorks Challenge
The U.S. EPA’s Office of Water is in the midst of the 3rd annual Campus RainWorks Challenge for college and university students. The Challenge has been designed to engage students in reinventing our nation’s water infrastructure. Following several rounds of judging, winning teams will be announced in April with $16,000 in prizes to be distributed. More »
Greenroads & the City of Santa Ana's Bristol Street Bronze-Certified Project
On April 14, 2015, the City of Santa Ana will be giving a presentation on their recent Bristol Street project, which earned GreenRoads Bronze level. More »
What the Passage of the Proposition 1 Water Bond will mean for Southern California
An update on plans for spending funds for the $7.5B Proposition 1 Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (aka “Water Bond”). The Governor’s 2015-16 Budget shows that $532M of the Proposition 1 funds will be made available initially. Although limited information is currently available regarding specific projects that will benefit from Proposition 1 and their timing, highlights for Southern California are provided in this article. More »
Thank You IRWD and Presenters for the Drought and OC Water Infrastructure Seminar
The Sustainability Committee for ASCE-OC organized a seminar entitled “The Drought and Water Infrastructure” on Friday, October 31, 2014. More than 30 professionals and 7 civil engineering students attended the seminar. The seminar was conducted at the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) Multi-Purpose room. In addition to hosting, IRWD also provided refreshments and IT support. We would like to thank IRWD for their contribution to educate the civil engineering professionals on ways different agencies are implementing sustainable infrastructure and water efficiency programs. More »
