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San Diego Green Champions!
Congratulations to this month's Green Champion, working to Sustain
San Diego through environmental innovation and green intelligence!
Congratulations to the San Diego Natural History
Museum – our Green Champion for September!
As an organization whose mission includes "to inspire in all a respect for nature and the environment," the San Diego Natural History Museum is taking active steps, increasing every day, in order to ensure that our natural environment is protected for future generations. These efforts begin with the building itself. The Museum has an aggressive recycling program in which over 50% of the Museum's total waste by weight is recycled, including 100% of our used batteries, bulbs, ballasts, e-waste, plastics, glass, and metal. Construction waste materials are also recycled whenever possible. In addition, is cleaned using green-certified cleaning products. In order to decrease energy consumption and reduce overhead costs, we installed a Smardt Chiller AC unit that serves the whole building at 50% of the energy consumption rate as our older HVAC system. We also painted most exterior dark surfaces to a lighter color to reduce the heat island effect from direct sunlight, and utilize automated motion sensors on lights throughout the building to ensure that lights are on only when needed.




Along with the green building practices in place at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the culture of the Museum has always respected our natural world; employees are encouraged by management—and each other—to recycle and conserve as much as possible. Staff members are urged to use reusable plates, cups and utensils during staff events, meetings and for their lunch. Many employees bike, walk, or take public transportation to work on a regular basis. Some employees even have the option of telecommuting which also saves fossil fuels and gas emissions. While at work, staff members are encouraged to take the stairs rather than the elevator, to unplug or turn off power strips and other electronic equipment when not in use, and to print documents on both sides of the paper, and limits color usage as well. Water filters were installed on all floors of the building to encourage staff to decrease consumption of bottled water.

The Dinosaur Cafe', operated by the Cohn Restaurant Group and located in the Museum, serves food and beverages to staff and visitors alike and uses sustainable paper products made from corn, which are compostable. The Dinosaur Cafe' also serves organic, free trade, shade grown coffee products. The Cafe' does not sell bottled water, and instead our guests are encouraged to use refillable water bottles or drink out of our water fountains.

These efforts reach farther than the Museum's building and staff, however. Conservation and ecology are common themes in the Museum's exhibitions and programming. Creating an informed public is one of the many ways to affect behavioral change. Since 2006, the Museum has hosted a free lecture series for the public which teaches visitors about the issues of climate change on a local, national, and international level. Classes in gardening, making and using natural cleaning/beauty products, and professional training to mitigate loss due to wildfire all help cement the Museum's role as a leader in sustainable education. In fact, one of our newest exhibitions is Water: A California Story, which uses natural history specimens, live animals, photos, and interactive exhibits explore the water issues facing southern California and Baja California. The exhibition teaches visitors why, to have water in the future, we all need to change how we use water now. Another current exhibition is Water: H2O=Life, which was developed by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, along with SDNHM and several other institutions worldwide, to amaze and inspire visitors about the wonders of water and ways we can help protect this vital natural resource.

10 Easy Energy Savings Tips

What are the best and quickest ways for a business to save? Taking a few proactive steps to reduce energy usage can conserve natural resources, lower energy costs and save money:

  • Reduce lighting where possible and take advantage of natural daylight. Turning lights off or dimming them during the day allows for lower energy costs and a more comfortable environment. Also, remove excess lighting, and turn off signage and other lights not necessary for security and safety.
  • Install occupancy sensors. These inexpensive devices can reduce lighting costs by up to 40 percent by turning off lights in unoccupied areas.
  • Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which can last up to ten times longer. CFLs provide the same amount of (light) lumens as standard incandescent bulbs, but use up to 75 percent less energy.
  • Replace incandescent lights in exit signs with LED fixtures, which can reduce costs of these signs by up to 95 percent.
  • Adjust the thermostat down in the winter and up in the summer and shut off when not in use. Even a few degrees can significantly reduce heating and air conditioning costs.
  • Install programmable thermostats or time clocks to automatically control temperature settings on heating and air conditioning equipment.
  • Turn off or set office equipment to power down when not in use. Turning off one computer and monitor nightly and on weekends can save up to $80 a year. And setting PCs, monitors and copiers to use sleep mode when not in use can help cut energy costs by up to 50 percent.
  • Lower the thermostat on your water heater. 120° F is sufficient for many common uses. A 10° F reduction can save up to 5 percent on water heating costs.
  • Invest in energy-efficient equipment. When upgrading or adding new equipment, look for the ENERGY STAR® symbol, which indicates the equipment meets federal standards for energy efficiency.
  • Call SDG&E about our energy efficiency services and rebates at (800) 644-6133.

San Diego Local Green Champions
Tell us your story! How are you or your neighbors improving the quality of life for San Diegans now and in the future?

Tell us what you are doing to help keep San Diego Green!

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