Amy Pruden-Bagchi and Mark Widdowson, on faculty at Virginia Tech's Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, are studying how geometry can help in dispersing oil spills quickly and safely.

Virginia Tech has received a $60,000 grant to research how microbes can be used to eat away oil in the Gulf. Here is a press release from the university:

Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers have received a $60,000 one-year National Science Foundation grant to study how naturally occurring microbes can best be used to eat away remaining crude oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. Their choice of weapon: Geometry.

Fueled by oxygen, naturally occurring bacteria can slowly destroy blobs and slicks of crude oil without the use of additional chemicals. Faculty researchers at Virginia Tech’s Charles E. Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (http://www.cee.vt.edu/) hope to determine if the shape of crude oil remnant – be it a flat syrupy sheet or a tar ball – can affect deterioration rates. The researchers also will study how a lack of oxygen can hinder microbe growth, and how carbon leaching from dissipating oil can further fuel these oil-eating microbes, a two-step process known as mass transfer and biodegradation. Remaining toxic chemicals left behind by the spill also will be studied at Virginia Tech labs in Blacksburg. Read more »

CREATES and Go Green NRV are holding a workshop Sept. 20 in Blacksburg to teach businesses how to “green” their bottom line. Here is a press release from CREATES:

CREATES and Go Green NRV will present a session that will appeal to business owners who want to increase market-share, decrease expenses and become part of a business network practicing and promoting sustainability in the New River Valley. Business owners will learn about FREE* essential employee training and credentialing in lead safety, weatherization fundamentals, green property management, energy auditing, air quality assessment, and HVAC inspections. This workshop will take place Monday, September 20^th at the Blacksburg Holiday Inn from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Businesses can register from the CREATES website, http://www.createsprogram.org. Read more »

A symposium held by the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway will take place in Roanoke this October. Here are the details from the National Park Service:

In honor of the 75^th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment’s symposium about the future of the Parkway will feature keynote speaker Richard Louv, whose book Last Child in the Woods introduced America to the threat of a new generation with “nature-deficit disorder.”

Louv will speak about his work to build a movement connecting today’s children and future generations to the natural world and the restorative power of nature. His remarks are part of “Imagining the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 21^st Century: Sustaining Communities, Environments, and Economies,” a symposium October 14-16 at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center in Roanoke, VA. Louv’s address will take place the evening of October 15. Read more »

Roanoke College has renovated Lucas Hall, its first LEED project. Here is a press release from the college:

Roanoke College’s Lucas Hall reopens this fall after an impressive makeover. Renovations and an addition, which nearly doubled its size, make Lucas prominent in stature. Provisions in maintaining its beauty and enhancing its efficiency make it a state-of-the art facility. On certification, Lucas will represent Roanoke College’s first LEED project, signifying the campus’s commitment to sustainability.

The new Lucas Hall is rich in technology, environmentally friendly and still classic. The original character of the structure remained intact while the College took it from 13,449 square feet to over 26,000. Read more »

A home in Mt. Tabor Meadows is the first one in Blacksburg to become LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. The home is 49 percent more energy efficient than a standard home. Here is a press release and pictures from Green Valley Builders:

Today, the Lewis family has something no one else in Blacksburg does. Their home at 804 Petra Pass in Mt. Tabor Meadows was announced Blacksburg’s first home to receive LEED® Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is only the second home to be certified LEED in southwest Virginia; the other is in Lexington, Va. Read more »

The Roanoke Civic Center is going green. Here is a press release and list of new initiatives taken by Global Spectrum, which manages the center:

Global Spectrum, the Philadelphia-based company that manages the Roanoke Civic Center (RCC), is improving environmental quality at the four-venue facility with the introduction of the Global Spectrum Total Energy Program (STEP UP) this week.  The program is intended to conserve energy, recycle goods, and promote a healthy environment for employees and guests of the Roanoke Civic Center.  It also serves to encourage employees to conserve energy through simple, yet effective efforts.  TEAM GREEN, an in-house committee, has been created at the RCC to research, implement, and promote new environmental policies at the venue.

“The enthusiasm and support of our staff for our new recycling program has been very well received,” said Global Spectrum’s Chris Connolly, General Manager of the Roanoke Civic Center. Read more »

Both Blacksburg and Roanoke are participating in a friendly competition to create more sustainable communities. Here is a press release from the ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA:

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) in partnership with the Virginia Municipal League’s (VML) Go Green Virginia initiative announced the selection of four outstanding communities to participate in Virginia’s Green Community Challenge. The Green Community Challenge is a friendly competition among Virginia communities to develop specific environmental policies and implement practical actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address local sustainability. Read more »

Rupert Cutler — former Roanoke city councilman and former Explore Park director — speaks today to the the Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs.

Cutler gives this preview:

“I’ll suggest they ask City Council to close Wylie Drive to vehicular traffic because of the biker/runner/walker/stroller traffic congestion there now, and the danger to pedestrians of cars and trucks close by, while suggesting that the facilities at new Vic Thomas Park, easily accessed off 13th Street/Memorial Avenue, be tailored to meet the needs of the handicapped citizens who now need to drive to Smith Park.

“I’ll urge them to support the transfer of Explore Park to the National Park Service to become part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, to protect the environment and historic buildings in Explore and make it part of the most-visited National Park System unit in the country, to benefit the local economy.

“I’ll bring to their attention their opportunity to partner with the City parks department by helping to maintain the planters along Wylie Drive that currently look abandoned. They need gardeners’ TLC.

I’ll note the continuing role of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke in paying for and installing mile posts and environmental and historical interpretive signs along the Lick Run and Roanoke River Greenways and the Kiwanians’ intention to help make the greenways “outdoor classrooms” to meet the challenge of Richard Louv in his book, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder.”

“I’ll point out that Lucy Ellett should be regarded as the god-mother of our greenway system.”

The full text of his remarks is below: Read more »

The Western Virginia Regional Jail has received the LEED environmental building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. AECOM was the design firm for the project. Here is a press release from the jail:

The Western Virginia Regional Jail and AECOM Technology Corporation are proud to announce that the regional jail has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for design, construction, and operation of green buildings. Monica C. Rokicki-Guajardo, Chairperson of the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council will present Superintendent Bobby D. Russell with the regional jail’s LEED certificate at a joint reception on Thursday, August 19, 2010, at 4 p.m. in the regional jail’s main lobby. The jail’s LEED plaque will be unveiled during the reception. Read more »

Controlling invasives is the topic of a Cooperative Extension conference Sept. 16-17, which is open to the public.

Virginia Tech and its  partners will hold a conference on how to control invasive plants at Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center in Front Royal this September. Here is a press release from the university:

Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment (http://www.cnre.vt.edu/) and Virginia Cooperative Extension  (http://www.ext.vt.edu/), in collaboration with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Forestry for the Bay, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and other cooperators, will host a conference entitled Good Green, Bad Green: Invasive Plant Control for Habitat Restoration, in Front Royal, Va., Sept. 16-17. Read more »